During the pandemic, many clients have curiously asked me about owning a freestanding home in the suburbs. The move to Westchester, Nassau, and and Suffolk Counties is very intriguing as we are all experiencing such stress and uncertainty being stuck in our small apartments. The convenience of the densely populated city has been its transportation, and plethora of small businesses. Since all of these have such down during the Corona Virus NYC pause, the soul of living outside of our apartments more frequently than inside our apartments is making a lot of New Yorkers question their living spaces. Below is a quick outline of a $1,000,000 purchase across the options of co-ops, condos, and a home in Westchester County.

$1,000,000 Purchase Price Scenarios:

20% standard down payment of $200,000

Estimated Closing Costs can be separately emailed to you if you’d like a detailed breakdown of these scenarios.

1 Family Home in Westchester - $24,994.00

Condo - $32,069.00 

(The NYC mortgage recording tax is one of the largest closing costs NYC, and the reason why a condo in NYC is more costly than a home in Westchester to close on).

Co-op - $11,878.00

You should also budget for:

~ $1,500-$2,500 for an attorney

~$500-$700 for a home inspection

*Anything $1,000,000 and under would NOT be subject to a 1% Mansion Tax, and therefore would be cheaper to close on. 

Budgeting to Own

A Condo

• Common Charges ( monthly)

• Taxes (monthly)

• Utilities + Homeowners Insurance (monthly)

• Annual Wear and Tear can include anything from having the super unclog any drains in bathrooms, sinks, painting, tipping doormen, potential building wide assessments in which each homeowner would pay a percentage to fundraising for repairs, renovations, etc.

A Co-Op

• Maintenance (monthly)

• Utilities + Homeowners Insurance (monthly)

• Annual Wear and Tear can include potential building wide assessments in which each share owner would pay a percentage to fundraising for repairs, renovations, etc.

A Freestanding Home

As for owning a free standing home in the suburbs we discussed a couple of different annual costs you may incur:

• Taxes (monthly)

• Utilities + Homeowners Insurance (monthly)

• Landscaping/Gardener/Snow Removal (monthly)

• Annual Wear and Tear,  depends on the condition of the home

  • HVAC ( heating ventilation and air conditioning) maintenance. Typically this is done every spring to clean the ducts and get your AC ready for the season

  • Emergencies or Rarely done:

    • Plumbing/ Electrical (can be for emergencies only)

    • Blacktopping a driveway

    • Drain snaking/unclogging

    • Potential servicing of washer/dryers

    • Bug/Rodent Treatments

• When you have a free standing home, it takes time to assemble your "Team" of Go-To professionals that will help you troubleshoot any maintenance, repair, and issues that could arise. Naturally in a condo/co-op management is responsible for establishing and hiring a network to service your building and apartment itself.