Another move within the U.S.. Easy, right?! No, it is sooooo hard to understand life in NY. And by NY I mean Manhattan, where we are focusing our house hunt. We are also looking in CT because my husband and kids - and I'm sure my pets would too if they could vote - would prefer to live in a house.
Well, unfortunately we can't afford a nice townhouse in the city, so first I had to learn the difference between condos and co-ops. Our realtor was great at explaining. One thing I had no idea of is that the process to buy a co-op usually takes about 90 days because of the requirement of a board approval. Then, I found out that we have to act very quickly if we want to buy something there. It is not rare for a place to receive multiple offers. The market is very hot right now and the inventory is extremely limited.
Another thing to consider are the cost of a parking spot, if you are considering keeping a car and the maintenance cost for your building. The maintenance costs can be pretty steep so you need to find out exactly what it covers.
I thought I had everything figured out just to find out that understanding the school system is not that easy either. If you're going to send your kids to a private school you'll have to submit your application as early as possible to a few schools, get in line - most of the wait lists are huge! - and take your kids to a test. If you're going public there are a few things to consider. The location does matter when it comes to selecting schools but it is not the only factor in determining what school your kids will end up at. And the determining facts change almost every year. So, there are no guarantees that my daughter will end up at the same middle school my son is going to.
I am going to NY and CT on Monday to start my home search and look at the schools. Wish me luck!!
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