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You do not need to own real estate already to get a mortgage. People get the mortgage at the same time they buy a property and pay the difference at transaction time (closing) with their cash.
However, in your situation, you will not be able to get a mortgage because you have no documented income and no credit history in the U.S. (no credit score). Whatever income you have in other countries will not be counted. Having some money in a bank account will not be sufficient.
lol he sent me a pretty sweet message. I bet you got one too. I think he called me a donut-eating dude or something (he keeps referencing donuts..I'm guessing donut-eating as in the dumb fat American stereotype). I got a good laugh this morning.
You do not need to own real estate already to get a mortgage. People get the mortgage at the same time they buy a property and pay the difference at transaction time (closing) with their cash.
However, in your situation, you will not be able to get a mortgage because you have no documented income and no credit history in the U.S. (no credit score). Whatever income you have in other countries will not be counted. Having some money in a bank account will not be sufficient.
Could you also please tell me the disadvantages of buying a co-op apartment? You do not fully own it do you?
In a co-op, a corporation in which you own shares is the owner of the apartment building and all its units and usually owns the land underneath.
You essentially have to apply to join the co-op when you buy an apartment, go through an interview, and meet their financial requirements.
Most co-ops restrict your ability to rent out your apartment because banks will not lend to buildings where too many of the apartments do not have the owners residing.
Because of these restrictions, the market for co-ops is perceived less liquid and trade at a discount to condos. It costs less to get in and garners less when you sell. The advantages is costing less capital upfront to buy and whatever benefit the community gets from choosing its neighbors.
Although it is falling as all new developments are condos, the percentage of the market that is co-ops in Manhattan is still pretty high.
This is listed as a pied-a-terre. Can this be used as a primary residence?
I feel like there must be something odd about this unit. In some ads it says it can be used as "live/work, work only or pied a terre" so why not simply a place to live?
The maintenance fee is $1500 a month. Isn't that kind of high? Perhaps it's because coops would make a business (live/work, work-only) pay a higher maintenance than any other unit in the building. On the other hand, maybe $1500 maintenance is normal for a studio apartment in Manhattan? I am a bit out of touch with maintenance fees in Manhattan.
Also, this place has been on the market since 2009 and asking price has steadily been dropping from $359K now down to $259K.
Also, regarding that specific property, you can see on the Zillow link by looking over on the right side of the screen that there were two other recent sales of studio apartments in that building that went for $340K and $370K. So why is this one listed at $259K? Again, either something really wrong with it (maybe traffic noise is excessive since it's on the first floor or the maintenance is too high or there are restrictions as to its use). Either way, you really have to be wary of the "too good to be true" listings and instead look at many listings to see what the average is.
Also, regarding that specific property, you can see on the Zillow link by looking over on the right side of the screen that there were two other recent sales of studio apartments in that building that went for $340K and $370K. So why is this one listed at $259K? Again, either something really wrong with it (maybe traffic noise is excessive since it's on the first floor or the maintenance is too high or there are restrictions as to its use). Either way, you really have to be wary of the "too good to be true" listings and instead look at many listings to see what the average is.
The market fell 20% and has made back about half. The newer and higher-end, the further it deviates from this rule (on the upside).
Thanks for the advices.
It seems that renting a house for a year a better idea. Meanwhile, my bro may discover neighbourhoods around and decide to live in a location he desires.
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