Lets talk about buying a home

So I know a good number of you ladies already own houses or apartments already but I think a good majority of us are still renters or live at homers. So with that said do you all plan to buy on Long Island/NYC or do you plan to get the F outta here.

For us- we would love to buy on Long Island but dont want to feel like we're struggling. I feel like we're totally priced out of the LI/NYC region unless we were to buy a 1 bedroom co-op or something which we really don't have any interest in doing. So we've been looking in North Jersey and Southern CT. We both work in midtown so those are both easy commutes to Grand Central station. Either that or we will start looking out of the metro area and try to head South. DC/ Baltimore Area seems feasible or even NC.

What are your plans?

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Posted by little34

We do plan to stay on LI.....but we won't prob. buy until after the wedding... we have just being trying so hard to save a chunk of money for the down payment....ugh

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dude its the down payment thats the killer. Who has 20% of 400k???? thats 80 grand man!

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Posted by VeggieBride

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Posted by little34

We do plan to stay on LI.....but we won't prob. buy until after the wedding... we have just being trying so hard to save a chunk of money for the down payment....ugh

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dude its the down payment thats the killer. Who has 20% of 400k???? thats 80 grand man!

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the problem is alot of ppl dont do 20%, well thats how we got into this trouble with the economy lol. People doing like 5% JUST to put little down so they can get a house they really want but not taking into consideration their monthly payments. Theres also some who have done 10%, and ive seen some who did like 3%. The down payment definitely is the hardest part. I was shocked to see that ppl now are getting it for less than 20%, hopefully those monthly payments are low but then again they can be low now and in 2 years will increase

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Posted by Espo22

We plan to stay in NY. Although its cheaper elsewhere, i dont want to move away from our families and friends. I want my kids to grow up with their grandparents and know them well and rest of our family. Also will be great to get help from the family with our kids, i would much prefer it if they watch them when we need it. I dont want to move from our loved ones and leave behind everything we know for a bigger house, i guess we'll manage somehow with a nice 3-4 bedroom or something like that. For some its easier though to make the move, and if thats what you want then its a great option

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I totally get this. FH and I do not plan to have children and my parents retired to Florida and I think his plan to retire to PA so we pretty much have an easy choice to make. Unfortunately our careers may hold us back since NYC is the mecca of advertising and printing which is what we do but there are other jobs out there.

We plan on staying on LI, god help us. I'd like to stay in the St. James/Three Village area, and originally FH was on the same page, but now he wants to stay closer to HIS family in the Huntington/Northport/East Northport vicinity, which we're actually priced out of, so tough for him. It's hard, I don't know what we're going to do. We haven't even seriously looked, FH wants to save much more first, we have a good amount, but he really wants to make a substantial DP, like much higher than average, so it will be better for us in the long run. We'll see I guess...I'm just not looking forward to getting thrown out of my nice cozy home and probably end up living on air mattress in FIL's den until we find a place

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Posted by Espo22

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Posted by VeggieBride

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Posted by little34

We do plan to stay on LI.....but we won't prob. buy until after the wedding... we have just being trying so hard to save a chunk of money for the down payment....ugh

---

dude its the down payment thats the killer. Who has 20% of 400k???? thats 80 grand man!

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the problem is alot of ppl dont do 20%, well thats how we got into this trouble with the economy lol. People doing like 5% JUST to put little down so they can get a house they really want but not taking into consideration their monthly payments. Theres also some who have done 10%, and ive seen some who did like 3%. The down payment definitely is the hardest part. I was shocked to see that ppl now are getting it for less than 20%, hopefully those monthly payments are low but then again they can be low now and in 2 years will increase

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I know...it is funny because everyone keeps telling FH and I 'now is the time to buy' and I get that because SOOOO many houses are up but if you don't have that 20% you are going to drown in mortgage payments. Plus closing fees....I feel like we will never get a house!

FH and I each own apartments. We want to sell his place, rent out mine, and buy a house on LI-a major fixer upper (thankfully FH and his entire family are spectacular at home repairs and projects). But we're in no rush to buy our home unless the price is right.
Since FH's practice is in Brooklyn Heights we have to stay in Nassau County. Plus I work in NYC so we definitely need to stay within an hour of our jobs.

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Posted by VeggieBride

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Posted by Espo22

We plan to stay in NY. Although its cheaper elsewhere, i dont want to move away from our families and friends. I want my kids to grow up with their grandparents and know them well and rest of our family. Also will be great to get help from the family with our kids, i would much prefer it if they watch them when we need it. I dont want to move from our loved ones and leave behind everything we know for a bigger house, i guess we'll manage somehow with a nice 3-4 bedroom or something like that. For some its easier though to make the move, and if thats what you want then its a great option

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I totally get this. FH and I do not plan to have children and my parents retired to Florida and I think his plan to retire to PA so we pretty much have an easy choice to make. Unfortunately our careers may hold us back since NYC is the mecca of advertising and printing which is what we do but there are other jobs out there.

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oh yeah then def would be alot easier for you to move so thats good then. Have you looked in other states what the average pay is for what you do? some do still pay decent you never know.

As a homeowner.. I just say go at it the right way. We always wish we could go back to renting.. renting is crazy at times.. BUT as you have your families its worth it. BUT again.. go at it the right way.. Put down eough so your mortgage is not to crazy, consider taxes, electric, ( oil ), phone, car notes ( 2 for some of us ), and even maint fee for those buying condos.. it can be cery draining... even with 2 good incomes.. trust me...

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Posted by MirabellaNYC

FH and I each own apartments. We want to sell his place, rent out mine, and buy a house on LI-a major fixer upper (thankfully FH and his entire family are spectacular at home repairs and projects). But we're in no rush to buy our home unless the price is right.
Since FH's practice is in Brooklyn Heights we have to stay in Nassau County. Plus I work in NYC so we definitely need to stay within an hour of our jobs.

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Wow i definitely think you're in a good spot. Congrats on owning already. If we were to stay on LI we would have to be in Nassau county too. I dont want more than an hour commute to work.

and Brooklyn Heights huh?
how i adore that area. If I could afford to live anywhere in the country it would be on the promenade in Bk Heights.

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Posted by little34

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Posted by Espo22

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Posted by VeggieBride

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Posted by little34

We do plan to stay on LI.....but we won't prob. buy until after the wedding... we have just being trying so hard to save a chunk of money for the down payment....ugh

---

dude its the down payment thats the killer. Who has 20% of 400k???? thats 80 grand man!

---

the problem is alot of ppl dont do 20%, well thats how we got into this trouble with the economy lol. People doing like 5% JUST to put little down so they can get a house they really want but not taking into consideration their monthly payments. Theres also some who have done 10%, and ive seen some who did like 3%. The down payment definitely is the hardest part. I was shocked to see that ppl now are getting it for less than 20%, hopefully those monthly payments are low but then again they can be low now and in 2 years will increase

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I know...it is funny because everyone keeps telling FH and I 'now is the time to buy' and I get that because SOOOO many houses are up but if you don't have that 20% you are going to drown in mortgage payments. Plus closing fees....I feel like we will never get a house!

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its a good time to buy as far as prices but the process of getting a mortgage is alot harder now, they are so much more strict and everything is taking so much longer. When i bought my apt a few years ago the process was so easy and by 3 months or a little under I had my closing, now you deal with so much BS, so in a way it is a buyers market but also in a big way its not. Im glad its just us two for now bc i dont mind living in an apt at all, its more than plenty of space for both of us. When we decide to have kids then i want a house. I guess growing up in queens and always being in the city, i am used to apt's. I am sure if i grew up in LI I would feel differently

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Posted by Espo22

Have you looked in other states what the average pay is for what you do? some do still pay decent you never know.

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Yeah in NC the pay is pretty similar to what we're making now and the real estate market is much lower there for a normal middle- upper middle class neighborhood. DC is a little higher but not as high as NY

If only I could get that job in Dubai! hahahaa

We are staying on LI. FH works for the LIRR so there's really no other choice for us. Plus, I like to be near my family.

We have been house hunting since we got engaged (July) - actually starting looking for a house before we did any wedding planning.

Unfortunately, all the talk about the buyer's market is a little bit untrue here on the LI region. We have a larger than normal downpayment, nothing to sell and outstanding credit scores. We will have no problem paying a mortgage, getting a mortgage or handling the closing costs. What is getting us down is that we can't find anything we like!

I don't understand how some of the people list their homes for $500,000 when they bought it 20 years ago for $275,000 and haven't updated them at all!

It's very frustrating. At this point, we have resolved ourselves to the fact that we may be living in my apt. after the wedding . I guess it's ok because it enables us to live off of one salary and bank the other and we will continue to throw money into the savings account!