"No reward either."

You seem to imply that owning a home would be a good investment. This isn't true, its a forced savings account that grows historically at the rate of inflation. Since buying a house will probably cost you something like 2000/mo between mortgage, taxes, maintenance, etc, so why don't you take the 1400/mo you're not spending, and sink it into a mutual fund or a target retirement date fund. Make sure you choose something with a very low expense ratio. For an index fund, should be less than .5%, for a target retirement date fund, look for under 1% although I haven't looked in target retirement date funds so not sure what the avg expense ratio is, although my estimate should be reasonable.

Then you'll have a real cheap apt, and a much better investment. If you don't have one already, get an IRA also, or any other tax deferred or free retirement vehicle first, then put hte rest into the fund.

Zack

Hi Wil,

A $600 apartment is a goldmine! Hang onto it for dear life, buy your multi-unit house as an investment property and rent out those apartments. Take your time and find a great building to bid on. There are new construction 3 families that are not moving well all over the city. Try to grab a discounted pre-foreclosure / short sale recently built home (2003-2007) or a builder's excess inventory. Brooklyn has some really nice units to choose from. Live in Queens, rent in Brooklyn or another area that can provide what you need.

Regards, C.

If you can't afford it, don't buy it. despite what other people might tell you.
600 is very cheap in NYC where the average 1 br is 1200.
so its a tough. If you interested in long term investing in NYC, try a 2 family. you could rent the 1st and 2nd floor and still have the basement for yourself. you might come out of pocket 1000. but it all depends on the house. But being a landlord is NYC is not easy.

This really depends on what you are comfortable with on your payments. This does makes sense as you are putting your money towards equity in your own property as opposed to paying someone else's. If you are comfortable with your current situation, maybe consider purchasing a property for investment purposes. Depending on where you are looking and how much you are putting down you may be able to generate a positive cah flow from the property. If you like you may contact and I can run some scenarios for you. You can contact me at 917-681-5475 or michael.marsilio@century21.com

Why not both..keep the apartment if it stays at $600 and you are happy living there. make a purchase that makes sense. Maybe you can make an investment with that money. Eventually your mortgage gets paid off and your equity climbs. I have a friend who has a apartment thats worth $1350 but he pays $525!!! He purchased a investment property that he makes a few hundred dollars on and still lives in his cheap apt.

I agree with Tero's analysis. It depends on what you want and need.

Having said that--and after doing your financial due dilligence, etc.--my gut reaction is: Stay where you are. If you don't need the extra space, if the 1 bedroom suits you OK, then fine. You say that renting offers "no reward." Well, no equity build-up or appreciation reward, true. But, my gosh, saving $1,200 a month as compared to owning (probably more, once you factor in maintenance, repairs, etc.) with "no stress" sounds like a huge reward.

Either way, good luck.

The answer depends on a lot of factors.

Is that new mortgage going to mean significant changes in your lifestyle? Do you have to cut all spending on "fun stuff" just to buy a house? If so, figure out if it's worth it.

How long are you going to stay in the new house? How much do you think the house price is going to increase (or decrease) in that time? How much is it going to ACTUALLY cost you to live in that house for that time (interest payments, additional maintenance costs, property taxes, etc.)? Are those costs in-line with the expected increase of the value of your future home?

Are house prices in your area increasing slower or quicker than your ability to save money and earn interest on it? If you save $100K a year by paying a low rent, while house sale prices only increase by $25K annually, it makes absolutely no sense whatsoever for you to buy anything right now.

What you achieve in home ownership is equity, appreciation and home security.