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the problem is i think it would be tough for the typical pa family to come up with 20% to compare the 2...
we are holding off early retiring because the pay is so low when we move to pa full time..we want to finish liquidating whats left of our family owned real estate business here in ny and not have to worry about working at all... whatever we earn at our photography hobby will be fine.......i cant imagine saving 20 % on those pa salarys and living...... new york is hard but but pa is worse. for say an accounting degree pay is 30-350000 where we are but jobs are so few ,, ny my daughter inlaw started at 75,000 right out of queens college... you may have a cheaper cost of living in pa on alot of things but the problem with alot of these areas with low pay many things are still very close to ny.... take health insurance costs, education costs, clothes costs and even food maybe 20% less but a salary thats half is tough to live on and save
overall i found we could make due with about 20% less income then ny but not 1/2
Last edited by mathjak107; 07-11-2009 at 01:54 PM..
Kudos on this response. Purchasing in NYC has a lot to do with timing. I grew up in downtown Brooklyn, single parent home. My mother raised me and my brother on a hospital salary..........we lived in a housing project and in spite of the beautiful brownstone houses just 2 blocks down could never afford to purchase them. That was 20 - 30 years ago when brownstones in downtown Brooklyn could still be purchased for a reasonable price.........now those same houses (even the ones that need to be completely gutted out and renovated) are selling for $1 million - $3.2 million dollars! Talk about timing......if people could not afford to purchase homes in the areas like Brooklyn which are closer to Manhattan 20 - 30 years ago then they sure can not afford to buy those houses now. Not everyone in NYC is making a six figure salary in a Manhattan office!
Timing is everything...which is why I always stress that areas where others may fear to tread as a kneejerk response are sometimes very worthwhile investments...the history of NYC goes in cycles, and my area went from "prosperous" to "ghetto" and is slowly but surely on the rise again. This cycle changes with the economy, but I think it worth noting that my coop went up in value about 10 percent in the past year or two despite the national and even citywide decline in the housing market.
The coop I was in before on the LES was purchased for 8 grand...years later it went private/market rate and my roomate and I sold it for 450K; now I live in the Bx and I expect the value of my coop to go up more, esp since the new board is very good and they hired a great management firm. Very well maintained, etc and the 'hood around it is improving as well.
Moral of the story: read the signs; do your research online; and don't let fear and ignorance shut you out of an up and coming market when the time is right. Even in Riverdale the market has produced some incredible bargains of late(lots of prewar, spacious gems; check it out) and areas in the northern and southern areas of the Bronx are becoming more desirable (for "safer" areas also look to Pelham and other areas others have also noted here).Not to mention the prewar bldgs on the Grand Concourse, which is also experiencing a renaissance with bike lanes, more trees etc (was modeled after the Champs Elysees at a time where they had a lane for horses and buggies.) Lots and lots of history, more landmark sites, plenty of cheap shopping (cost of living is also low which makes it simpler to stay on a budget) etc. , and the thing that folks always complain is "gone"--mom and pops, a feeling of community, diversity, etc etc.
It's as easy as checking the NY Times online on Sunday, as well as the other dailies, and contacting a broker. Despite this advice, the reason the market is a great opportunity for some is because others are not proactive enough (or are too timid or willing to do a tiny bit of online research) to grab the bargains that are being offered in a buyers' market (I predict this won't last long, folks, as the economy slowly recovers).
Isn't the rent profit to sale price in NYC incredibly low though? Why own there, there is barely any value in it?
Do people not realize that more less their first 5 years of mortgage payments go solely to interest? That you are effectively paying rent at that time?
Especially if you are not buying something where you can atleast rent out the other room... The maintenance fees are so high you are still renting anyways. I don't understand why people say buying is "chasing the american dream", it is a matter of finances only... Is it financially better for you to own or not?
Why not just own somewhere where you get a lot of rent profit for your cheap purchase, and take those profits to pay for your manhattan rent?
I've considered buying my next home in Orange County but the taxes are too high. The commuting costs are also really high. I always take into account the total cost.
Taxes are high but I think in within the next 2 decades, commutting costs will come down considerably with tech.
Isn't the rent profit to sale price in NYC incredibly low though? Why own there, there is barely any value in it?
Do people not realize that more less their first 5 years of mortgage payments go solely to interest? That you are effectively paying rent at that time?
Especially if you are not buying something where you can atleast rent out the other room... The maintenance fees are so high you are still renting anyways. I don't understand why people say buying is "chasing the american dream", it is a matter of finances only... Is it financially better for you to own or not?
Why not just own somewhere where you get a lot of rent profit for your cheap purchase, and take those profits to pay for your manhattan rent?
Different people have different financial circumstances and lifestyles. I do know people who buy houses in Queens, Brooklyn, or the Bronx because they want parking at home and more space for their children. People that I know with at least teacher level income in NY are able to afford to buy their own properties.
You buy to lock in a price. Your (fixed) mortgage won't radically change over the years.
Your rent could.
When rent control and rent stabilization are out the door, ownership will go up.
In the meanwhile, who wouldn't rent when it could be cheaper over the long term because your landlord has a legal obligation to lose money on you?
To me, sadly nothing can justify the cost of Manhattan. I agree with many posters that to have a high quality of life here you need to make an incredible salary, that just doesn't happen in many fields in NY.
My vote for the understatement of the century! I own in Jersey, chased the American Dream...now I wanna come back home. And rent.
Well, a lot of New Yorkers that moved to NJ are unhappy because of the high cost of living, and that their property taxes are the highest in the country.
When they see a house for $250,000 dollars, they fail to take into account that the house maybe less expensive than NYC, but then they get hit with a $10 or $12,000 dollars property taxes per year.
That can make anybody sick......plus in certain areas, people in NJ are not too friendly.......
When they see a house for $250,000 dollars, they fail to take into account that the house maybe less expensive than NYC, but then they get hit with a $10 or $12,000 dollars property taxes per year.
That can make anybody sick......plus in certain areas, people in NJ are not too friendly.......
Even NJ doesn't have $10,000 property taxes on $250,000. It would be $8500 in the most expensive areas (alas, like my own).
Of course there aren't too many decent $250,000 houses in North Jersey either, especially if you need to get into New York.
If you really want to buy a home in NYC itself, I suppose there's always Staten Island.
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My vote for the understatement of the century! I own in Jersey, chased the American Dream...now I wanna come back home. And rent.
