Two apartments battle it out

Go look at the crime stats on Trulia.com, and think about how likely it is you are going to get shot in either location. I assume you've already used the hurricane evacuation zone map here on StreetEasy to see if you may be under mandatory evacuation some day.

Why is the maintenance in the cheaper place so high?

Go for the neighborhood where you won't get killed . . . just sayin'

poor ownership, double the maintenance...regardless of the neighborhood I would stay away from that one!

Assuming the services are the same, maintenance difference needs to be adjusted. rough formula = difference in annual maintenance / 0.03. For 500 per month difference. $6000/.03 = $200k price difference. This does not even assume that maintenance costs will increase at the same percentage rate for both places.

Wanderer is correct.

Neither property are in hurricane evacuation zones.

The crime in the Bronx is red flagged and the Brooklyn apartment orange flagged surrounded by green. I have found the crime rates to be inflated/over influential. I lived in Bed-Stuy for years, it's been fine yet it also comes up in red.

I think the maintenance is so high in the Bronx because it is a smaller building with fewer owners contributing (it's also not majority owner occupied). There is a super, laundry, porter, doorman, storage, parking (small additional fee), bike storage and heat, hot water and gas included in the brooklyn unit's low maintenance. The other only has super and heat.

what are you saying 300_Mercer? where did you get those figures from? I have to ask for lower maintenance or expect a lower sales price?

this is simple financial math. Everything else being the same, that should be the discount. Basically, you are guaranteed to pay some one $6000 per year. What is that worth? You have to invest in 3% yielding treasury bond of the longest maturity 30y $200k to earn $6k ignoring taxes.

You must really like that Bronx apartment or you wouldn't be asking these questions, because obviously the Brooklyn place is better. But the Bronx space speaks to you. I have another idea---keep looking, if you have any luxury of time. Many apartments come on the market in the spring. BTW the crime stats are if anything under reported.

>You have to invest in 3% yielding treasury bond of the longest maturity 30y $200k to earn $6k ignoring taxes.

that makes sense
1 - nobody pays taxes anyway, so just ignore that
2 - obviously this is analogous to US Government obligations so compare yourself to Uncle Sam

Flutistic...the bronx one is much larger (junior 4) pre-war, charming corner unit with lots of open light and is next to a potential rezoning area. the brooklyn is a post war box shaped 1 bed by kensington/midwood ocean parkway with windows on one side. Do you suppose the appreciation will be about the same? I have been looking for a few months and they seem like good options, at least for the next five years.

300_mercer i did the calculation with the annual difference in maintenance divided by the interest and its about even, if i have accurately predicted what both places end up selling for.

The Bronx apartment sounds nicer, and if it's in the area around Yankee Stadium it's probably a shorter commute to either Downtown or Midtown than from Midwood, but if there are not many services now, then there may never be, and if there are, then only if the maintenance gets more expensive. Appreciation? Wild guess here: Bronx. But predicting which neighborhood will appreciate most is a crapshoot.

My personal opinion is---forget appreciation. Because lowery is right, it's a crapshoot. Nobody has a crystal ball. Buying a home is usually a poor investment, most of the time, and if it turns out not to be in a particular home for you, well then that's great. Given opportunity costs most of us are better off renting financially, especially in New York City, but no I haven't followed that good advice, either. Lowery also raises the issue of commute times, which are vital. BTW we now know why the maintenance is higher, you're paying for square footage. Compare the amount psf in the neighborhood and if it's consistent, then it's fine.

I think it will be cheaper and advantageous for us to buy than to find a nice one bedroom to rent in Brooklyn, at least we can build some equity and keep fingers crossed for appreciation...perhaps better than putting a lump sum in investments? I am curious to see your reasoning though...How are you better renting, when it costs more and nothing is accruing?

The bronx apartment (a bit further up from yankee) was definitely nicer...if only it was the Brooklyn maintenance and location. Both have the same commute time to work for me....and jobs change so not sure if that's helps me decide. The square footage is only about 10-15% bigger with the additional room., how could that account for the additional 45% maintenance?

What accounts for the higher maintenance cost is the higher level of service. Doorman buildings always have significantly higher maintenance than buildings without doormen. Having 24 hour doormen and porters requires paying wages and benefits and those are funded through monthly maintenance fees. You need to compare the maintenance in the building you are considering with other doorman buildings in the area. Personally, unless you are personally frightened when you are there, I would go with the Bronx option. The Bronx has so much more potential than Brooklyn where the potential has, depending on your viewpoint, either been fulfilled or squandered. The Bronx is full of hard working down to earth people, hipsters and gentrifiers are scarce and the community is rallying to keep them out.

Native Restless, the higher maintenance apartment has the fewer services! The lower maintenance building has the porter, doorman etc. That's why it seems odd apart from the there are more people to share the costs in the lower maintenance building.

It's the Bronx apartment with nearly no services that is more expensive. Brooklyn apartment that has the lower maintenance.