Affordable Apartments in NYC?

Red Hook is a nice area, OP. And if you like a water view, the Gowanus Canal presidential condominiums are a good bargain.

You're going to have to add a million to that, sweetie. A buddy just bought a small (600 sq ft) 30-year old one bedroom in Brooklyn for $1.25 million, and it needs to be gutted and completely redone. He's looking at another $250,000 before he can move in.

I hope you're an EST, OP, or you might qualify for this title.

Whoops, guess I should've done a quick search on Craigslist first... found this apartment in the lovely neighborhood of Forest Hills, Queens for just under $250K. Only a 5 minute walk from the express subway. Unless, perhaps, Queens isn't actually in New York City? I might be confusing myself.

Difficult as it sounds as if you are pretty clueless about the NYC market. Your commute will be over 30 minutes...here are listings on Streeteasy! Good Luck as you will need it!

I think that apartment link I posted at r4 would be a door-to-door commute to midtown of 45 minutes, tops. I'm sure many of the hip places in Brooklyn have just as long a commute to some parts of the city.

That apartment at 67-41 Burns St in Forest Hills does have a 38 minute commute (assuming the train is running, of course).

It is also abutting the train tracks, and you get to pay nearly $1000 a month in maintenance. It also looks, based on some simple Googling, that comparable apartments in the building go for $50-$75k more because they've been renovated.

Fair enough, r7. But even $300K for a 1 bedroom seems like a great deal, especially given all the hand wringing over how the middle class is being priced out of the city. It can't be as bad as they claim if a nice area like this has affordable apartments.

Move to NJ

Forest Hills, generally speaking, has issues with a "criminal element" (arguably no worse than Chelsea) and aging buildings that were built to be white-glove but now that is infeasible (which is why you can get even cheaper apartments out there with huge maintenance).

To someone who doesn't live in NYC, it might seem shocking to spend $300k and still get offers to buy drugs when you get off the subway in your "safe" neighborhood.

Yes, Hoboken NJ is very hip, has Path trains into the city, and only floods a couple times a year.

[quote]Elegant, fully renovated One Bedroom CoOp

I'd forgotten how much they use the word 'elegant' for this sort of thing in NY. It always made me laugh.

"Come celebrate in our elegant dining rooms!...just off the turnpike at exit 57 in Brooklyn".

[quote]Yes, Hoboken NJ is very hip, has Path trains into the city, and only floods a couple times a year.

Newark?

If OP is so unfamiliar with the city he should rent for the first year.

Don't be a crazy person, OP. Not just yet. New York will do it to you in the end anyway.

You could try East Harlem you might be able to find a studio in your price range I live in a 2br apt coop that's now going for 590k and it's nice building and all but not the ritz. But at least it's 'Manhattan. I paid 430k 8 years ago and the neighborhood was really not that great back then ,it's now improving.

L-shaped Studios > small 1BR's in Bay Ridge, BK are o/a $200K that hood is quiet, cheap and safe! R train last 3 stops in Brooklyn! 30 min. on express train to midtown NYC!

Thanks r15, another example. I'm really just trying to make the point that it's the absolutely most desirable parts of the city that are priced out of reach of the middle class, and there are many other parts that have reasonably priced housing.

Hoboken sucks.

Before you buy in NY, it may make more sense to rent an apartment for a year and get a feel for the various neighborhoods.

Your living priorities are not the same in NY as they would be living somewhere else. You will find you are willing to make some tradeoffs that you didn't previously consider.

Everyone has different opinions, but the standard tradeoffs will always apply - space/location/price.

If you can't afford to live in Manhattan don't bother. The outers are practically 3rd World.

R19 so not true so NOT true...NYC is more than Manhattan!!! Nobody can afford to live in Manhattan that's the reality fucker! Check out BK!

Skip Brooklyn Heights. I lived there. The place is dull and starting to get rundown.

NYC is insane.

[quote] looking to move to New York City next spring

Why?

Bay Ridge is nice along Shore Road, but be prepared to pay $57 per week for the 7-day Express Bus pass (and that bus is not always on-time).

R21 Are you Patty or Cathy?

[quote]so not true so NOT true...NYC is more than Manhattan!!! Nobody can afford to live in Manhattan that's the reality fucker! Check out BK!

While I don't agree with r19 either, obviously a lot of people (including me sitting in my 2bdrm/2bath UWS apartment) beg to differ on the idea that no one can afford to live in Manhattan.

It may be your reality - that I can't speak to.

Weehawken, Gutenberg, etc., along JFK Boulevard in NJ.

A friend's accurate assessment is that you should try to live below 96th Street, East or West, in Manhattan. The truth is that If a one bedroom apt went on the market in Manhattan for 200K, you would be out-bid and it would be snatched up in a matter of minutes.

There are lots of apts like that CL post in Forest Hills, esp on Queens Blvd. Try to find an apt near an express stop. If you get a corner unit, at least you'll have light coming from two sides, not one. They are a little on the cookie cutter side, and you will be reliant on a few subway lines as opposed to all of them (in Manhattan).

Also try Sunnyside Queens. It's a lot closer than Forest Hills. A lot of people like Astoria as well.

I know of a place. It's called Philadelphia.

Forest Hills probably comes closest to ticking all of your boxes, OP. The comment about Forest Hills having a criminal element should be taken with a grain of salt. It's very middle class and regarded by most who live and work there as safe.

That said - I don't know where you're coming from or what sort of neighborhood vibe you're seeking - IMHO Forest Hills is deadly dull: conservative, family oriented, filled with chain stores and a faux-glitzy aura.

You'd do well to take other posters' advice and rent for awhile, getting to know as many neighborhoods as you can in the process.

If your budget for buying is inflexible, you should narrow your priorities because you'll have to give up a few things on your wish list. You can stay under budget and get a nice one-bedroom, but not with a thirty-minute commute to Midtown.

If the short commute is a high priority, consider Queens neighborhoods with LIRR stations. Those tend not be hip or exciting locations, but they will put you on 34th St and 7th Ave in well under thirty minutes.

Similarly, Bronx neighborhoods with Metro North stations will make it easy to get to Grand Central in under thirty minutes.

I suspect many DLers will scorn the idea of living in most of those locations but many do, happily.

A good resource for learning about these areas is the "Living In..." column in the NY Times Real Estate section (on Sunday). Just look at a NYC neighborhood map and then Google away.

HTH

You can get a really cheap place in Bridgeport and take MetroNorth in. Your commute will take as long as if you were in one of the outters and the neighborhoods are probably just as nice.

I've lived in Forest Hills my entire life and trust me, there is no "criminal element". Seriously. Unless you consider the occasional car break in a "criminal element". People are pretty liberal, lots of cool restaurants, fairly easy commute with several options (subway, express bus or LIRR), etc. I will say it's become very family oriented because the schools (at least on the elementary level) are excellent and people with young children have moved here.

Don't settle for anything less than the UES.

Forest Hills is fine. Lots of Asians, if that's OK with you? It's got a bubs feel to it. I've only been there once, visiting a friend.

But there are problems with the 7 train to queens, they are always fixing the tracks or lines on the weekends, lots of disruptions to the service.

Forget about Hoboken, it floods with a little rain and it's boring. I know some people who live in Jersey City and work in the city. I don't know how they do it. It's so boring there.

The Hudson University area is very nice, but from watching TV it does seem that there is a lot of violent crime there.

R25, pull out a hot dog and wait for the reaction.

you're not gonna find anything decent in the city for 200k, dream on buddy.

If you're moving to NYC and you're not very familiar with it, always ALWAYS rent for a year to start out. That way you get used to the city and you find out which neighborhoods you like and don't like, where things are, etc. Just jumping in and buying a place (if you are not a multi-millionaire who can afford to live on CPW or 5th Ave.) is not a smart decision.

[quote]You can get a really cheap place in Bridgeport and take MetroNorth in.

Bridgeport is the Compton of CT. It's a ghetto shithole.

that's all relative.

I'd sooner live on Mars than move to NYC

R34, you're thinking of Flushing, not Forest Hills. The 7 train terminates in Flushing and there's a large Asian population living there now. I do agree that Sunnyside and Astoria (and possibly Long Island City) would be good alternatives to Forest Hills.

Any place in Queens that is near the Port Washington Branch of the LIRR is a great commute. Douglaston, Little Neck, Bayside and Flushing. That line is completely separate from the rest of the LIRR, doesn't go through Jamaica and usually avoids the problems the other lines encounter.

Try above 96th street , like East Harlem . If you want to live in NY you have to get your Mayberry mindset out of your head . There is crime in every part of NY. Period

R41 Some people just aren't made for the city. At least you know that about yourself!