b"Finding HomeWorking with Victoria CarterBY ELLEN DONKERC h i l d r e npainted. Jen loved it immediately. have a wayShesaid,Icouldseethatthere ofchang- werelittlekidsinayardnearby. inglives.You know? Like it felt very much C h r i slike a community. andJenCarterknewthatthehouse Wiezorekwouldsellquicklysosheadvised can attest to that. They were get- the Wiezoreks to submit a strong tingalongverycomfortablywithoffer along with a letter right away. baby Paxton and their two pugs inJensaid,Ijustwrotethatwe their Greenpoint, Brooklyn apart- would want to honor all the hard ment. Jen was a hairdresser nearbywork they put into [the house]andChriscommutedtovariousand wanted to just continue to add locations as a cameraman workingon it the way they did. in TV and film on such projects asAlthoughthesellersreceived Wu-Tang:AnAmericanSagaandmultiple offers, the Wiezoreks got Marvels Iron Fist. the house and moved in on July 17. When Maverick was born, theirCarter credits their success to trust-good-sized apartment suddenly be- ing her. She says, They were agree-came impossibly small. Thats whatJen and Chris Wiezorek made the move from Brooklyn with their two children abletomyguidanceandadvice led Jen and Chris to entertain theinstructuringthestrongestpos-idea of moving and to ponder: larg- sible offer both quantitatively and er apartment or house in the sub- qualitatively. urbs? Giving up Brooklyn was hardtime of day where one was napping in the car andAlreadytheWiezoreksare to face, but factoring in the cost of preschool, anone wasnt. We looked at six houses that day. Butbreathing easier with more space. Chris has snagged annual rent increase, and all the things that add up[because of the kids] we had to look at the last onea bedroom for his music collection and theyve add-with two kids, the numbers favored buying a home. or two separately. ed a fence to the back yard to contain their pugs and JenstartedsearchingZillowlistingsinMaple- Evenwithoutchildren,househuntingcanbetwo little boys.wood, where a number of their acquaintances hadstressful, especially when you want a place to workJen admits, We loved living in Brooklyn, for a moved, and thats how she found Victoria Carter.but know deep down its not right. There was thelot of reasons, and its nice that its not so far away if Jen recalls Carter putting her at ease. She [Victoria]house on Golf Island that had beautiful woodworkwe want to have day trips. Now that they're in Ma-says, Im from Brooklyn. Im like, Oh, youre com- but an impractical living room; the split level withplewood, she and Chris are enjoying the transition forting. Youre like my Brooklyn mom I never had.thefabulousinteriorwasliterallyastonesthrowto their new life, getting to know their neighbors CarterquicklysizeduptheWiezoreksneeds:from the train tracks; and the neighborhood nearand the shops and restaurants. they wanted a yardnothing too bigand maybethe house on Highland felt solitary. fourbedrooms.Jenwantedanicekitchen.ChrisJen was empowered by Carters honesty during needed a place to watch TV. Jen says, Right away,the process. At one of the houses, she said, Let me Ifeellikeshegottell you, this isnt the house for you. Theres going to usandthatwasbe something else. Its going to be what you want. helpful. And theirAnd she was right. Carter recalls, They were focused search needed to beand very decisive. And they were considerate of each efficient.Afterall,other, waiting until they were both in agreement on they had two littlethe house to pursue.kids in tow.In the end, Chris liked the older colonials best. JendescribedHe says, The thing that I immediately fell in love oneoftheirmorewith in this area that became a goal is the Maple-challengingven- wood room. tures.WehadLuckily the house they ended up buying on Rut-Victoria Carter helped thethekidswithus.gers Street had one. The kitchen and full bathroom Wiezoreks secure a home that[Itwas]thisweirdhad been newly renovated. Everything was freshly had multiple offers.finding home /23"