Finding a house in New York

It won’t be a huge discovery if you find out that NYC is an extremely expensive city. This is the main reason why many people (the most of them) rent a small apartment. At least in the beginning. This is the only somewhat affordable solution. Affordable by NYC standards. You surely wouldn’t be too happy to be forced to pay couple thousand dollars for a one-bedroom apartment. But that’s a reality in New York. This is why more and more people look to move to some of the suburbs and find a house there. There are surely many among you who would be more comfortable with traveling a bit more after work, and relax in a decent home than to be home in minutes and have only one room at your disposal. If this might interest you, here are some tips for finding a house in New York. 

New York housing – What do you prefer?

Surely, there are those among you who think that it doesn’t matter how big your home is. The most important thing for you might be to lose the least time possible commuting to work. And that’s perfectly fine. The number of those thinking like this is especially big in the beginning. As the time goes by, more and more people tend to decide that it is worth it to travel a bit more for a preferable NYC housing. Given that we consider comfort more important than the time spent in transportation, we’d always suggest renting/buying a house in the suburbs over renting/buying a small apartment in downtown.

Where should you buy a house in New York?

Finding a house in NYC – Is suburb a perfect choice?

Now that you decided a house is a preferable solution for you, the logical question is- where to find an affordable house you can enjoy? It depends on many things. For example, it depends on how many hours you work each day, and how many days you must be in your office. There are lots of jobs nowadays with an option to work remotely two-three days a week, so the distance from your office isn’t that important if you need to go to your office only twice a week, right? Besides this, how much do you like nightlife? Are you completely done with it, you want to go out once in a while, or you enjoy hanging out every night? This would influence very much what distance of your new home you would consider acceptable.

Also, do you have children? Do they go to school in NYC? Are you into sports? A shopping maniac? All this are questions you need to ask yourself. The answers to them will help you determine if you could be ok with living not so close to the city, or you’d rather change comfort for being around all the time.

Finding a house in NYC not breaking the bank

Deciding to buy a house and to accept living in the suburb for that cause are just the first step. An even more important matter is the matter of price. Yes, every mile further from the downtown brings a decrease in the price. But, on the other hand, there are many people who like living in the suburb. Therefore, not that many homes here are cheap. On the contrary, although the houses in the suburbs are cheaper than a lot smaller apartment in NYC, they are still quite expensive. So how to find an affordable house in NYC suburbs? There are several things you can do:

• Pick a neighborhood you like and drive around – perhaps you could find some homes for sale and discuss the price with the owners in person
• Check for the houses on the market for a long period of time – The owners or the agencies owning those houses are certainly more prepared to lower the price.
• Hire a reliable real estate agent – Realtors probably have the best ideas where you could find an NYC house you can afford.
• New neighborhoods might be ideal for finding a house in NYC on a budget – The homes there tend to be less expensive.
• Houses with a need for reparations might be a good pick – As long as there are not that many things that need to be fixed.

Choose the neighborhood where you would like to live

Driving around it you might find a house for sale by the owners. You probably know that there’s a greater chance to discuss affordable terms directly with the owners than with a real estate agency. Therefore, putting an effort and doing a little research yourself could pay out.

The longer the house is on the market the bigger the chances of lowering the price

How to find a house you can afford

Especially if someone needs the money urgently. There’s probably no better way of finding a house in New York you can afford than negotiating with someone obviously unable to sell the house at the current price.

Reputable realtors – If you’re ready to pay a commission, your dream house is very close

Realtors and real estate agents have the housing listings they update on a daily basis. They have great resources of information so whatever you might be searching for, they probably can find it (at least the best of the best). If you agree to pay a commission, of course. But paying a commission isn’t that big a deal if they find you a home you can afford in the desired location!

New adjacencies tend to be cheaper

When an investor enters a new market, he/she wants to secure a few sales as soon as possible, to cover the expenses. A perfect opportunity for someone looking for a perfect house at an affordable cost.

A need for reparations might lower the price significantly

When searching for this kind of houses, we suggest you bring an experienced handyman with yourself. Knowing how much time and how much money every reparation takes, the handyman can advise you what might be a perfect opportunity. Why wouldn’t you buy a house and then fix some minor problems after that? However, with no experience, you might get into big troubles. Finding a house in New York you can afford means nothing if it needs dozens of reparations that would cost you a fortune. It might ruin your life!