Is it even possible to buy a decent home in this market?

Hey Brownstoners! I love this community and forum…such hardworking saavy people who love brooklyn and care about our homes. Ok so i have a topic. Can a regular middle class family even afford to buy a home in this market? I have lived in Bed Stuy for 7 years and have never felt more at home. Our daughter was just born a few months ago and me and my husband are so exited to buy a beautiful home for our family. We need 2 bedrooms and a home office and a decent backyard with 1 or 2 rental units. We started our search about 6 months ago and it has been an endless rollercoaster of ups and downs. utter depression and despondency at times and we are clinging to the tiniest sliver of hope that we can muster. We are willing to go east east east east…not exactly brownsville but just short of it. Originally we hoped to spend about 800k with 200k plus for renos…we realize we may have to spend a bit more especially to live on a beautiful block. We are absolutely dead set againt buying any of these flips…they are so ugly and tasteless and i do not trust the work done on them. we want to buy a home that has been lived in…but it seems so competitive..we dont stand a chance against the investors and all cash buyers? and now the manhattan transplants with big $$$! is there anyone out there in with the same situation! I am interested to hear your ideas, dreams, stories etc…..please share

spicygreencurry

in About Brooklyn 11 years and 10 months ago

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clintonhigh | 11 years and 10 months ago

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I agree with crownheights2013\. If the poster was selling in order to buy in this market, who would recommend a FSBO? Or suggest talking to people on the looking to buy, or turn down all cash buyers? This is a posting about buying woes, but I can only imagine how many happy sellers there are these days, glad that big brokers and Manhattan $$$s are checking out Brooklyn more closely! Good luck with the search, and stay away from the flips.

newyork10 | 11 years and 10 months ago

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Go through local real estate brokers in Bed-Stuy. We just closed on a house similar to what you are looking for with Flateau Realty. They know the area and do not want to sell to investors/flippers. Good luck!

tjbk | 11 years and 10 months ago

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Spicygreencurry, my wife and I were in the same exact place you are currently in since May of 2012\. We have a 2 year old with a wishlist similar to yourself and went through the entire Bedstuy search process. We started in the Fulton St and Herkimer area and was outbid by all cash investors all the way out to Jefferson Ave. You are spot on in not trusting many of the work done on the fast flip houses in Bedstuy. We walked through at least 20 of them and they all had the same finishes and accessories with many shortcut and finising issues. We almost gave up until we broadened our search to Prospect Lefferts Garden which led us to finding a lovely 3 family home with a lot of charm and pretty good renovations. Surprisingly enough we found it on Craigslist under the FSBO section. Prospect Lefferts Gardens has a lot of beautiful 2-3 family limestones on tree lined blocks and some mom and pop butcher shops and stores.

mortgagepro | 11 years and 10 months ago

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Bob’s advise above is dead on. The majority of my clients whom have gotten into contract this year did so with boots on the ground and interacting with neighbors in the areas they desired. _(This is especially true of the area and range you are looking at.)_ The investor/cash buyers are very tough to compete with, but there are properties out there and new ones that pop up from tough legwork, but none are easy to find. Every now and then you even find a terrific seller who makes it a point to sell to a owner occupier where the seller can feel good about selling their home to a family they can feel good about them making it their own. Remember that you are far from alone on that emotional roller-coaster. That is the worst part. Stay positive and be prepared to act quickly. Good luck; -Adam -Adam Roberts South Shore Mortgage P: 631-956-0111 x218 adamr@fast2fund.com

Augustiner | 11 years and 10 months ago

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The budget is not totally unrealistic, but you´ll need to look for an off market deal. You should look for something liveable, because 200k is not enough to do a substantial renovation on a 3 family house.

crownheights2013 | 11 years and 10 months ago

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I don’t think you see the FSBO signs in central Brooklyn anymore. Maybe 3-5 years ago, but the owners are now all the wiser — and Corcoran et al. sends teasers in the mail in places they feared to tread even 3 years ago…I think the FSBO days are over unfortunately….

BobMarvin | 11 years and 10 months ago

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Possible, yes, but very difficult. I’d suggest first speaking with as many of your neighbors as possible to let them know you’re looking for a house. Also, walk around many blocks, looking for things like FSBO signs and, again. talking to people.