New York real estate experts-Advice for the noob
 

Seeking advice on some property in Manhattan. (Will be moving there next month-job transfer) Would really appreciate it if someone can post some solid and sound advice. Not particularly familiar with the real estate market, I’ve only bought land twice. (Old house & new condo) The old house was to live in after being refurbished; the condo was an investment, very fortunate to have made a nice profit after the flip.

This time I plan to purchase a condo to live in for the next 3 years. I’m seeking a place that is fairly modern and easy to re-sell. Size is not that important as I have a limited budget. Plan to put only 100k as down payment. Thinking about buying a place that is approximately 400k, (25% down)

I hope some posters can lead me in the direction as to what the best options are. Interest rates, location, what questions to ask, what to look for, which banks to deal with, best way of going about this, current market, good time or bad time now? As you can see, these are fairly newb questions. 100k is a lot of money to me, I want to be very careful not to make a bad investment.

I know there are many details that I am leaving out. Please let me know what other details I need to post. My realtor seems like a decent guy, he has many clients and I’m too small time for. (I get that feeling for some reason)

I’ve posted on a couple real estate forums but response was scarce. Other suggestions/forums? Thanks in advance.

Re: New York real estate experts-Advice for the noob
 

400k condo's don't exist in Manhattan! Unless you're buying a 300 SQF hovel/closet in a bad area. Transaction costs in NYC are higher then most other areas (one time fees, taxes, brokers, etc...) Personally I don't think a 3 year time period justifies buying in NYC right now and you'd be better of renting. One alternative is some areas in Brooklyn and Queens close to the city have some decent condos in the 400-600k range but I still think 3 years isn't long enough to justify a buy here.

SteveOMS

Re: New York real estate experts-Advice for the noob
 

For 400k, you can find a coop studio that's about the size of a medium sized bedroom.

I saw one on 84th and 3rd last year for 295k but couldn't figure out how would one fit in a bed, a desk, and a TV. There just wasn't enough room. Oh yeah, and no closets FTL.

If you go further uptown (above 96th on the east side, and above 120 on the west side), you can find something in your range. But IMO, there's no point living in Manhattan if you're going to live that high up anyway. Might as well just move to Queens or Brooklyn. Same commute time.

Re: New York real estate experts-Advice for the noob
 

Enjoy your rental!

Re: New York real estate experts-Advice for the noob
 

[ QUOTE ]



My realtor seems like a decent guy, he has many clients and I’m too small time for. (I get that feeling for some reason)


[/ QUOTE ]

Two words: You're fired. Honestly, you're paying the guy to work for you. If he's not, he can find himself another client. All realtors seem like decent guys. They're salespeople - seeming like decent a guy is how they make a living.

Re: New York real estate experts-Advice for the noob
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]



My realtor seems like a decent guy, he has many clients and I’m too small time for. (I get that feeling for some reason)


[/ QUOTE ]

Two words: You're fired. Honestly, you're paying the guy to work for you. If he's not, he can find himself another client. All realtors seem like decent guys. They're salespeople - seeming like decent a guy is how they make a living.

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: New York real estate experts-Advice for the noob
 

I agree with SteveOMS, MrBlue and nyc999.

With the market flattening a bit, you might just be better off renting if you are only here for 3 years. You can find what you are looking for, it will be much smaller than you ever imagined, and will take a year or two to find. Even the right rental might take awhile to find. You might try craigslist. We used ManhattanMortgage and we're happy with them. Susan Levine was our RE attorney. If you get lucky at the 1000NL tables and your budget goes up, I'd sell our place and move to Kansas.