Ben W

Welcome to the Luxury Staffing Podcast by Morgan & Mallet. Today I’m joined by Nikki Beauchamp, a senior global real estate advisor, to cover the New York high-end market. Nikki, how did you get into real estate?

Nikki

I was born and raised in New York, and my first career was in finance and technology. I got into real estate almost by accident. I was always the person everyone asked about where to live, and I kept referring them to a friend in the business. Eventually that friend told me my referrals had paid for his car, so I should get a license and be paid for it. I sold my consulting practice, started a real estate business, and twenty-odd years later I am still here and I have loved every moment.

Ben W

What is your favorite part of real estate in New York?

Nikki

Figuring out where someone’s ideal home really is. People often arrive with a narrow idea of where they want to be. If you describe a property to me that does not exist in that neighborhood but exists in another, we build enough trust that I can say, let us just try it and explore. Hearing what you want and matching it is a big part of what I do. It is like solving a puzzle, and every day is a puzzle.

Ben W

For people outside the city, what defines luxury real estate in New York, and how is it different from luxury elsewhere?

Nikki

There is a finite amount of space, and much of our housing is vertical. It is not only about the property, it is about the building, how it is run, where it sits, and how the neighborhood fits the way you want to live. So we deconstruct it. We have condos, co-ops, and townhouses, and that is a key distinction, because each has its own governing rules and its own way of purchasing.

Ben W

What is a co-op?

Nikki

Picture a building with ten apartments and one hundred shares, so each apartment is allocated ten shares. When you buy into a co-op you are not purchasing real estate, you are purchasing shares in the corporation that owns the building. In exchange you get a proprietary lease that lets you occupy the unit for as long as you own the shares. When you sell, the buyer presents a full prospectus about themselves, with substantiated backup for every asset and liability. One package a couple of years ago was about fifteen hundred single-sided pages. A condo, by contrast, is real property that you own, and then there are townhouses and brownstones. New York still has more co-ops than condos and townhouses.

Ben W

Why are co-ops so much more common in New York than elsewhere?

Nikki

It is largely historical. Apartments were converted into cooperatives long before the condominium, which is a more modern construct. If condos had existed much earlier, things might have gone differently. Townhouses, meanwhile, offer privacy and discretion to the max, which is often where the staffing conversation starts. Owners tell me they want someone to manage the home, to make sure everything is stocked and ready before the family arrives, so I recommend household managers and property managers.

Ben W

Board approvals are famous for being tough, even with the very wealthy. What surprises your clients most?

Nikki

The invasiveness, and the fact that every building has different financial requirements. It is not only the purchase price, it is post-closing liquidity, down payment rules, and whether you can finance at all. Think of every co-op as its own privately held company. The owners decide the rules, and they do not have to tell you why they said no. As wealth increases there is an idea that everything has a price, but this is a corner of New York where they can still say no. Your board package is your prospectus, so I prepare it to explain your assets in a way that creates no questions, because questions create uncertainty and doubt, and that is the last thing you want.

Ben W

And you prepare a separate package for each building’s requirements?

Nikki

Yes. With clients at this level I work alongside their accountant and lawyer, gathering supporting documentation for every number. It can be exhausting, and requirements are a moving target, so you have to stay on top of changes to down payments and liquidity rules as boards change. Buying in a trust or an LLC adds another layer, and not every co-op allows those structures, so we check that before we even look.

Ben W

How much does privacy drive decisions at the top end?

Nikki

It can be very high on the list. Someone might want a loft in SoHo where the elevator opens directly into the apartment. It comes back to the experience you want when you walk in the door: a doorman or not, how many apartments per floor, whether you reach the garage without leaving the building. If you are coming from a secluded estate, some clients ask why they would spend fifty million dollars and still have people above them. So I ask what experience they want in New York, then match that to the right property type.

Ben W

When you walk into a property, is there anything that tells you it was designed to be run well, with proper space for staff, rather than as an afterthought?

Nikki

Our great pre-war architects designed homes for a time when people lived with living quarters, staff quarters, and entertaining space. Those old maids’ rooms were often tiny. In newer buildings you see the same ideas reworked for modern life, with quarters that suit a live-in housekeeper or nanny. I recently toured a beautifully done condo that had no laundry facilities in the apartment at all, because the owner had bought another unit in the building for that. It was designed for how they lived, which is exactly why it is now hard to sell. You have to think about the function and the flow of how the household runs.

Ben W

I didn’t realize a house manager could have such a big impact on the property choice.

Nikki

A few weeks ago I sat with a client’s household manager, who told me their New York apartment had served its purpose but no longer fit how the family hosts guests. They want guests to feel they are in a five-star hotel, and the older building simply does not have that in its DNA. The staff can articulate the guest experience the principal may not think of, because it is not what the principal does day to day. That is why they have their staff. I often do the first round of touring with the house manager, who helps curate before the client comes.

Ben W

Once a sale closes and a family takes over a large home, what usually happens on the staffing side?

Nikki

It depends. Sometimes they have staff ready, sometimes they ask for referrals. It often starts with a housekeeper who comes regularly, then grows to a chauffeur and a household manager. Once you have more than one property, I recommend one household manager who oversees everything, because otherwise it becomes chaotic. If you are coming into substantial wealth, you need to think about how you assemble your teams, for finances, legal, and real estate, and ideally you figure that out early rather than years in with disparate systems. Even hiring an assistant who fits your life, and compensating them well, gives you continuity, because that person often ends up shaping every other hire.

Ben W

Is there anything I should have asked that our listeners need to know?

Nikki

The most important thing comes down to the people you choose to work with, because that shapes the whole process. Find someone you trust, someone who is an expert, and start there. Bring your trusted advisors in early, whether real estate or staffing. People fear wasting time, but I do not believe there is such a thing. Start the conversation, interview people, and ask friends and business associates who they have had good, or even bad, experiences with, because knowing who to avoid is just as useful. We have amazing machines in our hands, but talk to the people you know first.