ny real estate

I had thought I was well on my way to saving up enough for a (v. small) Manhattan apartment. Boy, was I wrong…

Ms. Schulman, whose buyers are mostly looking at Manhattan co-ops, said that building requirements can be daunting.

In general, the co-ops require a 20 percent down payment and co-op boards want to see that a buyer has two years’ worth of monthly payments in liquid assets after closing. For most co-op buildings, a buyer needs to have a 25 percent debt-to-income ratio.

What this means is that a person earning $10,000 a month (or a pretty significant $120,000 a year) can take on carrying costs, including mortgage and maintenance payments as well as any ongoing fees like school loans or car payments, of only $2,500 a month. What is more, after the 20 percent down payment and closing costs, this person needs to have two years’ worth of $2,500 payments (or $60,000) available.

A search for apartments in Manhattan last week with combined carrying charges of less than $2,500 a month, given a $50,000 down payment, gleaned four one-bedrooms between $250,000 and $350,000 in Washington Heights and Inwood, a 425-square-foot studio on the Upper East Side and a 220-square-foot studio in Tudor City.

“As you can see,” Ms. Schulman said, “even people who make $100,000 a year can’t get the apartment they want.”