Advice for 29yr old purchasing first apartment in Brooklyn

[Ahmed Zif]

Hello! I'm 29 yrs old & want to purchase my first apartment in Brooklyn. I can put down up to $150K downpayment & have ~$12K/month salary after taxes. Any advice for optimising this purchase? 

Ideally I'd live in this property for at least 4 yrs & have the potential to sell and/or rent it out afterwards. 

Size: at least 1 bedroom. 

[Abel Curiel]

Quote from @Ahmed Zif:

Hello! I'm 29 yrs old & want to purchase my first apartment in Brooklyn. I can put down up to $150K downpayment & have ~$12K/month salary after taxes. Any advice for optimising this purchase? 

Ideally I'd live in this property for at least 4 yrs & have the potential to sell and/or rent it out afterwards. 

Size: at least 1 bedroom. 

 Hey Ahmed!

Is the property type (co-op/condo apartments) a non-negotiable for you here?

While you can find apartments that will allow you to rent after moving out, your cashflow is still reliant upon how well the building is maintained, monthly common charges/maintenance fees, upgrades to common areas, etc. A lot of this will be out of your control.

If this is a non-negotiable for you, I'd target Brooklyn apartments in up and coming areas that surround major Brooklyn hubs i.e. areas around downtown Brooklyn, around Barclays Center, etc. Central and parts of Southern BK can provide awesome opportunities but this will come down to price range and preference on location.

If you're open to other strategies, @Nathan Gesner hit the nail on the head... house hacking is the way to go!

All the best to you on your search!

Abel