I didn't realize that a few posts ago was #1,500 on this blog... a fitting number for the content of this post.
I plan on continuing a few promised series over the next few days, when I have the time to sit down and actually figure them out a bit; this includes the How I Met Serach series, the Jewish Economics series, and some other good stuff, like Elianna pictures. :)
A quick taste of some of the economics, since I was just discussing this with a friend: My paycheck, which isn't too bad, even with all the federal, state, and of course special NYC taxes coming off, barely covers our rent and babysitter for Elianna during the day. Rent in Kew Gardens Hills is not cheap - a two-bedroom like ours will run you about the $1,500 a month that we pay. This is substantially better than other common NYC areas such as Washington Heights, similar to areas such as Flatbush, and slightly higher than Kew Gardens, Teaneck or Passaic. Baltimore you can get something similar for about 60% of that; in Cleveland, a slightly smaller place is about half the price. This is just to rent - rent which is money down the tubes, and which is never going to be seen again.
Oh, before I forget - interest is the root of all evil. Argh.
Agreement here. Serach told me on Sat. night that you guys are going to start leasing a car in the summer.
ReplyDeletePlease please please dont. Practice what you preach. Instead of sending monthly car payments down the tubes, buy a decent certified used car for anywhere between $6000-$9000 (which you can obviously finance and pay monthly as well).
Oh, and on another note: Anybody thats interested in the sotck market, "Jim Cramer is GOD!"
NYX got me 15% in the past 2 days. BOOYAH!
We've always bought used cars and been really happy with them.
ReplyDeleteWe own our apartment, bought it almost 4 years ago. I always thought owning was a better but lately RaggedyDad actually thinks that with our high maintenance (MUCH higher in our development than in yours) we'd be better off selling this place (maybe renting a house). Something about investing the equity.
In any case, I'm not eager to move! Our kids share a room, so there's not much of a space shortage.
Considering that we have 3 decent-sized brs and a storage "attic" the size of the apartment, I don't think we'd get *that* much more out of one of the 18-footer houses here - an extra half bath, a constant parking spot, a micro-strip of yard space . . . eh.
Of course, our situation and stage is a little different than yours and Serach's.
1500 is on the high side afaik - does that include utilities?
Hmm, on the topic of housing, Ezzie, do you have any suggestions for finding housing for a person on Section 8?
ReplyDeleteLemel - She said "might", and we'll have to see. Financially, it's actually worth leasing rather than buying, especially when we don't have the 6-9K to lay down. I can do the math with you if you'd like. :)
ReplyDeleteRM - It includes water and heat (blasting, unbearable heat!). Prices shot up last summer, right before we started looking; that's now standard around here. (Ugh.) There's just too much demand, between Lander, Chofetz Chaim, Ohr HaChaim, and everybody else.
We don't pay maintenence, but I hear it's high for our landlord - 700+ a month, I believe. I can't see how renting a house would be better; housing prices around here have already stopped dropping, it seems, but now still isn't a great time to sell. Investing the equity would work if you found a good price on rent; that's highly doubtful here. And, as you said, you're not getting much more with one of those houses.
Anon - The Opal in KGH has some Section 8 housing, and I believe there are plenty of other places around here that do as well. It's a really narrow range to qualify from what I hear, but if you do, try the Opal - it's not spectacular for the $2200/mo. that some people are paying, but for 6-700? It's awesome.
ReplyDeleteYour rent might be lower in Baltimore and you definitely get more for your money, but salaries are lower too...
ReplyDeleteSaraK - True. I'm going to expound on that in the full post, but a quick note: Salaries in Baltimore are on average 88% of their NYC equivalents, while cost of living is approximately a little over 1/2.
ReplyDeleteSo basically you are paying a mortgage payment in certain parts of the country. Interest is not always evil especially when you own a home and write it off your taxes.
ReplyDeleteJBM - True. Or when you're earning it. But in general... it's evil.
ReplyDeleteDid I understandyou correctly that WH is more expensive than KGH? When we were in NY WH was just about the cheapest place with a frum community.
ReplyDeleteMiI - That's my understanding. A few people we know chose to live here as opposed to there for a variety of reasons; that was one of them.
ReplyDeleteThere are those who still choose to live there anyway for other reasons, as well.
I agree with your points, Ezzie. As for the maintenance where you guys are, not sure where the 700+ figure is coming from. Close friends of ours who own an upstairs unit about 3 doors away from you guys pay in the mid-500's, which includes a washer and dryer.
ReplyDeletei live in WH in a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom with a huge living room and pay 1400. i am not the exception.
ReplyDeleteA two-bedroom in WH can still be found for less than $1500, but they're mighty hard to find and they're in the less popular buildings where the leases haven't been turned over so many times. But it's true, prices there have shot up (again, largely due to high demand and fast turnover rates). It's still one of the cheapest places to live in Manhattan, but you'll do better for rent in most other NY-metro areas.
ReplyDeleteRM - I thought that's the number that he mentioned, and I thought that's the number our friends a few doors over mentioned. And what do you mean that includes a washer/dryer? It shouldn't...!
ReplyDeleteNYFunnyMan - Really!? Hmm, looks like I'll have to find out more. But it seems Scraps thinks they're harder to find. Everyone we know who looked told us it's more expensive there...
Scraps - The large turnover/high demand is really killing the Jewish economy. If the demand ever slows, prices will drop incredibly. For those who buy, they may not be able to sell at the prices they're used to...
In Washington Heights, west of Broadway ("the Breuer's side"), the going rate for a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom is hovering around $2000/month and even those are hard to find. Yes it is possible to find "steals", but you have to be very flexible and usually have some sort of "in".
ReplyDeleteFriends of mine recently found a very small 1 bedroom in a less popular (but still decent) building for 1000, which is the cheapest I ever heard of. I live in a Junior 4 (1 large bedroom, 1 very small bedroom and 1 bathroom)and pay around 1400, which is significantly less (by about 2 to 300 dollars) than anyone else I know who started renting the same time I did (about 1.5 years ago.) East of Broadway (Wadsworth and the "YU Side")is a totally different story.
The nicer areas of Washingon Heights - the more West you go (Fort Washington, Cabrini)are significantly more expensive, with small 2 bedrooms renting for signifcantly more than 2000 a month.
ZK - Thanks. That's more in line with what I'd heard originally... I think everyone's going to be emailing NYFunnyMan to find an apartment soon. :)
ReplyDeleteI didn't mean that the washer-dryer is included in the maintenance - I meant that even with the added cost of the washer dryer, that's the price. I just verified it with my friend. The exact maintenance she pays plus the cost of the washer dryer comes to $565. Not sure why your landlord is making you believe otherwise.
ReplyDeleteEzzie-Looking forward to continued discussion. And, a little unsolicited advice: I'd really steer clear of leasing a new car and looking for an older reliable used car. The insurance payments will be lower, and the car will be yours. Oftentimes you can finance one of these. If you buy through a person in the frum community, they might even let you make interest free payments for a short period of time.
ReplyDeleteSeven years ago, I bought a 10 year old used car for under $5000. I have not had any bad experiences with this car and the insurance between my husband and I for 2 cars, one very old and one old, is less than $900 a year now (it fell about $100 recently).
Sorry for the unsolicited advice. I'm a minimalist when it comes to cars. Truth be told, if my car breaks, we will make due on one car which isn't a problem anymore.
RM - Thanks! I'll have to find out...
ReplyDeleteSL - Thanks. In all honestly, we're nowhere near that time, anyway. We won't be getting a car until at LEAST the summer, so I'll look at it all then.
Ez- whether buying or leasing, I have but one word for you: safety.
ReplyDeletewww.iihs.org - a good place to start.
Consumer Reports appears in my parents' house every month; I'd be happy to pass along any issues that might be useful to you when the time comes.
In any case, I still know a few things about cars, despite not having been behind the wheel since August :-P I'd be happy to help, if you'd like.
As far as the other financial issues...oh, how I wish I could stick my head in the sand and my money in my ING account for just a bit longer. Looks like real action is required.
Time to make aliya. For $600/month, you can rent a 3 bedroom apartment here in my hometown (Modiin). Jerusalem is pricier, but you can pick up something decent for under $1000.
ReplyDeleteIf you're willing to move out to a community like Beitar, you can rent something nice for $400-500.
Plus as your Elianna grows, you'll need to think about schooling... An expensive school here in Eretz Hakodesh runs about $2000/year. (though pre-school is pricier because it's not paid for by public funds)