Hi all -
I'm looking to buy an apartment in NYC later this year (to live in) and was hoping to get a bit of insight/perspective from the savvy folks around here.
I suspect that this is all ultimately something no one can answer on my behalf, but I also suspect that people can still give some insightful comments that I would greatly appreciate.
We are dual income (~$320k combined at the moment), no kids in the next few years at least. Around $300k saved and about $100k more in retirement accounts. Late 20s, high credit, no debts. The places we're looking at are around $900k with monthly payments around ~$4400 (mortgage + maintenance fee).
The math suggests that this works. Payments are ~17% of salary, and even if we (for whatever reason/temporarily) dropped to $200k income it would stay under 28%. The biggest issue I can see with this is that it severely curtails short term investment opportunity due to down payment/closing costs/interest/taxes/etc. After buying we'd have a solid emergency fund, would still contribute maximally to 401ks, and would of course gain equity in the apartment, but building additional savings to invest with could take time.
Am I assessing the situation accurately? Any thoughts are welcome/appreciated.