More single women are 1st-time homeowners

Single women are buying homes at nearly twice the rate of single men.

They now account for 23 percent of first-time buyers and 16 percent of repeat buyers, according to the 2014 National Association of Realtors Profile of Homebuyers and Sellers. Single men make up 15 percent of first-timers and 8 percent of repeats.

"You’re in the suburbs of Manhattan, so you’ve got highly capable women who are working in the city and are looking to invest, and real estate is still a great investment for people," said Denise Friend of Better Homes and Gardens Rand Realty in White Plains.

In the expensive, tough-to-crack market of Westchester and Rockland counties, single women recount different motivations and various ways they've made the purchase work financially.

Julia Kushnir bought a multifamily house in Yonkers because she wanted an income-producing investment. Erika Klein purchased a house in Nyack when interest rates dipped too low to pass up. Jackie Garrecht, Carolyn Kiel and Maryann Boyd just felt ready for something to call their own, and preferred owning to renting.

In all cases, building equity has been an empowering experience they're glad they undertook.

“I felt like renting would be kind of like wasting money," said Garrecht, 31, who had been living with her parents in Sparkill when she decided to strike out on her own. "I had the money, and I thought I’d rather use it for a down payment."

An inheritance from her grandfather helped her purchase a condo in Valley Cottage this summer.

Boyd, 31, also bought a condo in Valley Cottage. She’d been living in the New City house where she grew up but, after her parents’ death and her sister’s marriage, she decided to get her own place.

“I have a dog and it's very hard to find a rental when you're a pet owner,” she said. “And I had just started a good job."

But following through was stressful, Boyd said: “It was harder because I didn't have someone with me for the emotional part of it."

Solo buyers sometimes need a confidence boost, according to Irene Amato of A.S.A.P. Mortgage in Cortlandt, who said she asks clients to imagine the worst-case scenario. She reminds them that job losses or other unexpected financial problems might also impede their ability to pay rent.

“It’s just getting over the fear of owing that mortgage,” she said. “And telling them they can always sell or rent. They forget that.”

Still, Amato recommends a certain amount of caution. She encourages buyers not to take on more than a 43 percent debt ratio, and to keep a minimum of four months of mortgage payments in the bank to protect against job loss or disability. She also stresses the importance of assembling a good team of professionals.

“Never be afraid to ask a question, never feel intimidated,” she said. “If you're not having that connection, find somebody else."

Boyd said she felt being single streamlined the process.

"They needed so much information from me, and I think just being one person, and being organized, it was so much simpler," she said. "I couldn't imagine if there was one other person involved. It's just so much that plays into everything.”

Kiel, 38, had been living in her childhood home in Pleasantville when she decided to buy her own co-op there in 2004. Like Boyd, she started looking when she didn’t find anything she liked in a rental.

“Either I would have had to be with a lot of different roommates, or the apartments were not in good shape,” she said. “My parents also were trying to convince me that buying a place was a better investment. You can get your money back when you sell it, maybe even make a profit, instead of just putting rent out there.”

Kiel lived in her one-bedroom co-op for five years before buying a second home, this time with her husband, Michael, in 2009. She found the second time around more challenging.

“Now you have two people who (each) have things that they're looking for, and we're looking more carefully at the size of the house, and the location, what town it's in."

Historically low interest rates convinced Klein, 44, to purchase her four-bedroom fixer-upper in Nyack in 2010 after years of renting.

Klein kept an eye out for two years for a house that needed a little work in order to afford the neighborhood she wanted.

“I figured I'd do the work myself and eventually sell it — or keep it, whatever I wanted to do — but I never felt that any of that depended on a man,” she said.

Despite being in good financial shape, Klein found the largest hardship of solo home purchase was the down payment.

“Even if you do very well making a living, and you can afford the mortgage payments, it's very hard for one person to come up with a down payment,” she said.

Kushnir, 35, bought the multifamily home in Yonkers on her own in 2009. She lived in the building for about a year, renting out the other apartments. She now lives in Nyack with her husband and daughter, but kept the Yonkers building as an investment.

“I would definitely encourage everyone to consider multifamily homes as a way to afford a home,” she said.

Klein, who is now in a relationship, said she is glad she didn’t put off home ownership.

“Even if I do lose a job, or something happens, I still have rental income to rely on,” she said. “And a house is the kind of thing where, even if you end up with somebody, it doesn't matter. So we have the house; We can live there together, we can decide to sell it, get something else if we want. But really, it's about the investment.”