buying manhattan apt - HELP!

Matt, just to get oriented here, in your view is it possible for a human whose current monthly income covers potential mortgage monthly payments (plus taxes and common charges) to make a stupid, financially imprudent purchase decision, or does such monthly coverage mean any purchase is a good decision?

Because, it would seem that under your view, if all the humans went out tomorrow to buy whatever housing they could afford based on their current monthly income, then we would have big-ol big-time real estate boom, and wouldn't that be darn fun !!

Reporter.

I toured the other apartments with the building owners.

ok lets try a few scenarios here for aboutready to get her out of her shell:

1 - Matt's toilet seat breaks. Should his guests assist, and if so how? Should one of them chip in? Or would helping with the installation be enough? Should the guests be chipping in for the toilet paper? And if so, what is the threshold of number of uses of the toilet before chipping in makes sense?
2 - One of the guests stops up the toilet, and Matt does not have a plunger. It is Christmas Eve. But there is a local bar. What should the guest do?
3 - Matt's guest is not working and also does not need to pay Matt rent. Does that person qualify for this designation: "i fit in as a person in a household which makes a certain amount of money that makes it very cost ineffective for me to work in a traditional sense."?

Ok, now, re-answer all of the above questions with these new suppositions:
1 - One of Matt's guests previously worked for aboutready's husband's law firm.
2 - One of Matt's guests works at aboutready's daughter's doctor's office and is privy to information on her sexual history that aboutready also posted on streeteasy.

reporter? can you give us a little detail without revealing too much? tv, radio, print? why were you touring the other apartments with the owners? certainly, doesn't seem like a random sample, based on that. so....did you contact owners and ask to see their worst shithholes and decide based on that, how they live?

and, while were at it, what exactly do you mean by they?

Good point, Jimmy. What say you Matt?

wait columbia, first my questions

"in your view is it possible for a human whose current monthly income covers potential mortgage monthly payments (plus taxes and common charges) to make a stupid, financially imprudent purchase decision, or does such monthly coverage mean any purchase is a good decision?"

Yes, I suppose it is.

But based the stories I'm hearing from friends in real estate -- combined with those of my friends (not to mention two unemployed fellow co-workers) -- these people don't fall into that category.

They all made financially PRUDENT home buying decisions, based on solid job histories and solid incomes. No one was expecting another Great Depression.

so...how much did they put down? how much did they have in the bank following their purchase? how long have then been unemployed---post severance pay?

Matt -- with all due respect (and not to make light of your concern for your friends), your answer said a lot more than you intended.

Stop it, CC, stop it!

sure thing. any particular part?

"two unemployed fellow co-workers"

Is anyone else confused?

of course...everyone is confused. that's the charm of matt's made up bullshit. even he's confused.

All of it! Those questions are irrelevant!

you are kidding, right?

""two unemployed fellow co-workers"

Is anyone else confused?"

What's to be confused about?

Two fellow co-workers who USED to work at my television network, and who now no longer do so.

so...how long till you get canned?

Yes, CC.

Matt, that would be "ex-coworkers".

ok....matt--we're still waiting on:

why were you touring the other apartments with the owners? certainly, doesn't seem like a random sample, based on that. so....did you contact owners and ask to see their worst shithholes and decide based on that, how they live?

so...how much did they put down? how much did they have in the bank following their purchase? how long have then been unemployed---post severance pay?

so...how long till you get canned?

and I'M still waiting on these:

ok lets try a few scenarios here for aboutready to get her out of her shell:

1 - Matt's toilet seat breaks. Should his guests assist, and if so how? Should one of them chip in? Or would helping with the installation be enough? Should the guests be chipping in for the toilet paper? And if so, what is the threshold of number of uses of the toilet before chipping in makes sense?
2 - One of the guests stops up the toilet, and Matt does not have a plunger. It is Christmas Eve. But there is a local bar. What should the guest do?
3 - Matt's guest is not working and also does not need to pay Matt rent. Does that person qualify for this designation: "i fit in as a person in a household which makes a certain amount of money that makes it very cost ineffective for me to work in a traditional sense."?

Ok, now, re-answer all of the above questions with these new suppositions:
1 - One of Matt's guests previously worked for aboutready's husband's law firm.
2 - One of Matt's guests works at aboutready's daughter's doctor's office and is privy to information on her sexual history that aboutready also posted on streeteasy.

oh, and of course, I still never got an answer from columbiacounty why he likes some liars and not others.

"why were you touring the other apartments with the owners?"

Just a little look-see with friends. Had nothing to do with work.

*****

"so...how much did they put down? how much did they have in the bank following their purchase? how long have then been unemployed---post severance pay?"

I don't know exactly. Leave me your phone number and I'll have them get back to you.

*****

"so...how long till you get canned?"

I suppose it's anybody's guess. Just like you.

^^^Then we can both be unemployed for a year, blow through our savings, and get forced into a homeless shelter. It'll be just what we deserve -- according to inonada -- since we were "irresponsible" by not having half a century's worth of living expenses in our passbook savings account.

well...based on your own numbers you should be sitting pretty. lets see if i got this right. you've been saving $700 a month for years against a pretax nut of around $3,000? so, assuming you work for a network or the post office, you should be good for at least 6 months of severance, plus savings just from your purchase to take you another two years. presumably, during that 2 1/2 yrs, you'll either tap into your HELOC to give you, what, another 3-4 yrs?

I never said a pretax nut of $3K. Where did you get that?

Evidence suggests that Matt's employment might be some sort of extermination gig ................. hence his close knowledge of rat infested apts .......
Are you an exterminator, Matt? And a reporter, too, because of course you must report to your boss what you did for the day ......

Nice try, Poorish.

I'm starting to think that no one will answer my questions.

"It's interesting that you used these figures. My last rental was $1700/month, and I moved into a bigger, nicer apartment in a comparable neighborhood for $2100 combined mortgage and maintenance. Since I've moved into my own place, I've seen my annual income tax refund jump from about $1800 to $14,000. The difference ($12,200) equates to a discount of $1016.66 per month."

you're right---i fucked up...looks like around $3,500- $4,000.

I'm sorry, Matt. Maybe you are just a nice guy. Except you sound a tad anti-Dominican. You have to stop referring to rats and people who keep messy apartments. It's not polished of you.

OK. I've got to force my sorry ass back into the Christmas crap ----- pick up apt., clean kitchen up, get the blasted pumpkin pie in the oven ......... and I actually do have toilet problems ----------- blast and damn.
It all comes back to the bleeping toilet.
Merry Christmas to all, especially CC! He's such a gorgeous scrooge!

"Except you sound a tad anti-Dominican."

For the record, I think Dominicans are hot.

Just sayin'.