First Time Buyer - Condo or Co-op?
My husband and I are relocating from Europe for a fixed 2 year work assignment. I am American and would like to benefit from the mortgage tax deductions for owning real estate versus renting. We both work, double income. We would like to purchase a 2 BR property in Boerum Hill or Park Slope. After…
My husband and I are relocating from Europe for a fixed 2 year work assignment. I am American and would like to benefit from the mortgage tax deductions for owning real estate versus renting. We both work, double income.
We would like to purchase a 2 BR property in Boerum Hill or Park Slope. After the 2 year assignment is up, we intend to return to Europe and either sell or rent out the property.
Questions: Is a condo a better fit than a co-op? Is it difficult to rent out a co-op? Is board approval required for the tenant?
Any tips or insight is much appreciated!
Thank you,
shiny
A decent co-op would not even let you in if you told them you were buying the place for the tax deduction and subletting it in two years. People want good neighbors who live in the building because they want to not because they need a tax deduction. You need one of those “stewardesses condos” in Manhattan. so called because they rent out by the month.
definitly rent.
Definitely rent, especially in this market.
For 2 years, it is a no brainer, even with the deduction.
Even if you find what you think is a good deal, you may be under water when you want to leave, which is a bad place to be, regardless of whether you can rent it out or not.
Btw, I try to avoid trashing other posters but 11:51 is making a truly ludicrous point.
If you have euros, it reduces the price of BOTH renting or buying equally.
It doesn’t make one more attractive than the other.
It doesn’t matter that the euro is stronger than the dollar. They have as many dollars or Euro’s as they have. They should put them where they will earn the most in their investment horizon. Park Slope apartment real estate is not the place to do that.
Everyone here is forgetting that the
Euro is higher than the dollar right now. If the poster bought a condo now they might be able to benefit from that. However, plan to hold onto it, and rent it out, until the dollar strengthens.
Another difference between the condo and coop is that there is more likely to be a flip tax that will take a bit out of any profit you make on selling a coop in 2 years.
As a financial adviser, I’d tell any client in your position to rent. Unless you are willing to buy in a “lesser” neighborhood, you will not see any reasonable growth in your investent over this period of time. Your money can earn you more elsewhere.
Ditto to all the unsolicited advice. Unless you intend to put a LOT of money down, you will never cover your monthly costs with the income from rent.
As for the question you asked, except in very rare circumstances, a condo is a much better choice if you intend to rent.
Buying now for two years is a terrible idea. Price some rentals and see how you get the same apartment for about half the price. You’ll take a huge loss every month when you rent it out.
I’ll add my ditto to that. Renting in your situation, especially these days, will prove to have fewer headaches and will ultimately be cheaper than owning.