Buying Long Island real estate for the second time

Michael and Diana Piza of Port Washington bought their "forever home" in 2016 only to realize after living there for a year that the busy road out front wasn’t ideal with two kids under 5.

Katheryne and Erik Vasquez of Ridge rented out the first floor of the high ranch they purchased in Brentwood in 2017 and were recently able to afford a Colonial with the in-ground pool their daughters requested.

Demetria and Robert DePaolo of Deer Park realized the layout of the corner splanch Demetria bought in 2007 doesn’t mesh with their plans to start a family.

These Long Island families agree that as second-time homebuyers, they’ve learned important lessons since their first-time experience. "Once you've owned a home, I think you have a better feeling for what's important to you and is practical for you and your family," says Michael Piza, whose family, along with the Vasquezes, are living in their second home purchases, while the DePaolos have been searching for nearly two years.

Given how challenging the buying, selling and moving process can be, Maddy Camay, broker associate for Compass USA in Syosset, says most people wouldn’t do it a second time around unless their current house — or location — wasn’t working for them.

Changed goals

There are the buyers who have outgrown their current house or just want to upgrade to something larger and nicer. Others can be preparing for their future, like the person who lives in a Colonial or Cape who doesn’t want upstairs bedrooms and baths or just wants a smaller footprint, says Janine Gleusner of Signature Premier Properties. There’s also the buyer who is getting a second home but keeping their first, says Maryann Ressa, an agent with Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty.

"It can be a vacation home, or they want to be snowbirds and have a house on Long Island to return to," Ressa says.

But whoever the second-time homebuyer is, agents agree that typically they’re more educated about the process and what they want, as well any remodeling they might consider.

"It's easier to make choices about what work you’re willing to do when you’ve already owned a home," says Marco Gonzalez, a corporate broker with Galaxy Realty Group in Bay Shore. "For instance, I have a client who put central air in their first home, so they know the work involved and the costs, so when the house they wanted didn’t have central air, they knew it was something they can take care of later."

Financial realities

What it often comes down to is that your first home may not be exactly what you wanted, but it’s what you could afford, which may force you to compromise on the size of the property and home, as well as location. That’s why first-time buyers tend to move within five years, the point at which they have some equity in their home, says Nicholas Bigotti, a loan officer at RoundPoint Mortgage Servicing Corporation in Melville.

Bigotti says the typical first-time homebuyer puts the 3.5% minimum down and has a Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loan, which requires private mortgage insurance (PMI), so it’s a more costly loan.

"The second time around you can get a better conventional loan and they have some equity in the property," he says. "They're going to sell their house and use that money to get a better deal all around on the mortgage end of it. They may have changed jobs and have better employment and better income this time too."

Katheryne Vasquez says as their finances changed, her family wanted more space, particularly a house in which their living area and bedrooms weren't on the same floor. They moved into their Ridge home in March 2021 with all the bedrooms upstairs, a bigger kitchen and more family living spaces.

"The other house wasn’t big enough for us," Vasquez says. "With this one we have a lot of privacy, and that was a big thing for us. Over there, the houses are right next to each other."

Knowing what you want

Yenny Benitez, a licensed real estate person with Millennium Homes in Bay Shore, says sometimes you just need to live in a place to learn if it fits your needs, what your priorities are and what you didn’t know would be important. When she bought her second home 19 years ago, she knew she wanted a deck and central air.

"When I bought my first house, a small ranch, it never occurred to me I’d want a deck," she says. "Like a lot of second-time buyers, that home is usually more about all the things you didn’t realize you’d want, like a fireplace."

That was definitely the case for the Pizas, who liked their old neighborhood, but as Michael says, "as we settled in, we started to realize that there were some things that we didn't necessarily love about the house." The Pizas moved to their second home, a Colonial, in 2018.

"The old house had a small, isolated kitchen. In the new house the kitchen is a central focus," Piza says. "We also wanted a home office, a small yard because we’re busy people and don’t want a lot of yard work, and a large primary bedroom with a walk-in closet and bathroom."

According to Camay, decisions like this are common for the second-time buyer who is more educated about the buying process while also being clear about their likes, dislikes and what works for their family.

Demetria DePaolo says that when she bought her first house her needs were different. "I wasn't married and I wasn’t expecting to have kids," she says. "I did what I could with the space that we had but I would never buy a splanch again."

Wish lists and backup plans

If you’re contemplating a second move, Benitez advises first determining your reasons. "From there, what is your wish list this time around and what do you want that’s different?"

Gonzalez suggests that list include what is going to make a difference, what you definitely want and even things that are not necessary but are nice to have. "It's hard to find a perfect home. Every home, you're going to have to do something to make it your own, so what are you willing to compromise on?"

Of course, a benefit of being a first-time buyer is you don’t have to worry about selling anything because you’re likely coming from your parents' home or a rental. The downsides of buying the second home are the logistics of coordinating a sale and purchase, made even more challenging in the current tight inventory market.

Gleusner advises people selling their first home to have a backup plan. "People tell me they want to sell their house first, but if you have nowhere to go because you can’t find a house, it's a puzzle that you have to put together."

The DePaolos have been looking for nearly two years, and though they've had offers on their current home, they want to stay in their school district, so that limits their choices. This second-time around, Demetria wants to take her time.

"We think it’s best to look for a house now while we don’t have to move because if we had to, we might settle, and when you’re paying that much money, you don’t want to settle for something that you don't love or you don't want," Demetria says.