Tired of renting, looking to buy -- I need advice!

You might want to start by working with a mortgage broker to get preapproved--then you'll know your budget and can act quickly if you see something you like.

Here's the guy we used:
Jeff Mogull
Work:(914) 993-9089
Fax:(914) 993-3334
E-Mail:[email protected]

We found him very helpful.

brokers get a commission from the bank, not a cut, and usually they charge a smallish application fee ($350 or so). because brokers get a commission, it's hard to know whether they mortgage they think is best for you really is, or if it's the one that gets them the largest commission. an alternative is to go directly to you bank, or multiple banks to compare rates, cutting out the broker. but this is a bit more work for you. (not really much). if you don't have a complicated mortgage (yours seems pretty straightforward), I would recommend that route.

definitely good advice to get pre-approved first. and yes, the banks will gladly give you more than you would actually think you could afford. just make sure you know your own limits. credit report requests do not count against you if they're for mortgages (and some other exceptions).

after that, go shopping!

VeggieQueen wrote: also be aware they will most likely approve you for what they are willing to give you, not necessarily what you can afford.

i think brokers take a cut? I called banks directly to get rates. Also, make sure they don't run a credit check until you are actually ready to work with them. every time someone runs your credit report it will negatively affect your score (at least that's my understanding).

You are correct, BUT it all depends on your credit score (heavily), how much you can afford to put down (5%, 10%, etc.), what your debt load is, income, etc.

Brokers get a percentage on the amount of the loan you get, generally 1-3% from the banks. If any broker asks YOU to pay them or additional points to "get you a good deal," walk away.

We had a very successful experience with our mortgage broker both with our initial purchase, HELOC (after extensive reno) and finally a reconsolidation of all the debt into a new mortgage. So I have nothing bad to say. Get a letter of commitment and start shopping...

And of course, run the numbers first

If you are interested, here's our broker's info as well:

Eugene T Lee
Apple Mortgage Corp.
19 West 44th Street, Suite 1514
New York, NY 10036
(212) 221-6666 X118
[email protected]

Shredder wrote: Good advice, keep it coming! Once I get approved for a mortgage, what kind of things should I know for the shopping part? ie: getting approved for a co-op board, things like that. What about good real estate people in the neighborhood to work with (or bad ones to avoid)?

Now's not a bad time to be looking round here, as there are more sellers than buyers, and prices and interest rates are pretty flat. Less competition, and anyone who needs to sell fast will be flexible on price.

You need to have an idea what you want to spend, which is probably more than your current rent but less than the bank or broker says you can spend. One way to decide that is to say that the interest on your loan plus common charges plus tax minus tax savings shouldn't be much more than your rent. That's a way of saying that apart from the principal you pay yourself, it shouldn't be more expensive to buy than rent, and you're not betting your financial future on a speculative rise in the price of the home.

And it's a good idea to think about whether you want to live in a co-op or a condo. There's no board exam to pass with a condo and fewer rules and lower common charges, but they tend to cost a bit more, though there are a lot of buildings coming on the market at the moment. Condos are often easier to let or sell if you have to move for some reason. Some people prefer the tighter community some co-ops offer. And then there's all sorts of questions, like do you prefer a large or a small building; do you want extras like a doorman &/or live-in super; do you like pre-war or would you take a bet on new construction; should it be in pristine condition or do you want to renovate; is having some outdoor space a priority; are you ok with walking up lots of stairs or do you want a low floor or an elevator; how close do you need to be to which subways; how much traffic noise can you stand; and so on.

As fior realtors, I think the best philosophy is to assume that they're all bad, as they're working for themselves, not really for the seller and certainly not the buyer. You don't need a particular realtor drip-feeding you places to look at and not showing you other places; you can work with any and all of them, doing your own research on the net as you go. There are excellent tools available like propertyshark and zillow as well as some access to the MLS via realtor.com, so you can actually learn as much about the local market as your average agent.

For shopping, you probably don't even need the pre-approval to get started; you can just read about open houses on craigslist, NYT, and a few of the larger local realtors like Corcoran, BHS, Brooklyn Properties, and Aguayo Huebner, and start turning up. I saw a good 20 places before I really started to narrow down what I wanted and what to look for. It also helps to think realistically about what blocks you would and wouldn't want to live on, as whatever you settle on, it's going to be a compromise.

oh and start shopping for a real estate lawyer. i loved mine... pm me if you want info.

the 1st step i would suggest is start looking at places now. check on craigs list and the new york times for open houses in the area you want to live in. that way you can get a feeling for how much you get for your money.

figure out what you can afford
say you want to buy a 200000 coop
most places will want %20 down so thats 40000
your mortgage will be 160000 so thats about a 1000 a month payment
on top of that your maintenance will be about 400 a month
so your looking at spending about 1400 a month to live in your place
and that is on the cheap side.

after that get your money right, if your family is going to give you some money for the down payment get it now. coop boards like to see that you have had a good amount of money in the bank for a while.

i went with a mortgage broker it made life allot easier. but you can save money if you do it your self with the bank directly.

also have patience, i saw about 10 places before i got the coop im in now.

I've just started looking for a one bedroom in Prospect Heights, and these posts have been really useful. I've garnered the following from the comments in November. Are there other broker listings I should follow to get to open houses?

Really pretty much every thought will be useful to me at this point. It's the first tme I'm buying.

Real Estate Blogs
-- www.onehansonplace.com
-- www.brownstoner.com
-- www.curbed.com
General Property Resources
-- www.propertyshark.com
-- www.zillow.com
-- www.realtor.com
Listings
-- http://newyork.craigslist.org/brk/rfs/
-- www.nytimes.com/realestate
Real Estate Brokers
-- www.corcoran.com
-- www.bhsbrooklyn.com
-- www.brooklynproperties.com
-- www.ahrlty.com
Inspectors?
Real Estate Lawyers?

There are some City programs for new home buyers. I don't really know them that well, but go to http://www.nyc.gov/html/hpd/html/home/home.shtml

Also, there is some sort of informational seminar on March 12 6-8pm at Borough Hall (209 Joralemon @ Court Street). Renaissance Park LLC is selling units through HUD & HPD for people earning around $50,000.

I don't vouch for any of these- so if you go, I would be curious to hear how useful they are.

I first contacted a banker and attempted to get one of the govt sponsored loans. but the guy was a total flake, so I called my uncle who works for gmac and he gave me the name of a broker in manhattan who was just as big a flake but managed to close the deal. don't let more than one or two places pull your credit report.

also, I bought into a co-op with less than 40% owner occupancy and still more than 50% owned by the sponsor, and I got in with 5% down, a 15% heloc and 80% mortgage. so it's possible to get all of those things even though everyone tells you there's no way to get in for less than 20% down.

I'm not sure I'd use my mortgage broker ever again, and my lawyer is a friend who had just started practicing real estate law (I'm kinda a wing and a prayer person), and is now doing all commercial real estate deals, so I wouldn't send you to him, either. but good luck!

This is a great thread . . . I barely know which posts to star so it gets noticed!

I looked for about four months before I found what I wanted -- lots of different nabes and all sorts of permutations from factory space to new construction. Sounds like you have the luxury of waiting for the right place, so take your time.

Using a mortgage broker is great - you can ask them any dumb questions you wouldn't want to ask the bank.
Or you can just hand the cruellers over to WhyFi.

I used Frank at First Merchants - just off Seventh Ave in the North Slope. He still remembers my name and roughly what I paid for my place, more than 10 years later. (I guess I sent him alot of my friends, but still...)
He runs a good office.
As others said, the mortgage brokers get their cut from the bank, not from you. First Merchants works with a variety of banks -- do they all do that?

As for the realtor - you're buying a home, not a friend. S/he is not working for you. They are just the conduit to get you to the places...and with all the internet options, they are not the only way in.

Is 20% down a standard co-op procedure?
20% was the requirement when I bought if you didn't want to produce your tax documents for the lender....

Thank you guys so much. I am particularly thankful for the phrase "you're buying a home, not a friend." That helps keep me calm when realtors don't bother with the social pleasantries.

Another good resource (apologies if it's already been mentioned but I didn't see it) is trulia.com. It will give you a good idea of prices relative to the areas and size of place that you're looking for. My ex-girlfriend and I were looking last year and I found Prospect Heights to be unevenly priced, i.e., there were a couple of places that were really good values relative to the surrounding areas and a number of places that weren't. So it seemed worth the while to shop around and keep looking until you find a place with which you're really happy.

ic96 wrote: Hi, I saw this and had a question, I was at an open house the other day, and the agent had no idea about buyer brokers. As a Seller broker, he has the legal responsibility to represent his client to get as much money as he can. I've been told by Real Estate Professionals to always get a Buyer broker, that as a buyer you lose nothing by doing this, and if anything, only stand to gain. Does anyone have any insight on this from a Brooklyn perspective?

But if you have your own broker, the seller's broker has to split the commission, which makes your offer less desirable (to the broker, who is obligated to present all offers to the seller, but the reality may be different). I don't think you need a buyer's broker.

We recently used a mortgage broker at Trachttman & Bach and were happy with him -- Frank Tamayo.

A buyer's broker is not really necessary. It's a profession invented for people who are scared to buy or who want to be told what to buy and where/how to live.

If you do your research on where you want to live, and what price range you can afford, there is absolutely no reason to get one.

In any NY real estate transaction, your lawyer is your best friend. Ask around and get a good one.

As mentioned by others, showing up with your own buyer's broker can be a possible deterrent for seller's brokers who don't want to split their commission. Seller's brokers are also not the enemy (as some people seem to think).

Of course they will have the seller's interest in mind first and foremost. That is also why your attorney is your best friend (along with your mortgage broker). The good ones zero in on legal bs, corner cutting and deal with that on your behalf.

Happy househunting.