Not-So-Bitter Renters Embrace Brooklyn
Brownstone living is no great shakes, say people profiled in this week’s Times’ real estate section cover story. The premise of the article is that there’s a new crop of Brooklynites who go ga-ga over our borough’s condos-turned-rentals because they’re much cheaper than similar full-service buildings in Manhattan. These renters say they’re not interested in…
Brownstone living is no great shakes, say people profiled in this week’s Times’ real estate section cover story. The premise of the article is that there’s a new crop of Brooklynites who go ga-ga over our borough’s condos-turned-rentals because they’re much cheaper than similar full-service buildings in Manhattan. These renters say they’re not interested in trad brownstone living because it lacks newfangled amenities, and they don’t want to buy a condo in today’s market. My peers who have their M.B.A.’s and their new master’s degrees and new jobs, they’re looking for new condos; they’re not into the traditional houses or brownstones, says a guy who rents a $2,550-a-month pad at Bed-Stuy’s The Mynt, above. This is the lifestyle we like. You cannot put a fitness center in a brownstone. You don’t have a doorman in a brownstone. Rentals are increasingly in demand, according to stats from StreetEasy that show Brooklyn rents rising 6 percent over the past year and sales prices falling 4 percent. If this is indeed a trend, one wonders how long-lived it’ll be. If more new buildings are planned as rentals rather than condos, how many developers are going to outfit their buildings with pricey condo-style trappings?
They Love (the New) Brooklyn [NY Times]
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Not to add something dumb to this conversation…and I JUST COULD NOT get through all the comments (so maybe someone already “said it”)…
But, I have to admit it:
I’M A BITTER HOMEOWNER!
There. I wrote it.
Oh, yeah, and I bought when I was just over 30…
Want to sell and move to the country (or out of it if possible). Back to the land, Kids, back to the land!
😉
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When you factor in inflation, 6:22, I’m pretty sure that the large chunks of Queens currently under foreclosure were worth more 30 years ago.
Wow, this “quote of the day” ranks as the dumbest comment ever made on brownstoner, and regular readers know that is no small feat.
“So the lesson I learned today is that in my early and late 20s, I should not experience all the city has to offer (nightlife, dinner, culture ie things that cost money) in order to buy an overpriced, depreciating asset.”
This is not an “either/or” thing. Most people sacrifice when saving for the down payment and then enjoy life thereafter. They, my friend, have the best of both worlds, and to say that their asset is depreciating is downright ignorant. I’ve owned my apartment for four years and it has increased in value by 35%. If I were a flipper, I might concede your point, but those of us who are in it for the long haul know that we will come out ahead. Unless you can show me a NYC property that was worth more 30 years ago than it is today, you have no case.
I’ll never understand the people who somehow think that having the privelege of paying $20,000 a year towards their landlord’s mortage is more intelligent than sacrificing in order to own a home.
4:40 — very sweet, the idea of your retirement-age “kids” moving in together after you die to the house where they lived half a century earlier. But the second generation generally have other things to do than wait for mum and dad to die. Not sure I’d recommend this life plan to the average home buyer
10:59 or whomever read too much Ayn Rand in high school.
Is $2550 a lot to live in Bed Stuy? Yes. But that is what it costs to rent a duplex in a brownstone in Bed Stuy — without the doorman, laundry, terrace, gym or fresh direct delivery room. I also seem to remember several people here singing the praises of those small converted brownstone floors in Bed Stuy (on Halsey?) that were selling as condos for $420,000 — which were smaller, in a worse (or at least less convenient) neighborhood, and which you’d be hard-pressed to only pay $2550 for after factoring in maintenance, taxes and mortgage. Those weren’t even two-bedrooms…
What can you buy in Brooklyn for $2550/month? Not a whole lot. Some crappy 600 square foot “two-bedrooms” made out of converted tenements in Bushwick. Or something near Brooklyn College. If you want to pat yourself on the back for that, be my guest. Just do me a favor and don’t whine about your neighbors that have been there for thirty years because they sit on their stoop, or let their kids play outside.
Believe me, I’m a fan of older buildings. However, after having more than one landlord back out on us after finding out we had a kid (and I can’t really blame them since I don’t want her to have lead poisoning either), I have to say, renting what was supposed to be a $650,000 condo for less than $2500 a month isn’t such a bad deal.
I love my countertops and deep soaking tub. I really really do.
And I look forward to the impending real estate apocalypse, which will enable everyone else in Brooklyn to be able to afford to rent these overpriced and underbuilt condos just like us.
What is your IQ, bxgrl? Did they ever test it at Hostos CC?
If you want to leave a house to your kids — you should own, or better yet inherit a rent controlled apartment, and you be certain to have kids who aren’t very ambitious or are lucky enough to have the kinds of careers that work in NYC and who will marry the same, and you should be certain to die young enough that they haven’t gotten themselves settled elsewhere yet. Or that they want to retire to Brooklyn.
If you are investing for your kids, you should take lessons in equity from Dave, who can explain what happens to the equity-holder when a highly leveraged asset goes down in price, even if he doesn’t understand why some people call paying monthly interest charges “rent”.
If you are trying to live a happy life, you should concentrate on things that are likely to make you happy. For most people, that includes actual relationships with your children while you are still alive, productive work, and so on, with property ownership quite far down the list.
After hearing that people pay $2200 a month to live in the absolute ahole of Brooklyn, I feel pretty great about owning, actually.
bxgrl, you’re kinda trashy, aren’t ya…?