Top Frog

Pay with blood.... oh sorry I thought you asked how should I PAY for them... ;)

anyway, always ask the broker/owner when was the last time they raised the maintenance, why it was raised, and if there are plans for it go up again soon. You also want to know what the deductible is, don't assume it is 50%. Maintenance is pricey in this fair city, the larger you go the more you will pay...and coops are generally higher maintenance, usually due to the doorman, renovations, if the bill includes heat/water/taxes/power... you never know. Sometimes there are seasonal assessments too - like $25/month per air conditioner unit for the months of june-september, or longer term assessments used for special projects like lobby/ elevator renovations. These aren't that bad as they will go away in 6-18 months, but always good to be aware of long-term plans and expect your maintenance to rise very year - or at least keep up with inlfation. - Wed May 9 2007, 22:32

Well with new constuction the buyer can many times be expected to pay the SELLERS closing costs - so check your contracts! Besides that the closing costs are textbook - the poster beneath me has the numbers (first poster) - so just know that around 4% of the purchase price of the property could be chewed up between taxes, expenses, insurance, legal fees, points, etc. c'est la vie! - Wed May 9 2007, 22:27

Sure here goes mine:
1) Know what you can afford - dollar wise
2) Then do some fact finding to see what areas are in your price range, I have to say the trulia heat map really helps with that.
3) Educate yourself on the market, trends, talk to brokers and visit open houses.
4) read the NY Times real estate section, the NY Post Sunday real estate section too.
5) Meet with a reputable bank for a pre-approval, don't use "money warehouse" use a reputable name so that the brokers can trust that the paper is worth more than the ink it was written on.
6) Make intelligent offers - meaning offer what you can afford, relative to what the property is worth. And making an offer won't kill you, if you like the place - make an offer, you never know what can happen. Putting it in writing means nothing - until lawyers get a hold of it in NYC and you both sign there is no deal.
7) should go before 6 really - have an idea or lawyer names ready to go, so when you make your offer you don't skip a beat. - I recommend working with a real estate attorny always - not some general practitioner. - Wed May 9 2007, 22:25

Well the first post pretty much answered the question. However I would like to add that closing costs in NYC suck. NYC tax, state tax, lawyer fees, title fees, etc.... I believe when the math is done, between all fees and taxes that are paid, you can expect around 4% of the price of the property to be your closing costs. - Wed May 9 2007, 22:18

NYC offers an amazing educational system. Sure for a city this size, with this kind of demand and volume of students some school's are better than others. However, considering what our teachers are paid it is a wonder that they teach here it all. That being said, some schools are going to be amazing with computers, laptops, web design courses, etc.. while others won't have enough seats for every student. So you need to be careful when picking a school district. Visit the schools, check the ratings and sit in on a few classes - this is your childs education we're talking about here. Is it worth your time? Some schools in brooklyn even have ideologies - uniforms, no uniforms, no "structure", semesters, college like schedules, etc. So there is no one answer for this question. Check the link for school ratings. - Wed May 9 2007, 22:03