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once your offer is accepted their/your attorney should put together the contract which should state it's contingent to the inspection report, etc... in this market no reason to bid against yourself or up your offers unless you have no problems spending the extra cash. there's tons of stock out there.
This is true. There is a ton of stock but the GOOD stock goes fast. If you're looking now, there are some houses that sit on the market for months and months. The ones that are in desirable locations, priced correctly and maintained nicely (or updated), sell quickly. With Redfin, zillow and MLS, it doesn't surprise me if people stalk certain streets to see which houses go on sale, and immediately pounce on that listing...and hence, the bidding wars.
This is true. There is a ton of stock but the GOOD stock goes fast. If you're looking now, there are some houses that sit on the market for months and months. The ones that are in desirable locations, priced correctly and maintained nicely (or updated), sell quickly. With Redfin, zillow and MLS, it doesn't surprise me if people stalk certain streets to see which houses go on sale, and immediately pounce on that listing...and hence, the bidding wars.
you are absolutely right, the good stock does go fast.
my wife called our agent and up the offer and the owners accepted it and said will stop showing the house. i guess i was hoping they stop showing the house on our first offer. o well, we are going to walk away from the deal altogether. i didnt love the place anyway and just the entire transaction left a bad feeling about this property. we will go back to the drawing board. lots of listings this week. thanks for the help.
it's close, but Levittown is preferable. A few % points separate a lot of schools as you can see: LI School District Ranks 2013
If you're not under contract, an accepted offer doesn't mean anything. That's why people get lawyers involved and move to sign contracts asap. If you commit $400 to an inspection, you better sign the contract soon after it's done. It's a good thing you didn't pay yet.
If I were you I'd find out how long the house has been on the market. If it's recent (< 30 days), or if the price recently dropped, then having another offer can be true. If it's been on a while, I'd stand pat with your offer. They may tell you the other person dropped out a couple days from now seeing that you didn't go up. If you don't want to risk losing it, go up as long as you're comfortable paying it.
spoke with my attorney today. if we paid for the inspection and they go for a different potential buyer due to a higher offer in my case, we can take them to small claims court and sue for the inspection fee(s).
I didn't read all the posts so if I'm repeating something I apologize. I moved to Hicksville in '98. It is affordable, my taxes on my Levitt style home are about 6K/annually, home prices are in your range. I live near Dutch Lane Elementary School near the Wantagh Pkwy. Very convenient train line, access to parkways. I commute to NYC too. I grew up on Long Island. Good luck in your search!
Without doing any formal research I'd rate the schools a little better than average. I had no problems at all. As for the elementary schools specifically, I really haven't had much experience with them. We moved here when my younger one was in 5th grade and was only in the elementary school for 1 year. But I had no problems, I liked what experience I did have there.
I'm of the belief that a child can excel in any school. Like other districts Hicksville had everything to offer that I'd expect. I found administration to be involved and supportive. I particularly liked the guidance counselors in the high school during graduation prep and college application. The middle school had an extensive after school intramural program, some of which my kids were involved.
can someone give me feedback on East meadow and East rockaway and north merrick?
Thanks in advance!!
We are in the North Merrick school district. We love it here! There is such a small town community feel at our kid's elementary. Everyone knows you and your child, and the parents are very involved in the PTA. The teachers have all been great. The only downside to the school system is we do not have bussing, so you have to drop off/pick up your child each day. But, the benefit to that is you see your child's teacher every day, so any concerns can be spoken about face to face, and you see all of the parents of the other children each day as well, so you know people much better.
Where our home is located, we could walk down Merrick Ave to all the stores near the railroad. The Southern State is right there, and it's easy to get onto the Meadowbrook Pkwy. Neither my husband or I commute to NYC for work so I have no idea about the time required.
hey everyone my wife and i are looking for a nice place to buy a house to start a family. we currently live in queens and we are looking to find a place in long island. can anyone throw out a few neighborhoods to look into. our requirements are garage and 3 bedrooms 2 baths not looking for anything fancy as this is our first home. maybe around 400k. we started looking at garden city westbury and syosset. i would still have to commute to queens daily to drop off our daughter and i work in the financial district in lower manhattan. my wife works in long island currently so she doesnt have too big of an issue where the house will be.
thanks in advance for the replies.
Glen Cove is possible in the range; it's a charming place. Manhasset is nice, but it's a little pricier; however, you might be able to locate a nice house with a little luck. If you like historic homes, and if you're lucky, perhaps you can find something in your price range in Sea Cliff, a beautiful soundside village. Bayville is a quaint soundside village and it's affordable by Long Island standards. Plainview has an excellent school district, and I'm pretty sure you can find a very nice house there that would suite you.
Glen Cove is possible in the range; it's a charming place. Manhasset is nice, but it's a little pricier; however, you might be able to locate a nice house with a little luck. If you like historic homes, and if you're lucky, perhaps you can find something in your price range in Sea Cliff, a beautiful soundside village. Bayville is a quaint soundside village and it's affordable by Long Island standards. Plainview has an excellent school district, and I'm pretty sure you can find a very nice house there that would suite you.
A $400k budget for a house in Manhasset?
Have you even been to Long Island?
Your picks are way off.
I think you really need to familiarize yourself with the pricing before you give advice here.
I first found this thread when I googled in a phrase similar to the title of this thread. I feel for you on this house hunting odyssey. I drove up to Long Island (with my 3 year old) for about four to five days in May to buy a house, and I am amazed I didn't need therapy after that experience (joking). It seriously was nuts. (and yes, I was naive in how easy I expected it to be) I guess the states where I had bought before handled things differently, and I didn't realize there were bidding wars on most houses. Plus, I bought my last home (in S.C.) under construction.
I lost several bidding wars on Long Island. Even when I bid the highest on a fixer upper, the deceased owners' kids chose the cash offer.. after thinking about it for several days. sigh.
Sooooooooooooo I did find a house during that trip that meets what I "need", and I was the only bidder (scary huh?.. but they had lowered it quite a bit from when they first put it on the market), and I am suppose to close in early July. I have loan commitment, etc. My house in Mt. Pleasant, SC, sold immediately, and I have been hanging out in a hotel in Richmond, VA, since late May because it is the least expensive city I could find between Mt. Pleasant, SC, and Long Island, NY.
There are downsides to the house on Long Island...... no backyard basically (trying not to think about that)...... but I went with it.
It was in the low 400s and has two baths and a detached garage. However, I think the taxes are about $12-13,000. It is in North Merrick. I started reading this thread before I went to find a house. However, I was shocked tonight to read there are no busses in N. Merrick. OMG. I guess there are some things I assumed. ;-) I have never heard of a school not having busses. I will worry about that later. I am moving, everything has fallen into place, and I am going to hope for the best. I am a little discouraged by many posts I read on this forum (not this thread). It just sounds like everyone wants to leave Long Island...... After l0 years in my last house, it was difficult to leave. However, I hope to find at least a handful of people in my neighborhood who love L I. and can be positive about it. I need that...
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Hicksville schools
