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You may be able to find something in the Midtown West-Clinton Area for that price range. Good luck. If it is an investment, consider an apartment that is closest to the train.
My colleague just helped her daughter purchase a studio in Chelsea for about $350K. It's pretty small, but it is in a doorman building with an elevator (she'd been living in a 5th floor walk-up for 20 years) and it's only a 5 minute walk from the subway. They settled on a co-op because the prices were much better, but the board was very strict and she's not allowed to sublet. I doubt you'll be able to get a co-op if your intention is to rent it out, which leaves you with condos, which are more expensive. With the market the way it is, I'd be surprised if you were able to rent it for enough to cover the mortgage, maintenance fees and still make a profit. Even nice buildings aren't quite commanding the rent they used to.
why anyone would want to spend 350k for a studio is beyond me.
No wonder they can charge prices like this, because some people will actually buy them?????????/ total bewilderment here !!!
Thank you everyone. Your messages give me some insight to the situation. You are right that the budget is kinda small, but hopefully a start to something bigger eventually.
I probably have to settle for Condo cos I see that co-op seems to have a lot of rules and restrictions. Are foreigners allow to buy into co-op apartments?
Don't you think you'd have a difficult time turning a profit? Rents on one bedroom apts are, last time I checked, under $2k/month. $500k is a lot to spend on an investment property with a low rate of return. Just my opinion, but you did ask.
Right now, it's cheaper to rent than buy studios + 1 bedrooms (rental rates below mortgage + maintenance after putting 20% down), which should tell you your potential cash returns short-term of buying and leasing out a 1-bedroom.
These are rough numbers for a 1-Bedroom:
$600,000 purchase price, figure 800 square feet. If you pay cash and lease it out for $2,500 a month, you will net about $1,300 figuring a 1.5x monthly maintenance per square foot ($1280). $1,300 cash net monthly is only a 3% yearly yield, before taxes, not so good.
Numbers look worse if you try to take out a mortgage- the interest eats into the rental income further.
The rental market in New York remains pretty bad given that job growth is nonexistent now. Many buildings have 20% vacancies.
Thank you very much! You are correct! I made some calculations and even by cash, the return is merely 3%. May be something compared to the low saving interest rates offered by the banks now, really not sure.
I was told that the properties in Manhattan only go up, up and up ... hardly go down too much even during the crisis, is that really the case?
I am not able to get the past transaction records of the properties that I am looking at. Do you know where or is it possible to get access to records like this?
Just want to study the specific trend of each unit. The general trend is not indicative or good enough.
Appreciate any help or advice!
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