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Forest Hills is great. Fast, easy commute to Manhattan. Nice shopping and neighborhood.
There are pros/cons to renting/owning. Going through the same considerations myself now with my husband.
Maintenance is often tax deductible. So are mortgage payments. You know your own income and financial details. So only you know if you can afford it. I personally would not pay that much for maintenance. I don't care for the doorman/luxury building status enough to pay an additional $2k a month in addition to a mortgage. Especially if it doesn't include all utilities.
I would keep your options open. But also realize that just because it is listed at $630k, it doesn't mean you can't negotiate the price as well. It is a buyer's market.
I don't think anyone in their right mind would/should rent a $3,500 a month apartment in Forest Hills. For that amount, you can rent something nice in Manhattan, something nicer/more convenient in Long Island City (a far better investment), or buy a house in Bayside/Douglaston/Little Neck (again, better investment considering suburban atmosphere, lower density, best school district in NYC, non-existent crime rate, and just 25-30 minutes via LIRR to Penn Station).
This is a buyer's market, and $630 K is a lot of money. What exactly are you looking for?
The house in Bayside is just around the corner from the LIRR, which takes up to 27 minutes to Penn. There's one or two trains every day around 5:20 pm that take 20 minutes (express). Forest Hills is about 15-17 minutes. If you take the subway, you're talking considerably longer.
Good luck. Go with what you like best. You have to be happy with it.
Many thanks to all for your feedback. This was very helpful. We are re-evaluating our options. We really like the place but the extra overheads are making us think twice as well.
Have you ever lived in FH or have you just visited a few times? I was quite in love with the neighborhood a few years back when I first moved in but these days I don't think of it as anything that special. I was quite charmed by Austin street when I first saw it but it's really nothing compared to what you can find in Manhattan or Park Slope in terms of shopping and dining options. When my lease expires, I'm definitely thinking about other neighborhoods, perhaps even moving out of the city altogether. I really can't see FH as a neighborhood to invest that much money in.
I lived in Forest Hills for 20 years (grew up there) and my family still lives there and I think it's one of the nicest neighborhoods in New York. But one of the things that makes it nice is that it's not unbelievably expensive. Unless you're really attached to all the new features I would look around at some of the many very nice older buildings. I don't think you should have to pay more than $500,000 for an apartment in Forest Hills. Most of what I've seen in the neighborhood are 350-500,000. If you get an apartment like that you can renovate it and still come out ahead.
This sounds like an apartment in one of the birchwood towers. If so, I think you should realize that just a few years ago you could never have gotten a 3 bd there for 630k. It's the economy of our times...
The main is definitely on the high side and everyone that I know that lives there always complains about the main fee. And I'm talking about diamond dealers/ jewlers and other business owners. You don't get much except for spacious bedrooms & views.
Why don't you find PROFESSIONAL help, an attorney or an appraisor, for example. If you are not capable of doing the due diligence then pay someone who is!
The people in this thread DO NOT know what the heck they are talking about.
Anyway, the price is the lessor issue. It is easy to check comparable sales in the area and value the property.
It is the maintenance which sticks out and is what needs investigating, as well as the coop's financial state. You need to determine WHY the maintenance is so high; whether the corporation is financially sound, its outstanding oblligations, is it being sued, is the building sound, is the building in need of major repairs, have there been any major repairs, are there any Assessments in addition to the monthly maintenance presently or looming in the near future, etc.
The mortgage/price is a fixed cost easily assessable, what is less predictable and determinable is the above; and what determines whether a coop is a good buy are those things. You could pay a low price in a coop that has poor financial health and it would be a bad buy. Conversely, you could pay a high price for a coop with excellent financials and it w/b the better buy.
You need professional help, which is what you will NOT get in this forum.
I don't think anyone in their right mind would/should rent a $3,500 a month apartment in Forest Hills. For that amount, you can rent something nice in Manhattan, something nicer/more convenient in Long Island City (a far better investment), or buy a house in Bayside/Douglaston/Little Neck (again, better investment considering suburban atmosphere, lower density, best school district in NYC, non-existent crime rate, and just 25-30 minutes via LIRR to Penn Station).
This is a buyer's market, and $630 K is a lot of money. What exactly are you looking for?
The house in Bayside is just around the corner from the LIRR, which takes up to 27 minutes to Penn. There's one or two trains every day around 5:20 pm that take 20 minutes (express). Forest Hills is about 15-17 minutes. If you take the subway, you're talking considerably longer.
Good luck. Go with what you like best. You have to be happy with it.
Perfect example of the kind of non-sensical advice found in this thread. The advice provided is not woth the offereing price of 2 cents.
First, whether one chooses a house vs a coop/condo is a personal choice and one cannot be considered superior to the other. Unknowing to think so!
Second, and this is EXACTLY what I mean. The following link provided above is to a BOONDOGLE! Which only a fool would buy into. It is roughly a 3 year old EMPTY BUILDING in a POOR location, poor transportation, poor shopping, and is very near other failed or failing coop ventures, one specific project that upon completion has been removed from the market well over a year ago and not returned as yet.
There NO comparables to justify the price asked in the link. They have tried to move units by a number of gimmicks including an auction which failled.
The building in the link can in now way be compared to an existing ongoing cooperative in a neighborhood such as Forest Hills.
Why when you can buy a nice house in one of the better neighborhoods in NYC (sans Manhattan)?
What neighborhoods would that be, and what price?
Can you purchase a house in Forest Hills for that price or less?
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