All Forum Posts by: Lydia Winn

Hi Kimberlie,

I totally get the temptation to go coop since you can get more property for your money. I’d second Abel and strongly caution against it, and go condo if you can. Even if a coop is amendable to subletting now, the board of directors for the building will change every few years and can become unreasonable about it. If you’re planning on holding long term to see that appreciation (and it sounds like you are) chances are you’ll run into an unfriendly board at some point during your time owning the unit.

Just wanted to chime in with some realistic thoughts on NY. 

No state is entirely quick when it comes to evictions. While some states have shorter initial notice periods, the national average for a full eviction process, is closer to 3 months. Contested evictions can be significantly longer.

Even in states often cited as very landlord-friendly, like Texas, there are trade-offs. While Texas offers strong property rights and generally quicker eviction processes for uncontested cases, owners will contend with high property taxes.

Hi Miguel--I have some experience with this. I'd check out Astoria, Queens, which is close to certain parts of Manhattan. Where will she be commuting to in Manhattan? 

Hi Nolan--congrats on getting started. Do you currently own any property at all? If not, and you're open to a house hacking situation, you may qualify for FHA or SONYMA.

You'll benefit from knowing the area--El Serena will absolute appreciate if you're careful to avoid the higher crime areas (Southwest El Sereno, especially near Huntington Drive, the train tracks corridor, and around Locke Avenue/Guardia Park.) even if it means a paying a bit more on the front end. 

Totally fair that CT/MA/NE generally (especially NYC-adjacent areas) aren’t always ideal for high cap rate or quick-cash-flow investors. It’s usually a lower-risk, lower-reward play—especially early on.

In the case of the tri-state area, you're buying it because you're owning a piece of real estate in arguably the most dominant and resilient market in the U.S., and one of the most valuable globally. That has its own kind of upside, even if it’s not immediate. 

Are you planning on selling after five years? Or rolling it into a rental? I have tremendous confidence in that area long term but only planning on holding something for five years is riskier, given interest rates are high and you'd likely make little progress on the principal / not build up a ton of equity before selling (meaning it would have to appreciate quite rapidly for you to come out ahead). 

Hi Franco--exciting stuff! I'd look into ClearSight.

It's tempting to go 0% down on a house hack (VA, USDA, etc.), but I caution you to consider risk and cash flow.

PMI (private mortgage insurance) can quietly eat into your cash flow, especially on low-down-payment loans.

• Cash-on-cash return looks artificially high (or even infinite) with 0% down, because your investment is close to $0. 

• You also have no equity cushion, which makes selling or refinancing tricky if the market dips (or interest rates drop, as they likely will).

Bottom line: if you're purely optimizing for monthly living cost, 0% down might work. But if you're evaluating it as an investment, consider putting some money down to get more realistic returns and reduce your downside risk.