Upper East Side Apartment

Seems high for a generic one-bedroom on First Avenue. (That 7'x13' thing next to the kitchen is not a bedroom.) The bedroom is right under 19F's terrace, so you might want to check for water damage.

$3880 carrying cost using 25% down and a 4.875% mortgage is not close to rent. Only if you count the tax deduction- lots of debate here about the legitimacy of counting that.

it's a great layout but first avenue.

'Diss'in the UES'
If your a work dog raising a family in this town I can't think of a better place to live, for the money. It's not happening or sexy...it's home.

Soontobe, I think you'd be paying 2-bedroom prices for a 1-bedroom apartment. I'd look for an unconverted 1-bedroom and save myself a couple hundred thousand dollars. I also think you could rent a real 2-bedroom apartment in the same area for substantially less than your monthly carrying costs. But, if you do decide to go ahead with it, all the best of luck to you!

http://www.streeteasy.com/nyc/sale/374774-coop-345-east-81st-street-yorkville-new-york

Just an example. Same building, same layout, $50k cheaper. Walls are not difficult to put up and don't justify that money, IMHO.

If you really want to buy, use the example provided by Evnyc to negotiate the price down. Even though one has a baloney, it can't be worth $50,000 more.

This thread reminded me of UD's post where he described how he converted his JR4 into a 2BR so that it could honestly be listed as a real 2BR to capture a larger audience:
http://www.urbandigs.com/2008/02/transformationm.html

Also, judging from the pictures, the apt. listed by evnyc seems to be in way better condition that the one "soontobeowner" is thinking (is that the right verb?) to make an offer on.