[soapgirl]

This may not exist in CT, but are there any safe, family oriented towns where you can buy a single family house for around $125K? I had heard Danbury was nice and affordable (based on a post here), but as I dug into some more posts, I found some information that made me not want to live there.

My family is in Mass and my husband's are in Philly and we were trying to find a place about 1/2 way between, so we chose CT. It just may not be affordable for us though. Our other choices were NC and VA as we found some nice places there.

I'd appreciate any insight anyone might have.

Thanks!

[notjustamom]

I'm sorry, but I can't think of anywhere in Connecticut with homes that inexpensive. Would you consider a condominium?

[tom62]

Definitely a condo. ANY house at that price would resemble a 400 SF uninsulated cottage or cabin. Danbury by the way is a very nice small city.

[misueno]

You may want to consider looking into the north east corner of Pennslyvania (Scranton-Wilkes Barre area or Bethlehem). They area offers many nice homes in your price range - albeit a lot closer to Philly than MA.

[JayCT]

Soapgirl - There are nice towns in Connecticut that are in your price range as long as you realize that your choices will be limited. I would suggest considering Torrington or Bristol. Both are older communites with nice homes in your price range in decent neighborhoods. Commuting to a major city from these towns may be a bit difficult but not too bad. Another option would be eastern Connecticut. The northeast corner of the state is beautiful and there are a number of towns there that have homes in your price range. Check out Windham County. Jay

[soapgirl]

Originally Posted by notjustamom

I'm sorry, but I can't think of anywhere in Connecticut with homes that inexpensive. Would you consider a condominium?

I don't think we would consider a condo. We have always lived in a single family house and like to have our own place. I'm afraid you would end up with lousy neighbors and have the potention of lots of noise living so close to people. Thanks for the idea though notjustamom

[soapgirl]

Originally Posted by tom62

Definitely a condo. ANY house at that price would resemble a 400 SF uninsulated cottage or cabin. Danbury by the way is a very nice small city.

No cottage or cabin for this girl! Can you tell me anything about Danbury? What makes you like it? I read a thread on the board about it being heavily populated with illegals. I'm all for legal immigrants, but am leary about others. I don't care what color people are, so that is not an issue. My husband and I are most concerned with a safe place to raise our family, a well paying job for him, and an affordable house in a nice neighborhood. I know that is a lot to ask, but we are really hoping to find it somewhere. We have even thrown around the idea of living above a retail/commercial space. We could buy one of those older buildings that are usually brick or stone in a downton area and I could run my business out of the bottom and we could live on top. It sure would be a nice short commute for me

Thanks!

We will be leaving Maine and it can't be soon enough with the harsh winter fast approaching.

[soapgirl]

Originally Posted by JayCT

Soapgirl - I would suggest considering Torrington or Bristol. Both are older communites with nice homes in your price range in decent neighborhoods. Another option would be eastern Connecticut. The northeast corner of the state is beautiful and there are a number of towns there that have homes in your price range. Check out Windham County. Jay

Hi Jay and misueno,

Thanks for the town recommendations. I went to Realtor.com and couldn't find anything decent in our price range, so I went to Remax.com and couldn't find anything either. Does anyone have any other ways that they usually search for real estate for sale in the CT area and/or PA area? I would really like to see what is available.

Thank you very much

[glxyman21]

Try looking at Ravies.com. Your budget is kind of small though. Some parts of CT are affordable but there are not many homes in that price range to begin with. Have a look at Plymouth, Thomaston or Plainville. You might be able to find something there. You will have to keep in mind the house will more than likely be older (1950's era) on a small lot (1/4 acre or less), no garage, and under 1,000 square feet. $175K might be a more reasonable starting point.

[Rich Lee]

Originally Posted by glxyman21

Try looking at Ravies.com. Your budget is kind of small though. Some parts of CT are affordable but there are not many homes in that price range to begin with. Have a look at Plymouth, Thomaston or Plainville. You might be able to find something there. You will have to keep in mind the house will more than likely be older (1950s' era) on a small lot (1/4 acre or less), no garage, and under 1,000 square feet. $175K might be a more reasonable starting point.

Being a REALTOR®, I thought I'd share something with everyone. When an REALTOR® gets a listing, (s)he enters the listing onto the MLS. The MLS entry screen has two fields: one that allows the listing to feed to realtor.com (Internet)and another that allows the listing to feed to all real estate companies' web sites (IDX). The default is "Y" for "Yes."

In essence, coldwellbankermoves.com, prudentialct.com, raveis.com (note the spelling), remax.com, etc., should all mirror one another. Realtor.com should mirror the MLS. The exception is when the agent indicates "N" for "No" when entering his/her listing.

My advice is to find one that you like and check it often. By looking at more web sites doesn't necessarily mean that you're seeing more inventory. (I know this first hand from a previous client who would send me inquiries about the same property four times.)