fatcat, Don't forget about your social life, Hooking up with women in nyc will be a problem when you live that far away. Many areas in queens/brooklyn are 10-15 minutes into manhattan, williamsburg, astoria, LIC , sunnyside, that whole strip Although you won't buy a 1 bedroom condo for $100k, You can get a 1bedroom co-op for $150k-175k (550-900 sqft) , if you search well. studio for $100k (400-550 sqft). You want your maintence to be under $500 for a 1bedroom, $300 for a studio Try to keep the cap rate around 8-9% for a good deal. You can lowball these days. footnotes: I just bought a place 1 month ago, so I know the market pretty well.
Based on your posts you strike me as a guy who has given this considerable thought. I think it's a good idea, especially the idea of paying it off quickly. I like the idea of no mortgage...of course, my income has always fluctuated to a degree, and therefore, I don't like the pressure of debt. A few comments though. Condos in my opinion are problematical. The association might become an issue at some point down the road depending on the repairs, etc. necessary to maintain the building. Sometimes they have the fees set low, so that when a expensive problem does arise, there is not enough funds. So they have no choice but to assess the owners. I can tell you that in some areas this has broke some projects. Now, it may not be a problem in your area, but its something to keep in the back of your mind. At a minimum, you want to check the financials of the association as a part of any offer you make. Make some calculations/estimates as to whether you believe the association can ultimately replace some of those expensive items like roofs. There are other issues for condos as well. You might want to determine how many of the units are owner-occupied versus rented. Obviously, you may have a completely different life experience depending on the answer. As a part of your offer you should also get a copy of the association bylaws, and read them to see what restrictions are there. All in all, if I were advising you, I would suggest buying a house rather than a condo. Obviously, price is an issue, but in general, I'd rather pay up for the house. But here's the deal, right now, in most parts of the country, real estate is declining. It's not selling. This means that it's a buyers market...you can make a deal if you drive a hard bargain and you're patient. I hear that isn't the case in NY. But understand this, real estate is a fragmented market. What I mean by that is that a guy that needs to sell will make a much different deal than someone who doesn't. Your job should be to find the guy that needs to sell. If the market price is $100K, I'm sure there are places around for that. But there might be one some where that you could buy for $80K. Or, there might be one that needs work, that you could buy for $70K. Anyway, the general principle I think you got yourself, which is that if you pay the mortgage off, there are no more payments. And, if you have a house, there may not be any association fees either. Or, if there are, they will be much lower than a condo. OldTrader
I would add Forest Hills to this list. Beautiful neighborhood, lots of parks, multi-million $ homes everywhere, and only 20-25 mins outside the city by express subway. A great natural forest and golf course too, it's like the Greenwich CT of Queens, but with a very affordable co-op market (I'd say quite underpriced relative to other areas of comparable quality).
Well, I'm ugly so women aren't a concern. That's why I have time to think about money. However, I'm replying because: $150k studio within 15min of Financial District? Where? What web site are you using to search? realtor.com isn't very good, and zillow.com has issues with its maps in this area. Here's my situation: Get up in morning, go to work in Fin District. Go to university at night, till around 8pm. Go to gym (well, in theory anyway.) Then shower, study in library or work until around 11:30. Take train home, repeat. Get up next morning, 7AM. Commute home on metro-north, non-peak: non-issue. Relax, surf web, write code on way home. Morning commute could be an issue. I only have to deal with the school aspect until 2009. I view the place I live as just a place to sleep, and am attempting to pack in as much life as possible while I'm in the city.
House in NYC is totally not doable. Homes start around 400-500k, and I don't have cash for down payment of 20% on conventional loan. I know there are manufactured pre-fab homes up in Pomona, not too far off on Metro North at around $139, but we're talking terrible commute there. Proximity to NYC is important because of the job market, and also because of school and continuing education.
You won't find a co-op in Forest Hills for much under $250K in a decent building. $189K buys you a dump that needs a gut to the kitchen/bathroom. Forest Hills is no longer an inexpensive alternative in Queens.
For 15min within the financial district, you need to be in brooklyn, to transport from queens to the financial district, it is around 40 minutes (not too bad) Here is how your transport is layed out brooklyn <-> financial district <-> midtown manhattan <-> Queens brooklyn ITs a lot more hyped then queens, so I don't think you can find a studio for under $150k here. Lots of new development. I'm not familiar with the place, but you need to search on the L train line from bedford ave , to maybe grand st , max You should be 3-5 stops into brooklyn, any more stops the neighborhood starts getting dangerous (if you know what I mean) ----------- Queens It'll take you longer to get to the finanacial district, but much safer (of all ethnicities) <b>astoria</b>, will get you to wall street in about 35 minutes R train. 10 minutes into midtown. studios are around $120k - 130k , you can get it for that price! Just make sure you are near the train stations. The amenties are good, lots of white/greek / hipsters, good neighborhood. Lots of restaurants, Great neigborhood. <b>LIC</b>, 35 minutes to financial district, 10 minutes into midtown. 7 train. No amenties here, You need to go into manhattan, Lots of new buildings, , no restaurants, You can get a studio for around $130k here as well <b> Woodside/Sunnyside</b> Guaranteed $120k , hispanic but safe, neighborhood. 45 minutes to finanical district. 15 minutes into midtown. <b> jackson heights </b> Studio for around $100k 40 minutes to financial district with E/F express. 15 minutes into midtown. huge mix of ethnics here, white/hispanic/asian/ , good neighborhood <b> regopark / forest hills </b> Studio for around $110k 50 minutes to financial district with E/F express. 20 minutes into midtown. white/jewish/Russian neighborhood. ------- Fastest way to get into manhattan 1) E/F express trains , Forest hills 71ave, Jackson heights , Queens plaza . 2) 7 train LIC 3) R/N train astoria. All 3 trains will get you into midtown manhattan under 10-15-20 minutes. Then 20 minutes to downtown wall street. Subway map: http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm 75% of thel real estate offices now list at Craigslist: http://www.craigslist.org Put in max price, $150k, and start scanning Good luck!
This was really helpful man. Thanks. I moved from UWS to Inwood/Wash Hts. My train ride to fin district is 55min. I got a lot of space and I like the neighborhood. However, co-op in my building for 1bed/1bath = $329,000. I'm just a renter.
No problem, I have this whole area memorized so it was easy Yeah harlem is pretty hyped up as well a 1 bedroom is usually $100k more then a studio, A good deal is to find an oversized studio like a 600 sqft studio, thats as big as a 1bedroom almost for a studio price. studio - $100k 1bed - $150-200k 2bed - $250-300k So harlem properties are about $120k overpriced. ----- For craiglist listings, whatever their Asking price is, offer them 30%-35% less. Settle around 20-25% discount. Should be a fun game for you