Is this a good deal on an apartment?

Considering investing in the madness that is NYC real estate. It says I can sublet at any time. Strange new world dealing with some of the terms involved in real estate investments in the city. My 2 rental houses in Texas were easy by comparison. Same idea here buying it then leasing it to a renter. And we could stay there between renters!

newyork.craigslist.org/mnh/rfs/264875308.html

Is this a good deal on an apartment?

Housing in NYC is like running a gauntlet, any way you slice it, no matter what end you%26#39;re on.

Thoughts:

East 2nd Street, bwn Aves B and C: I wouldn%26#39;t call it ';near NYU'; in NYC-speak because it%26#39;s about a mile away. I%26#39;d call it ';just across the border of the Lower East Side.'; It%26#39;s about one block north and 2 blocks east of Katz%26#39;s Deli, near Lucky Cheng%26#39;s, if that helps. The closest subway is the 2nd Avenue stop on the F and V lines.

* Sleeping lofts can be quite a challenge, even for average-height people. We know a guy with one, and he%26#39;s 5%26#39;10';, and he thinks it%26#39;s kind of a pain. But, people LOVE them when they see them, because they look so cool.

Hypothetically, 13 feet divided by 2, minus supporting floor height to hold up loft, doesn%26#39;t leave much room up there - maybe 5 feet?

* I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;d have no problem renting it. Is it worth it? You need to ask other investors, not someone like me, who can%26#39;t relate to paying $399K for 425 sq ft (with non-full height sleeping loft) on East 2nd Street, bwn Aves B and C. (My spouse just rolled her eyes, sneered, and silently went back to what she was doing.)

* It would probably be good for two roommates or a young couple. Tons of dining/bars/nightlife in the area.

(I%26#39;d suggest renting it to Hylasgirl at a ';trip advisor NYC forum'; discount, but they have a German Shepherd.) ;o)

Is this a good deal on an apartment?

QB has given you good things to think about. I%26#39;ll add the single most important thing to consider when buying after location is the condition both physical and financial of the building. This is a

co-op (vs. a condo) so you are not actually buying that apt. but shares of the total building that the apt. represents proportionately. (If you don%26#39;t understand the difference b/w coop and condo, read this

http://manhattan.about.com/od/findanapartment/a/condoscoopsnyc.htm)

While they say you may sublet, that could change in the future and then you%26#39;d be sunk. In most coops, the building has to approve renters. If you%26#39;re thinking of renting this as a vacation rental, that may not work as many buildings won%26#39;t allow it. There may be restrictions on who/how/when/how often you could rent/sublet. You%26#39;d need to check that out.

The other issue is the maintenance. Do you realize in addition to the mortgage you may get for the purchase price, you%26#39;ll be paying almost $700/month in maintenance fees to the coop? This is pretty steep (imo) for a non-serviced building for a small studio. I hope you won%26#39;t consider buying anything w/o personally visiting it yourself. ;)

You should also think about who the prospective renter of this apt would be. College kids would be the least appealing tenants as they can trash the apt., create noise and problems in the building etc. Have you been a long distance landlord before???

You will need to calculate how much your mortgage and maintenance will be per month and then decide if your rent will be able to cover all/most of it. If you can swing it then it wouldn%26#39;t be a bad investment plus your property will most likely increase as well over time.

This is a great price and it looks like there%26#39;s a lot of windows with actual light coming in. I live on 3rd between A and B in a much smaller studio with a husband and a large dog! It%26#39;s a great neighborhood, supermarkets, post office, laundries, cafes, galleries, hair salons, restaurants, bars. I will say that I find it to be a noisy neighborhood at the weekends, when people from all over come here to the bars. The only drawback to a great area. Everything is convenient, the F and V lines are regular and it%26#39;s easy to get a cab. From where I live to NYU is a 20 minutes walk, I do it everyday. You would rent it out in a heartbeat, the area is very hot. There are new buildings and renovations going on all the time, prices are sky high. I know people who live in midtown who have no grocery stores or laundry places near them at all and find it to be very awkward.

My husband also wanted to point out, that although the area is noisy with bars, that block is quiet - there%26#39;s a firehouse on it and no bars.

Appreciate the responses. Just sold some property here in Texas so I can swing it on a near cash deal. I hired a property management company here in Texas to manage my existing rentals so this will be a whole new arena if everything works out. Just another excuse to fly up more often. My wife likes that idea!

Still can%26#39;t get over the fact it%26#39;s so much $$ for so little square footage!

We live in a 2 year old 3200sf house on a half acre now for similar money. Counting on some serious long term appreciation if we do it. You only live once:)

Most definetely lots of $ for limited sq footage...but have you checked out the population of this little island? Every sq inch is in demand...thus the skyrocketing prices regardless of the space-limited %26#39;supply%26#39;:)