New York apartments come in two types: the Condo and the Cooperative Apartment, and from the exterior of the building, you cannot tell which is which.
A Condo is a property with ownership rights. After signing the sales contract, the owner of the Condo has ownership rights over a certain proportion of the apartment and the common areas of the building. The owner must pay property taxes to the city and common management fees to the apartment's operation committee.
A Cooperative Apartment is different. The entire apartment building is an apartment corporation, and buying an apartment only allows the buyer to own shares of this corporation. These shares grant the buyer the right to reside in the apartment but do not give them ownership of the apartment. The ownership of the apartment resides with the apartment corporation.
Because there is no property right, there is no need to pay property taxes. Instead, monthly payments are made to the corporation, which as a whole pays the property taxes to the city. The buyer's payments include property taxes and common management fees, although as a Cooperative Apartment corporation, the property tax rate is substantially lower than that of Condos, effectively reducing the purchase price of Cooperative Apartments.
However, since Cooperative Apartments are owned by a corporation, whether a buyer can purchase is entirely up to the apartment committee. They can directly refuse buyers, and when buyers want to resell their apartment shares, they also need the review of the apartment committee to prevent the price from being too low and affecting others.
In short, the complexities here are especially numerous, including issues with fees, loans, down payment ratios, privacy, and so forth...
Jimmy was completely overwhelmed. In such a dazed state, he couldn't bring himself to look at the apartments anymore and found an excuse to leave the real estate agency.
Jimmy had never bought a house before, not in his past life nor in this one, and he had not anticipated how troublesome buying a house could be. This knowledge almost made him give up on the idea of buying an apartment now.
It really would require a professional to handle things. Jimmy could just provide the funds, but finding the right professional needed careful consideration.
Feeling bored, Jimmy wandered the streets, treating it as a walk. His mind was a bit muddled now, trying to figure out what to do next. Suddenly, a pickup drove past him, and Jimmy noticed an impressive emblem on it, a silver shield.
Watching the pickup drive away, Jimmy suddenly remembered what Justin had said. He had suggested that Jimmy try talking to businesses with the shield emblem to see if he could get service without going through the Intercontinental Hotel, though he had mentioned this method might not be reliable.
Since the Intercontinental Hotel was in Manhattan, the service providers involved in all kinds of trades must also be around. Jimmy hadn't paid attention before, but now he thought he should start noticing these businesses.
Justin's shield emblem was inside the bar, invisible from the outside, not easily spotted unless one was paying attention. Thus, the stores in New York must be similar, their activities inappropriate for public advertisement. Clearly, they couldn't just draw a shield emblem on their signs.
Jimmy started paying attention to the storefronts along the road, having nothing particular to do but to try finding one by chance.
By noon, Jimmy stopped at a small roadside restaurant to have a quick lunch and rest. On his way back, he noticed a leather goods store he had passed earlier. Even though the store was small, Jimmy saw through the window that people inside were doing handcrafting, but he had decided to eat first before entering.
Seeing the leather goods store reminded Jimmy of his shoulder holster. He had been thinking of adding a few more bullet slots to it, and coincidentally encountering such a store was a perfect opportunity to sort that out and allow him to carry more bullets.
Wearing a suit daily, it was really inconvenient to carry loose bullets. No matter which pocket he used, it was inconvenient and also unattractive. Similarly, he couldn't carry many speed loaders either.
Buying a coffee along the way, Jimmy arrived at the leather goods store, heard the welcoming bell with a "ding" as he entered, and the balding white man inside looked up, "Welcome, feel free to look around," then returned to his work with the leather.
Jimmy nodded at him and began examining the leather goods on the shelves. There was a variety of leather goods here, from small wallets and coin purses to business bags like single-shoulder bags. On a rack nearby, there were large and small pieces of leather, some in strips, others in large, uncut pieces. Since Jimmy didn't know much about leather goods, he couldn't tell if it was cow, sheep, or some other kind of leather.
The leather goods on the rack didn't look like mass-produced items, as there were few identical ones. There were variations in patterns, and some featured contrasting colors among different types of leather, all appearing to be handcrafted.
"Sir, can I customize leather goods here?" After looking around, Jimmy approached the balding man.
The balding man looked up at Jimmy, then put down his tools, stood up, and asked, "What do you need customized?"
Jimmy opened his suit to reveal the shoulder holster, showing also the revolver. The balding man visibly tensed, stepping back and leaning backwards slightly.
Jimmy waved his hand, pulled out his wallet from an inner pocket, and flashed his FBI badge. "Don't worry, FBI, I'm not a gang member."
The balding man breathed a sigh of relief, and Jimmy then stated his need, "I need to add some slots for spare bullets to my holster. Could you do that?"
The balding man: "Oh, may I take a look?"
Jimmy took off his suit, pulled out the revolver, and handed the holster to the balding man, who examined it briefly, shook his head, and said, "The quality isn't very good. It's best not to fuss with this one."
The balding man handed the holster back to Jimmy.
Jimmy: "Then, can you customize it here? Make one tailored to my body shape."
The balding man: "Of course. Should I make it similar to your current holster?"
Jimmy nodded, and the balding man went behind the counter, took out some paper and a pencil, and started sketching a design for the holster. It was apparent his drawing skills were excellent, and he completed a detailed sketch of the holster quickly.
Jimmy discussed with him and added six bullet slots on each side of the holster strap, incorporating an extra patch of leather near the right side of his chest that could hold an additional 12 bullets. He reached a final design for the holster, his fear of running out of firepower evident as he insisted on carrying extra bullets for peace of mind.
The balding man sized Jimmy's shoulder, and Jimmy also provided a revolver and a Magnum Bullet for the balding man to note the dimensions, since Jimmy only used .357 Magnum Bullets. It was important that the bullet slots perfectly fit his bullets, not too tight or too loose.
After recording the dimensions, Jimmy paid a deposit and left the leather shop with a receipt. He was to pick up the order in three days. Clearly, the balding man, impressed by Jimmy's FBI affiliation, had expedited the job; otherwise, it would have been unclear how long it might have taken.