[puppychichi]

Hello all,

We are thinking to move into Greenwich.

May I know, if we only want to spend $2,500 - $3,000 on monthly housing (25% down with 35 years mortgage, including HOA fee if condo), would we be able to afford living in Greenwich's areas like Cos Cob, Riverside, Old Greenwich or the zone for International School at Dundee? (Areas with nice public schools).

We don't like huge space, we prefer smaller residency, 2bd/2bth with balcony, around 1,200 sqft. Prefer condo, or smaller house. And we really don't like to spend much on housing, we would like to be able to dine out, travel, gift friends, do charity as free as we want. So the goal is to spend less than $3,000 on housing.

Thanks in advance for your input, and thanks for reading my post.

[NewJeffCT]

I have no idea what condo fees in Greenwich are, but the mill rate (property tax) is the lowest in the state. There might be a few condos/townhouses you can afford in that price range, but they might need a bit of work.

I've never heard of a 35 year mortgage, though? Is that something new? Look on zillow or realtor.com and see if there is anything 700,000 or less?

Welcome to CT if you do decide to move.

[SeaDoo342]

That's less than $750k...which means you can probably afford a small home that needs work in the lesser desirable parts of town, or maybe a condo.

[CTartist]

Here is a 2 bed/2 bath on Valley Road which is a very nice area.

49 Valley Rd Unit A1, Greenwich, CT 06807 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

There is a calculator if you scroll down. If you put in 25% for the down payment the mortgage (30 years), taxes and HOA fee comes to about $3000. There are other condos in your price range too so in your case it looks doable to find some condos in your price range.

[allanny13]

Originally Posted by puppychichi

Hello all,

We are thinking to move into Greenwich.

May I know, if we only want to spend $2,500 - $3,000 on monthly housing (25% down with 35 years mortgage, including HOA fee if condo), would we be able to afford living in Greenwich's areas like Cos Cob, Riverside, Old Greenwich or the zone for International School at Dundee? (Areas with nice public schools).

We don't like huge space, we prefer smaller residency, 2bd/2bth with balcony, around 1,200 sqft. Prefer condo, or smaller house. And we really don't like to spend much on housing, we would like to be able to dine out, travel, gift friends, do charity as free as we want. So the goal is to spend less than $3,000 on housing.

Thanks in advance for your input, and thanks for reading my post.

Yea it's doable. Just know that there are not a ton of condos in those areas so the competition can be tough, and you would be just below the minimum price range for a single family home.

[JayCT]

I think the OP needs to sit with a banker or mortgage broker to determine how much home they can afford. They need to look at the amount of money they have for a downpayment and their total debt load before saying they can afford this or that. A broker can determine that. It does sound like they can afford a modest home in Greenwich. Whether it meets the desires is difficult to say without more information. Jay

[kidyankee764]

It depends what you expect for that amount. A small but nice condo would be what you're looking at, unless you prefer a house on a busy street, a house with issues or a bank owned.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by CTartist

Here is a 2 bed/2 bath on Valley Road which is a very nice area.

49 Valley Rd Unit A1, Greenwich, CT 06807 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com®

There is a calculator if you scroll down. If you put in 25% for the down payment the mortgage (30 years), taxes and HOA fee comes to about $3000. There are other condos in your price range too so in your case it looks doable to find some condos in your price range.

Valley road is okay. It's parallel to route 1 and is used as a cut through road, so it's very busy. There are a lot of apartments and some only offer street parking there. But "nice" is subjective.

[CT_Yank]

Can I ask why it has to be Greenwich? 3k can be done but you will be on a very busy street or house will be beat up and tiny. Greenwich is not all ultra rich folks but you would be living a very low lifestyle in mostly affluent town that caters to wealthy. With kids, it might be socially difficult. Some nice people but you have to really search to find them. Greenwich has very high snobbery level and lots of braggarts trying to climb social ladder via rich contacts.

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by CT_Yank

Can I ask why it has to be Greenwich? 3k can be done but you will be on a very busy street or house will be beat up and tiny. Greenwich is not all ultra rich folks but you would be living a very low lifestyle in mostly affluent town that caters to wealthy. With kids, it might be socially difficult. Some nice people but you have to really search to find them. Greenwich has very high snobbery level and lots of braggarts trying to climb social ladder via rich contacts.

"Some nice people but you have to really search to find them"

That's total crap. I know many nice people in Greenwich who would give you the shirt off their back. In fact, I have had more unpleasant experiences with people in middle class towns than I've had in towns like Greenwich.