Condo Housekeeping: Maintaining Your Appliances

April 22, 2014 | By Chloe Eaton AuthorMy First Apartment

When you were a carefree renter, maintaining your landlord’s appliances was your last priority. Now that you own all of the expensive appliances in your condo – and are responsible for keeping them in working order – regular maintenance is expected to keep them chugging along. At the basic level, most appliances can be maintained by keeping the electrical…

Pro-Tip: Look Past the Charms of a Cleverly Staged Condo

April 11, 2014 | By Contributors AuthorMy First Apartment

If you’ve ever been a part of selling a condo, you’ll know that it’s a complex business, and those who are successful have it down to a fine art. On the buying side, and especially if it’s your first condo, you need to know sellers and their agents will do just about whatever they can…

How Much Should You Budget for Co-op Closing Costs?

April 4, 2014 | By Seija Goldstein AuthorMy First Apartment

Our recent post outlined the typical condo closing costs that run from 2-5% of the purchase price. As a co-op buyer you are in luck; your costs will be much lower. While the actual costs vary by market — with New York City being at the high end — you’ll find similar items in your co-op closing costs wherever you are buying. For…

Condo Price Check: What Can You Get for $100,000 or $200,000 in Eight Cities?

March 28, 2014 | By Douglas Mack AuthorMy First Apartment

If you’re a first-time condo-buyer, your budget probably isn’t huge. But how far will it stretch? We set out to find out what you’ll get for your dollars in various cities. Unsurprisingly, results vary widely. (San Francisco residents, best of luck to you …) These results are based on current posted listings (as of March…

How Much Should You Budget for Condo Closing Costs?

March 21, 2014 | By Seija Goldstein AuthorMy First Apartment

Congratulations! You’ve saved diligently and your dream condo down payment is within sight. You are all set to start looking for a place when you visit your friendly neighborhood mortgage loan officer and find out that you need to save a little bit longer, to cover your condo’s closing costs. There costs vary by location,…

The Plusses and Minuses of Buying A Condo Pre-Construction

March 15, 2014 | By Alex Starace AuthorMy First Apartment

If you’ve been searching for a condo a while, you’ve probably come across listings of places that are still under construction. Maybe you can see developer’s plans, or you can visit a model at the developer’s office, or you can walk around the construction site. But the place you’re buying is not yet built and you cannot see…

10 Point Neighborhood Checklist for Condo Buyers

March 7, 2014 | By Alex Starace AuthorMy First Apartment

Before you go out condo hunting, you need to decide in which neighborhood(s) you’re going to look. Since you’re buying for the long term (ideally, five years or more), you want to be confident you’ll still love where you live down the road – and that when you go to sell, the property (and neighborhood)…

Should You Pay Extra on Your Mortgage Principal?

February 28, 2014 | By Alex Starace AuthorMy First Apartment

As much as you love your new condo, you sure are paying a lot of interest on your mortgage. You’ve heard that it’s possible to pay extra principal each month – and that there are benefits to doing so, including reducing your overall interest payments. Is this true? How does it work? Assuming you have…

How to Run a Successful Condo Search

February 21, 2014 | By Alex Starace AuthorMy First Apartment

You have a broker, you’ve made a list of your must-haves for your first place and you know what neighborhood you want to live in. The key now is actually finding good prospects – places you’re excited to go out and see. Here are some tips I found useful in my search. First, let your…

Limited Equity vs. Market Rate Co-ops

February 17, 2014 | By Seija Goldstein AuthorMy First Apartment

When people think about a co-op living, they have visions of stately old buildings with an impressive-sounding name like El Dorado or Dakota or River House, where billionaires and celebrities live. And yes, that is one small part of the 1.2 million apartments in the co-op real estate marketplace. Those high-end buildings all fall into…