New York City Apartments

Why Renting a New York City Apartment is Better Than Buying

Should You Buy or Should You Rent a NYC Apartment?

If you are going to live in NYC, you need to consider whether you should buy or you should rent.

New York City is a great place to live! If you have a steady and secure job, you may be ready to find a place to call "home." The question now becomes, should you rent an apartment or should you buy one?

Bart moved to New York City from a small town in a western state. Everyone thought that he would not last long in New York City, and they expected to return home after a few months. After five years, his family accepted that Bart was happy in his New York City apartment. After careful consideration, Bart decided to continue renting an apartment in Queens instead of buying. Although Bart and his wife expect to live in their New York City apartment for many years, there were several factors that Bart considered to make his decision.

Lifestyle

At the time Bart moved to New York City, he was single and he had no problem sharing an apartment with several roommates. After a couple of years, Bart married. He was glad he could easily change apartments instead of having to sell. With the collapse of the housing market, it would have been extremely difficult and Bart might have taken a huge loss if he sold his apartment. Within a year of his marriage, a baby arrived and then another after that. He and his wife decided they would look for an apartment more conducive to the needs of their growing family. They were planning to have at least one more child, so they moved again. Renting an apartment instead of buying allowed them the flexibility to make changes as necessary.

Financial

New York City real estate has always been a good investment, but the cost is enormous. The average cost of a one-bedroom New York City apartment is $700,000. Usually a 20% down payment is required in order to obtain a mortgage -- especially in the current financial crisis that the country is experiencing. Mortgage companies have tightened their requirements and have become very strict as to the qualifications you must have in order to qualify. Bart's job as a sign language interpreter did not allow him to save enough money to have such a large down payment. Nor was his income sufficient to cover the resulting monthly payment. The cost of living is so high that his earnings mostly went to providing for his family with some savings, but he did have not enough to make home ownership a possibility.

Lower Maintenance Issues

When a person buys a house, he becomes responsible for the maintenance and care of that house. Any remodeling, repairing or other maintenance needs become the responsibility of the owner. With renting someone else is responsible for those things, the renter can spend money and time for other things. Bart was away from home at odd hours due to his job. His wife was busy with the children and neither of them had the time to think about remodeling or extra money for necessary repairs. His landlord allowed them to paint the apartment anyway they chose as long as the repainted a neutral color when they left. This made the apartment into "their home" without the extra costs incurred from actually owning one.

Bart was glad that he decided to keep renting his NYC apartment. He sometimes regretted the money he paid in rent since it was not able to build any sort of equity, but in his situation, renting was definitely the better option of the two.