You have great timing Dan, the rates are still low, sellers and even sponors are anxious to negotiate. There's no fire side sales but there's a lot of flexibility as compared to the past. You have a strong chance in all three places it's all depends on location and for $160K you have a strong chance. You can certainly purchase in Riverdale which has excellent resell value, and other parts of the Bronx, etc...Feel free to contact me if you I am be of assistance at tlara@rutenbergrealtyny.com, good luck.

Dan
You are best off buying a condo vs a coop from a mortgage finance perspective. If your building meets FHA guidelines you can get a condo with as little as 3.5% down.
Ruth Bonapace
Bank of America

I have Lots of properties in brooklyn ranging at that value. Contact me and we'll find you the home of your dreams!

Anthony Marra- E-Pro, SFR
Lisenced Realtor/Notary
Blue Key Real Estate Brokerage, Inc.
546 Third Avenue, Second Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11215
mobile: 917-478-2368
office: 718-788-2954
fax: 718-788-2564
anthonymarra718@gmail.com
anthonymarra.listingbook.com
anthonymarra1.point2agent.com http://www.BlueKeyRealEstate.com

Credit score is a little low but there is still a good chance you can buy a one bedroom in the Bayside area of Northeast Queens. What is your current credit to income ratio. Many coop boards want that ratio to be below 25 per cent. Can you show over the past two years on paper (1040 tax papers and W-2s) with income of $40K+? Finally, do you have additional money above the $30K for closing costs. Probably, need another $ 6K. If the answers are yes, contact me and I will try my best to get you a nice coop apartment.

Dan
Yes, you can, based on the basic information you provided.
However, we will have to make sure the building meets guidelines (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA). Your lender will help you sort out your best option, since with your credit score and down payment you might actually end up with a lower down payment through a government-insured program.
If you would like to get a more accurate assessment of your payment and other information involved in the process, feel free to email me. The goal would be to get you a home with the lowest possible payment.
Ruth Bonapace
ruth.bonapace@bankofamerica.com

Dear Dan,

Based on the information you provided, I would say that you could definitely get a place. Of course some areas are more pricy than others but it is not totally impossible. You first have to decide on the perks that matter most to you. Factors such as Parking, Shoppings, Transportation, Schools, Market Stability, Down payment, maintainence, Laundry in building, etc.

There are several areas in the Bronx that come to mind such as Pelham Parkway, Morris Park, Parkchester, several areas around Yankee Stadium. There are also areas in Brooklyn, such as Flatbush, Midwood, Bensonhurt and in Queens Astoria, Forest Hills, Queens Village, etc.

Since I raised and still live in the Bronx, I feel that the cost of living is significantly less that some of the other boroughs. But I am sure if you are determined in finding what you want in a specific area, you will find it. Condo tend to be more affordable and board approval is not as difficult, some of the Coop boards are more strict in down payment amount, credit score, you have to pay transfer tax and most require that units are occupied.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact me. If you are ever in the area, please let me know, I would would love to give you a tour. Good luck.

Nirmala Caraballo
Licensed Real Estate Agent
Cruse Realty
1408 White Plains Road
Bronx, NY 10462
Te1.: 646-479-7873
Email: nhcaraballo@yahoo.com

hi dan
dan said it well, he is 100% correct in advising you that in todays world mortgages are a little hard to get. I also did want to point out that 0ver 700 is considered a good credit score. You may want to take a look in Queens, and Brooklyn there are some great deals, Also did some checking and Manattan is more expensive and you get more for your money in Queens and Brooklyn. Work on raising your credit score, get pre approved, do some research on the the areas you like to live. Good Luck Carol Friedman NestSeekers International

Good morning, Dan. The short answer to your question is Yes!

The longer answer is a bit more involved. There are two options, going for a “conventional” mortgage or an FHA loan and looking for HUD approved properties/condos.

Going the conventional route: Based on your income and a LTV ratio of 28% (Loan to Value), I calculated that you’d have about $933/month to spend on housing. ($40,000/12 months=$3333 income per month $3333 x .28 LTV = $933 per month to spend)

You have $30K for a down payment, so I ran a search on StreetEasy.Com and came up with about 9 listings that may work for you if you vary the % down payment and interest rate etc..
http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sales/nyc/monthly:-1000@30000@…

Note also, conventional mortgages and even certain buildings (co-ops) may require higher or lower LTV or may also require post closing liquidity of up 2 years housing expense-or more (24 x 933 -from above calculation- = $22,392). They may also require higher FICO scores.

But maybe there is a better option for you. The FHA requires a down payment of only 3.5 percent and has less stringent credit requirements than conventional mortgages. Check out this NY Times article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/04/your-money/mortgages/04fha…

So if you could get your FHA loan set up, maybe you could look into HUD approved condos. There are properties available in Brooklyn, Queens, Bronx and Manhattan. You can find HUD approved properties here: https://entp.hud.gov/idapp/html/condlook.cfm?CFID=4584891&am…

I’d suggest you use Trulia or StreetEasy to research the above properties. Because most real estate agents will not be expert in properties across those 4 boroughs, check out the neighborhoods and narrow it down to the one you’d like to live in. Then contact a broker specialist for that area or in that specific building.

Good luck!

Bob