Buy this starter house in Nassau, or Co-op in Queens? (East Meadow: for sale, apartment)

[Rachael84]

So here's the deal...some of you may know I'm tossed between buying a co-op in eastern Queens, or buying a starter house in Nassau County.

Here's a little background information on my fiance and I: We're teachers and we make about 110,000 together. I'm 24 and he is 27. I teach in the west Bronx, he teaches in Flushing (Queens). We're getting married this July, so we aren't in a big big rush to get a place at the moment. We're moving in together by the wedding though.

Today we saw this house for sale in East Meadow, right off N. Jerusalem Rd. It's a 2 bedroom house (but could be made into 3 bedrooms), 2 bath house. It's a short sale and the highest bid is 260,000 by this building company or something. We liked the house; but would use it just as a starter house for the next 6 years or so when we could trade up into a bigger house. The owner apparently owes 410,000 on it still (bought in 2003), so it must have been at least 450,000. The house is in excellent condition and the property is 80x100. Taxes are 6,000. I would need to get a car if we bought on LI. I would carpool with 2 others at work, so that would really cut down on the costs of going to the Bronx.

Our other option is buying a 1 bedroom co-op in the Whitestone area in Queens. I would still carpool with the same 2 coworkers, but I wouldn't need a car since it's Queens. We would just keep his car. Most of the 1 bedrooms we're seeing are around 150-180k.

We really aren't sure what to do. I'm not sure which would be the better option for us. The agent showing us the house said the house would appraise a lot more than the co-op would, in the next 6 or so years.

what would your advice be? what would be a wiser choice?

[akaroutsos]

That's a tough question and something only you and your fiance can really decide. One of the things you need to decide is if you are planning on having a family and when. A one bedroom coop would be perfect for a couple, but adding a kid to it would make it cramped. You really wouldn't have to worry about space with a starter home.

However, you'll probably be able to save more money with the coop. Your maintenance covers utilities, taxes, ground maintenance, etc. etc. If something goes wrong in your apartment you would just have to call the porter to fix it. No additional charges to worry about. The house will have many more expenses and you'll have to put more effort into maintaining it. Is your fiance handy??? Do you want that responsibility now?

Your realtor was right by saying the house will increase in value faster than a coop, but the coop in Queens will probably sell faster than a house. On the other hand who knows what the market will be like in 6 years or whenever you look into buying another house. You may be priced again and this may be your time to buy low, who knows. . . .

Have you crunched numbers between the 2 scenarios??? Do you have the required 20% down payment and 700+ credit rating to be able to buy a coop? Coops are not lenient with the rules.

A little about myself, I got married 2 years ago and lived in a 1 bedroom coop in Queens. We are much older than you and want to start a family sooner than later so we looked into buying a starter home. We found something we liked and put our apartment on the market. The apartment sold in 3 months (took 1 month to find a buyer and the other 2 to go through board approvals and closing).

[AlexisT]

Long term, I think you'd do better on the house at that price (if you had to pay normal LI prices, it probably wouldn't work), but check into the details of the short sale. You may not be able to get it and will need all your ducks in a row. How is your downpayment/mortgage situation?

Houses do tend to appreciate more than co-ops in the medium to long term. Be prepared to make your "starter house" last longer than expected if necessary so figure that in to your plans.

[llama8]

I would go with the house.

A one bedroom is pretty small and it give you no room for expansion ever. A home could always be expanded. You could use the 2nd bedroom as an office, guest room, or for storage for now...the 1 bedroom coop will be tight. Also you may have kids sooner than expected, so the 2 bedroom could be long term investment.

Life is sometimes unexpected as well as the economy. Things could happen in the future to make a tradeup impossible. I would rather be stuck with a 2br house that can be expanded than in a 1 bedroom coop.

My husband and i bought our home when i was 25. I'm now 28. We went for the home with more space even though it wasn't our ideal area. You can move in the future, but I would have the nicer home now just in case.

Also, the housing market may never be this low again. Go for the house. You'll have more equity and appreciation too.

[rocafeller05]

How much do you plan on putting down as your down payment Rachel?

[Rachael84]

We probably can't go any higher than about 20k. The realtor said the house qualifies for an FHA loan (whatever that is), in which we would only need like a 3% down payment. He also told us it would be possible to put the closing costs in with the mortgage.

Also, both our credit scores are between 740-780, so we're fine with that.

[Danomul]

I would go with the house if you can get it for the price you are comfortable with. You will see more profit selling that house in five years than you would selling the one bedoom condo in five years.

[okaydorothy]

I would go with the house also. They are easier ; although not at the moment, to resell than a condo.

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[momix5]

for sure the house. East Meadow is nice! good luck