NEW YORK CITY (WABC) — In the latest installment of the “Your Money, Your Savings” series, Eyewitness News examined how buying a home or apartment compares with renting, as many renters continue to face annual rent increases.

Everyone complains about their rent going up every year. How do you keep that from happening? YOU become the landlord.

Eyewitness News looked at several properties and estimated monthly costs based on a 20% down payment and a 7% interest rate.

On the Upper West Side, a co-op listed at about $399,000 would require an estimated monthly mortgage payment of about $2,100. Building maintenance and taxes would add about $1,000 per month, bringing the total monthly cost to about $3,100. A 20% down payment would be about $80,000.

Broker Jessica Cohen of Brown Harris Stevens said potential buyers are increasingly weighing ownership against rising rental costs.

“The numbers are making sense to own. Rents went up so much,” Cohen said.

Here are some other examples:
A two-bedroom apartment in Inwood, Manhattan, priced at $500,000, with an estimated monthly mortgage payment of $2,700.
A one-bedroom apartment in Midwood priced at $275,000, with an estimated monthly mortgage payment of $1,465.
A three-bedroom, two-bath house on East 222nd Street in the Bronx, listed at $650,000, with an estimated monthly mortgage payment of $3,400.

Taxes and homeowners association fees can add between $500 and $1,000 per month to housing costs.

“You could freeze your own rent by buying a place,” Nelson Aspen said. “The next time your lease is up you could be priced out altogether and find yourself with nothing.”

Aspen, who was selling his home, said he has already moved to a better property.

“My advice to anyone regardless of age is consider ownership. Best investment you can make especially in NYC,” Aspen said.

For some buyers, the appeal of ownership extends beyond building equity to the prospect of housing costs that do not increase every year.

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