Real Estate in NYC?
May 1, 2008 12:47 PM   Subscribe

What is a smart way to invest in real estate in New York City?

My boyfriend and I want to start saving to invest in real estate in Manhattan. Does anyone have any experience with this that they could share? Any tips or trends? Thank you so much!
posted by tessalations999 to Work & Money (6 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
What kind of scale are you talking about? Is this meant to be an investment in a place you live in? Do either of you have experience doing construction/reno, or at least have relationships with reliable contractors?
posted by mkultra at 1:12 PM on May 1, 2008


Check out Curbed, the real estate blog about NYC, but with a focus on Manhattan. You're question is too broad to be answered very specifically.
posted by kimdog at 1:47 PM on May 1, 2008


Would you think about the Bronx or Queens? In Manhattan, Inwood is still relatively affordable and clearly "up and coming."
posted by supercoollady at 2:13 PM on May 1, 2008


Wait a couple of years. Prices are likely to drop, and getting in on an investment at the bottom is much more efficient.
posted by Estragon at 3:01 PM on May 1, 2008


Ditto Estragon.
And build up your cash reserves. Part of the reason that prices are likely to drop is that credit is going to get increasingly tight.
posted by elf27 at 4:06 PM on May 1, 2008


If you're thinking of buying rental real estate and going into the landlord business - you need to spend a whole day watching the circus that is housing court. Watch all the eviction proceedings for a day, and listen carefully. You'll learn a lot about the issues that landlords have to deal with on a day-to-day basis. If you're not scared off after a day of that, you're probably cut out to be a landlord.

I got this advice from someone who had owned rental property for 30 years, btw - I took his advice, spent the day in housing court, and all but ran away screaming. Needless to say, I did NOT buy a rental house, and that guy's advice saved my sanity. Another note is that this was in Georgia, which is a notoriously landlord-friendly state. NYC is pretty well known amongst landlords to be one of the most landlord-hostile places in the US, so his advice would apply even more in NY.
posted by deadmessenger at 4:53 PM on May 1, 2008


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