NYC guys, should I buy this apt.?

[thenanyu]

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/96...79727374_zpid/ Is this price/maint. pretty normal for the area, or is it crazy? I saw this place on AT and looked it up and it happens to be on sale (ignore the note on the listing, it got reposted). The monthly (mtg + maint) on a 30-year is like 2100, which is exactly what a similar unit would cost to rent in the building. I am a single male, 25yrs.

 

[ezlau]

looks really nice dude.

 

[gort]

I couldn't believe the square footage for the price there. Guess that's NYC for ya, though. Cool bed placement, but I'd imagine you'd be awfully cramped.

 

[Gus]

At some point in the near future you will want a bedroom with a door and not an open loft. Most people do anyway. It would be cool for a single guy but once a SO comes into the picture it might change.

 

[NewYorkIslander]

check the financial situation of the co-op itself....make sure its in good standing

 

[M0nster]

Make sure to at the case shiller in NYC. I work at a hedge fund and there is a general consensus here that home prices have farther to fall. The key is to get them when they are bottoming out, but before interest rates turn around.

 

[intent]

Nice, but I would get bored of the novelty rather quickly.

 

[unjung]

Originally Posted by NewYorkRanger

check the financial situation of the co-op itself....make sure its in good standing

This is the first comment in the thread I think is relevant. Co-op/condo board financial health is important. I don't know how NYC works but typically if the fees are too low the board may be underfunded and you're about to get hit with massive special assessments.

Originally Posted by M0nster

Make sure to at the case shiller in NYC. I work at a hedge fund and there is a general consensus here that home prices have farther to fall. The key is to get them when they are bottoming out, but before interest rates turn around.

This is also relevant. I don't know the NYC market. Looks like it's very up and down. I suspect that if the market takes another **** kicking, the prices are going to drop again.

Other than that, if it's what you can afford (legitimately, with a proper, non-ARM mortgage), and the best place in the areas you want to live, and it makes financial sense to buy instead of rent, and you don't want to rent anyway, why not?

 

[NorCal]

Single and 25 I'd say rent don't buy.

 

[otc]

25..in NYC?

rent that **** man. It is a cool place but it just doesn't seem worth the ownership expenses.

 

[turboman808]

550 sq ft? Yikes! Not for me. I would go crazy in a place that small.

 

[otc]

To be fair...I think that is about the size of my 1-bedroom.

I have a tiny bathroom and a pretty open floor plan which makes it feel bigger, but when I was looking, I hoped to find something like this.

Not walling off a separate bedroom and having a lofted section really makes the place bigger (although you have to be pretty neat and tidy to live like that since you can't just shut away the bedroom).

 

[MikeDT]

What's with the bed on that raised platform arrangement? I don't like that. Doesn't this place have a separate bedroom?

Originally Posted by turboman808

550 sq ft? Yikes! Not for me. I would go crazy in a place that small.
It's a bloody rabbit-hutch. My 'lockup/garage' is bigger than that.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Aside from the snarky size comments by the people that clearly have no idea how people live in New York, I say it is slightly overpriced for the area. I know the spot and I wouldn't pay that for 550 sq/ft in an "up and coming" spot that is a bit noisy and congested. I would say offer somewhere around $300,000. As others have said look into the maintenance costs, which could be astronomical in a lot of co-ops. This alone could push the place out of your budget even post tax write off.

 

[thenanyu]

Thanks for the advices guiz. I am taking a look at it tonight - will ask questions etc.