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I will soon be going off to college and my mom is considering moving to NYC once I leave home. She is middle-aged. She writes for many famous magazines. Her main concern is safety. She makes around 100k+ a year. What is the safest area of Manhattan and about how much would she have to pay for a 1 bed there?
Most of Manhattan south of 96th Street is considered safe by almost anyone you ask. Problem is the prices. Check online sites such as New York Times classifieds, ny daily news, ny post to get an idea. Also one beds may be very small for the money, so you'd need a square footage to get an idea of the size.
If she has the bucks, she might consider buying a Manhattan studio coop, but again, very expensive and maintenance can be reasonable or outrageous, depending. The Seward Park development on the Lower East Side has good size studios in the 300Kish range, with low maintenance. There may be some more in this range elsewhere in Manhattan, but if so they will probably be a lot smaller. Check the Loho Realty website for listings for the Seward Park coops (actually four developments are covered, but Seward is closest to the subway and arguably safer than living right by the East River Houses).
Thing about coops is they generally have amenities that middle aged folks like me consider more of a necessity than a luxury. Usually doorman or security, clean, well kept, etc. But it partly depends on the coop board and how well it's run.
Actually, you can even get a one bed there for under 400K, but sizes vary. Larger one beds will be in the 400K range and up, with maintenance usually in the 400 range. Many with city or river views, full eat in kitchen, some with balconies, etc. Just sold my one bed there in April for 450K, and it was a great, spacious apt with river and downtown views.
Renting in Manhattan is generally a losing proposition, since the already sky high rents can increase, and if you pay over 2000/month you're generally not protected by rent stabilization. People pay what the market can bear, and it can bear a lot.
Me again...a quick search on NY Post real estate seems to indicate that a studio or one bed in a safe Manhattan area (or even a not so safe one) will typically run you about 2300/month. Just a quick search, but I'd say pretty accurate for anything decent, esp for a middle aged woman moving to NYC.
Thus my mention of coops. Tudor City also might be a place to try to buy...beautiful building, and I heard they might have some relatively "reasonable" deals, but not sure. I she has enough for a down payment (typically 20 percent, I think, but may depend), she could be paying less a month that way, I'd venture. For instance, in Seward Park if she paid 450 maintenance, her mortgage could be up to 1800/month and she's still be paying the same or less than a rental.
But the Lower East Side may or may not be for her. The area has gentrified quite a bit (that's an understatement) and there are very luxe condos in the area, but there are also some housing projects nearby. But I lived there 15 years (and a few years before that in the bad old '70s) and had no problem at all. Many expensive areas in the city are near housing projects, btw.
Indeed, though some of the high end ones are pretty steep, and if the coop board has a bunch of idiots on it, your maintenance could increase 50 percent (happened to someone I know on the Upper West Side).
No, not necessarily. You'd have to research mortgage rates and what your monthly mortgage would be (many sites have mortgage calculators). In many cases, it can be cheaper than rent--sometimes significantly so (at least that's my guesstimate). Jeez, I can't imagine paying 2300 a month rent to make some landlord rich, if I could spend the same or less and own my own place--which will likely be bigger, nicer, etc? .
In Manhattan, your choices will of course be more limited unless money is no object--but the Lower East Side coops I mentioned are quite a good deal for Manhattan. If you are willing to go to other boroughs, there are deals to be had from 100K and up for one bedrooms.
Upper East Side, Upper West Side, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Battery Park City are all great areas in Manhattan.
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