Virgin post. Calling all financial geniuses/trolls

So. I’ve been lurking for a while enjoying the threads, opinions, and trolling. I was inspired to post due to the “How much house can I afford” thread that appeared recently. I’m curious to see what the streeteasy hive mind can come up with for me. My situation. Reasonably stable job @ $300K/annum. No debt. About $250K in 401K/SEP. About $1.4MM in the bank in cash (sold some real estate last... [more]

So. I’ve been lurking for a while enjoying the threads, opinions, and trolling. I was inspired to post due to the “How much house can I afford” thread that appeared recently. I’m curious to see what the streeteasy hive mind can come up with for me. My situation. Reasonably stable job @ $300K/annum. No debt. About $250K in 401K/SEP. About $1.4MM in the bank in cash (sold some real estate last year). Another $700K in alternative assets (long term, won’t be touched for a while). My total expenses (including rent) are around $10K/month. I save most everything else. I currently rent a smallish one bedroom for $3,200 month. I don’t love the place, but it’s certainly a nice, newer, reasonably well located, full service building. I’d prefer a groovier place that suited my taste, but feel spending more than this on rent is wasteful. I really wanted to buy a place (was approved for a modest $550,000 max mortgage because I don’t want to carry a huge debt). But I’m more of the mind now this is not a great time to buy, and that NYC real estate I could afford would be a depreciating asset, even though I would really enjoy buying a joint, gutting it, and making it my own. So - in my situation - what would you do? Buy? Continue to rent? Rent a more expensive place? If rent, what would you do with the cash balance currently in the bank? Looking forward to all ideas.... [less]