To buy or not to buy? That is the question.

With current mortgage rates at an all time low, it is an even better time to buy.

Often I find that people understand the general concept that it's a good idea to buy, but the average person doesn't fully understand why buying is better than renting.  I like to illustrate facts and figures that drive the point home.

An average 1-bedroom apartment in Forest Hills is around 1,550 per month.  This works out to be $18,600 per year or a whopping $93,000 over 5 years.  This doesn't take into account rent increases.  When you move out the only thing you will get (hopefully) is your security deposit.

Contrast that with a purchase of $225,000 with 20 percent down.  Your monthly payments on the mortgage would be about $859/mo plus a maintenance of roughly $600 your total monthly payments would be around $1,459/month.  This doesn't even take into account your tax savings of over $300/month.  Are you ready for this? Your actual out of pocket monthly payment would be approximately $1,140/mo*

You can apply this to a larger apartment or house and the numbers are staggering

Of course there are some complications to this plan.  First your credit has to be in the "good" range, and you need a yearly income that would support the payments.  If you buy into a co-op, you will have to pass a board of directors, but that's for another article.  The other thing is that you will need the funds for a down payment.  You can always borrow this from Uncle Joe...

Feel free to write or give me a call with any questions.

*check with your accountant for exact figures