considering leaving rents in BK to buy in Jersey, looking for advice (Clifton: hardwood floors, countertops)
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Bus across the GWB to the subway, express to 125th on the A, and then bus or walk cross-town at 125th is probably the best to go from a transit perspective.
That said, you have debt, your income will drop to ~$75K soon if you don't get a raise, your expenses will jump with the kid, and you don't need all that space and good schools quite yet -- you're probably best off renting for the next few years, by the time your kid becomes school aged and you need a good district or you have a second one and you need the space, you should be able to get the debt paid off and your wife will be working again or will be soon.
If you have a rent stabilized place I'd stay in it for now until your wife figures out what school she is going to which will give you a better idea on what locations will and won't work for you. If not, renting for a couple years in Englewood or Leonia might not be the worst idea -- you can save some money relative to Brooklyn on rent and taxes, be closer to nature, have a bus across the GWB available, and get a feel of what living in suburban NJ is like before pulling the trigger on a purchase (if neither of you grew up out here).
The ex-Brooklynite train towns (Montclair, Maplewood, and so forth) might (read: probably would) be a better cultural fit for you from your self description, but for where you're going the commute will be worse, and you pay a real premium for those trains, which going to Harlem aren't even the best option for you: you'll get less in terms of schools and homes for more money.
Something else to consider, the best nature areas near the city are to the north IMO. Metro-north gives you both a good commute and means you can drive out to the mountains on the weekends pretty quickly.
Thank you all for the insight. These are all valid points and we are planning on getting our debt down as well as save, I recently started a mint.com account to curb our bad habits.
The only problem here is that the 1700/month rent is not going to last. The landlord is planning on selling the building very soon which will inevitably get us out of the apt(we are month to month on our lease). The going rents in the neighborhood we live in are 2300 and bay ridge is not much cheaper anymore. That will be a 500 dollar increase per month to rent.
We'll see where we end up in the near future as we try to repair our finances.
My first reaction was to suggest Jersey City, either in one of the more affordable downtown sections or Journal Square. Some people feel uncomfortable with Journal Square and Jersey City in general, but if you're used to Crown Heights I wouldn't imagine it to be a problem. But the southern sections of the city (Bergen Lafayette, Greenville) have a reputation for being less than safe so I would avoid them.
You might even consider the nicer parts of Newark, like the Forest Hill section (North Ward), Downtown or the Ironbound. Much better deal than anything in Brooklyn, and the nice parts are just as nice as a lot of places in Brooklyn...In my opinion at least (and I've lived in Brooklyn).
If you're looking for more suburban type places, South Orange would probably be a good bet. Harrison might work too, but it's more of an immigrant community and is a little harder to break into. If you are planning on raising a child, places like South Orange, West Orange and Montclair are popular suburban commuter towns. You might also like Bloomfield, which you can access the city with NJ Transit or the Light Rail + Path. Or Secaucus - only one stop from NY on the train.
If you have to keep the expense at or below $1700, you'll have to cut your target price range down by a lot. Taxes alone could be $1000/mo. And when you do that, pretty much all of your wish list goes out the window.
It really appears you're not ready to buy at this time. Perhaps you could find a nice place to rent in NJ for $1700. Maybe a 1.5-2br apartment in a decent suburban town. It'll get you used to being in the burbs and hopefully you can get rid of your debt and save up for your down payment, expenses, reno/furnishings/repairs, etc.
Haha, very similar boat here. We're a young couple and we were paying $1800 2 years ago in NYC, now $2400 for the same apartment. NYC is god damn ridiculous. I know that NJ is expensive, but I feel like at least it exists in a world of slight relative sanity where you don't just get 33% raises in rent all willy-nilly.
We're also looking at commuting uptown from NJ. The GW Bridge bus lines seem like a really good option if you're doing that. Some of them are express. Look at Maywood, which has an adorable downtown and some parts of it are close to express bus lines. Also Fair Lawn, Dumont, New Milford, River Edge might be decent options. Good luck! Maybe we'll meet at a PTA meeting six years down the line.
Renting is a great option, especially if you don't mind a longer commute. You can easily get a single family home with a yard and some land for less than $2000/month. If you dont mind a condo or townhouse you can get more bedrooms and baths for the same prices.
If you do decide to rent, realtor.com and craigslist have served me well.
I think you should hold off on purchasing a home until your yearly income increases. It's highly unlikely that you will be paying less than what you are now in rent. Plus there are all of the other expenses to consider that come with owning a home. If what you want is to save on your rent, then just move out of the city. You can find a nice two bedroom apartment in NJ for way less than what you're paying now. Pay off your student loans and credit cards. After you're bringing in more income, and you have those debts paid off, then look into buying a home.
250k for a house seems a little too high for your income. I make about what you make and I got my mortgage down to $1300 and I still don't feel "comfortable" but I also have 3 children not sure if you have any kids so it might be easier for you.
FYI, there are programs other than the FHA for people who have about 3%of down payment, and you Don't have to pay PMI. Ask at Citibank , td bank and pnc. You can also look into different parts of Jersey City for some good deals. Bergen Lafayette is up and coming, but definitely in the very early stages of that so you can still get a good deal on some houses. And there are a couple of bars and a farmers market, but nothing you'd call a bar scene. However, that's why the real estate is still affordable.
Just stay close to a light rail station for easier transportation.
And I don't think your income is too low to buy a house, it just means you have to adjust your expectations.
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