On weekends, I like to play a game with Jon involving the New York Times real estate section. The game could be called, “Why on earth would anyone ever buy NYC real estate?” I describe an apartment or house, and he guesses how much it costs. Here is an excerpt from today’s game — I’ll leave the answers in the comments section.
1. One bedroom, 1.5-bath coop on 26th St. and Third Avenue. Working fireplace, pre-war elevator building, odd layout (it’s on two floors, or maybe even three — unclear based on the text). Based on the photos, seems to be a decent size, with enough space for a full dining room table and a separate living room.
2. Two bedroom, 1.5-bath coop on 50th St. between 2nd and 3rd avenues. “The living room has stunning casement windows that face north and west and bring in ample light. The master bedroom is very big and also has two exposures,” says the NYT. The kitchen is recently renovated but the full bath needs work.
3. Two bedroom, 2-bath condo in Boerum Hill in Brooklyn. For any non-New Yorkers, I would call this a nice but still somewhat up-and-coming neighborhood. It’s got great subway access and a busy commercial area, but it’s no Park Slope. The apartment has new interiors and its own elevator, and it’s on the second floor.
Let me know how you did!
1 Comment
October 3, 2009 at 2:18 pm
Here are the answers.
1. $599,000. In addition to the mortgage, there will be $1,030 in monthly maintenance changes. Assuming you pay 20% down, on a 30-year, 7% mortgage, you’ll have a monthly mortgage payment of roughly $3,200, for a total monthly cost of $4230. FOR A ONE-BEDROOM APARTMENT. (This calculation doesn’t include tax breaks.)
2. $1,250,000, plus maintenance fees of $2,111 a month. Under the same assumptions as above, you will be paying a mortgage of $6,653, for a total monthly cost of $8,764.
3. $850,000, with no condo fees listed. But let’s guess, based on the above, that condo fees will be in the $1,200 range. Your total monthly fee would be $5,724.