Debating whether to give Manhatten a shot... (New York, Hudson: mortgage, real estate)

[Henna]

This article from today's Times should help you out. It covers the pros and cons of using a broker, suggests some websites for no-fee listings, tells you what you can expect for your money in Manhattan.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/20/re...ref=realestate

[crisp444]

I would recommend a broker to pretty much anyone, ESPECIALLY to someone who has a large dog. Save yourself a lot of stress and just pay the $3000 broker's fee. As brutal as it may sound, I think it's worth it in the long run. I can empathize with the debt situation (law school loans!!) but I would not even try to avoid paying the broker's fee if I were you. In all the experience that I have had with this and with watching friends look for apartments, I have found that using a broker makes it much easier on you.

[WelshAmerican]

If you have good jobs, Manhattan will be fine, and also very convenient. If you're in your twenties, it's the place to be! Grab a cab, have some fun, home before you know it. Downtown is cheaper than uptown, West side usually cheaper than East side.
You can pay a fortune in some of those places in Queens, too... and the train to Queens seems to take forever compared to the Brooklyn trains.
Good luck! New York is for the young at heart!

[Henna]

Originally Posted by WelshAmerican

You can pay a fortune in some of those places in Queens, too... and the train to Queens seems to take forever compared to the Brooklyn trains.

It really depends on where you are leaving from and going to when you talk about how long trains to Brooklyn and Queens take.

If you're in Union Square and you want to go to Bedford Ave in Williamsburg, it's about 5 minutes on the train. If you're at 53rd and Lex in midtown and want to go to Long Island City in Queens, also 5 minutes.

I could give similar examples of where trains would take 45 minutes to each as well but I won't bore you with that.

The general rule of thumb is that if you are commuting to midtown every day and want to live in one of the boroughs, Queens will be a good choice for trains. If you are going to lower Manhattan, you will most likely be better off in Brooklyn.

And yes, the rent prices on those new constructions buildings in Long Island City in Queens are crazy high, much like the rents in the cool neighborhoods of Brooklyn.

But I think this is probably a thread on the benefits of Manhattan so maybe I will just end here!

[Carbro]

Originally Posted by WelshAmerican

West side usually cheaper than East side.

Again? I know that was so in the 1960s and '70s, but then the West Side started outpricing the East Side. I thought it was still the case.

[mead]

Originally Posted by WelshAmerican

If you have good jobs, Manhattan will be fine, and also very convenient. If you're in your twenties, it's the place to be! Grab a cab, have some fun, home before you know it. Downtown is cheaper than uptown, West side usually cheaper than East side.
You can pay a fortune in some of those places in Queens, too... and the train to Queens seems to take forever compared to the Brooklyn trains.
Good luck! New York is for the young at heart!

I'm pretty sure uptown is cheaper than downtown. You can find a 1br for slightly over $2,000 in the Upper East Side. The same 1 br would probably go for around $3,000 below 14th street.

[Viralmd]

A $2000/month one bedroom will NOT be in a luxury building. It'll be OK, but most definitely NOT luxury. For a nice (not extravagant) one bedroom, expect to pay $3500/month. And having a dog, you will almost certainly need to look at higher end places.

[mead]

Originally Posted by Viralmd

A $2000/month one bedroom will NOT be in a luxury building. It'll be OK, but most definitely NOT luxury. For a nice (not extravagant) one bedroom, expect to pay $3500/month. And having a dog, you will almost certainly need to look at higher end places.

Yeah she definitely wont be getting a luxury building in the $2,000 range. However downtown she will probably be getting something closer to a tenement building for the $3,000 range.

[jeffcon0]

I'm normally one of the first people to tell newcomers to get over the Manhattan worship but in your case I think that Manhattan is a great idea. You have a fantastic salary and could certainly afford a nice one bedroom just about anywhere in Manhattan. If you are looking in the West Village you might find that $3000 won't get you too much but move to the Upper West or East Sides and your $3k will get you a doorman building. The large dog will be an issue so as much as it pains me to say: use a broker. They will be able to direct you to dog friendly buildings. Also if you live uptown you will have easier access to Central Park.

If you're just here for a few years and can afford it then you might as well do Manhattan. $210k and presumably growing over the next few years you may find it hard to ever go back to Texas salaies.

[texags02]

Jeff, that's our COMBINED income to start. My portion of that is $125k. I hope that still qualifies as "good."