Safe/affordable towns for retired couple in LI? (Poughkeepsie, Valley Stream: condos, co-ops)

[fietsdief]

My sister and I live in Brooklyn and our parents live in Alabama. Since it looks like both of us are staying put here, my parents are considering relocating up here to be closer to us. I'm curious to get some feedback on what towns in Long Island could fit their needs. Here's what they are looking for:

(1) Where they could buy a 3br home for around $350k, preferably a single family home but would maybe consider a townhome. And they wouldn't want a home that needed much work, so it would need to be pretty much move in ready at that price point.

(2) Would need to be very safe. They'd prefer something that feels more suburban than urban or city-like, because that's what they're used to. They'd like to be able to drive around easily, as my mom has bad ankles and can't rely on walking/public transportation.

(3) Reasonable or low property taxes and decent school system (for resale reasons, if they moved)

(4) Not TOO far of a commute to Brooklyn, decent doctors/hospitals and shopping.

Any thoughts? I know very little about Long Island!

[StephM]

How much can they afford per month for taxes? If they want Nassau county it will be tough to find a place with taxes under 9500 anually.

[LegalDiva]

I hate to come across like a debby downer but I dont see that much possibility in Nassau County that would fit their requirements. You wont even find a decent Queens house for under $400K unless its in a crappy neighborhood or needs extensive renovation work... The only place I can think of is Howard Beach, Queens (Lindenwood) which already has a significant retirement population - the condos and co-ops there are all in the $150-350K range but the buildings are old (most built in the 1950s) and the mass transit options are pretty slim (only 1 subway line serves the town). The upside is that its located right NEXT to Brooklyn.

You can do random searches to see what I mean over at www.mlsli.com

I ran a random search for Queens and came across a 3 bedroom/2 bath unit for $ 289K with taxes of less than $3K/year. MLS No. 2488775 if the link below doesnt work.

http://www.mlsli.com/unidetailsredo_...tart=13&rpp=10

$350K in Nassau County will mean the school district would be questionable at best, even if taxes are under $10K/year. 1 bedroom condos and co-ops in Garden City for example, start at around $250K and up, and they come with maintenance/HOA dues of around $800-1100/month on top of the sky high property taxes.

will they consider anywhere in upstate NY?

[kdlugozi]

The first place I think of for retirees is Ridge (Leisure Knoll is single family homes, while Leisure Village and Leisure Glen are condos/townhomes). But it is in Suffolk, so nowhere near Brooklyn. But they can get a nice 2 bedroom home for well under 200K and have amenities, activities, free bus service to take them shopping, etc.

[kdlugozi]

Leisure Village, Glen and Knoll, Leisure Living Realty over 55 Ridge NY

[twingles]

Are your parents living on a fixed income? If so, how do they plan to account for the ever-rising property taxes on Long Island? Most retirees are looking to flee this problem, not come to it. My parents finally left with the taxes on their townhouse reached $11K a year - which was actually higher than the house they had sold 5 years earlier.

[fietsdief]

Legal Diva - I know it would probably be slim pickings in their price range :/ What about somewhere like Valley Stream? I saw some decent houses online in that range there. That doesn't seem too far out and property taxes seemed to be something like 3-6k. I think they would definitely consider upstate, I drive up there towards Poughkeepsie every now and then just to get out of the city and the drive's not too bad... Really anywhere that's 1hr-1.5 hours out would be an option.

kdlugozi - thanks for the suggestions, I'll look into that

twingles - I know, it's a mess, but we hate living so far away from each other, yet there's not much for me to do job-wise where they are. What are you gonna do :/ As far as income, they are retired teachers, so they do have money coming in each month in addition to savings, plus my dad likes to work part-time to keep himself busy.

[majortom1981]

I live in a condo complex called blue ridge in medford . Its still in suffolk but close to the LIE. Its not 55 and over but it has a 60 percent retired / 40 percent younger metric. units range from 130k for a blair model to $300k for the 3 bedrood/den with fireplace/ outside storage units. maintanance fees are in the 300 to 400 a month range depending on the model of the unit. taxes are in the 2400k to 4k a year range. A lot of retirees like the adams units which are 1/2 bedroom models on 1 floor. I got mine for $155k i am younger though and had a bidding war with a retired couple.

Its in suffolk though but since its right off the LIE it still could be worth it.

My grandparents live in leisure village. while its a great place to live it has electric heat.

[twingles]

I would look for something for them in a nicer area of Queens to keep the tax burden down.

[Crookhaven]

Ridge