Housing: Rent or Buy in NYC

Gothamist answers this question:

My parents are always bugging me about renting an apartment in New York City, saying I am throwing money out the window by renting and that I should buy a place[...] They’ve offered to help me with a down payment, but is it really a good idea?

Janine Papp answers the question and takes a Wall Street Journal article into account. She goes as far as to suggest that people should wait until they have the money for the down payment rather than accept help from others. I wouldn’t mind hearing readers’ opinions on that topic.

Updated February 6, 2012 and originally published March 30, 2005. If you enjoyed this article, subscribe to the RSS feed or receive daily emails. Follow @flexo on Twitter and visit our Facebook page for more updates.

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Luke Landes, also known as Flexo, is the founder of Consumerism Commentary. He has been blogging and writing for the internet since 1995 and has been building online communities since 1991. Find out more about him and follow Flexo on Twitter. View all articles by Flexo.

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{ 2 comments }

Andy: The Chicago Tribune ran an article within the last 6 months about a young NYC couple. They chose to buy a place–in Traverse City, Michigan–and rent it out while continuing to live in New York. Her parents manage their “starter home” for them.
frugal: I have a Rent vs Buy java calculator on my website. Maybe you will find it useful.
It’s at my website, click on the finance calculators near the top, and then click on Rent vs Buy calculator. I don’t want to make this an active link, since I don’t mean to drop an active link to promote my website.