Why Did Kristen Stewart Shell Out $5.6M on a NYC Fixer-Upper?

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Why on Earth did actress and model Kristen Stewart drop bank on a multimillion-dollar fixer-upper in Manhattan?

She quietly purchased the 3,000-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bathroom condo in lower Manhattan for $5.6 million, according to Variety. The expansive loft is in a historic building designated as a New York City landmark in 1979.

From the property’s surface-level description, it sounds like a gem. But once we actually got a load of the interior—which, to be honest, leaves much to be desired—we began wondering about Stewart’s reasons for buying the place.

Yes, it’s in a prewar building in the desirable NoHo area, a haven for trendy galleries, restaurants, and shopping. But the condo itself is in need of some serious TLC.

“The interior is dark, and the ceilings are awful,” says Jenny Lenz, a real estate agent with Dolly Lenz Real Estate in New York, who attended the open house. The living room contains fluorescent lighting, weathered wooden floors, and walls painted orange.

“It’s a gloomy building in general,” agrees Jenny’s mother, Dolly Lenz, who has overseen many celebrity real estate transactions. “It was converted in the mid-’90s, which means it has no real luxury standard.”

The interior of Kristen Stewart’s new NYC loft is less than stellar.

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So the question remains: Why did Stewart, who also owns three properties in Los Angeles, shell out so much on this home?

The answer could be as simple as Stewart falling head over heels for the place. Jenny Lenz says Stewart paid the asking price just a month after the apartment was listed. “To pay ask in this market is a little unheard of,” she says. “She obviously fell in love with it.”

A home with this hefty price tag doesn’t exactly scream “fixer-upper.”

So just how much would Stewart have to put into the property to bring it up to snuff?

Experts say luxury renovations in New York cost, on average, about $1,000 a square foot; that covers the actual work plus permitting and plans. For Stewart’s home, some estimate total costs for a full overhaul would run about $3 million. She’d better hope for another “Twilight” sequel down the road!

The historic cast-iron building that houses Kristen Stewart’s second-floor condo looks chic from the outside, but the inside is a whole different story.

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