You’ve finally decided it’s time to give up apartment living. You did some soul searching and you’ve dropped in on a few open houses. You found your dream house...at least, you think you have. According to Forbes, as many as a quarter of homeowners wish they had never purchased their place at all. Here are some additional considerations to make before you make a regrettable decision. The name of the game: attention to detail.
Of all the ridiculous ideas that precipitated what people are apparently calling The Great Recession, junk mortgages -- "subprime" is somehow too kind a word, here -- have to rank among the worst. Real estate in general, and New York apartments and condominiums in particular, have long ranked among the smartest and safest investments out there, but the rise and sad popularity of junk mortgages such as "interest-only" mortgages during the real estate boom did much to unmake that. Sure, the right NYC condo is still a terrific investment, but the market in general was damaged seriously by all the homes and apartments (generally not in New York City, of course) that were sold to people via frankly crappy means such as interest-only mortgages.
Buying an apartment or condo is a big decision, wherever said apartment or condo is located. But when we're talking about NYC condos, both the level of investment on your part and the competition on the lender's part are amped up considerably. The New York City real estate market can be a tough place, of course, but choosing to work with a trustworthy real estate agent and educating yourself on the rules of the mortgage game are good ways to make buying a Manhattan apartment that much simpler. The New Construction Manhattan Broker Network is a good way to ensure that you'll find a knowledgeable agent, of course; reading 
We've discussed the Federal Housing Administration's new set of guidelines for new construction condominium buildings 
Considering the housing market's collapse in late 2008 -- you've probably heard something about this -- it was pretty much inevitable that the Department of Housing and Urban Development and Federal Housing Administration would do a thorough revision of their condo-financing policies. The fact that big changes were certain, though, didn't necessarily mean that anyone was certain of what those changes might look like. With the FHA's implementation date of December 7 looming closer, the shape of the FHA's new policies is becoming somewhat clearer. The results offer good news and bad news for both new condominium buildings in New York City and those looking to buy (and sell) apartments in New York.
The current real estate market is all the more frustrating for how tantalizing it is -- the market for new condominiums and apartments in Manhattan (and elsewhere) is full of great deals, but the still-struggling credit market has made it harder than ever to get financing for condominium purchases. New guidelines issued by the Federal Housing Administration and Fannie Mae clear things up somewhat, though, and are good news for home buyers in New York -- very friendly financing and government-backed loans are available for those buying condos in FHA-approved developments. The question, then, is this: what makes a Fannie Mae/FHA-approved condo project an FHA-approved condo project?
