Those of you living in NYC- Do you feel bad not owning a house?

[Jaydata]

Originally Posted by Kefir King

I think most people buy homes, but not necessarily condominium or co-op homes, to get more space. It would be the major, if the ONLY reason that I would go single family.
But since it would necessitate my moving to the boonies, that option is out for me.

And it is SOOOO nice, never to have to move a single ounce of snow from one place to the next, nor to walk up a single step in my home, or to worry about the condition of my roof shingles. But yeah, I would KILL for 2000 square feet.


Noise? I see very little difference between cooperative living and a rental in that regard. An owner or a renter walking overhead or playing a stereo too loud makes the same annoying sounds.

I used to love snow storm when my family were renting. It's beautiful to watch snow falls as it covers
everything and makes everything clean and uniform. And there was always a chance of no school if the
snow storm gets too big.

Now I just hope there won't be any snow storm at all, it's not just snow shoveling for our own sidewalk
and driveway, also have to clear my old neighbors sidewalk becuase they can't do it anymore. And they
are really nice people that you feel quilty if you don't help. After that you have to worry about people
falling down because of ice in front of your house.

Owning a house require lots of extra work, because there seem to be never ending things to fix when
you own a house. You have to learn to fix many small things yourself, and then there are still many
stuff you don't know how to fix it. There is no super to call anymore. Here are few things that needed
fix just this year for me:

Old steam heating boiler broke and the new one plus installation = $4500
New sidewalk = $2000
Backyard fence thanks to Sandy= $1500
Water faucet leaking water fix myself.
stove top switch broke fix myself.
One of the toilet base leaking water. = Help!
Dryer needs fix, got 3 year warranty but it broke down on 4th year.

[riaelise]

Originally Posted by mathjak107

but you sure paid the bankers salary... on average the typical home costs 2 to 3x what the home cost just in interest. if you read the threads above your reasoning is not valid at all .

from a fiancial standpoint i would gladely pay someone elses mortgage as a tenant if i could make 4x that on my investments elsewhere. get that "throwing away rent" logic out of your head before it hurts you financially.

"not paying someones mortgage "is not a reason to own a home. you are paying someones mortgage, the banks .

you buy a home for the enjoyment of it, the security of not being asked to leave, for the ability to renovate any way you want.

you do not buy one because you think costs will be less than renting or it may appreciate .

even if it does appreciate it may cost you more than renting over long periods of time . you need 3x the price just to break even and we have not included a lifetime of anything else as well as rising real estate taxes.

Oh you misunderstand. I didn't (and still do not) purchase for investment purposes only, that would be folly. I've heard/read your (you, in the general sense, not personally) arguments before...if you rent, more power to you. I'm not dissuading anyone, just stating my reasons why I will always own. I own because of all the reasons you've stated (doing what I want, etc.), the fact that owning is I want to do and I don't want to pay a landlord. I'd rather pay a bank over 15 or 20 years than a landlord infitinum. Making money is a bonus. I will say though, that owning something in NYC (buying low and selling fairly high) netted me a good chunk of change...enough for me to be debt free for many years, save, and use as a downpayment for a home in Texas (a state with a lower COL and purchase prices). Will I see that again? Probably not...but that's ok.

[mathjak107]

i still own investment properties in manhattan and queens so i am not against real estate at all.

we sold pretty much everything off over the last 10 years but i still have two co-ops by central park , one in kew gardens and some commercial property in manhattan.

in my case the numbers favor renting, but that is me. everyone here will have an overall deal that will be different.

the whole point of all of this posted here is to just make sure potential buyers dump all the myths and bull-sh*t in their head and start fresh with facts.

there is no such thing as throwing away money on rent if you have better opportunity elsewhere. there is no such thing as renters are losers. home ownership does not mean you will be a financial success at all.

if you keep all that in your head and evaluate what you want to do you will be better off.

[cully]

Originally Posted by sportsguy9981

I mentioned feel bad because Im wondering If I would feel bad about relocating out there and just renting... to me i live in a small town in Michigan and everyone preaches for me to buy something... but im 31 years old and just got out of a long term relationship and I can pretty much move where I want to right now and NYC seems to be my first option. I figure Im only this age once and if I dont do it I'll be here forever.. I just dont want to get in over my head by heading out there and renting for maybe 10 years but as others have said if I go into other parts of NYC I can buy a condo or co op , and that should work out fine.. I appreciate the responses.. Im just trying to get opinions on those who have rented a long time in NYC, Im sure alot of you enjoy it there and I would too.. Im just from a different culture, one of a small town culture where everybody owns a house.. Im just trying to get a feel for what my life would be like renting for awhile, not knowing what kind of job I would have right away I would have to rent for a few years.

I think when people say in your town "buy a home" they mean settle down, find contentment and peace, by happy. It's a good thing. Home, spouse, kids, mower, grill, snowblower are all symbols that you have a good thing....and they wish you well.

And part of that is deciding which borough to live in and whether you want a roommate in a great apartment near the theater district or a cute little house with a couple of friends in a family neighborhood or a tiny apartment by yourself where you paint everything the way you like it...and many more options.

The way f&f in NYC live they seem to be embracing the world outside of home as much or more than inside and not letting it run them ragged but rather feeling lifted up by their experiences.

In NYC the symbols are just different. NYC people can workout differently than people in a small town (yoga in a park in Manhattan; went to relatives' "graduations", as I say jokingly, from tapeze school). They can congregate differently, meet new people in different places than people in a smaller town, participate in not necessarily more (because you can only fill till full) but perhaps a greater variety of unusual classes and causes. More choices of museums, ballets and concerts and plays and musicals. Yet, they enjoy some things that have fallen by the wayside even in some small towns. They often can walk to school and house of worship and work and back a couple of miles a day, walk to fresh grocery shopping, walk to meet friends, and spend lots of time with friends and family, interests and causes not in the house and not in front of a tv; can hardly ever...or never...require a car with the excellent public transportation; can spend as much time as they have in the open spaces of the many parks; can fairly easily ice skate in winter and bicycle and picnic in summer and easily garden and eat in a healthy way.