How logical is it to buy a very cheap home?

Quote from Surdo:

You have some of the finest looking Dominican Mamies in NYC in Washington Heights!

They're nice, but what I love even more is those Tex-Mex-Chinese restaurants that let you order an egg-roll and a burrito at the same time.

Is that innovation or what!?
 
Quote from coolweb:

No problem, I have this whole area memorized so it was easy :)




Yeah harlem is pretty hyped up as well
a 1 bedroom is usually $100k more then a studio, A good deal is to find an oversized studio like a 600 sqft studio, thats as big as a 1bedroom almost for a studio price.


studio - $100k
1bed - $150-200k
2bed - $250-300k


So harlem properties are about $120k overpriced.

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For craiglist listings, whatever their Asking price is, offer them 30%-35% less. Settle around 20-25% discount. Should be a fun game for you :D

Are you a trader around here? I'd like to meet some successful traders and brainstorm. I met one guy from ET over in the financial district.

I think his name was 'Eagle' something. So he said AIG wasn't going past $70 or so because he had some inside knowledge about a former insider. Then a couple of months later, it busted past $70 or so. :p
 
Check out Sunset Park. 25 min away from Financial D. No gov. projects at all. Very close to Parl Slope, and Bay Ridge, close to highway. Express train to NYC. Some scandinavian Co-ops from 40street to 50 St between 4 and 8th ave. Prices????? around 180 to 200K but there are bargains out threre I am sure. You may get lucky and get something for 150K. maintenance is around $250/month. There is park, good shopping, community swimming pool, lots of authentic latin restaurants. I recommend it.
 
Quote from fatrat:

I've been thinking about this recently. My annual income is a little over $100,000 and I live in NYC. I have some student loans, with $30,000 (base) all in gold at the moment -- 60k total in gold on margin, bought at well beneath the current market price.

I was thinking about buying a low end 1 bed/1bath condo or co-op out of range of the city with a longer rail commute for around $85,000. I figure I could pay a place like this off very quickly. Now, everyone is avoiding real estate; however, if I aggressively pay off a 30 year fixed loan on a place within 3-5 years.

My thinking is: An $85k loss is no big deal in the long run of my life, and the rents in the market (far out from NYC) seem like they'd be fairly close to covering the actual mortgage. So unless there was a huge population shift, the value of the property wouldn't fall too much beneath rent at this end of the market.

I'm paying around $1500/month in rent and my building is crap, has rats, roaches, bad internet connection and this is still a "good deal" by NYC standards. I've about had it with NYC landlords. They're all crooks.

Thoughts? Has anyone else looked at the very low end of the market?

One more note: I had a $400,000 condo in LA that I sold a few years back. I basically lived there rent free, so this is not my first home. That unit that I sold dropped a full $50,000 on the open market after I sold it. I am worried about buying again, but I feel as if risk in the sub $150,000 market isn't all that much -- especially if I have intentions of living in the area for quite some time.


I know what you mean. I think you are good to go if you hold that gold. Hopefully you are not talking about jersey, but if you are I would check Brooklyn for investment. They are cleaning up everything and building a brand new line paralel to the L line. Williamsburg for instance is like an extension of the lower east side. Dumbo is like soho with rents all north of 2500-3000. I would be looking at greenpoint, red hook, LIC and any other place with a short commute, and OVERLOOKS THE CITY! They have converted factory lofts which are huge and well worth the money. Best price for one of those would probably be in Bushwick which is only about 6min from canal but the neighborhood is still pretty bad but a long way from what it used to be. good luck! as for housing, as the economy deteriorates along with the dollar, people will have less purchasing power, less money to go around for a while, you will have gold and owned property. I dont know, sounds like a win win situation for me.
 
Quote from fatrat:

They're nice, but what I love even more is those Tex-Mex-Chinese restaurants that let you order an egg-roll and a burrito at the same time.

Is that innovation or what!?
 
"Primary motivation: I want to retire early from the work force, and therefore want to minimize the overall portion of my income that rent is."

From what I've read, sounds like a plan. You want the security of a home so you can concentrate on the next step, a business. I'd like to add one more thought to early retirement which we all have to face whether we own a home or not. Need to have an income stream. Maybe some of the savings from a cheap home you might look at annuities, maybe others have some other ideas. A paid for home still has increases in taxes, energy costs, which at the end of the rainbow will almost equal a mortgage payment.
 
'My annual income is a little over $100,000'

Find a job paying $90K in Des Moines, Minneapolis, Omaha, Madison, Kansas City and buy a bigger house on mortgage and see it appreciate well above the inflation rates annually.

You give up $10K gross on the table but have more time for yourself, better quality of life and far less number of psychopaths around.

If your income is out of some business in NYC then you are stuck and soon to join the ranks of official psychopath.
 
Quote from toc:

'My annual income is a little over $100,000'

Find a job paying $90K in Des Moines, Minneapolis, Omaha, Madison, Kansas City and buy a bigger house on mortgage and see it appreciate well above the inflation rates annually.

You give up $10K gross on the table but have more time for yourself, better quality of life and far less number of psychopaths around.

If your income is out of some business in NYC then you are stuck and soon to join the ranks of official psychopath.

No one will hire me for that much out there.

Here, I can get a high salary and then work out clever ways of not spending money. If I lose my job, there's always some other opportunity popping up in NYC. Even in crap markets, there's room to maneuver in NYC.
 
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