I’ve been in NYC for 10 years mainly on the Upper East Side. I just sold my 3rd apartment. It was a 2bd 2bath for $1.7M. Bought for $1.3 and put $220k into a gut renovation We have a 3 year old and a new one coming Sept. We have a 5-7 year timeline in NYC before we consider the suburbs I’m really conflicted on buying a 3 bedroom and the overall real estate market. It will be at least $1.8-$2.0M for a sizable apartment in a doorman building with amenities. If I rent - it’s $7,500-$10k/M and that’s just throwing money away. Any opinions on NYC market??
Buy in guttenberg, live like a king
Thanks, I work in midtown - So the Q is super convenient, my 3 year old currently is going to Private school but I’m ok with the UES public schools. Challenge is we have a life on the UES so moving to BK is kind of a loss.
I use this NerdWallet Buy vs Rent calculator to determine which is better option. In general, if you are going to live in the place under 10 years, it’s cheaper to rent. https://www.nerdwallet.com/mortgages/rent-vs-buy-calculator
Just Google "rent or buy calculator." There are some that calculate the most financially advantageous choice for free, taking your timeline into account
Buy a house, don’t buy an apartment? Plenty around 1-1.2M in Queens. Why buy expensive apartment I don’t get it...
Neither do I, but Queens is not me. I have a summer house that we use from May-Sept to get out of the city I don’t want another right now
I’m going to be pretty liquid post closing so these calculators don’t take into account a cash purchase or making some conservative investments and subsidizing rent cost with some taxable income from the closure. I have trouble believing the output to be that accurate. For example, if I can get into a condo with a pool, playroom, a gym. I could cut out the Equinox memberships and kids play space memberships, sounds stupid but all that stuff rolls up
Down payment percentage is taken into account by the interest rate, mortgage amount and comparable rent. Just try the calculator for different down payment percentages, and calculate additional total investment income from lower down payment as negative years renting, if using a duration-based calculator like that on nytimes.com. Definitely possible to include parking and gym savings etc, if desired. That said, agree that this calculator should include net worth and net ROI inputs. How are you earning $600k?
Thanks, for the sources - I can dig through this. I’m in consulting
i feel you on not wanting to leave your community /manhattan in general. i don’t see renting as throwing your money away, i see it as buying flexibility but it would be annoying to do long term. if i were you i’d look in the UES for a walkup with no amenities, but i don’t have kids so idk your perspective
Yea we did try that. There are some part-time doorman buildings or buildings with light amenities. Some of these building carrying costs can be $3-4K/M for 1500 square feet I don’t want to leave where we are and I’m happy to pay the premium for convenience. I’m just looking down $100k/yr thrown away for the next 5-7 years as a scary thing
It's not thrown away I don't understand that logic. How much is the annual property tax, HOA, and insurance ? Should offset that by rent. Secondly, you consumed housing during that period . Did you throw money away on food?
I’m in a similar minds pace as you in that we have no intention of leaving our neighborhood. Every calculator I’ve used tells me renting is a better deal. Since you’ll be very liquid and have a high cash flow, it might not matter all that much. You’d have to compare the cost of owning in the kind of building you want, with amenities, vs renting. For us, my rent is far far lower than the mortgage and maintenance we’d pay on the same apartment so I feel fine staying put. Maintenance is also throwing money away, if you consider that it isn’t buying you equity in your home when you sell it.
OP - what did you end up doing? I’m in the similar situation…
Tc or gtfo
$600k
Nice! A manager? imo I would buy something in Brooklyn between 1-1.2