Honest opinion on Rocky Point/Sound Beach areas (Smithtown, Shirley: for sale, power lines)

[clamboy]

Originally Posted by jenbooks13

Where do people work who live in Rocky Point?
Since it's not near the LIRR does anybody commute?
Thanks.

Many do...

10-15 min drive to Port Jefferson LIRR.

20-25 to Ronkonkoma(better bet)

Most work on LI.

C

[jenbooks13]

Hi C/Clamboy, I see you posting a lot here, and also on the rockypoint blog.

So, I am in a research mode if I want to leave NYC, and this might last for a while, since I've been here most of my adult life and have a rent stabilized apt. So I'm not leaving without a lot of thought and a buyout.

Given that, and that a long time ago I spent time in the Southold area, and also Wainscott for one summer, but know Southold better, and still have friends there, and dont have a lot of $, but am freelance...want some more peace & quiet and come into the city from time to time for business lunches. Given that,

I went to see a bunch of homes in Rocky Pt yesterday. The "real estate agent" was a total ditz so do you have somebody smart and good to recommend who could go down to the Stonybrook area and up to the SOutholdarea? This agent even forgot to show me the one home on the MLS listings I'd picked that I seemed to like the best, and in retrospect when I got home and saw we missed it, she said the owner did not want to show it. Huh? On a Saturday? In addition, she showed me the cruddiest bungalows at the low end of my price range and left off the 4 nicer homes. In fact, of 10 or more homes I saw yesterday, all except one were totally unliveable.

I'm very tolerant and eclectic but I can understand the ire towards these bungalows and the people who live in them. They bring down a whole neigbhorhood. They are abandoned, moldy, old, decrepit, depressing, feel like single or double wide trailers, they have obviously been rented out to some rather unsavory people. I was so depressed walking into a few I just walked right out just to get out into the open air and away from, for instance, the stink of a pet-urine soaked carpet, the stench of must and mold etc etc. ANd who needs an above ground plastic pool? A hot tub maybe, but a plastic round pool instead of using your yard for a garden?

One home was very cute, a couple and their toddler lived in it, theyd put a lot of effort to fix it up, it was so TINY it was reasonably the kind of place you'd put grandma in downt he block from you. It was as small as a studio apartment, though it was a one bedroom adn as I said they'd made it as pretty as possible. It was going for $219. I can't see the point. But I did want to linger and ask the couple some questions and the agent shooed me out of there, let's get going. She said later "You could not live in that place you'd go stir crazy." Does she know anything about me? Not.

Since I was walking in and out of the horrible lower end bungalows why did she keep showing them to me, she should've been smart enough to skip them and immediately go to teh higher end of what I'd picked out. She didn't. She left off 4 of the higher end, and by 5:00 we had to go home.

The final home we saw was much better priced than an of the others, at about $260, on a wooded property whose woods shared with other homes so they will never build back there, giving it a more spacious and rural feel than it actually "owns". That couple had two kids, and had turned the attic into a liveable loft space for the two boys however you can hear the floor of it creak when you walk so, there's no senseo f privacy if you go up the staircase up there and somebody is downstairs. So in truth it's a one bedroom with a loft space that is big, not a 2 bedroom. So even though it was much more fairly priced than the others, doesn't seem reasonable. That was apparently still in the bungalow area but over towards Hallock (?) so getting better.

I would rather live in Stonybrook because of the university of course, given my own interests. But if I were 15 minutes away that would be okay. Stonybrook looks at least 100K more expensive for similar homes. There's nothing I'm buying tomorrow so this is just reseach but, another problem I had with Rocky Point is that at the health food store, Back to Basics, I asked the young woman there, Do you know how to get to Stonybrook? She seemed depressed and flat and she simply said, No idea. Now is that possible, to live 15 minutes from a major university with Nobel Prize winning scientists in the news right now, and not know how to get there? Then we stopped at a gas station and a nice youing man also was totally baffled. Stonybrook? Was that a road? No? Oh a university? No idea.

Is that possible. What kind of folks don't even know there's a major university right near by and how to get there?

That worried me in terms of possibly living in one of those towns.

Southold--my friend tells met oday you can't get anything under half a million.

One of the couples we visited, the woman drives to Ronkokoma as you said so she can sleep on the train (no stop at Jamaica), that's a 4 hour round trip commute daily.

My Southold friend said Port Jefferson or Stonybrook would be better as Rocky Point is beyond the train line and bad cellphone reception.

As a positive, the very hilly blocks of the bungalow area were VERY pretty and the beach is lovely. The ditzy agent said Staten Island folks come in the summer. Is that true? Whyw ould that be? And do they make the beach noisy and unpleasant? One of the postings on the rockypoint blog was from a desperate parent who was sleepless adn her child too from rowdy teens on the beach?

I should also mention the Tides area, I do not like, I don't want "suburbs". I like rural, or "quaint" as in the bungalow area.

This agent told me one house was in move-in condition. She's totally wrong. It is totally decrepit. It needs to be torn down or completely renovated. The property is interestingly steep and graded downwards and if you wanted to do a major overhaul could make beautiful different gardens and plots. The upstairs is small and smells moldy. The downstairs is just two rooms--not a separate "apartment", its a basement that was illegally rented out. It stinks. It is full o fplywood and paint and in disrepair. Abandoned sheds are on the property. The roof is sagging and probably leaks. Why would she tell me it's in move in condition?

Obviously I want another agent for that area.

However, having seen two of the riffraff-y folks living in these bungalows-----it was really a bit unnerving. I would not really want those people living on my block. Since the market is quickly decelerating, nobody's going to buy them as investments to tear down and build nice homes and turn for a profit. That moment has passed. All these houses are coming down in price AND still overpriced.

Any thoughts about this?
I'm not saying I wouldn't eventually move into this area if, having researched it thoroughly, could find the right short sale, of which there will surely be more and more.

I'm probably going to look at Stonybrook next but it feels out of my preferred price range because, it requires me to keep up the same costs I have in NYC. My thought was if I leave, to scale down costs, have more nature and quiet, and do more of my creative work.

Thanks. Don't take offense at any of the above, I wrote it fast off the top of my head. Thanks for any insights.

[clamboy]

Originally Posted by jenbooks13

Hi C/Clamboy, I see you posting a lot here, and also on the rockypoint blog.

So, I am in a research mode if I want to leave NYC, and this might last for a while, since I've been here most of my adult life and have a rent stabilized apt. So I'm not leaving without a lot of thought and a buyout.

Given that, and that a long time ago I spent time in the Southold area, and also Wainscott for one summer, but know Southold better, and still have friends there, and dont have a lot of $, but am freelance...want some more peace & quiet and come into the city from time to time for business lunches. Given that,

I went to see a bunch of homes in Rocky Pt yesterday. The "real estate agent" was a total ditz so do you have somebody smart and good to recommend who could go down to the Stonybrook area and up to the SOutholdarea? This agent even forgot to show me the one home on the MLS listings I'd picked that I seemed to like the best, and in retrospect when I got home and saw we missed it, she said the owner did not want to show it. Huh? On a Saturday? In addition, she showed me the cruddiest bungalows at the low end of my price range and left off the 4 nicer homes. In fact, of 10 or more homes I saw yesterday, all except one were totally unliveable.

I'm very tolerant and eclectic but I can understand the ire towards these bungalows and the people who live in them. They bring down a whole neigbhorhood. They are abandoned, moldy, old, decrepit, depressing, feel like single or double wide trailers, they have obviously been rented out to some rather unsavory people. I was so depressed walking into a few I just walked right out just to get out into the open air and away from, for instance, the stink of a pet-urine soaked carpet, the stench of must and mold etc etc. ANd who needs an above ground plastic pool? A hot tub maybe, but a plastic round pool instead of using your yard for a garden?

One home was very cute, a couple and their toddler lived in it, theyd put a lot of effort to fix it up, it was so TINY it was reasonably the kind of place you'd put grandma in downt he block from you. It was as small as a studio apartment, though it was a one bedroom adn as I said they'd made it as pretty as possible. It was going for $219. I can't see the point. But I did want to linger and ask the couple some questions and the agent shooed me out of there, let's get going. She said later "You could not live in that place you'd go stir crazy." Does she know anything about me? Not.

Since I was walking in and out of the horrible lower end bungalows why did she keep showing them to me, she should've been smart enough to skip them and immediately go to teh higher end of what I'd picked out. She didn't. She left off 4 of the higher end, and by 5:00 we had to go home.

The final home we saw was much better priced than an of the others, at about $260, on a wooded property whose woods shared with other homes so they will never build back there, giving it a more spacious and rural feel than it actually "owns". That couple had two kids, and had turned the attic into a liveable loft space for the two boys however you can hear the floor of it creak when you walk so, there's no senseo f privacy if you go up the staircase up there and somebody is downstairs. So in truth it's a one bedroom with a loft space that is big, not a 2 bedroom. So even though it was much more fairly priced than the others, doesn't seem reasonable. That was apparently still in the bungalow area but over towards Hallock (?) so getting better.

I would rather live in Stonybrook because of the university of course, given my own interests. But if I were 15 minutes away that would be okay. Stonybrook looks at least 100K more expensive for similar homes. There's nothing I'm buying tomorrow so this is just reseach but, another problem I had with Rocky Point is that at the health food store, Back to Basics, I asked the young woman there, Do you know how to get to Stonybrook? She seemed depressed and flat and she simply said, No idea. Now is that possible, to live 15 minutes from a major university with Nobel Prize winning scientists in the news right now, and not know how to get there? Then we stopped at a gas station and a nice youing man also was totally baffled. Stonybrook? Was that a road? No? Oh a university? No idea.

Is that possible. What kind of folks don't even know there's a major university right near by and how to get there?

That worried me in terms of possibly living in one of those towns.

Southold--my friend tells met oday you can't get anything under half a million.

One of the couples we visited, the woman drives to Ronkokoma as you said so she can sleep on the train (no stop at Jamaica), that's a 4 hour round trip commute daily.

My Southold friend said Port Jefferson or Stonybrook would be better as Rocky Point is beyond the train line and bad cellphone reception.

As a positive, the very hilly blocks of the bungalow area were VERY pretty and the beach is lovely. The ditzy agent said Staten Island folks come in the summer. Is that true? Whyw ould that be? And do they make the beach noisy and unpleasant? One of the postings on the rockypoint blog was from a desperate parent who was sleepless adn her child too from rowdy teens on the beach?

I should also mention the Tides area, I do not like, I don't want "suburbs". I like rural, or "quaint" as in the bungalow area.

This agent told me one house was in move-in condition. She's totally wrong. It is totally decrepit. It needs to be torn down or completely renovated. The property is interestingly steep and graded downwards and if you wanted to do a major overhaul could make beautiful different gardens and plots. The upstairs is small and smells moldy. The downstairs is just two rooms--not a separate "apartment", its a basement that was illegally rented out. It stinks. It is full o fplywood and paint and in disrepair. Abandoned sheds are on the property. The roof is sagging and probably leaks. Why would she tell me it's in move in condition?

Obviously I want another agent for that area.

However, having seen two of the riffraff-y folks living in these bungalows-----it was really a bit unnerving. I would not really want those people living on my block. Since the market is quickly decelerating, nobody's going to buy them as investments to tear down and build nice homes and turn for a profit. That moment has passed. All these houses are coming down in price AND still overpriced.

Any thoughts about this?
I'm not saying I wouldn't eventually move into this area if, having researched it thoroughly, could find the right short sale, of which there will surely be more and more.

I'm probably going to look at Stonybrook next but it feels out of my preferred price range because, it requires me to keep up the same costs I have in NYC. My thought was if I leave, to scale down costs, have more nature and quiet, and do more of my creative work.

Thanks. Don't take offense at any of the above, I wrote it fast off the top of my head. Thanks for any insights.

Get a new agent...fast.
Tom Moser what do you think?

RE agents do that to try and get you thinking about spending more(and elsewhere)
Dont be surpised if she calls you with this great "Exclusive" in a neighboring town.

Im not offended at all ...definitely give Stony Brook a shot.
Maybe you'll find a bungalow there(but be prepared to pay a premium).
MLSLI.com - Find a Home
(Not too bad as long as you dont mind being on 25A)

Another place to consider is Lake Panamoka.
(That was our 2nd pick...not sure if you have kids/schools)

Keep in mind at 219 your looking at the bottom of the market.
Im not surpised if the tenants there were the bottom of the market too.
(Rocky Point homes span from 190s to 1.3 m)

I agree, the Tides is very suburban in my opinion too(Very similar to Strathmore Stony BrooK)

North Shore Beach is definitely an aquired taste.
Heres 3 under 3 Id buy tomorrow
MLSLI.com - Find a Home
MLSLI.com - Find a Home
This ones in the Terraces/need updates/great area
MLSLI.com - Find a Home
Thats the area to look at in Rocky Point for upscale bungalows.

Im not sure who youre working with... but Id suggest calling Isabel Lapadula at Bel Breeze(Owner-Broker).

She knows RP/MP VERY well and I think shes from Stony Brook

As for the Staten Island Summer crowd...maybe 20 years ago.
This is a full time year round community now.

Look low 3s.

Feel free to PM me.
You got to know where/how to look to buy here.

As for the teardowns theyre happening all the time.
Especially by the water.

RP is still very cheap for N Shore LI.
(BTW Theres still a ton of investment money on the sidelines so I wouldnt wait too long over here...the 2010 census witll be an eyeopener considering whos moved in since 2k)

Good Luck

C

PS

Go with Verizon and youll be fine for Cell

[jenbooks13]

Glad you weren't offended!
I will PM you. I have a feeling you can help me a lot.

I don't think she's calling me with an exclusive any time soon. I don't know *what* her problem was but was upset me the most was 1) not showing me my fave house from the pics--and, claiming the family "did not want to show it"..."that house could not be shown" "i meant to drive by it so you could see the outside but forgot" when I asked by email today. 2) The $260 house was theoretically doable. I could turn the basement, which is okay already into an office if I put planks down, plywood, and tile, and some sheetock on the walls. Its in good condition and has a bathroom down there. And the property is big enough I'm sure one could get a permit to expand. I'm not saying i want to buy it, I don't, I'm under no pressure, so to thouroughly research the whole area so when I'm ready I can buy is the point. BUT it was the ONLY decent house of the day and she was reluctant EVEN to take me into it! We pulled up outside, admittedly we were late, she said are you sure you want to go in I said why not call them from teh car and ask. We did, they were happy to. They were preparing dinner for a Halloween party for the kids. They were both friendly, the lady told me she commutes to Ronkokoma/city, what she/they had renovated in the house, how long in it, why they wanted to move (older son wants his own bedroom), they took me out to show the post of the property line in the woods, down to the basement. I would've spent another 10 minutes to get more info but the agent was ANNOYED and said, We've got to get going. And when I asked her, didn't you like that one the best of all we've seen and much more reasonably priced she seemed displeased and said, "I noticed the floor sagged when I first walked in." They'd put a new floor in and I certainly didn't notice that. Maybe so, but....she seemed to WANT to say something negative.

She also kept forgetting to put on her seatbelt, driving with no hands while she did it, etc. Sorry, I'm just venting. She is also a part-time waitress. Another dumb thing she said, "I'm never supposed to sayt his to clients, because I'm working for the seller, but hey, offer $20,000 less and see what they say." FIrst of all, ins ome cases I might offer $40,000 less and in others the asking price. This was idiotic advice.

I did see that house in Stonybrook but 25A could be noisy. I think my purpose is to have peace quiet a small yard and near the beach. IE I'm not sure I want a whole acre as I or my bf has to mow it...but I do want a garden...in addition, I do want to be able to drive to Stonybrook and hang out with smart folks there (professors) and given my profession should be pretty easy to access that community.

I'll look at the others you posted before the mod takes away "advertising" and PM you.
Edit" I just left a message for Isabel, and I emailed (or PM'd? not sure which) you.
Thanks in advance.

[rockypointny]

Originally Posted by clamboy

Get a new agent...fast.
Tom Moser what do you think?

RE agents do that to try and get you thinking about spending more(and elsewhere)
Dont be surpised if she calls you with this great "Exclusive" in a neighboring town.

Im not offended at all ...definitely give Stony Brook a shot.
Maybe you'll find a bungalow there(but be prepared to pay a premium).
MLSLI.com - Find a Home
(Not too bad as long as you dont mind being on 25A)

Another place to consider is Lake Panamoka.
(That was our 2nd pick...not sure if you have kids/schools)

Keep in mind at 219 your looking at the bottom of the market.
Im not surpised if the tenants there were the bottom of the market too.
(Rocky Point homes span from 190s to 1.3 m)

I agree, the Tides is very suburban in my opinion too(Very similar to Strathmore Stony BrooK)

North Shore Beach is definitely an aquired taste.
Heres 3 under 3 Id buy tomorrow
MLSLI.com - Find a Home
MLSLI.com - Find a Home
This ones in the Terraces/need updates/great area
MLSLI.com - Find a Home
Thats the area to look at in Rocky Point for upscale bungalows.

Im not sure who youre working with... but Id suggest calling Isabel Lapadula at Bel Breeze(Owner-Broker).

She knows RP/MP VERY well and I think shes from Stony Brook

As for the Staten Island Summer crowd...maybe 20 years ago.
This is a full time year round community now.

Look low 3s.

Feel free to PM me.
You got to know where/how to look to buy here.

As for the teardowns theyre happening all the time.
Especially by the water.

RP is still very cheap for N Shore LI.
(BTW Theres still a ton of investment money on the sidelines so I wouldnt wait too long over here...the 2010 census witll be an eyeopener considering whos moved in since 2k)

Good Luck

C

PS

Go with Verizon and youll be fine for Cell

That third home (the cedar sided ranch) should be priced much higher. That's pretty bad for the market here, looks like it's sinking. My house is similar to that, though with an added den and fireplace. Even though the inside of my house is much nicer than that, we were thinking we would get at least $360,000 and that house should probably be selling for $325,000 in comparison. I guess the best advice for now is to hold on to your house until it goes back up again. This is a horrible time to sell.

[clamboy]

Originally Posted by jenbooks13

Glad you weren't offended!
I will PM you. I have a feeling you can help me a lot.

I don't think she's calling me with an exclusive any time soon. I don't know *what* her problem was but was upset me the most was 1) not showing me my fave house from the pics--and, claiming the family "did not want to show it"..."that house could not be shown" "i meant to drive by it so you could see the outside but forgot" when I asked by email today. 2) The $260 house was theoretically doable. I could turn the basement, which is okay already into an office if I put planks down, plywood, and tile, and some sheetock on the walls. Its in good condition and has a bathroom down there. And the property is big enough I'm sure one could get a permit to expand. I'm not saying i want to buy it, I don't, I'm under no pressure, so to thouroughly research the whole area so when I'm ready I can buy is the point. BUT it was the ONLY decent house of the day and she was reluctant EVEN to take me into it! We pulled up outside, admittedly we were late, she said are you sure you want to go in I said why not call them from teh car and ask. We did, they were happy to. They were preparing dinner for a Halloween party for the kids. They were both friendly, the lady told me she commutes to Ronkokoma/city, what she/they had renovated in the house, how long in it, why they wanted to move (older son wants his own bedroom), they took me out to show the post of the property line in the woods, down to the basement. I would've spent another 10 minutes to get more info but the agent was ANNOYED and said, We've got to get going. And when I asked her, didn't you like that one the best of all we've seen and much more reasonably priced she seemed displeased and said, "I noticed the floor sagged when I first walked in." They'd put a new floor in and I certainly didn't notice that. Maybe so, but....she seemed to WANT to say something negative.

She also kept forgetting to put on her seatbelt, driving with no hands while she did it, etc. Sorry, I'm just venting. She is also a part-time waitress. Another dumb thing she said, "I'm never supposed to sayt his to clients, because I'm working for the seller, but hey, offer $20,000 less and see what they say." FIrst of all, ins ome cases I might offer $40,000 less and in others the asking price. This was idiotic advice.

I did see that house in Stonybrook but 25A could be noisy. I think my purpose is to have peace quiet a small yard and near the beach. IE I'm not sure I want a whole acre as I or my bf has to mow it...but I do want a garden...in addition, I do want to be able to drive to Stonybrook and hang out with smart folks there (professors) and given my profession should be pretty easy to access that community.

I'll look at the others you posted before the mod takes away "advertising" and PM you.
Edit" I just left a message for Isabel, and I emailed (or PM'd? not sure which) you.
Thanks in advance.

I didnt get your PM..so I PMd you

Go with a small plot by the beach.

Were on 100x100 and its more than enough land wise.
Get as close to the water as you can afford.

They mustve taken you to the worst of the worst.
Thats a shame.
I assure you ...there are many students and professors in the area.
We get quite a bit of the BNL scientists too.


Youll see : )



C

[clamboy]

Originally Posted by rockypointny

That third home (the cedar sided ranch) should be priced much higher. That's pretty bad for the market here, looks like it's sinking. My house is similar to that, though with an added den and fireplace. Even though the inside of my house is much nicer than that, we were thinking we would get at least $360,000 and that house should probably be selling for $325,000 in comparison. I guess the best advice for now is to hold on to your house until it goes back up again. This is a horrible time to sell.

That house is on a steep hill.

I think its on Dandelion but its priced in....itll sell

C

[rockypointny]

Originally Posted by clamboy

That house is on a steep hill.

I think its on Dandelion but its priced in....itll sell

C

Actually I think it's on one of the streets off of King, which isn't really the greatest area. Luckily our house is on a flat lot between two hills and the houses around it are all pretty nice. Even if a house is similar to another in style, the condition of the interior can make a huge difference to a buyer as well as the landscaping (not to brag but we probably have one of the best front lawns in NSB) and other homes around it. Anyway i think we decided not to sell for right now as the market is in horrible shape. We could have gotten over 400 at one point and now it looks like we'll be lucky to get 350.

[rockypointny]

Yup, just looked it up, REALTOR.com: Find a Home - Listing Detail it's on Begonia right near that expanded power facility. That's probably what is deterring buyers.

[jenbooks13]

Can you two tell me a bit about which little enclaves of RP you like the best--in bungalow, Terraces etc.
IE whats wrong with Dandelion, or King etc.
Thanks.
This will help.
I spoke with Isabelle--very intelligent, will show me from Smithtown to Baiting Hollow.
That's a cute name.
When I used to drive out to Southold years ago, every time I'd pass the exit "Shirley Wading River" I'd imagine a blowsy blond middle aged woman in a one piece bathing suit a bit overweight, wading into a river. I had her in my mind like a character. She was always there wading into a river. Shirley.