Who am I, what do I do?
I’m Jay Harper. I’ve lived in New York since 1990 and in upper Manhattan since 1998. My partner and I bought a townhouse shell in Harlem in March of 2010 and started renovation on it in March of 2011. I’ve found I love the entire process of looking, buying and renovating so I write up the experience here on the blog. I also liked the process well enough to get my real estate salesperson license so I can help others through the same process Dan and I have gone through.
Work-wise I’m a self-employed web and database guy. My schedule is pretty much completely flexible – so I’m able to drop what I’m doing when someone contacts me to look at townhouses.
Where did the site name come from?
“Beating upwind” is a sailing term. It’s what you do when you need to get a sailboat to go upwind. Things don’t normally move toward the wind (the wind blows them away). Sailboats are no different and “beating upwind” effectively is one of the hardest things to do in sailing, but it’s one of the most important skills a sailor can have.
It’s said that “gentlemen sailors don’t sail upwind”. The point being that if you’re rich enough, life is easy and you can just wait until the wind changes or get off the boat and pay someone to sail it into the harbor for you. Beating upwind is the activity of those who are driven to accomplish a goal. It’s hard, but if you need to accomplish something by a certain time, it’s what you have to do from time to time.
My life has had it’s share of “beating upwind”. Luckily I’ve had my easier, downwind moments as well. But the times when I’ve pushed through and gotten something done are the moments that have really made me who I am today… In New York one of the primary struggles is housing. Finding enough space to be comfortable at a price you can afford is a real challenge… So Beating Upwind is dedicated to that objective.
Have a question? Email me…
If you have a question or just want to say hi – feel free to email me – jay@beatingupwind.com – I get a fair number of emails from people thinking of buying townhouses in Harlem. It’s helpful all around to compare notes and exchange stories, and sorta fun to try to find a place that matches a person’s needs.
Jay, as you know I am a huge fan of this blog. Following in your footsteps and buying a place about a year and a half after you… I am reading through everything for at least the second time, I read a lot when we were looking to buy and now that we are about to nail plans for renovations I am reading it all again.
I wonder if you would add a table of contents. The Categories you include on the top of the blog are helpful, but as things mostly happened in a chronological way, it would be really helpful if you listed the blog topics one by one as they accumulated that way, if someone needs to return to a post it is easier to find as your titles are pretty helpful. It is just a thought as it has been suggested by others that you write a book, here I think if you add a book element it will help the blog.
But most of all, perhaps rather than reading a book of yours anyone interested in following in your footsteps should consult with you, as I have done and work with you as their agent!!!!!
Thanks so much for all your generosity with the blog, it is a tremendous resource!
best,
Kathleen