SoFi Blog

Tips and news—
for your financial moves.

How to (Actually) Buy Your First Home in New York City

You have to earn the right to call yourself a New Yorker, and one of the ways you can do that is by suffering through the challenge that is finding housing in New York City. It’s a badge of honor you can wear with pride once you do—I mean, New York is one of the only cities in the world where people willingly pay over $1,000 a month for an apartment that has a shower in the kitchen.

But even as one of the most expensive cities in the world, it may make financial sense to buy sooner rather than later in this city. You only need to stay put for three years to make buying in Queens worth the price, four and a half years for Brooklyn, and seven and a half years for Manhattan, according to a study done by StreetEasy.

The desire for space and affordability sends some first-time homebuyers to New Jersey, Long Island, or quaint towns along the Hudson River (all of which still come with steep price tags). But for those committed to staying within the five boroughs, the question remains: Just how the heck do you navigate being a first-time homebuyer in New York City?

Read more

The (Truly) Ultimate Guide to Buying a House in the San Francisco Bay Area

As anyone who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area will tell you, it is truly a place like no other. The tech industry beckons with its surfeit of good paying jobs, the restaurant scene rivals that of any world capital, oh—and where else can you ski in the mountains one weekend, and then kayak with sea otters the next?

So while it’s not hard to understand why so many people are clamoring to buy a home in the Bay Area, those incredible perks are offset by one major drawback—a sky-high real estate market.

Read more

How to Use Tech to Buy a House (and Take Your Hunt to the Next Level)

We use tech for just about everything these days. If the need exists, as they say, “there’s an app for that”—whether it’s food delivery, laundry service, or borrowing a car.

So for the complicated process that is searching for your first home, it’s no surprise that a few innovators are giving it a tech upgrade. Apps and online tools simplify the more labor-intensive parts of house hunting, from learning real estate lingo and weighing mortgage options to finding new listings and investigating neighborhoods.

Here’s a tour of some of the most useful house-hunting websites and real estate apps to use on the path to buying your dream home.

Read more

How to Choose the Best Neighborhood When Buying a Home

With spring home buying season just around the corner, you may be gearing up for a string of weekends spent perusing open houses. Want to get a jump on your search now? If you haven’t settled on the best neighborhood to buy a home, now’s a good time to do some research.

Choosing the right neighborhood is no small feat, especially if you’re relocating long distance to an area that you don’t know well. While a great neighborhood can make your dream home even dreamier, just one bad neighbor or experience could have you thinking twice about how much you love your new digs. So how can you tell if you’re buying a home in your ideal community, or if you’re about to become financially tethered to a situation you’ll soon regret?

Read more
TLS 1.2 Encrypted
Equal Housing Lender