XOXO

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great idea

I am too hoping to buy something soon, but i know how expensive LI is so im scared to even start my search, after the wedding we wont have much. I was thinking of looking into suffolk as well, although the prices are probably the same the property and what you get for your money is alot more I hear, have you considered that. Well anyway I love the idea of posting this, I definetly need some pointers,
Thanks for starting it!

The Reality Buying a Home In LI....LONG

The reality is: It's almost impossible to buy a house on Long Island (not literally). The market is soo tight right now, there's literally no inventory on hand. That's why people are getting such outrageous prices for their homes. My brother is closing on a house in Bellmore in a few weeks and his real estate agent asked him if he wanted to sell the house the day he closes and make a $50,000.00 profit! Apparently the guy has people on waiting lists for homes and the buyers don't care how much they have to pay! I've never seen anything like it. Everyone keeps talking about how the market will turn around but I haven't seen any proof of that yet. Around 1999, I went looking at houses and I thought the prices were outrageous then ($140's, $160's, $180's), now the same houses are going for late $200's, $300's and even $400's. My god! Also realize that most homes up for sale right now come from the older generation and usually tend to be a little 'outdated' (like the olive green kitchens, the moulding/sheetrock that has been painted over so many times it looks like big blobs of paint on the walls and the ever attractive pink/black square tiles in the bathrooms - yuck!) so if you are thinking about blowing all of your funds on the down payment, hold back a little for fix-ups, etc. Even basics like paint and carpet cost big $$$'s. Don't consider the idea of buying small, fixing up and moving on. You'll lose money in the long run. Housing can't possibly go any higher than it is right now (let's pray) so if you pay big for a small house and try to recoup your money down the road (for an upgrade) that may never happen if the market crashes out. Plus you'll lose the money you put towards your original move, the past two or three years of mortgage payments you made, etc. Buy what you want from the start but be incredibly careful of the structural integrity of the house. Watch carefully the area of the home, look out for termites, major renovations/updates, etc. Anything that's going to cost you because believe me, everything costs when owning a home. I bought my house (in Suffolk) in 2000 and I 'knew' it needed complete updating. We thought we got a bargain though at $160,000 for a four bedroom, two full bath, kitchen, living room, garage, den, office, two car garage home. WRONG!!! Every wall in the house had to be rebuilt, we had an electrical fire the 1st night, termites/carpenter ants swarming, etc. Thank god my father was an engineer, my brother a carpenter (and he had friends in the industry) or else we would have had to file for bankruptcy! $150,000 later, we have a beautiful home but it was a long two years and if we had to pay a huge sum for the house, it wouldn't have been worth it. What if we had paid $330,000 for the place? With 20% down, we would have had nothing to fix the place (even to the point of living in it). Your best bet (if you're still with me:)) is to go for a prequalification at any bank - to see what you can afford, what's the highest loan amount you can get based on current earnings, etc. Most banks will do it for free. That's what got me started (HSBC). And make sure you pay that 20% down payment!! Who wants to pay P & I on the loan in addition to everything else?!? The closing alone on a house can run anywhere between $8,000 to $12,000. Good luck ladies!

The Reality Buying a Home In LI....LONG

The reality is: It`s almost impossible to buy a house on Long Island (not literally). The market is soo tight right now, there`s literally no inventory on hand. That`s why people are getting such outrageous prices for their homes. My brother is closing on a house in Bellmore in a few weeks and his real estate agent asked him if he wanted to sell the house the day he closes and make a $50,000.00 profit! Apparently the guy has people on waiting lists for homes and the buyers don`t care how much they have to pay! I`ve never seen anything like it. Everyone keeps talking about how the market will turn around but I haven`t seen any proof of that yet. Around 1999, I went looking at houses and I thought the prices were outrageous then ($140`s, $160`s, $180`s), now the same houses are going for late $200`s, $300`s and even $400`s. My god! Also realize that most homes up for sale right now come from the older generation and usually tend to be a little 'outdated' (like the olive green kitchens, the moulding/sheetrock that has been painted over so many times it looks like big blobs of paint on the walls and the ever attractive pink/black square tiles in the bathrooms - yuck!) so if you are thinking about blowing all of your funds on the down payment, hold back a little for fix-ups, etc. Even basics like paint and carpet cost big $$$`s. Don`t consider the idea of buying small, fixing up and moving on. You`ll lose money in the long run. Housing can`t possibly go any higher than it is right now (let`s pray) so if you pay big for a small house and try to recoup your money down the road (for an upgrade) that may never happen if the market crashes out. Plus you`ll lose the money you put towards your original move, the past two or three years of mortgage payments you made, etc. Buy what you want from the start but be incredibly careful of the structural integrity of the house. Watch carefully the area of the home, look out for termites, major renovations/updates, etc. Anything that`s going to cost you because believe me, everything costs when owning a home. I bought my house (in Suffolk) in 2000 and I 'knew' it needed complete updating. We thought we got a bargain though at $160,000 for a four bedroom, two full bath, kitchen, living room, garage, den, office, two car garage home. WRONG!!! Every wall in the house had to be rebuilt, we had an electrical fire the 1st night, termites/carpenter ants swarming, etc. Thank god my father was an engineer, my brother a carpenter (and he had friends in the industry) or else we would have had to file for bankruptcy! $150,000 later, we have a beautiful home but it was a long two years and if we had to pay a huge sum for the house, it wouldn`t have been worth it. What if we had paid $330,000 for the place? With 20% down, we would have had nothing to fix the place (even to the point of living in it). Your best bet (if you`re still with me:)) is to go for a prequalification at any bank - to see what you can afford, what`s the highest loan amount you can get based on current earnings, etc. Most banks will do it for free. That`s what got me started (HSBC). And make sure you pay that 20% down payment!! Who wants to pay P & I on the loan in addition to everything else?!? The closing alone on a house can run anywhere between $8,000 to $12,000. Good luck ladies!

it really varies

What area in Nassau were you thinking about? At the areas we`ve looked at, the absolute minimum has been around $300K, and those houses seems to need a lot of work. (again, this has been where I`m looking)
The North Shore can easily start at around $350K and goes way up to ridiculous figures, so it really depends on the town, the school district, etc.
Try mlslirealtor.com - they have a ton of homes for sale, and the site also has a mortgage calculator.

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I think it is a problem for all couples

I, thankfully, purchased a 1-bedroom condo right before Scott and I got together. The price in 1 year has gone up almost $40K. I, too, think it is totally insane. (I am in Suffolk, exit 58 LIE)
Closing costs can run close to $10K on a home, but more on a very expensive home. It really depends on many factors.
It is not paying the mortgage that is so hard because my rent used to cost me more per month. It is saving up a down payment and the property taxes, plus what if the oil burner breaks.
Unless people start writing to your legistlators and complaining about the lack of affordable housing chances are it will get worse.

The Reality Buying a Home In LI

Maybe you could start smaller and take a step in the right direction -- have you thought about perhaps a condo or townhome? At least you wont be wasting your money on rent anymore, and you will atleast be making the INVESTMENT in the home. As the market goes up, so will the value on what you own!
And you absolutely don't NEED to have 20% down, you can buy with as little as 5% - obviously the more you have the better it is....But go talk to someone about your options before you become so discouraged...I'd rather pay a little PMI than continually waste my money on rent.
BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!

The Reality Buying a Home In LI

Where exactly are these more affordable condos and townhomes located? I'm a bit ignorant about buying homes, but from what I've been hearing (my sister has been home shopping) it sounds like middle class couples cannot find a home that they can afford without help from their families.

Condos

Hi: My FH and I are not ready to buy anything yet (we're getting married in 2 years) but we have been browsing. The houses here in Aurburndale, Bayside, Whitestone,etc are outrageous and so are the Condos. Condos run anywhere from $250,000-450,000 plus. The only thing that's affordable are coops which can cost as low as $65,000.

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The Reality Buying a Home In LI

i don't want to sound negative... BUT the harsh reality of buying a home here is completey absurd. My husband and I had lived in Manhattan but I grew up on L.I. He is from down south and starts hysterically laughing when he sees what they 'starter homes' are selling for. These fixer-uppers can't be a deal unless you have the money to fix them up, plus they so expensive to begin with.

We had taken a quick look at the idea of co-ops (it's the only type of housing that seems possible) but decided against it after hearing that it can be hard to sell etc.

Good Luck to all on your search.

Don't give up hope - we own our home in Nassau County....

on the north shore, and we couldn't be happier. We started looking at buying a home in 1998. We found several we liked, and they were either too much money or needed too much work. It took us almost 2 years before we found a house that was great, needed only cosmetic touch-ups, and was in a great area and an even better school district. We closed on it in October 2000.

We probably bought it at the height of the market, and probably paid more than we should have. I will say we paid over $300K and put down over 1/3 of the cost, thus avoiding PMI. We have 1/3-acre, a gorgeous backyard, 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths, and a 2-car garage.

There is hope. It did take us two years, but we were patient and didn't jump on the first thing. We also went through a few disappointments when we were outbid a number of times.

It's agreat tax write off too. Our tax return this year alone is paying for almost 70% of our wedding, which is in 9 days. Yep, we bought the house first, got engaged two months later, and are getting married now. But I wouldn't change a thing!!

And for those who don't have to commute to the city, living in Suffolk County is also a great option. My girlfriend and her husband bought a house similar to ours, with an innerground pool and much more land, for about $50 less than we paid for ours. They live in Ronkonkoma. It's not to far. Western Suffolk is fine.

Good Luck.

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but

what is a PMI? Thanks! :)

is suffolk cheaper?

I havent even really started looking yet I have so much wedding stuff to do!! AHHH! My Fh thinks a condo is a good idea but i also have seen how expensive they can be and the difficulty that may result when trying to resell. Maybe I shouldnt even bother looking in Nassau Id really like to buy something within the year so we can have a place to live after may 2003.
Are there boards for this kind of stuff?
thanks guys

try www.mlsli.com *NM*

I`m sorry if this is a stupid question, but

PMI is private mortgage insurance for the lender to protect themselves. You need to pay this if you put down less than 20%. Check out www.mlsli.com as Michelle recommeded. It has great info on there.
As for Nassau versus Suffolk as far as prices go, I always thought Suffolk was cheaper because it is further from Manhattan. I live in Suffolk and when I mentioned trying condos/townhomes I meant in Suffolk, I'm sorry for not specifying that! They can start in the mid 100's and go up depending on the complex...
GOOD LUCK...

We just bought a house in Suffolk.....

we started seriously looking in Sept. right after we got engaged. My FI had been looking before we were engaged just for himself, but it was hard for him to find anything good that he could afford by himself. Now that we looked together, it was a lot easier, but also very discouraging since the house prices are rediculous. I was just about to give up hope and on the verge of tears when we found our house. It went up for sale on Sat. and we made the offer on sun (it was accepted and now we're under contract!!!!!) We had beat out another couple who also made an offer that day as well. That's how it is- houses are sold in a day. That's what's frustrating with this whole thing! Each house we called/looked at sold in a day- others beat us to it!

Anyway, don't give up hope!

Kelly

Condos

I couldnt agree more. My fiance and I have been looking at condos in Bayside, Whitestone, Douglaston as well as some houses. We also are not ready to buy yet but the prices are outrageous. A 3BR condo in Baybridge was over $450k.Its crazy.

kelly4...congrats on you new home! *NM*