If You're Buying a Property in New York, Here are 5 Things You Must Consider
In concrete jungles where dreams are made of, there comes one too many caveats attached with purchasing property. If you have decided to acquire the said property in New York, you must keep a few things in mind. Here are some of them.
1. Patience, Patience, Patience
The most important aspect of acquiring a property in New York after closing the deal is to wait for the fully-executed contract. While you can acquire patience by various means, you should go as long as you can wait for over 2 or 3 months.
As you know, contract processing takes a lot of time. Despite the predicaments and their machinery in New York being more efficacious, it would still require you to wait and hold on. Be prepared accordingly.
2. Closing Costs Bear Weight
Oftentimes, people tend to bear more weight on other monetary aspects such as down payments. On the other hand, the real bummers turn out to be the other aspects of closing costs. You can be on your way to get your hands on the hottest developments around New York and its vicinity, but if you don’t have your financial metrics right, you will be left disappointed.
You will essentially have to be willing to put a fair deal of cash on the line. In most cases, this might be even close to about 1-2% of their total costs. In a situation where the down payments can total up to 1/5th of the said costs, a mere 1-2% is definitely worth putting aside for.
This is a good financial habit to keep if you want to speed up the process of acquiring your property in New York. Essentially you are placing aside costs for both the down payment and the closing deal.
3. Co-op or Condo?
There is a minor difference in approach, depending on whether you are acquiring a co-op or a condo. In order to acquire a co-op, you will need a lot more documentation and cushioning to make the deal go through.
These would include bank statements, investment account statements, tax returns, and so on. Now while the duration of the said documentation might vary, you must have the same for at least 2-3 years prior to applying for acquisition.
Ideally, you would want to ensure that all the said documents are in place even before looking for a condo or a co-op. This would not only save you unnecessary hassle but also give you more time to make a well-thought decision.
1. Ensure to Insure
As you might already know, life is uncertain. While you can obviously rely on this fact and learn to live with it, or you can ensure bypasses to mitigate, if you face untoward peril. In this case, in order to bypass the perils of financial downfall, you can look for the safer alternative—insurance.
You need to acquire a stable and sensible insurance plan, especially if you are living in a bustling place like New York. Moreover, you can get insurance plans for as little as you deem fit. To put a cherry on top, you can do so using any kind of modulation as you deem fit.
In other words, with the insurance market getting more competitive, it is only more beneficial for the customer. After all, you are spoilt with choices and offers. Ensure that you go through all possible plans and subscribe to what you deem most appropriate, but definitely look for insurance plans before sealing the deal.
4. Inspectors are Crucial
Since you are already spending a great deal to live in a place like New York, you can obviously spend a little more on the inspection aspect of it. In fact, you better spend a little more to get proper inspection—don’t skimp on it.
This becomes particularly useful in a townhouse scenario. After all, it is your inspector who will make accurate evaluations after making great deductions from variables like moulds or other issues (which should give you an edge with deals and negotiations).
5. To Conclude—The Five-year Rule
There is a general rule of thumb regarding the same. You are generally advised not to acquire such properties if you are not planning to stay for at least 5 years. Sure, these are appreciating assets and their values are bound to increase, but it is redundant if you do not wish to stay for more than the said duration.
Sure, you can rent it out, but the fact is that you will always grow out of such places. Ergo, if you plan on the long-term, you should go ahead and purchase the same, albeit keeping the aforementioned ideas in mind.