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I have to ask - why is it so important to you to have a house?
I'm kind of curious myself, too. Given that the OP is looking for a temporary place while they figure out their next step, this list of must haves is not only unrealistic, but a bit funny.
We are not looking to buy at this time, especially not a co-op, because we are not in that point in our relationship yet and don't necessarily plan to stay in the NYC area for more than a few years and co-ops are hard to get rid of or rent out. Plus, we don't want an apartment - we want a house. If we wanted an apartment we'd stay in the city and not deal with the LIRR at all. Doing the commute from Long Island just to live in a 1 or 2 br apartment in a multi-family building does not seem worth it.
What's the point of buying a co-op, anyway? You don't even own your actual unit and have to get the board's permission to do anything to it. The HOA/maintenance fees at many co-ops are almost as high as rent in a comparable apartment, and unlike a rental,you are responsible for paying when something needs fixing and can't get out of the place nearly as easily if your job or life situation changes.
I would like to own a place someday but am not ready to do so and when I do, it will not be the 1 br co-op I might be able to afford right now. Rather save up to buy something I actually own.
Whatever your perception of co-ops might be, this is not remotely true. My brother's maintenance in Manhattan is less than $800 a month for a reasonably spacious 1 bedroom and I very rarely see a 2 bedroom for much over $1200. Good luck renting anything in that price range.
I'm kind of curious myself, too. Given that the OP is looking for a temporary place while they figure out their next step, this list of must haves is not only unrealistic, but a bit funny.
We want more space. My boyfriend is from a rural part of the Island and feels really crowded in the city. He also plays bass and wants to be able to practice in the house - hard to do that in a multifamily. Similarly, we don't want to hear every time our neighbor flushes the toilet, as is the case in the place we are subletting in Manhattan. Also, both of our parents are in the process of selling or clearing out their houses and want us to take all the stuff we left there when we moved into tiny NYC apartments, so we need space for that.
We have not 100% decided to live on LI or that we need a house. If we stay in the city it will obviously be in an apartment. But since we have no children and thus do not care about the school district at this time, we see no reason to do the schlep from Long Island if we do not get substantially more space than we would have in the city in return.
BTW, we are not looking for something super-temporary. We plan to sign a year lease and will probably stay at least 2 years. Long enough to care about quality of life.
FWIW, we found a place that met every single one of our "unrealistic" must-haves - in fact, the must-have list is essentially based on that house. Sadly, someone snatched it from under our nose while we were looking at it. But if one exists so too must others if we are willing to be patient. Here is the listing, in case you are curious. I know it is a real place because we viewed it in person. 19 North Maryland Avenue, Port Washington NY | Trulia.com
Is there something I am missing here? Like, was it a bad neighborhood and I didn't realize that? Because that house seemed to have everything we wanted in terms of space, location and amenities.
Whatever your perception of co-ops might be, this is not remotely true. My brother's maintenance in Manhattan is less than $800 a month for a reasonably spacious 1 bedroom and I very rarely see a 2 bedroom for much over $1200. Good luck renting anything in that price range.
The $1200 is just the maintenance and does not include the mortgage payments, right?
I am guessing that what he pays in mortgage plus maintenance is not significantly lower if at all than what the unit would rent for.
If I had the money saved for a down payment and knew for certain that I was going to stay in the NYC area for at least 5 years I'd consider buying either a house on LI or a co-op or condo in the city. While my bf and I combined could probably come up with the down payment, we are just not ready to take such a permanent step when we are not married and this is our first place together.
Even if we were looking to buy, we just don't think it's worth it to buy a co-op apartment on Long Island. To me that seems like the worst of all worlds - a longer commute than if we lived in the city, but without significantly more space or privacy to justify the longer commute. I looked at the co-ops in Great Neck that someone posted a link to and while I am sure they are great for some people, they are just not our cup of tea.
I have to ask - why is it so important to you to have a house? Don't you actually live in an apartment now?
I do live in an apartment now. Actually, 2 apartments - I have my own place in Sayville and a bedroom in the city that my bf is subletting. But since we are moving in together we (especially he) want more space, a washer/dryer, a backyard, and more separation from our neighbors - i.e. not having to hear every time someone flushes their toilet. Also, my bf plays a loud instrument and wants to be able to practice at home - hard to do that in a multi-family.
We are not foreclosing the possibility of living in an apartment, but if we decide to go that route it will probably be in Manhattan or Brooklyn, possibly downtown Jersey City, all of which are a much shorter commute. I just can't justify doing a long commute from Long Island just to live in an apartment. We checked out a nice 2 br apartment in PW that was right near the train but he still felt like it was too urban for him, and we both felt that it wasn't worth doing the longer and more expensive commute just to get a slightly bigger apartment at a somewhat lower price.
Yes, I live in an apartment now and have lived in apartments for over 10 years. But now we are looking to upgrade.
If it were up to me we'd probably stay in the city and get a nice apartment, but even I have come around to the idea that it might be worth doing the commute from somewhere like Port Washington in order to get the extra space and privacy that a house offers. The place we found was perfect and I am still pretty heartbroken that we lost out on it.
The $1200 is just the maintenance and does not include the mortgage payments, right?
I am guessing that what he pays in mortgage plus maintenance is not significantly lower if at all than what the unit would rent for.
If you are making a mortgage payment, you are not only building equity but you're also taking a tax deduction for your mortgage interest. Even assuming a $3,500 payment, thats a far better financial investment than flushing cash down the toilet by renting.
If you are making a mortgage payment, you are not only building equity but you're also taking a tax deduction for your mortgage interest. Even assuming a $3,500 payment, thats a far better financial investment than flushing cash down the toilet by renting.
My understanding is that you don't really build much equity until around the 5-year mark. So I don't think buying makes sense since we may not stay on the east coast that long. Buying a co-op seems especially foolish to me given the restrictions on renting and selling.
Buying can pay off, but it is a risky proposition and not guaranteed. I seem to recall that a few years ago, we had a mortgage crisis because a lot of people bought homes that were more expensive than what they could really afford because they wanted to "build equity." Didn't work out so well when their home values declined and they owed more than their homes were worth.
I don't view renting as "flushing money down the toilet." To the contrary, as my bf pointed out, renting gives you the advantage of being able to live somewhere nicer than what you'd be able to buy. You also have fewer risks and more mobility.
Even if I wanted to buy right now, I don't have enough saved on my own for a down payment on anything I'd want to live in. Plus, my boyfriend and I are just taking the step of moving in together for the first time - we are not ready to take the much bigger step of taking on a mortgage together. I know people who have bought with a significant other and ended up breaking up and it was messy. With a one year lease the worst that happens is that if we break up one of us moves and the other gets a roommate until the end of the lease.
For now, it makes a lot more sense for me to rent and save up money for a down payment in a few years, when I am hopefully married, have paid off more student loans, and am more geographically settled. Buying is just way too big of a financial risk for me at this time and doesn't make sense for my situation.
Just FYI the commute from Jersey City is not as quick as you think. And Hoboken is much nicer.
Depends where in JC. My best friend lives right near the Grove Path and her commute to lower Manhattan is 20-25 minutes door to desk. We will probably look for something similar if we decide to go the apartment route. Where she lives is also pretty nice now.
Hoboken is a little less convenient for where my bf is working, plus a little more expensive. But it might be worth taking a second look at.
Most of the 2-bedrooms under 3K in the city are tiny and lack amenities that we want like a dishwasher and in-unit laundry. We want a house, not an apartment building. Also, my boyfriend doesn't like how noisy the city is. Plus, he has family and friends on Long Island and prefers being able to drive. If it were up to me we'd live in the city, but looking on LI is my concession to him since he made some job-related sacrifices to stay in the NYC area after I got my new job.
Re. Great Neck, I agree that it is the closest to the city without paying the city tax, but how hard is it to get a seat on the train during rush hour?
Same question for Mineola - how likely is it that you will get a seat getting on there during rush hour?
I used to live in Great Neck for a couple of years (Granted that was 10 years ago)... I rented an apartment there and walked to the station. Loved the idea of walking... never had a problem with Seats back then...
I am not sure that the demographic is the same... I find that the population of Great Next is very loud and lack manners, especially on the train....
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