Own. Had some family money to help with down payment on first apartment and have bought and sold my way up a few times as salary increased.

Public K-8 and private for HS. Best way to go in NYC. Really not that hard to buy in a good public school zone. Or really not that hard to rent in a public school zone long enough to get kids into the school then you can move wherever you want.

Pros and cons of owning but generally glad we own. 3% mortgage makes the math work - nice use of leverage. Not sure how I would feel now with much higher rates. Co-op board is a hot mess which is annoying. But have been here 10+ years and plan to be here much longer and love our location, so it works for us. Gut renovated when we moved in - miserable process but really made it our own. We don't like change - moving is miserable.

It's never been unusual to rent in the city and send your kids to TT schools. I grew up in the 80s & 90s and it's what my parents did (rent stabilized 3 bedroom on the UES and then owned our second home at the beach) and there were plenty of people around us who did the same thing. We own because my NJ bred partner has a thing about it, but I would prefer to rent still. We could get a nicer apartment, and have more flexibility, all for the same or less than what we spend on our downtown co-op. We also send our kid to a TT.

Renting has been more beneficial for so many years now. We sold three properties to become renters. Should have never bought them.

We rent but send our 3 kids to a TT private. We are European and don't plan to retire here, we already own homes in Spain and Switzerland where we'll move eventually. We've considered buying and may still buy an investment property in the next few years, but we don't find any compelling reason to buy for ourselves.

We live in 20k a month rental and send DS to TT SS school. We are not worried that we don’t own a home in the city lol. We used to own in a prestigious coop in the UES and we had no problems but neighbors ended up suing each other and some board members were really difficult with potential buyers and applicants. It was exhausting so we sold and found a nice rental that leaves us a lot of flexibility. We have a house out east that we do own though.

Anonymous wrote:The rent v buy calculus is so skewed towards renting that you shouldn’t buy unless it’s a niche housing type you can’t rent (e.g. prewar park avenue coop). Don’t let a perception of negative stigma push you into buying a condo or coop that won’t appreciate at the rate of inflation and with monthlies that will eat you alive should your circumstances change.

Except then you have to rent in retirement and rent goes up every year. You also have to live in a rental building.

If you’re using a rent/buy calculator you’re not wealthy enough to send kids to privates in Manhattan. A nanny is also more expensive than daycare, and NY private school parents aren’t using daycare.

My aunt and uncle rented a big townhouse on the UES for more than a decade until they were empty nesters. They had a country estate. So by renting you can enjoy more house for the same dollars.

The rent v buy calculus is so skewed towards renting that you shouldn’t buy unless it’s a niche housing type you can’t rent (e.g. prewar park avenue coop). Don’t let a perception of negative stigma push you into buying a condo or coop that won’t appreciate at the rate of inflation and with monthlies that will eat you alive should your circumstances change.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s common in NYC. Big spenders who can’t manage their finances and can’t afford to buy. They will try to rationalize it by rent is so much less expensive or whatnot, but really it’s because they don’t have the down payment. M

Once you have kids in the city and haven’t saved a DP you’re screwed unless you earn millions a year. I don’t mean $1-2 million but $5 plus.

I know a renter who had a baby horse for both her kids for 16 weeks and TWO nannies, and the husband told my husband they still don’t have enough saved for a down payment.

Be careful assuming private school and renting makes any sense financially. You’re just renting a lifestyle.

We have over $10mm in invested assets and rent. I guess we are the outliers.

You are. Definitely.

Anonymous wrote:Also, anecdotally, I know a family bringing in $800K but they rent, sent their kids to public schools and Regis. Lots of people in different situations but renting is common here.

$800k isn’t enough to own a nice property and send kids to privates in NY. Of course they rent.

Anonymous wrote:We own but it pains my husband (finance guy) since the money could be doing better in the market. We think the renters are pretty smart!

We wanted a prewar place in a co-op west of Lex and you can’t really rent those. You also tend to need several times the purchase price of those apartments in cash to make it through the board process which may also make some people gun shy on buying. We were only able to make that work with help from family. Lots of people are getting help with down payments (not to mention private school tuition, hence the dog and pony show for “Grandparents Day”) so no shame in the renting game…. You do what works for your family.

They don’t have it. That’s why they rent.

We own but it pains my husband (finance guy) since the money could be doing better in the market. We think the renters are pretty smart!

We wanted a prewar place in a co-op west of Lex and you can’t really rent those. You also tend to need several times the purchase price of those apartments in cash to make it through the board process which may also make some people gun shy on buying. We were only able to make that work with help from family. Lots of people are getting help with down payments (not to mention private school tuition, hence the dog and pony show for “Grandparents Day”) so no shame in the renting game…. You do what works for your family.

Owning is expensive. You can easily spend $7-9k/month on taxes and maintenance in a new condo.

We own. Buying was a lifestyle decision (we wanted our own place in a new building in a good location). Financially it would have made more sense to rent and invest $ in S&P/other index funds.

Also, anecdotally, I know a family bringing in $800K but they rent, sent their kids to public schools and Regis. Lots of people in different situations but renting is common here.

I believe it. $50K is only a little more than the price for daycare. We're doing the opposite. We have a down payment for an apartment but we don't have the cash flow for private school. We're rolling the dice and hoping for the best with D2 public schools, Hunter, Regis, and the specialized HS. We also need to save for college where we will not qualify for any aid!