The congregation originally rented the South 4th Street property in 1909, and purchased the building outright in 1917.

Another strategy, she said, is for the seller to use the same broker who originally rented the apartment to the tenant.

Francis originally rented it and then gradually paid it off throughout his lifetime.

He originally rented animals until receipts allowed him to buy more.

But there was also the sweat equity they put in when they originally rented their places and did much of the renovation themselves.

Tenants who originally rented for $30 a square foot, he said, "are happy to get $16 a square feet and lose only $14."

The Astor Row townhouses rented originally for $1,100 per year, and were so popular that there was for years a waiting list to live there.

The units originally rented for $2.60 to $5.00 each, with baths, toilets, double beds, carpets, and furniture.

The six-to-nine-room apartments originally rented for $1,600 to $3,200 a year, a bit high for the period but not outlandishly so.

Roz Rosenstein was one of the original tenants, choosing not to work while raising a son and a daughter in an apartment that originally rented for $76 a month.