Skip to main content

House Vs Coop

Initially when I started my home search I was looking for a two-bedroom coop apartment in Brooklyn.  However, for the last few weeks I’ve been looking at houses.  I had no desire to own a house before. I always thought that house ownership would be too much work to maintain and that I was not mentally or physically prepared to deal with all of the responsibilities of house ownership.  Even now, typing this, I’m feeling rather overwhelmed by the idea of shoveling snow.  But I can’t deny that there are a ton of perks of having a house that are simply not available with a coop. For one, there isn’t a coop board to snoop around my finances, ask about my further plans for the property and hurl intrusive questions at me about why I had student loan debt.

I guess my shift in thinking began late last year as I started attending more open houses.  I fell in like with the idea of having more space and possible having a tenant to assist me with paying my mortgage each month. I realized that in Brooklyn the cost of a two-bedroom coop or condominium is comparable to a three-bedroom home.  With a house I will have the option of not just more space but a driveway and a backyard.  I’m thinking it makes more financial sense to own a house.  

The houses that I’ve been looking at have mostly been three to four bedroom attached ranch. My budget is still very conservative however and I have been open to the idea of purchasing a fixer upper.  I’m not naturally handy. Therefore, I’m in no rush to start a renovation project. I think I can cope with a slightly outdated 1950’s style kitchen or a retro blue or pink bathroom for the time being.
I wrote all that to say that my home-ownership options remain open. My focus is not as narrow as it once had been. I’m looking for a home and that could either be a coop or a house.

So below I have taken a few pictures of some renovated properties that I view recently.  Both homes were bank foreclosures that were renovated for a quick sale.

House # 1, I liked a lot. I loved the block, a quiet tree line street of similar looking detached and semi-detached homes. It was a 3 bedroom with 2.5 bathrooms and a large renovated basement that could be used as an office, extra bedroom or a rental unit. 

It also had a detached garage at the back, with adequate space for entertaining friends and family at a backyard barbeque.  Still I felt that it was $100k overpriced. 

House # 2, was less impressive. It was also a 3-bedroom, 2.5 bathroom. It had a basement and backyard deck with a small back garden. It was next to a cemetery. 

Then there were these horrible white marbled titled floors that seemed rather out of place with the rest of the house.

I hated the fact that the bathroom was so close to the kitchen.  House # 2 was $60k more than house # 1 and for the life of me, I don’t understand why.  

So here I go again searching for property, and hopefully making an offer soon on my first home. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

My Urban Cottage

I’ve finally moved into my first home.  I’m bursting with excitement and happiness to share all my design and décor ideas that I’ve been pinning from google images and home décor magazines for many years. I am now the proud owner of what I’m calling my “urban cottage”, a small three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch house in New York.  I’m so excited to make this home my dream home.   For the past several weeks the cottage has been under renovations. Within days after closing we realized that there was leaking behind a wall in one of the bedrooms (which wasn’t noted on the home inspection report).   Apparently, there was an issue with the gutters and instead of falling away from the house when it rained, the water was seeping through cracks in the brick façade. Thankfully we were able to identify the source quickly and fix it. Initially, the renovation work was estimated to take about five weeks, however it’s ended up at nine weeks. And as I’m writing this no...
Post a Comment
Read more

I bought a house!

This morning I woke at about 4:00 am and couldn’t return to sleep. I was too happy knowing that in just a few more hours I would get the keys to my new home.   All that was left to do was sign a bunch of papers and this charming home would be mine. Well, I didn’t get the keys to my new home. Last night was the final walk through and to my surprise the sellers were still in the home and hadn’t packed a single thing.   They informed me that they needed more time and that they hired movers who would haul away their belongings on Monday. What? I was trying to be super understanding so I smile and nodded. However, my internal voice was screaming. At the closing, my attorney tld me that I would be compensated for every day that the sellers remained in the home.   On Tuesday afternoon, I will meet the sellers at the home where I will complete another walk through and then will be provided with the keys. Still, I bought a house, a house that I will not have access to for se...
Post a Comment
Read more

Guest Bedroom Reveal!

I have a long to do list for my home. The problem is trying to priorities that to do list. Every item in my home was purchase, from the farmhouse chandeliers in the upstairs bedrooms to the doorknobs. All the door knobs. Furnishing a new home is quite expensive. Even though I am giddy and excited to get this home completely furniture and renovated, I have had to take a step back. I have had to just learn to live in a minimally furniture home.   I love it. I love the bare walls. I love the space.   I love the feel of not having clutter. On my last blog post, I showed some pictures of my kitchen and dining room, Today I want to share a few pictures from some of the other parts of the home. It's not perfect. I still need a dresser and a mirror but those will come in time.  In the meantime, this is what it looks like.
Post a Comment
Read more