Is buying a home on this budget realistic? (Nassau: rent, condo)
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We're a family of two young adults (early 30s) and a 7 month old baby. We have combined income of 130k. We have no debt, very good credit and saving of about 40k.
we were thinking about purchasing an FHA home in LI.
we would like a 3 br house/condo in a safe neighborhood, relatively close to mass transportation.
I work in downtown Brooklyn and wife in midtown manhattan.
Is this this realistic give our fianances?
I appreciate any helpful input an I aplogize if this has been asked before.
Heart breaker - typical LI story... the 40k will take a huge hit just with closing costs and moving expenses - there's no downpayment there, so that's where FHA comes in... the further out you move on LI, the longer your baby will be in daycare every day... ugh - it's criminal to me.
It's definitely possible, but there are a lot of factors to consider - how far east are you willing to go? What are your childcare costs (and if you're anticipating another child at some point in the future, don't forget to factor in the possible increase that comes from two kids in need of care rather than just one)? Also, don't forget to factor in daycare pick-up times, if you're planning to use daycare for child care - many (if not most) childcare centers require pickup by six or six thirty, which can be quite difficult if you work a job that's even just 9 to 5 and you're commuting (there's generally a problem with the LIRR that causes delayed trains at least a few times a month, sometimes even more frequent than that depending on your line). Also, how much house are you expecting? How finished do you want/need the house to be?
We're a family of two young adults (early 30s) and a 7 month old baby. We have combined income of 130k. We have no debt, very good credit and saving of about 40k.
we were thinking about purchasing an FHA home in LI.
we would like a 3 br house/condo in a safe neighborhood, relatively close to mass transportation.
I work in downtown Brooklyn and wife in midtown manhattan.
Is this this realistic give our fianances?
I appreciate any helpful input an I aplogize if this has been asked before.
thanks !
I think the commute is a killer..if one of you had a job on LI it would be different.
I'd rent in Queens or Brooklyn or something for as long as possible, saving as much as possible until schools become an issue. I know day care is even more expensive there then on LI, so it's a tough situation.
130K is a good enough combined salary, but only 40K saved, 2 long commutes and I'm assuming no family member to help with day care..it's not going to be easy....financially you can handle a condo easily, but the quality of life is not going to be great.
It's definitely possible, but there are a lot of factors to consider - how far east are you willing to go? What are your childcare costs (and if you're anticipating another child at some point in the future, don't forget to factor in the possible increase that comes from two kids in need of care rather than just one)? Also, don't forget to factor in daycare pick-up times, if you're planning to use daycare for child care - many (if not most) childcare centers require pickup by six or six thirty, which can be quite difficult if you work a job that's even just 9 to 5 and you're commuting (there's generally a problem with the LIRR that causes delayed trains at least a few times a month, sometimes even more frequent than that depending on your line). Also, how much house are you expecting? How finished do you want/need the house to be?
Thanks for the replies guys.
Yes, childcare will be a factor. Right now we're paying $400 a week, but we expect to pay around the same.
I'm concerned about the commute, and not being able to pick up my child after work if the train breaks down. I work very close to the Atlantic ave terminal in Brooklyn, but even then I think the commute can be longer than 1hr.
We were considering LI due to schools, but I'm thinking that we're priced out of the good school districts on our combined salary.
Property taxes is another thing that might prevents us from buying in LI.
You have 5 years to worry about school districts. Keep saving and hopefully your salaries increase as well. Your daycare cost is higher than most mortgages in other parts of the country.
Speaking from experience (I have 2 young children also): your life will be very stressful if both you and your wife work in the city and have kids with no family to help. Even with an au pair it will be very difficult. If one of you could work locally or even 1-2 days from home it will make a huge difference in the quality of your family life. Otherwise, stay in NYC and get your kid into Gifted programs.
Yes, childcare will be a factor. Right now we're paying $400 a week, but we expect to pay around the same.
I'm concerned about the commute, and not being able to pick up my child after work if the train breaks down. I work very close to the Atlantic ave terminal in Brooklyn, but even then I think the commute can be longer than 1hr.
We were considering LI due to schools, but I'm thinking that we're priced out of the good school districts on our combined salary.
Property taxes is another thing that might prevents us from buying in LI.
Being in Brooklyn isn't going to help, generally, with train problems - most of the problems that occur seem to be clustered in/around Jamaica, and you'll still be west of (and likely be on a line that needs to go through) Jamaica.
Your kid's seven months old - you don't need to worry about being in a good school district for at least 4 more years (kindergarten). Take your time and save up for a much more solid down payment - $100K down is going to get you into a much better school district than $40K (which, as another poster pointed out, is going to be decimated by closing and related costs). If taxes are a concern (and they should be, you're looking at a bare minimum of $10K in a "good" school district in western Nassau), you want to keep your mortgage on the lower end, and the only way you're going to be able to do that is by putting more down.
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