First time buyer advice

You're on the right track by starting here.

First off, check your credit FICO score. If your credit isn't excellent, ask for a report and find out how you can improve your number. Also make sure there are no errors on the report. While you may be approved by the bank for a mortgage, you may be turned down by the co-op board.

Next, get yourself a good attorney. Ask friends for recommendations. Until the contract is signed by both parties, there is no deal.

Once you have your credit report, you can get pre-approved for a mortgage so you know how much you can afford.

With that in mind, search "sales" and good luck!

My family is Canadian and my niece just purchased a home there last week and I have to say things north of the border are handled much differently than crazy New York!

jifjif, welcome. You must be encouraged with all of those strong Canadian $ in your pocket. A 20% discount on Manhattan real estate based on the strength of your currency and timing is a good thing. By the way, what the hell is up with the Leaf%u2019s?

My recommendation just starting out is to do lots of leg work on your own. You may want to try the following before you engage brokers, lawyers, etc:

1) Narrow down neighborhoods you would like to live - spend time in each of the neighborhoods and narrow down the feel you are looking for. Manhattan has a lot to offer and each neighborhood is great in very different ways. You will start to gravitate to what is comfortable for you. Plus, it is a great way to get to know the city.

2) Go to open houses - Go and talk to people, see places, get an idea of what your money will get you here. Make it your hobby and before you know it, you'll be very comfortable with the market and how things work here.

3) Ask questions - this Streeteasy.com blog is getting better and better for advice. There are brokers, lawyers, optimists, pessimists, macroeconomists, landlords, wall streeters, people with terets, investors, liberals, singles, people with families, comedians, and some jackasses. You can learn a lot here and have some fun doing it. Also, take a read through some of the past threads, there is lots of information there

Good luck.

Thanks so much

I have been here for about 2 years yet I am not fully aware of the some buildings / street.

Anyone familiar with transferring money over? I could have my parents send me cash as gift or I can transfer it over from my own account? Any benefits on either way? Do I get taxed on gift money?

What is a good time frame to look? I been looking serious for about a month and it seems as though things move a lot faster here (and more complex)...

Also, any tips of raising my credit score? My credit is around high 600 but it is not as established due to length.

one more thing... Do I need to get my own agent? I been told by an agent that it is good idea to get an agent for my self rather than deal with selling agent alone.

This came from an agent so my first instinct is to not to trust it.
(I been burned by agents for rental when I first moved here and also LL recently)

jifjif, I think your instinct regarding agents is a good one. Many of us on this board have found them to be little more than an annoyance and an encumbrance. Read some of the other threads and you'll find no shortage of opinions on brokers/agents. That said, there are of course some good ones, and if you can find one that feels like a true, honest advocate for you, it may be helpful.

As far as searching for property, I used to spend WAY too much time every week on searches. Now I have StreetEasy search for me. Become an Insider for $10/mo (no, I don't work here!) and they will send you properties that fall within your "Saved Search" parameters. That covers the major brokerages and some of the minor ones. Check http://www.realestate.nytimes.com/sales/searchindex.asp. You can specify listings within the first 7 days, so after your first big search you can just see the new stuff each week. You'll find a lot of redundancy with your StreetEasy search, but some smaller brokerages will list there that aren't on StreetEasy, as well as units not put into the MLS (multiple listing service). You'll also find FSBOs there (for sale by owner). Lastly, check Craigslist. It's a bit of a pain in the ass with buyer's brokers fishing with seller's properties and some bait-and-switch, but there are things there that fall through the cracks of the other two.

As an Insider, READ THE COMPS HERE ON STREETEASY before you bid on anything. Calibrate your BS meter and prepare yourself with the facts, because you will find plenty of unethical people out there that will happily take your life's savings.

"You can specify listings within the first 7 days"

Meant to say "last 7 days," recent searches only.

Some co-op/condo and banks here offer incentive promotions for Canadian/NATO buyers, ask your agents for details.

Tenemental thx, I have been subscribing for few month already and found it helpful. Not so much as a search tool but as a comp tool. Also looking at history of the unit or apartment. But very good advice indeed.

inoeverything, do you have any more information about that? When ever I say I am canadian, most of the places shy away from me.

Regarding whether or not to get an agent, it depends.

When we were searching for a studio apartment for our son two years ago, he attended many open houses in a certain area. Since the market was slow, he had time to visit, and revisit the apartments he liked before placing a bid. When he finally began negotiating for an apartment, he already had an idea of what the apartments were worth, so he just dealt with the seller's broker. I believe he got a good deal because the apartment's appraisal came in at $285K and he paid $270K. In the last year, other studios in the building have been selling for between $300K and $340K. He closed on the apartment in July of 2006 - a total of four months from beginning to look, until closing.

I think if you know the market and are willing to attend open houses and are good at negotiating, then there shouldn't be a problem not hiring an agent. However, there may be agents who know what apartments are coming on the market that may be desirable to you and will alert you before they hit the market. The downside of this is that the seller will have the edge in the negotiation.

Good Luck!

Voracious that is a very good comment. I would prefer having an agent for negotiation.