Faith Pennick in Brooklyn, where she looked to buy a one-bedroom co-op after years of renting and saving. “This city is the place where I can be my authentic self,” she said. Katherine Marks for The New York Times

Though a native of Chicago, Faith Pennick considers herself a New Yorker. She lived in the city on and off for two decades, renting in different Brooklyn neighborhoods.

“I was unable to purchase an apartment in Brooklyn during the 1990s,” said Ms. Pennick, 56, who had student loan debt after earning degrees from the University of Michigan and New York University. “If I had done that, I would be sitting pretty right now. I know I have to get over that, but I probably never will.”

[Did you recently buy a home? We want to hear from you. Email: thehunt@nytimes.com. Sign up here to have The Hunt delivered to your inbox every week.]

Ms. Pennick, who is a filmmaker and writer — her book about the R&B star D’Angelo’s album “Voodoo” came out in 2020 — refers to herself as a “quasi-starving artist.” She currently works as an advertising copywriter in SoHo.

Unemployed at the start of the pandemic, Ms. Pennick returned to Chicago and lived with her mother. She landed a job and saved diligently for a down payment, always planning to return to New York. “This city is the place where I can be my authentic self,” she said. “Plus, my friends and church home are here. I am of the ‘New York or nowhere’ ilk.”

She knew she couldn’t hunt from afar. “The way something looks on Zoom and FaceTime is not the same as being in the space and opening up the cabinet doors and all that,” she said.

So she’d fly in from Chicago for months at a time, staying with good friends — a couple from her church in Fort Greene, Brooklyn — who had an extra bedroom. In her price range of $200,000 to $300,000, she wanted a one-bedroom co-op, though a large studio would do. Ideally, she’d find a move-in-ready place with a dishwasher and decent closet space, in a building with a live-in super and a laundry room.

She considered the Bronx, but couldn’t find a suitable place close to a subway station, which was a priority. Anyway, the Bronx was far from friends, church and work. So she focused on central Brooklyn, which had more subway options.

Ms. Pennick couldn’t afford to put more than 10 percent down, which she knew limited her options. (And she wasn’t eligible for first-time homebuyer programs, which she called “ridiculously rigid and unrealistic with their income cutoffs.”) She was referred to Natalie McCormack Richards, an independent broker, who steered her away from co-ops requiring 20 percent.

Among her options:

No. 1

Converted Studio With No Dishwasher

Katherine Marks for The New York Times

This east-facing one-bedroom, once a studio with its alcove now walled off, was in a 90-unit building from 1963. It was two blocks from the Flatbush Ave-Brooklyn College station, the last stop on the No. 2 and No. 5 trains. The unit covered around 530 square feet and was nicely renovated, though the bedroom was small and had a hanging bar and shelf rather than a real closet, and the kitchen lacked a dishwasher. The building had a small laundry room on the ground floor. The asking price was $269,000, with monthly maintenance in the low $500s.

B/H Realty

No. 2

Flatbush One-Bedroom With No Laundry

Katherine Marks for The New York Times

This sunny, 500-square-foot one-bedroom was in a six-story, 55-unit building from 1931. It had a long entry hallway with a dining nook, a nicely renovated open kitchen with a dishwasher, minimal closet space, and a faraway view of Manhattan. The building had no laundry room, but a laundromat was half a block away. It was two blocks from the Newkirk Ave-Little Haiti station, the penultimate stop of the No. 2 and No. 5 trains. The asking price was $205,000, with maintenance in the low $700s.

Brick & Mortar

No. 3

Midwood One-Bedroom With No Oven

Katherine Marks for The New York Times

This one-bedroom with around 520 square feet was in an 84-unit building from 1950 near Kings Highway. It had an entry hallway, three closets, an updated bathroom and a small open kitchen with a breakfast bar, a counter-top range and a dishwasher, but no oven. The building had a laundry room. The closest subway stop, the Kings Highway station serving the B and Q trains, was a 15-minute walk. The price was $250,000, with monthly maintenance in the low $400s.

Douglas Elliman

Find out what happened next by answering these two questions:

Which Would You Choose?

0%

Converted Studio With No Dishwasher

0%

Flatbush One-Bedroom With No Laundry

0%

Midwood One-Bedroom With No Oven

Which Did She Buy?

0%

Converted Studio With No Dishwasher

0%

Flatbush One-Bedroom With No Laundry

0%

Midwood One-Bedroom With No Oven