Brooklyn rent or buy?

amother

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 12:47 pm

I want to move. pros and cons of buying a house vs. rent an apartment.
also how much would it cost me in laymens language to buy a house? how much do I need for down payment? any other costs like lawyer fee or mortgage fee? any other hidden fees? I want to know if I have enough to even start looking at houses.
btw this is for boro park. now don't tell me u need to be a millonaire to even think of such a thing cuz maybe I am. or close to it. but definitely not a billionare.... lol

MimiMommy

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 12:51 pm

Depends on size and location of house. I'd say starting at $400,000 for a "fixer upper" and up. You need a good percentage if the price to put as a down payment for a mortgage - maybe 15%? I might be making that up. Anyway, buying is infinitely better than renting. Why pour money into somebody else's pocket when you can put it toward your own house? Just make sure you want to stay in boro park long term!

Lady Bug

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 1:02 pm

I think that in BP it only pays to buy once you are past a 1-2 bedroom apartment. Think of it this way - You will be paying minimum of $3000 rent on a 3 bedroom apartment, while the mortgage on the same size apartment will be more like $2000. You will generally need to put down 25% + approximately 5% closing costs (there are of course exceptions but this is for the best product/rate). If you have the money for the down payment, then definitely go for it. If you can buy a 2 family, then with the rental market the way it is now, you can even have your mortgage payed by the rent you collect.

MimiMommy

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 1:50 pm

happy12 wrote:

There are no fixer uppers for 400,000 -its more like 600,000 for a house that needs to be thrown down.

Is boro park more expensive than Flatbush? Because I've looked at quite a few houses for 6-700k that were in great condition, in Flatbush.

Lady Bug

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 1:55 pm

MimiMommy wrote:

happy12 wrote:

There are no fixer uppers for 400,000 -its more like 600,000 for a house that needs to be thrown down.

Is boro park more expensive than Flatbush? Because I've looked at quite a few houses for 6-700k that were in great condition, in Flatbush.

Then I guess Boro Park is more expensive. Check these listings. The fixer upper is $875,000.

http://www.ziprealty.com/homes.....ailed

oatmealcookies

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 1:57 pm

If you wanna move to lakewood you can get a newly built townhouse for around 249k they are building every where in this town. Private 6 or 7 bedrooms run for about 449-500 range, the same big houses selling in bp for 1.5 mil

Lady Bug

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 3:55 pm

mrslakewood wrote:

There are three things that determine value of real estate:

1. location
2. location
3. location

amother

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 9:22 pm

op here.
thank you imamothers for your responses.
mini mommy: what's a "fixer upper"?
Ladybug: are there any other hidden fees besides the down payment and closing costs? also the $3000 quote is not very accuarte. I saw some apt. and most were ranging bet $2000 - $2500.
mrs. lakewood: though u probably meant well, your comment was not appreciated. I asked about a location cuz I want to know about that specifc location. I wasn't complaining about the price and not everything in life do you do for the cheapest price. if I wanted the cheapest I'm sure there many places for frum families cheaper than lakewood. and thanx lady bug for helping out on that one.

gp2.0

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 9:32 pm

Check trulia.com and zillow.com to get an idea of price range. Banks these days want 20% down payment. Boro park has a few different price ranges depending on exact location - heart of town or which edge. 600-750 is average for a 3 bedroom.

sky

Wed, Oct 24 2012, 10:25 pm

amother wrote:

Before you close you will need an inspection and appraisal. but their costs are negligible compared to the down payment.
In terms of monthly payment you will also have taxes, home owner insurance, and general home maintenance (I.e. landscaping and things breaking)