Related Posts
Mentor
Conversation Starter
How’s litecoin doing? Thinking to invest in it.
More Posts
Conversation Starter
Conversation Starter
Enthusiast
Conversation Starter
White watch Wednesday. Loving this look!
Additional Posts in FIRE Financial Independence Retire Early
Mentor
Coach
Anyone else into Bank Bonus churning?
New to Fishbowl?
Download the Fishbowl app to
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
unlock all discussions on Fishbowl.
Lots of parental co-signers that nobody talks about and will aggressively deny.
Grew up low income in North NJ. Didn't make $100k until 30. Paid off undergrad, grad, and car loans on my own and bought a modest townhouse at 30 in central NJ when I just jumped from $65k to $100k. It's very possible if you keep expenses down, don't let lifestyle creep set in, and keep your eye on the prize.
FWIW, if you’re interested in the NJ towns, I would recommend two things. First, have a good agent who will know about off-market/pocket listings. Maybe sign up for a mailing list or two. Seeing some good deals happening that way. Second, identify the towns on/near train lines and major highways, but which places won’t hit you as hard with taxes. It’ll still be expensive, but look at Chatham over Summit, Millburn and Maplewood over Short Hills, etc.
Sammmee (but in Toronto)
Put down bare minimal down payment and take a loan.
Or you could buy in North NJ for maybe 70% of the price and still be reasonable commuting distance to the city.
Or go a little further out and buy at 50-60% of that price.
I bought in Central Jersey for 25% that costs, within a mile of a train station on the NE corridor. But I don't have a family so I don't need a lot of room yet.
At the end of the day NYC is exceedingly expensive. If you want to be in the city and drop a million or more on housing, then you are clearly a high earner and have the option. You just need to figure out what sacrifices you need to take to make it happen.
Average people don't even have a thought of ever being able to afford real estate in NYC.
So not fun, but I lived at home and spent 3+ hours commuting in. I now live in central NJ (Somerset/Middlesex). It's much more affordable than North Jersey, but a long commute to NYC unless you are walking distance to the train.
I'm walking distance to a bus, but that is an hour 45 with normal morning traffic.
Point just being that you could do a longer commute to save money before buying or perhaps look into a roommate situation. Either you need to make more money, or you need to make some sacrifices to save.
Priced are much higher now, but in general, don't be afraid of PMI if you realistically anticipat your salary increasing significantly in the coming 3-5 years. But be very realistic about it. Don't PMI if it's because you're breaking the bank on your budget.
If you want to live in NYC there are plenty of reasonable neighborhoods, you just have To move outside the core. Try morningside, LIC, crown heights, etc