Affordable Homes on Long Island in Good Areas (Elmont, Merrick: renter, condo)

[LIPumpkin]

Originally Posted by Thehouse

I think you guys forgot what a HOME is. I've said it before. A home is somewhere where you live. You sit on your couch and watch tv with your kids. you drive up in your driveway, park you car and go inside..... With that being said, dont worry about if one wants to buy a one bedroom and extend on it, because at the end of the day its HIS/HER and its HOME to them.

Where im from, sometimes people take years to finish their home. they complete a room as finances permits. Once its completed, they live there until they die. It is then past down to the youngest child or whoever wants it. Never was it intended to have excellent resale value. Never was it about the interior might need so much work.........it simply a home to raise a family, have somewhere to sleep. have somewhere for the kids to sleep until god decides its time to go.

Its really disappointing when people come on here with their discouraging remarks about certain things. Not understanding that everyone is not created equal. There has to be a place for the less fortunate, even here on long island.

Those homes that pequa posts are HOMES. Is it your home? maybe not, but there is someone out there who can only afford that or may love THAT house.


I could ask the question, why buy a honda accord when i could get me a 1k geo metro. they are both taking me there.

I understand what you're saying..it has to do with priorities and what one can afford..if your priority is to stay on LI and earn some (read SOME) equity/not blow money on rent, the OP was giving suggestions..those homes may not be for ME, but I made a different choice...based on my conditions, as everyone does...

[AndreaII]

I have a friend (no it's not me, we have a house) who currently rents a one-bedroom apartment at Saddle Rock Apartments in Holbrook, and her rent is in the $1500/month vicinity. She's been in the same one-bedroom apartment for 15 years. Fifteen years! making her landlord rich. This is a single woman, who in my opinion would be financially better off if she bought a one- or two-bedroom condo or a co-op.

I've found a few recently listed in the local RE guides around LI - they're out east, but she works way out there, and one of them would be perfect for her. Their asking price is in the high 90's to very low 100's. If she bought one of these her combination of mortgage/RE taxes/insurance (she has a $20K downpayment) would be quite a bit less than the rent alone on her apartment. And she'd be able to write off her mortgage and RE taxes.

Why won't she consider this? Because in her mind there's a very slim possibility she'll lose her civil service job with the Suffolk library system, and then where would she be? I pointed out that if she lost her job she'd lose her apartment anyway and face a possible eviction as well. She still won't budge.

If she had bought a small place 10 years ago, she'd at least own most of it by now and wouldn't be at the mercy of her landlord raising the rent every year.

Some people are plain stupid.

[Jdawg8181]

Originally Posted by AndreaII

I have a friend (no it's not me, we have a house) who currently rents a one-bedroom apartment at Saddle Rock Apartments in Holbrook, and her rent is in the $1500/month vicinity. She's been in the same one-bedroom apartment for 15 years. Fifteen years! making her landlord rich. This is a single woman, who in my opinion would be financially better off if she bought a one- or two-bedroom condo or a co-op.

I've found a few recently listed in the local RE guides around LI - they're out east, but she works way out there, and one of them would be perfect for her. Their asking price is in the high 90's to very low 100's. If she bought one of these her combination of mortgage/RE taxes/insurance (she has a $20K downpayment) would be quite a bit less than the rent alone on her apartment. And she'd be able to write off her mortgage and RE taxes.

Why won't she consider this? Because in her mind there's a very slim possibility she'll lose her civil service job with the Suffolk library system, and then where would she be? I pointed out that if she lost her job she'd lose her apartment anyway and face a possible eviction as well. She still won't budge.

If she had bought a small place 10 years ago, she'd at least own most of it by now and wouldn't be at the mercy of her landlord raising the rent every year.

Some people are plain stupid.

Some people don't buy b/c they don't like the feeling of being "tied down" or they get sick of the same place. I have friends who have been in a new place each year- they just get tired of living in the same spot.

In regards to her job, I do understand that. I own now and if I ever lost my job I'd have to foreclose on my home and that would be awful. On the flipside, if I rented, it's a lot easier to just break a lease and move back home with my parents.

Owning is great but it can be a burden at times and is a huge responsibility.

[NYEconomist]

Originally Posted by AndreaII

I have a friend (no it's not me, we have a house) who currently rents a one-bedroom apartment at Saddle Rock Apartments in Holbrook, and her rent is in the $1500/month vicinity. She's been in the same one-bedroom apartment for 15 years. Fifteen years! making her landlord rich. This is a single woman, who in my opinion would be financially better off if she bought a one- or two-bedroom condo or a co-op.

I've found a few recently listed in the local RE guides around LI - they're out east, but she works way out there, and one of them would be perfect for her. Their asking price is in the high 90's to very low 100's. If she bought one of these her combination of mortgage/RE taxes/insurance (she has a $20K downpayment) would be quite a bit less than the rent alone on her apartment. And she'd be able to write off her mortgage and RE taxes.

Why won't she consider this? Because in her mind there's a very slim possibility she'll lose her civil service job with the Suffolk library system, and then where would she be? I pointed out that if she lost her job she'd lose her apartment anyway and face a possible eviction as well. She still won't budge.

If she had bought a small place 10 years ago, she'd at least own most of it by now and wouldn't be at the mercy of her landlord raising the rent every year.

Some people are plain stupid.

Probably because she is comfortable and some of us are more adverse to change than others.

[MikeyKid]

Originally Posted by AndreaII

I have a friend (no it's not me, we have a house) who currently rents a one-bedroom apartment at Saddle Rock Apartments in Holbrook, and her rent is in the $1500/month vicinity. She's been in the same one-bedroom apartment for 15 years. Fifteen years! making her landlord rich. This is a single woman, who in my opinion would be financially better off if she bought a one- or two-bedroom condo or a co-op.

I've found a few recently listed in the local RE guides around LI - they're out east, but she works way out there, and one of them would be perfect for her. Their asking price is in the high 90's to very low 100's. If she bought one of these her combination of mortgage/RE taxes/insurance (she has a $20K downpayment) would be quite a bit less than the rent alone on her apartment. And she'd be able to write off her mortgage and RE taxes.

Why won't she consider this? Because in her mind there's a very slim possibility she'll lose her civil service job with the Suffolk library system, and then where would she be? I pointed out that if she lost her job she'd lose her apartment anyway and face a possible eviction as well. She still won't budge.

If she had bought a small place 10 years ago, she'd at least own most of it by now and wouldn't be at the mercy of her landlord raising the rent every year.

Some people are plain stupid.

lol "plain stupid"

Here you have a person living the way they want, well within their means, thinking about the future in a conservative way, has a decent savings, and will be free to retire without needing to get out from under a house when they decide to do it. Meanwhile Tony has 2 HELOCs, 2 leased SUVs, and is underwater.

Only on LI is the renter "plain stupid".

[Pequaman]

Originally Posted by MikeyKid

lol "plain stupid"

Here you have a person living the way they want, well within their means, thinking about the future in a conservative way, has a decent savings, and will be free to retire without needing to get out from under a house when they decide to do it. Meanwhile Tony has 2 HELOCs, 2 leased SUVs, and is underwater.

Only on LI is the renter "plain stupid".

In that case that Andreaii mentioned, it is sort of nonsensical. If she had taken a 15 year mortgage on a 100k property, total mortgage [PITI] would've worked out to about what she's paying in rent. Today, her house would be completely paid off and she would only have a ~$400-$500 / month tax + insurance payment plus about $100k in an asset (the house).

If she lost her job, the landlord would have her stuff on the curb within 60 days. If she lost her job with the mortgage, she could possibly tap any equity she has to stay afloat and if worst comes to worst she forecloses, it will take the bank anywhere from 8 months to 2 years to evict her from the house. While I don't condone this, she could theoretically find another job in that time-frame and save up now that she has no mortgage to pay.

Originally Posted by NYEconomist

You should be my real estate agent

Only if you agree to pay my commission, plus a portion of my retirement and a portion of my healthcare costs for life after I retire.

[MikeyKid]

Originally Posted by Pequaman

In that case that Andreaii mentioned, it is sort of nonsensical. If she had taken a 15 year mortgage on a 100k property, total mortgage [PITI] would've worked out to about what she's paying in rent. Today, her house would be completely paid off and she would only have a ~$400-$500 / month tax + insurance payment plus about $100k in an asset (the house).

I mean seriously... wow. This is the exact kind of accounting that put this country where it is. Your mark to fantasy vs. mark to market. We could Monday morning QB a million scenarios if we want to play that game.

I won't argue that this situation could have worked out well financially over those 15 years - but you're taking assumptions as guarantees. Meanwhile this person is fine - check that, more then fine... they're doing better then a good chunk of "homeowners" (debtors) right about now.

[Pequaman]

Originally Posted by MikeyKid

I mean seriously... wow. This is the exact kind of accounting that put this country where it is. Your mark to fantasy vs. mark to market. We could Monday morning QB a million scenarios if we want to play that game.

I won't argue that this situation could have worked out well financially over those 15 years - but you're taking assumptions as guarantees. Meanwhile this person is fine - check that, more then fine... they're doing better then a good chunk of "homeowners" (debtors) right about now.

Wha...What?? This isn't a corporate balance sheet. I said, in Andreaii's case, not all cases. You have to remember that people that bought 20 years ago around the early-90's were also underwater for a brief period of about 3 years 'til the 1995 bottom. Home prices on LI have declined in the past and have always recovered to make up any losses. Even if she had decided to leave after 7 years on a 15-yr mortgage, she still has 35% equity in that house at the minimum, assuming it didn't go up in value at all.

Of course she's fine, most likely no real wealth, but fine... and her LL made a nice mint off of the deal.

[MikeyKid]

Originally Posted by Pequaman

Wha...What?? This isn't a corporate balance sheet. I said, in Andreaii's case, not all cases. You have to remember that people that bought 20 years ago around the early-90's were also underwater for a brief period of about 3 years 'til the 1995 bottom. Home prices on LI have declined in the past and have always recovered to make up any losses. Even if she had decided to leave after 7 years on a 15-yr mortgage, she still has 35% equity in that house at the minimum, assuming it didn't go up in value at all.

Of course she's fine, most likely no real wealth, but fine... and her LL made a nice mint off of the deal.

But, she's "plain stupid", right?

My point is that you're assigning "value", "costs", and "accounting" to a potential scenario instead of reality. This is the Enron style... "When it is time to sell this asset it will be worth X, so I have Y money". It doesn't matter that you really don't even own the asset - just mark it to some future value and claim it. If she bought stock ABC pre tech bubble and sold it at the right time, she'd own an entire block in Holbrook. But she didn't do that.

We can assume she had the means (downpayment, credit, etc) to buy that made up house, on that made up 15 year mortgage, 15 years ago... and we can assume she chose a house that will maintain resale. But couldn't she just as easily saved up some more money and bought 5 or 10 years ago? Where would she be then?

Scenarios are fun when you cater them make your point... My entire point is that she's not "plain stupid". You're trying to argue that with fuzzy math.

[AndreaII]

Originally Posted by Jdawg8181

Some people don't buy b/c they don't like the feeling of being "tied down" or they get sick of the same place. I have friends who have been in a new place each year- they just get tired of living in the same spot.

She's been there 15+ years, so she's not sick of the same place.