BoogieDowner featured this same property yesterday, but in our tireless search for the next listing of the day, we stumbled upon it again. The only difference is that yesterday we found it as a rental on Craigslist for $700/month. Now we've found the identical property on Trul
ia for sale at $115,000. If you're interested in a brief write up about the hood (Woodlawn), you can get that after the jump in the link above. Today BoogieDowner is only concerned about the numbers. What would be better here? Rent at $700/month or buy at the asking price of $115,000?Well, the rental cost is easy: $700/month. You might have to come up with first, last and, a security deposit to move in (the listing doesn't specify), but at the most you're looking at $2,100 in up front money. For the purchase, with 20% down ($23,000) and a 6% 30 year mortgage you'd be paying $551/month. That's a lot of upfront money, but you'd get the tax benefits of writing off a bunch of interest and a percentage of your maintenance. I guess it would all hinge on what the maintenance actually was. In any case, assuming you had the $23K laying around from some munificent uncle, legal settlement, or old fashioned savings, what would you do? Buy this or rent?
FULL LISTING
~ErLu
1 comment:
Well, actually, there's a lot more to consider than just the purchase price. I'm going to go out on a limb and assume that a person who is buying a studio is probably a first time homebuyer. As part of the stimulus package, they can now receive an up to $8000 tax credit, in addition to the tax benefits you already mentioned.
Also, say one decided to rent the property instead of buying it, when the economy is better, you can bet that the rent is going to be going up--it probably is not rent stabilized. And when you buy, there will hopefully be more stability and you get to have the future appreciation (hopefully!).
Either way, it's a steal, and except for the transportation thing, I heart Woodlawn.
T
For more on the first time homebuyer tax credit:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/13/your-money/13money.html?scp=3&sq=first%20time%20tax%20credit%20%248000&st=cse
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