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 I think I can cope with a slightly outdated 1950’s style kitchen or a retro blue or pink bathroom for the time being.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.