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Friends (a couple, uh, couple of friends who are a couple) wants to buy something fitting that criteria and I'm not sure if that exists as I haven't really been looking recently. I did a cursory search and found some co-ops, but I don't think I saw any condos. They're not novices to the city and are looking themselves, but I'm posting, because I'm the nerd who goes on these forums and figured the collective knowledge is probably greater than any real estate agent.
I'm guessing neighborhood-wise, this would be Fort Greene, Clinton Hill and Prospect Heights (maybe Prospect-Lefferts? Maybe too far?). On a stretch, maybe somewhere along the G, L or M trains in Greenpoint/Williamsburg/Bushwick, but I have no idea how much condos sell for there--I assume a lot and therefore like Park Slope, Brooklyn Heights, Boerum Hill, Cobble Hill, and Carroll Gardens, would be out of the discussion. They are also planning on getting a dog, but I don't think that's really necessary since they haven't actually gotten around to anything but talking about getting a dog.
Their budget is something under $400K hopefully and with the ability to put maybe a quarter of that as a down payment. Does this seem doable? Are they any recommendations for specific buildings?
You can definitely find something in Clinton Hill in that price range. I have a few friends who live in the Clinton Hill Coops and seem pretty happy in them- the maintenance is on the high end of things though. Fort Greene will be more of a stretch with that budget, but is also possible (though I doubt a two bed). I assume Prospect Heights would fit the bill too, but I'm less up to speed on that so I won't comment for sure.
For a condo in Brooklyn in that price range within the preferred distance to both union square and the navy yard you'd have to either be in the hood or directly across the street from projects. And still not sure you'll find that price. Jump over the boro border into Queens might be the only option. From the Maspeth/Ridgewood border, you can take the B57 right to the navy yard and the Q59 or the Q54 to the Grand St L stop to get to Union Square.
For a condo in Brooklyn in that price range within the preferred distance to both union square and the navy yard you'd have to either be in the hood or directly across the street from projects. And still not sure you'll find that price. Jump over the boro border into Queens might be the only option. From the Maspeth/Ridgewood border, you can take the B57 right to the navy yard and the Q59 or the Q54 to the Grand St L stop to get to Union Square.
That's good advice. The guy isn't against Queens at all (last of three generations of NYC which seems like a long lineage in this city), but the SO is a transplant who is more about Manhattan or Brooklyn and nothing else (not a ***** at all, just trying to acclimate herself to the perception of NYC versus the reality of NYC after just over a year of NYC coming from a very different country). I think they might be up for co-ops for the right price, but from what I understand, co-ops have much higher monthly fees. Is that pretty accurate? Do you have any specific places to look for or avoid?
EDIT: Do adults really need to get moderated from bad words?
You can get a one bedroom condo for under 400K in my neighborhood, which isn't even as expensive as the ones you listed, but not a two bedroom condo---so I doubt you find a two bedroom in those areas. Takes about forty minutes to get to Union Square from here but it doesn't sound like the type of neighborhood you're looking for in Brooklyn. Getting a dog in a condo is not nearly as big of a problem as it is in a coop.
My friends bought a new condo from a developer---somewhere in Prospect Park/Lefferts Gardens area---and I don't think they're too thrilled about it. The space is very tiny, it has one closet, they can hear everyone/everything around them and they said their heating bills are outrageous because this new building has an awful boiler that they'd have to replace on their own. I'd just be wary of new construction at very reasonable/great prices.
BTW: Many coops have higher maintenance fees because you're paying for your gas, heat, water, "property taxes" and sometimes electric in those bills. You're also paying part of the mortgage in many buildings, which may or may not be tax deductible depending on your situation. In a condo, you may have lower monthly maintenance fees (many still seem very high considering how little you get) but you're paying for all of those other expenses listed above on your own accord. They could ask to see the typical water/gas/electric/heating bills are for the property owner of a condo + the current property taxes and see if it ends up costing them the same over a year as maintenance fees for a coop would.
As others have pointed out, condos at that price, regardless of neighborhood, are going to be hard to come by in Brooklyn. Also you must be wary of new construction (most all condos in BK are new) because developers are good for cutting corners. I vetted my building very well and ended up with a great place at an amazing price. However, this was two years ago and the housing market has changed dramatically in BK. Prices have gone up so much! Two years ago I could have pointed you to several places were you could get a 1 bedroom condo at that price and even 2 beds in the "up and coming" areas that have indeed come up a lot.
The best bet is for a coop. Coops do have some rules but they really aren't so bad. Clinton Hill coops are indeed nice and well maintained so that's not a bad suggestion. I don't know about dogs but they do take small pets (like cats).
Another bit of advice is to keep checking real estate blogs like brownstoner. That's how I found my building even before it was completed. The blog keeps tabs on new buildings popping up all over BK so I had my eye on a few things that were in progress back in 2010/11. Also Streeteasy is a pretty good real estate search site and the closest thing NYC has to a MLS. I still get alerts from that site on the listing settings I established 2 years ago. I keep it up because I want to see how the market changes.
from what I understand, co-ops have much higher monthly fees.
It often FEELS that way until you add your real estate taxes to your condo's HOA fee. Co-op maintenance has the taxes rolled in at usually at far lower per apartment rate than condos.
It often FEELS that way until you add your real estate taxes to your condo's HOA fee. Co-op maintenance has the taxes rolled in at usually at far lower per apartment rate than condos.
Is that because a condo owner pays to not be part of a coop? Also wouldn't it matter if you had one of the bigger apartments in the coop vs one of the smaller ones?
Thanks for the suggestion everyone, keep 'em coming if you can. I've signed up for streeteasy myself--seems way less clunky than zillow. Also, does anyone have advice for what is needed for buying? Is a buying agent really necessary? What does one do to vet an apartment besides visually inspect and walk around the neighborhood at different times of day?
Thanks for the suggestion everyone, keep 'em coming if you can. I've signed up for streeteasy myself--seems way less clunky than zillow. Also, does anyone have advice for what is needed for buying? Is a buying agent really necessary? What does one do to vet an apartment besides visually inspect and walk around the neighborhood at different times of day?
Don't trust the values on Zillow. My place in Stuy Heights is valued by Zillow at 848K and I have been offered 1.2M for it.
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