First-Timer Questions
Please help me avoid Wednesday night’s “Homebuying for Hipsters” event! A few things I’ve realized I don’t know but should: 1. What’s the general time-frame for buying? For instance, if I’m looking to move in somewhere by the time my lease runs out in September, have I already missed the boat? 2. I know 20%…
Please help me avoid Wednesday night’s “Homebuying for Hipsters” event! A few things I’ve realized I don’t know but should:
1. What’s the general time-frame for buying? For instance, if I’m looking to move in somewhere by the time my lease runs out in September, have I already missed the boat?
2. I know 20% is a standard down payment amount, but how often are 10% or 15% accepted? What are the disadvantages of putting down less up front?
3. I know people don’t use brokers much anymore for renting; is the same true for buying? What risks do you face not using a broker?
4. What costs are affiliated with buying that I might not think about?
5. Generally, how long do you need to live somewhere for buying to be a sound investment?
6. Any low-cost neighborhoods you think are a solid investment?
Thoughts about any of these questions would be greatly appreciated!
if youre only thinking 2 years in the future, you should be renting.
Longer term, I’d vote for one of the landmarked buildings in Jackson Heights.
Hi ya kitten
that’d hipster for hello
StuyStone, any thoughts on the JMZ at Halsey? We’re about to buy a place there.
Your options include coops in Jackson Heights and condos and coops in Bushwick. Many coops require 20 percent down, condos do not. There are even some single-family houses in Bushwick for sale for $300,000 but I wouldn’t recommend buying one. (They require cash and work.)
I am not going to go down the list, but I can speak to neighborhoods. I live near the Myrtle stop on the JMZ, in Bed Stuy near Bushwick border, and this I think is a high-value neighborhood for a few reasons:
1. It is definitely cheap! You can get a perfectly decent whole house around these parts for less than $600K
2. The JMZ is a great train line. My commute to Union square is 35-40 minutes.
3. Not in a hip spot in and of itself, but within a brisk walk/short bike ride of all things Bushwick to the northeast, Tiny Cup/Von King Park to the west, the shops/restaurant on Lewis near the A train to the south.
4. Mr. Kiwi is an excellent grocery store.
5. People are really nice here.
No one has a crystal ball, but you won’t recover your purchasing costs in two years in this market. You are better off renting if you plan on moving in two years.
A couple of comments to add:
Your best bet is to get in touch with a Mortgage broker – they’ll tell you how much you qualify for and estimate fees for you (no charge for this.) Manhattan Mortgage is recommended by many, but do a search here and you’ll find others. 10% probably won’t be an problem— however, it means you will have to pay PMI, mortgage insurance, which will add 100-200 dollars/mo to your payment.
Many coops will put a 20% restriction down, but in the neighborhoods you mention, I doubt that will be the case.
Buyer’s brokers seem to be very common everywhere except NYC. We had a couple of brokers look for us, but we were able to find more things on our own via nytimes, craigslist, streeteasy. They are probably more motivated at a higher price point.
The time to buy in low-cost neighborhoods is when the bubble is expanding. When the bubble is bursting, you’d be advised to stick to the tried and true.
Thanks so much for your thoughtful replies.
Per slopefarm’s question, if it helps, we’re a young couple looking at the very low end of the market (below 300k). A 2-bedroom would be ideal since kids might be in the future, but a 1-bedroom could suffice.
We like NYC and think we’ll definitely be around for another two years or so, but after that, moving closer to our families is a possibility. Could go either way.
We’ll have at most 40k for a down payment. We both have above 750 credit scores but pretty low salaries.
We’re okay with being far out as long as the commute to Midtown isn’t more than an hour.
We never thought buying would be an option for us financially but have recently noticed some 2-bedrooms in Sunset Park and Flatbush that we like and that are in our price range, so we’re thinking about it…