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September 23, 2008

Congratulations to me?

So my wife and I are closing on our Clinton Hill townhouse this week. It seems as if I will be the great Brownstoner guinea pig for the faltering economy and home ownership. No matter what you might have thought about anything I have written here over the past few months I hope you can all wish me well as I embark on this adventure. I agonized over this decision and in the end chose to move forward with a purchase despite the gathering clouds. I am hopeful that since we have no plans of going anywhere for a long time that we can ride out whatever comes next. I am very excited about owning a house and all of the various projects that come with it. Can't wait to fix up the yard for instance. But I am nervous as well so again I hope that you guys can wish me well in this endeavor as many of us are in the same boat. Thoughts?

Comments

Congrats. Regarding that yard, we can help you decorate with great salvage and statuary. See us at Brooklyn FLea on Oct. 5th (look at their site and click on our website) or visit our Salvage Mobile next Saturday (not sure which block yet). Thanks. Fred from Silver Fox

Posted by: Iknow at September 23, 2008 11:58 AM

You'll be fine! I say that because from what I can tell you're a very bright guy and you're not jumping in blind. Enjoy it! It's scary and rewarding all at the same time (kinda like going to Great Adventure).

As a relatively recent jumper myself my advise is- don't put too much pressure on yourself to get EVERY project completed right away. You're in it for the long haul and almost all cosmetic things can (and maybe should given the economy) wait.

ALL THE BEST and a VERY BIG CONGRATULATIONS!!

Posted by: TownhouseLady at September 23, 2008 12:06 PM

Congratulations. Buyer's remorse, which I think you may be feeling, is normal, even in a booming economy and market. If you have and retain your job and did not overextend, you'll be fine. Just try to relax. If you have a lot of renovation/restoration to do, remember it will be over one day, and don't get too over wrought. Good luck and welcome.

Posted by: 1842 at September 23, 2008 12:08 PM

Good luck and congratulations!

Posted by: I_haz_TWO_toilets at September 23, 2008 12:18 PM

Congratulations! Welcome to the neighborhood. If you don't need to move soon, you will be fine. There are many fine people here that are happy to be your neighbors.

Posted by: Schultz at September 23, 2008 12:26 PM

Congratulations! I hope to be in your shoes sooner than later, clouds and all.

Posted by: Susan Elkins at September 23, 2008 12:36 PM

Thanks everyone. There is definitely an element of buyer's remorse (or at least a queasy feeling in the stomach at the prospect of the economy completely tanking) but I am also really excited. I bounce back and forth between these poles and just look forward to settling in and living for a while without all of these big "life" thoughts going on. Just enjoy my little corner of the world and do my thing. I really appreciate the responses though.

In re renovations, the house didn't need anything huge (or at least not right away). We are just going to paint and redo the floors. Over time we will work on the kitchens and bathrooms but for the time being they are perfectly livable.

Will keep you guys updated as I go.

Posted by: wasder at September 23, 2008 12:48 PM

Congratulations! Big events inevitably cast shadows--stick with your excitement, not your nervousness.

Posted by: vinca at September 23, 2008 12:51 PM

Congratulations. Owning and living in a house is very different from living in an apartment whether rental, co-op or condo. I think you'll find that within three years your investment will be experiencing modest capital gains, and should be roaring ahead within 5 - 7 years. Just think, you can potter in your own garden, redo your kitchen and bathrooms, finish your basement, and not have to deal with a co-op or condo board. You'll be able to put whatever pictures on the wall you like, without asking your landlord (not that anyone does). The one downside, you'll be the one shovelling the snow in the winter.

Posted by: bohuma at September 23, 2008 1:05 PM

Congrats to you and your wife. Enjoy your new home, and take your time with each step of the process. Brooklyn has been here for a long time, and the current turmoil will pass. Mazel tov!

Posted by: buttermilk channel at September 23, 2008 1:15 PM

congrats wasder -- sounds like you have the right attitude. enjoy your new home.

Posted by: z at September 23, 2008 1:20 PM

Yeah, shoveling snow is one of those things I have never had to do in NYC. Good exercise I would think. Not having to deal with co-op board is a great thing, as is pottering and renovating. You guys have me all excited now!

Posted by: wasder at September 23, 2008 1:21 PM

I've had some serious buyer's remorse lately, including an acute attack last night! But console yourself with the fact that no one can predict accurately what prices might do. Hey, you might have bought at the bottom.

Posted by: Bolder at September 23, 2008 2:02 PM

"Hey, you might have bought at the bottom."

somehow I doubt this! But I don't think I bought close to the top either. Either way I will stick it out and enjoy my home.

Posted by: wasder at September 23, 2008 2:14 PM

congrats wasder - all the best! i agree with the others who say don't go too crazy fixing things up all at once - from someone who grew up in what seemed like perpetual plaster dust! (and - shoveling snow - eh - it's over-rated!)

Posted by: cobblehiller at September 23, 2008 2:41 PM

Congratulations and good luck!

FWIW I bought my house in late '74, just months before the s**t hit the fan in the 1975 NYC fiscal crisis. While that was a major worry for a while I came out more than OK. I think the same will happen with people closing on houses now, in the face of the current crisis. [And, if the entire monetary system dissolves, as the What predicts, and we end up with a Mad Max scenario, you won't be any worse off than someone who continued to rent] :-)

Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 23, 2008 2:58 PM

Interesting comparison Bob. Sometimes I feel like the only person in the world buying a house right now. Glad to hear your situation worked out for you. And you are right if our monetary system dissolves I will have larger fish to fry than the theoretical value of my home.

Posted by: wasder at September 23, 2008 3:02 PM

As would we all wasder. I won't waste time worrying about something out of our control and, as Keynes observed, in the long run, we're all dead. I'd just be a bit sooner in a "What" world.

Posted by: Bob Marvin at September 23, 2008 3:16 PM

All the best, your have made a good decision

Posted by: mimi at September 23, 2008 3:55 PM

best of luck, wasder!

Posted by: i disagree at September 23, 2008 4:23 PM

Yes, congratulations to you. You are way ahead of the game just by virtue of not having to renovate. Count your blessings and enjoy your home.

Posted by: slopefarm at September 23, 2008 4:24 PM

Congratulations! Hope to be in your shoes sometime soon!

Posted by: west1 at September 23, 2008 5:07 PM

Congratulations! I know it may feel like you are the only one buying right now... but if it helps you feel better - I just dove in and bought a house in Crown Heights. And, two of my colleagues are purchasing homes right now as well. Turns out we'd all been cruising open houses for the past years, zeroing in on neighborhoods we liked and getting a good sense of the market. We each found places we liked over the summer, and worked with a fabulous mortgage broker who locked us at rates below 6% on the day after the feds stepped in to take over Freddie M. and Fannie M. We are all committed to our current jobs, and don't feel at all that's it a crazy time to buy. Luckily, we have each other to talk to about inspections, good faith estimates, power of attorney, etc!
I too am looking forward to painting and putting up shelves knowing that the place is mine, mine, mine! Plus, being able to have a coffee in the morning in the backyard will make it all worthwhile!

Posted by: Queenie at September 23, 2008 7:21 PM

Wow Queenie. Sounds like we were on the same schedule almost. Crazy times but we are similarly committed to jobs and the city and feel that the risks are outweighed by the positive factors. But it wasn't without stress that is for sure. Congrats to you as well. Thanks for responding.

Posted by: wasder at September 23, 2008 7:27 PM

Congratulations, wasder! You should be happy and proud of what you have accomplished.

If you are really lucky, you have the house to yourselves so you can jump around and make all the noise you want without having to deal with people above and below you complaining.

And I think shoveling snow is fun.

Posted by: 11233 at September 23, 2008 7:46 PM

Well, the way we are making it work financially is this: We have a four floor townhouse that was originally configured double duplex. We will live on the top two floors. I am moving my production company from Chelsea into the parlor floor and renting out the garden to a yet unknown person. So there won't be anybody to complain about noise below us. we are building a deck off the parlor to access the garden (will share it with tenant). So all in all, while I would love to live in the whole house, this formulation provides us with a three bedroom, two bath apartment with a yard (and no commute!) for a reasonable monthly nut.

Posted by: wasder at September 23, 2008 8:11 PM

Congratulations. Bought in 1988. Had all the anxieties of undertaking a large financial commitment. The prices fell. But, I came to realize that if I wasn't moving or refinancing, price gyrations were of no immediate consequence. There's no more land to be had and no more Brownstones to be built. So, enjoy your home.

Posted by: kidbklyn at September 23, 2008 9:30 PM

CONGRATULATIONS TO YOU! As you said, you're making the purchase for the long haul--don't torture yourself, especially since it sounds like you got a place that suits your needs.

I think you lived in CH already, so you know it's a great neighborhood.

We bought some time ago, but with different anxieties--no more crack vials on the sidewalk! For a year or so, I thought we might have made a mistake, but still had our great neighbors as comfort, and the constant change was fun to watch.

I've always enjoyed your posts and wish you the best in your new home.

Posted by: tinarina at September 23, 2008 9:59 PM

Yeah, I live here already tinarina. Love it. Had my heart set on staying here. Didn't think I was going to be able to afford to do so. Found the right property finally and then leapt into the abyss with the flames licking at my ankles! Ha Ha. Its not so dramatic really, just a weird time to be doing it. Thanks for your nice comments.

Everybody has been awesome on this thread. Thanks very much.

Posted by: wasder at September 23, 2008 10:19 PM

Wasder, late congrats to you, as well. I think you will be quite happy with your home, and the buyer's regret will fade.

Settle in, unpack and see what the house needs you to do. Trust me, it will tell you. Winterize, put some pumpkins on the stoop, and use the winter to make plans. Get a tenant in there to keep the dollars flowing, and take everything one step at a time.

Good luck, and all the best.

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 24, 2008 2:06 AM

MM, thank you for this recent post! hadnt even had a chance to think about the changing seasons... the visual of putting pumpkins on the stoop really made my morning! thanks.

I'm also feeling the stress of getting as much organized (sourcing materials, etc) as possible before moving in... so to hear you say "... see what the house needs you to do.... it will tell you".... was also a comforting thought that just makes so much sense.
Aside from feeling a heady mix of excitment and anxiety (can you tell I'm a first-timer?!) I've been split as far as what to do with myself before we actually move in: part of me has been wondering how I could possibly make decisions on kitchen floor tile etc without spending time to see the way the morning vs afternoon light falls in the room, while at the same time I feel the urge to cluelessly stroll the aisles of Bergen Tile!

Posted by: Queenie at September 24, 2008 8:12 AM

Agreed about "letting the house tell you". Nicely said MM and definitely what I plan to do. We are just going to do the bare minimum of renovations (floors and painting) before moving in and then live there for a while to see what works and what doesn't.

Queenie I can understand your split as well. I am purposefully forcing myself to do the live with it for a while route but definitely am itching to do some things right away. Good luck. When do you move in to your new house btw?

Posted by: wasder at September 24, 2008 9:20 AM

Congratulations wasder!

Posted by: the chicken at September 24, 2008 9:57 AM

When we bought our house I was sure the first thing I would want to do was my kitchen - but after living there for a year, I now know the thing that bugs me the most is the upstairs lay out. the kitchen I could live with for years. It really does help to live in your house before making renovation decisions...

Posted by: gkw at September 24, 2008 1:02 PM

My biggest regret re moving into my house is that I got rushed to move before I had planned to. I had to leave my old rental before I could paint and get the floors done in this house. Those are the 2 things that are so much easier to do without furniture in the room, and I have a lot of stuff. I still haven't been able to do the floors correctly.
Bleh!

Queenie, welcome to the neighborhood! All the best to you, too.

Wasder, my house hasn't stopped talking to me since I got here. One day at a time.........

Posted by: Montrose Morris at September 25, 2008 10:25 AM

Congrats. Per some of the other posters, you are not alone! My wife and I just closed and moved into a brownstone in Carroll Gardens. We're going to live in the parlor/garden duplex and rent the top two floors (one is rent controlled) but for now and the next 6 months or so will be living on the top floor while we renovate. The place needs a total gutting. So we've been watching the economy and what not with some anxiety - but not enough to give us regret. I already love coming home to the place, old smelly decor, bugs and all. I can't wait to come home to it when it is renovated. The neighborhood and the neighbors we've already met are great and as other people have said, with a longer term view (just 5 years I think), there is not too much to worry about. Cheers.

Posted by: Colonel at September 25, 2008 2:41 PM

Well Montrose. i have you beat in that we are immediately doing the floors and the painting and a little minor carpentry. In this particular house these things will make a big difference because the house is in move in condition otherwise. I think I benefited price wise by the fact that the tenants who were living in the house were such slobs and it didn't show well because of that. Shiny new floors and a nice paint job and it will look pretty sweet I think.

Colonel--good to hear that you are feeling good about the purchase despite all the insanity. I can't tell you how cathartic this has been for me to hear other people's stories about buying in these circumstances. Thanks for contributing your story to the mix.