Sell now or Sublet

Sell now..why would you hold onto it since the market is going down anyway?

I am looking to buy, how much are you selling for?

#3, is there a way for you to PM me (or vice versa?).

#2 - well, guess I dont see the market diving. I see a few people on here saying 30% down by end of the year (tho maybe its the same guy every time)... but are prices really falling? i've only really been looking in queens (forest hills) and harlem. prices unchanged in forest hills, from what i can tell. harlem prices skyrocketed at the end of last year, and are coming down a little the past month or two. but... still way up compared to mid-2006.

anyway, why hold? lets say it appreciates 5% each year - on the full value of the apt. if i sell, i get my profit, a much lower number. to match the total return on the 5%, I'd have to find an investment that earns like 15%. now imagine how hard it would be if the 5% is 10% or 15%.

i dunno.. how hard is it to sublet a coop?

maybe is the same guy all over

:... how hard is it to sublet a coop?"

you should check your coop rules, ask the board members. Diff coops have diff policies. For those that allow sublets, typically it's for a max 2 years.

I was a renter in a coop bldg. Had to go through the coop approval process - which wasn't as stringent as if I were a buyer - the process took longer but in return I got a great place.

Regarding your timing, take into account how quickly the places sell in your building - is your board notoriously tough? are the financing requirements strict (i.e. >20% down required, no parents or guarantors allowed).

Also consider the time it'll take to get the subletter's board approval - may be at least a month.

Based on these you can estimate your timing and how long to sublet. For example, assume if it would take about 4 months to sell your place (incl, signed contract, board process & close), and your bldg allows sublets, maybe sublet for 1 year?

good luck!

and following up on #6, that assumes the market hasn't changed too much in that intervening time. But how difficult is your board is an extremely important question, that & where will the market be which is an unknowable.

I amrelocating to ny, are you selling or renting your 50's co op?

i say rent and hold on to it for a long time. the whole area is changing and dont lose that property

roykirk1, there's no way to predict what the market (for selling or renting) will do, nor the timing of it. You'll always get conflicting advice about that, so (being on the fence yourself) take it out of the decision-making process.

The deduction on the 15% capital gains tax no longer has a once-a-lifetime aspect to it. You must have used the home as your primary residence for the two years prior to sale (but I think there's some wiggle-room for transitioning to your new home if you don't rent out the first one), and you can do the exemption thing again every two years. It's $250K for singles, $500K for joint filers, based of course on profit.

You should consider your coop's sublet rules (2-year limit?) and process, your emotional constitution regarding problems, problem tenants, problem neighbors complaining about tenants, possible vacancies if you don't price the rent right, and during repainting/renovations as needed, your own confidence that you don't ever want to move back into that particular apartment, your loss of tax deduction on mortgage interest and taxes, and your inability to get the capital-gains tax exemption if you sell two years down the line and it hasn't been your primary residence.

I'm facing the same situation and decided that, already having a job, I don't want another. [I don't even really want the first one!]

#10, I thought you had to occupy it for 3 of the last 5 years or something, not necessarily the last 2 years. Check, I may be wrong.

I think you have to actively occupy for 2 of the last 5 years.

hi

thanks for the ideas on what to think about.... some thoughts

a) on paper, assuming the market continues to go up, its a no brainer to keep it. if the value goes up 8% per year, I can leave it vacant and break even.
b) #6, the board allows for subletting of 4 years, with a 5th year allowed if the owner is actively trying to sell. they do sort of discourage subletting by charing $100 per month to subliet.
c) I have no idea how easy or hard my board is. I thought it was a breeze when I bought, but then again I was only able to purchase because an earlier bidder was turned down (no details given).
d) #3 and #8, I seriously have not decided what to do yet.
e) #9 I would love to do that. If could could hold and rent indefinitely that is definitely what I would do. But I can sublet a max of 5 years and then there are the fuzzy (to me) tax implications.
f) #10 - good thoughts. can a RE tax lawyer out there please explain the law regarding gains on real estate? see above regarding coop rules. for most things, I was assuming the renter would just call one of the building staff? we have FT doormen plus live in supper and 2 full time porters (not sure if that is what you call them... they do handy stuff, clean the halls, etc.)
g) #11 and 12 - trying to determine the actual law on this.... help...

12 here, http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/real-estate/20041018a1.asp

#14 - wow, great article. I haven't read it all yet, but so far, looking good.

No lifetime restriction, though transactions must 2 years apart.

Live in home for 2 of the last five years and own it for entire five years, and you can take 250k gain tax free (500k for married couples).

That extra year really helps. For some reason I thought I had to sell within 2 years.

Nope. Take a look at 1031 exchanges also.