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the problem is people have this Huge house comples. must have 4 bedrooms with a dinning room living room basement 2 car garage.
Finding this on long island for cheap will not happen. we just dont have the room. remember you still live on an island.
if you lower your bedroom requirements its much easier to find decent 3 bedroom houses with lower taxes then 4 bedroom houses.
My list is set up for 3+. Sorry, but the taxes are still high, the prices are still high, and everything is pretty much unaffordable. I don't think that a 4/2.5 home is a bit deal at all, especially not for the prices we're taling about. Needing to pay 500K+ for a family sized home where your not crammed into every inch of the home is absolutely going to have a negative impact on the island as a whole.
Taxes of 8-11 for smaller family homes isn't helping.
Not at all, just very, very hard and few manage it. Heck, I've met very few who even attempt it. Most recent college grads I meet these days are broke and piling up debt. And the ones who aren't broke are learning how much it really costs to start a family. Toss in that the salaries a college grad was once handed are getting rarer. And if you find the dream house at the end of the rainbow you'll get a nice Long Island tax bill.
Of course you're right, as everyone knows that those first few years out of college are the ones where people save lots of money.
Really, how many folks right out of school or even a few years after even have a bank account?
I don't know if I'd go that far, but it isn't really a time for saving. Your looking at starting salaries (if you can get a professional job), payoffs of student loans and credit card bills, buying things like an acceptable car, computer, clothes, apartment furniture, etc etc. I stayed home with my parents, had a great start paying job, and it took me over two years to clear debt, payoff things, and actually start saving.
^ even with little savings after 3 years (age 24) you can surely come up with 20k down between 2 people? How's $1500/mo. per person (includes $10k taxes) sound to you? Is that so impossible? You pull in ~$3k net a month if you make $50k. How is this "very very hard"? I'm not saying everyone is making 50k, but many do and this is a feasible scenario that's not "very very hard".
^ even with little savings after 3 years (age 24) you can surely come up with 20k down between 2 people? How's $1500/mo. per person (includes $10k taxes) sound to you? Is that so impossible? You pull in ~$3k net a month if you make $50k. How is this "very very hard"? I'm not saying everyone is making 50k, but many do and this is a feasible scenario that's not "very very hard".
Your math seems a little off, if your pulling in 50k annually, how are you making 3K net per month? Fed tax of 18%, State tax of 4%, SS 6.2%, Medicare 1.45% - who's paying for health insurance and retirement? If you go without the last two, then you can get to 3K net.
I think Sean would have concentrated in Nassau being from Wantagh - which I believe has always been historically more diverse. Take it for what it is, but historical references for "good" schools were typically referenced based on White population. I agree that things are changing - I won't argue that.
Here are some stats just pulled right now from GreatSchools on these town's High Schools... What is ironic in some ways is that when you look at Miller Place and 3V, they get a rating of 7 - I don't see how you call those "primo" districts in Suffolk county worthy of top dollar.
Anyway, take these stats for what you will...
Miller Place
Ethnicity This School State Average
White 93% 52%
Black or African American 2% 19%
Asian or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander 2% 7%
Hispanic or Latino 2% 21%
Unspecified 1% n/a
Ward Melville (3V)
Ethnicity This School State Average
White 87% 52%
Asian or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander 8% 7%
Hispanic or Latino 3% 21%
Black or African American 2% 19%
Connetquot (Bohemia)
Ethnicity This School State Average
White 89% 52%
Hispanic or Latino 6% 21%
Asian or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander 4% 7%
Black or African American 1% 19%
The "vaunted" Cold Spring Harbor
Ethnicity This School State Average
White 99% 52%
Black or African American 1% 19%
White - er West Islip
Ethnicity This School State Average
White 95% 52%
Hispanic or Latino 3% 21%
Asian or Native Hawaiian/other Pacific Islander 2% 7%
Sean's post had all LI; he was thorough as I recall being able to check out Suffolk SDs as well as Nassau.
One thing you're failing to take into account is school districts make up part of the equation, location the balance.
My house in 3V would be worth less squeezed into a development block in Bohemia or Ronkonkoma (Connetquot) or West Islip. It would be worth even less in Sound Beach (Miller Place SD side) but considerably more in CSH than 3V.
^ even with little savings after 3 years (age 24) you can surely come up with 20k down between 2 people? How's $1500/mo. per person (includes $10k taxes) sound to you? Is that so impossible? You pull in ~$3k net a month if you make $50k. How is this "very very hard"? I'm not saying everyone is making 50k, but many do and this is a feasible scenario that's not "very very hard".
Throwing one half of my net of 3K out the window sounds like a nightmare. The old rule of thumb was 28-30% max of your gross salary (1,250@50K), so your 1,500 a month is 33% which is over the max. Now factor in food for two, 401K, clothing for two and other debt for two and that $1,500 doesn't go that far. Then of course you should have savings for those life occurrences like extended job loss, babies, medical bills, car repairs, home repairs, etc. So in my view getting ahead, not just buying a mortgage, on your plan is very, very hard. Go for it if you want but I wouldn't.
FWIW We now make quite a bit over 50K each, we save on average about 25% of our net each month, max our 401Ks and pay 1500/mo which is a bit over our actual mortgage. All the same things we did when we were making 45K a year except we had a much lower mortgage.
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