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Updated almost 8 years ago, 01/04/2017
Purchasing property in NY/NJ
My sister is moving to NY and was going to rent, I would much rather purchase a home and she will pay the mortgage as well as have another tenant pay rent that we will split. I know nothing about NY and would like to know what areas would be safe for my sister, profitable for us both (especially if we decided to sell in a few years), and convenient to commute to work. I have just started to scrape the surface of the market there and am not opposed to her living in NJ if there is a reasonable property and convenient any ideas on this whole situation or questions to clarify. Also this will be my first property not looking to go above 200,00$. Please any info is much appreciated!
Hi Maxwell Howard happy new year! You haven't given us anywhere near enough info to help. New York is a huge state. Similar to being asked where in CA is a safe place to live. I assume because of your NJ mention that you might mean close to Manhattan? Is she looking for suburban, within NYC, a smaller city? When you mention convenience, do you mean near rail and bus or do you mean easy to park and drive and near major highways? Where will she be working?
Exactly, she will be working in the heart of manhattan. She is a single 25 y.o. And this will be her first move out of the state as well, is there any catch to buying property out of state? So will be looking to have her house hack by getting a 2 or maybe 3 bedroom so hopefully enough to pay the mortgage and get a little cash off the back end. Is the housing market there looking like a buyers market ready to explode or a sellers looking stagnant?
The market in the greater Metro NY area is all over the place. It's a huge area and your budget will dictate where you are likely to buy. Within commuting distance to Manhattan you get a co-op for less than $100K or a house for over a $1 million. It just depends on where you want to buy.
My best advice would be to look at maps of the Metro North, Long Island Railroad and New Jersey Transit and starting looking at towns on the train line that go into Manhattan. Unless you plan to buy in Manhattan, your sister will be commuting.
I agree with @Jeff Tracy. Looking at NJ Transit maps (trains and buses) is the best strategy to start. Incidentally, convenient commute is important for your sister, and it is equally important for the potential tenants.
Good schools are another benchmark - areas with good schools are always in demand, which is important for your resale value and stable rents.
You can find deals in your price range, where schools are rated 7-8, walking distance to train/bus, within commuting distance of 40 min to 1 hour.
Happy New Year and good luck.
This is really basic but I'm going to be doing the majority or my "shopping" from California and only will have a realtor if it is suggested when my sister actually goes out there. What do you guys think the best way sites etc is the best way to go about this as a buyer?
In all honesty, you're likely not finding anything within a quick commute to NY, a hip area for mid 20s, safe and under $200,000 all in. Anything in the kind of neighborhood she would probably want to look in is going to be way closer to $500,000. You can probably get something for maybe $250,000 or $300,000 in an "up and coming" part of Jersey City, but not sure she will be that comfortable in those neighborhoods. You could try something like Washington Heights in Manhattan or parts of Harlem, but again, anything that has a quick, direct route to midtown or downtown Manhattan in a safe "cool" area is a half a million investment right now, for a 3 bedroom, way more. I live a 20-25 min commute from mid-town and I live in a 1br apartment, 650sf, about $525,000 right now. You can look in the suburbs along the rail line, but most of the areas along the NJT or even LIRR are a pretty long commute, 45 min-an hr and a half each way, and again, same problem. Maybe a little bit more affordable, but still not anywhere near under $200,000 all in. That would be a major fixer-upper in a not so desirable neighborhood and definitely a little farther out than anywhere with a path train. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but I don't want you or your sister to get your hopes up!
Peekskill, NY is a small city in Westchester County just north of NYC. It is on the Hudson River and has Metro North trains into Grand Central station in Manhattan it is a 45 minute train ride. Housing is affordable especially Multi family for Hacking! Great atmosphere for 20 somethings...tons of bars and restaraunts! Very up and coming area. So all depends on how much of a commute she wants! I grew up there and still have family and friends living there! I plan to look for Multi-families to invest in there myself. good luck. Any questions PM me
Olga Roginkin would you have any leads on a good area in NJ, an hour commute is definitely do able and with good schools around is definitely a plus. The area your talking about would perfectly fit what I'm looking for if you could Elaborate, if not thank you very much!
@Maxwell Howard, I was talking about towns in Bergen County, especially South Bergen County. Passaic and Essex are worth looking at too. Unfortunately, would need more info to give you a more specific advice.
Olga Roginkin I'm an open book! What info would you need?
Richard Brideau it's actually not allowing me to PM but to Manhattan it estimated more like a 110 min ride. Am I incorrect?
Peekskill to Manhattan Grand central Station is under 60 min by train or car!
You also have to understand that even from one side of Manhattan to the other could take well over an hour. Penn Station and Grand Central are the two main hubs, but even a 60-75 min to Grand Central and then a subway or 2 could easily turn into a 2 hr commute each way. You have to find out where in Manhattan. There are probably 100+ blocks that can be called the "heart of Manhattan". Does she plan on having a car? As for Bergen, Passaic, and Essex there are some great towns, suburban family areas, for the most part, but also some really rough towns. None have a real night life other than maybe Montclair in Essex (good parts and bad parts). Ridgewood has a nice downtown, but not really a nightlife. If you want to go into Morris county, Morristown is a good younger area. White plains in Westchester is a cool place, but all of these are pretty long commutes and all are expensive areas with high taxes. Sounds like she wants more of a Hoboken/Jersey City/Manhattan kind of location, and especially if you need livable during renovation for your sister and a roommate...it'll really unlikely be under $200,000 even now, and unfortunately, I'd be shocked if you found something 3+ bedrooms that met all of your requirements and that you could fix up and be all in for under $200,000. If you do, please share where, because I'm in!
Well I think our purchase date will be nearer May or June, I did look at a few places in Union City, NJ. And am looking at spending around 250,000$. 2+ bedrooms with a commute to W. 18th st. In an hour or less.
Hi Maxwell! I just bought a 2 bedroom condo in Union City for 230K and it's about a 10-15 min bus ride to Port Authority (42 st). If you have any questions I'd be glad to answer them, you can PM me :)
Hudson County is a great choice for the lower west side. Anywhere in the real suburbs... so all of the places people mentioned along the rail lines will get you in to Grand Central which is in the E 40s (long ride to work even after getting into the city!) or Penn Station which is much closer but still a bit away (34th). Union City is more likely to have the pricing you're looking for, but it also isn't on a path line, so you're probably buying a spot in another town, which is pricey, or taking a bus to Pt Authority, which means going back on a path or subway to get further downtown. Also, have your sister check out the area to see if that town would be appealing to her. Look into Weehawken maybe? Or see if you can find something in Journal Square in Jersey City? You won't get much for your money there, but if you happen to find something, it should appreciate quickly, and the path runs right by where your sister will be working. Probably a 10-15 minute commute.
@Maxwell Howard I'm also shopping the area for that reason.
Most folks answered your Qs. Like @Jessica Zolotorofe pointed out, Manhattan is a huge island. Also note, if you buy anywhere within The City of New York (5 Boroughs) your sister will be paying NYC income taxes also. If she lives, outside 5 borough she don't pay that. Those taxes come along with perks that each NYC borough has to offer. I guess there are city taxes in Yonkers too but I'm not sure how those work.
Maxwell Howard Good day... I was born in Washington Heights(Part of Manhattan directly over George Washington Bridge), and up until a couple of years ago still had family there, I grew up in Bergen County, NJ(the part north of route 4) and currently reside in Middlesex County(Central Jersey 45 min. to downtown NYC through Holland Tunnel with no traffic and also keep in mind the buses in NJ get a direct lane through the Lincoln Tunnel in the morning to the Port Authority). $250k is not an impossible number to start with. Your barriers exist in Co-op fees, HOA fees and property taxes. Provided you keep those factors in check during your search, you can find something that will make sense financially.
My opinion, any building that is a Co-Op, run from. The co-op's in NJ do not work, the co-op boards raise their fees as often as possible, which soaks up all appreciation, even with making substantial upgrades. You can find cheap ones in great towns for a reason, search Cliffside Park, Fort Lee, etc. but please don't drink the Kool-Aid on the price. Townhouses might be a better bet, check towns like Edison, or East Brunswick. Edison has direct train access to midtown NYC and East Brunswick has a solid bus system. Both are very close to New Brunswick, which has a great night life. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress.
@Robert S. great information! thank you. I will continue to keep you all posted!!
I would suggest figuring out exactly where she wants to live, identifying the nearest transportation and working backwards from there. For example I live in Queens and the prices are not anywhere near 200k for a house but you can get a condo/coop for that ammount. However, even though I am about a 15 minute drive from the city I am a little over an hour commute to the city by train.
Maxwell Howard
Happy New Year Max. Exciting news for your sister. Jessica Zolotorofe makes some pretty valid points in general, but I'd say the most important thing she has mentioned is the area/atmosphere of all these places being mentioned. I too would love to buy in that price range but realistically know it will be somewhere around the 500-700 range to truly land in an area that is predominately occupied by individuals in their 20s & 30s. I am a real estate agent in Manhattan so I am pretty familiar with market on the island. I did a quick search in the Bronx and there are some options there that could work. Again, here you run into the issue of a fairly long commute depending on the neighborhood and a neighborhood that is less than ideal. I would check out condos along express stops on the LIRR. I have seen them for fairly cheap and had clients move there. Let me know if you need some more info, I'd be happy to discuss. Good luck!
I 150% agree with everything that @Jessica Zolotorofe has posted in response to you @Maxwell Howard
Sharing with the community... I live in Fort Lee, NJ in a co-op which did not raise maintenance in at least the past 3 years, I am not saying these co-ops are common, but well-managed co-ops do exist.
FYI, I pay $1,300 of HOA for a 2 bed / 2 ba. apartment, all inclusive of utilities, taxes, some insurance (my own insurance is less than $40 per month), building management, maintenance, and doormen.
The value of the apartment is about $160K. I assume similar places that can be rented in the area are about $2,500, but unfortunately, the structure oh the co-op prevent to rent the apartments.