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I am looking into purchasing a home in the Long Island area (Nassau County preferably, but not opposed to Western Suffolk County). We are looking to stay within an hour to an hour and fifteen minute commute door to door to Manhattan by way of the LIRR.
Being that I am not familiar with the Long Island area, can you please help guide me in finding a nice area that is safe, family-friendly, has a great school system, near transportation and LIRR, and has low property taxes (under $8,000 preferably). Our budget is around $450,000-$600,000 price range (below $450k would be ideal however, if at all possible).
Does such an area even exist?
I need all the information I can get! I am very overwhelmed and don't know where to start!
IF the water, boating, fishing, and close proximity to the beaches is appealing to you - head over to MLSLI.com and look at homes in BABYLON. I used to live there - I suggest staying NORTH of Montauk Highway and SOUTH of Sunrise Highway (this area is unlikely to flood during the NEXT hurricane). More specifically, look at the area just north of Park Avenue off of Deer Park Avenue - the President streets are on the west side of Deer Park Avenue and the Indian streets are on the east side. While investigating the area - if you get hungry - head north on Deer Park Avenue over Sunrise Highway and on the east side (opposite the elementary school) is a strip shopping center - go into Mangia Pizza and grab a slice of white pizza and a few garlic knots. If it isn't the best white pizza you ever had and the best garlic knots you ever sank your teeth into - DM me and I'll PayPal you the money you spent on them.
Good luck.
You can try South Shore Nassau -- Merrick/Bellmore/Wantagh -- where you can get a decent home in that price range. These are nice communities with good schools, convenient amenities, a good commute and nice people. Two caveats:
1. Look at the Hurricane Sandy flood maps first and buy well north of the affected areas, preferably within walking distance of the train. (And when I say "walking distance," a preferred location is north of the tracks so you don't have to cross Sunrise Highway and risk being hit by a car.)
2. You'll pay through the nose in property taxes (even more so than other parts of the Island), thanks partially to #1.
You have plenty of housing options if your price range is $ 450-600K. Lots of homes in the high 300s to high 400s in all areas of Nassau County, save for expensive north shore towns like Port Washington/Sands Pt, Great Neck, Old Westbury, Roslyn Heights, Searingtown, etc (basically anything north of 25A save for Oyster Bay/Bayville). The problem is taxes. Those $475K houses usually come with $10K-15K taxes/year, especially in very good school districts like Garden City, Oceanside, RVC, Merrick-Bellmore, Wantagh.
Check out Franklin Square, New Hyde Park, Floral Park and Valley Stream and perhaps Lynbrook but Lynbrook may require village taxes so may break your budget. All these towns have excellent access to LIRR. Once you get past Freeport on the Babylon LIRR - your looking at a good 1 hr 30 min commute to Manhattan door to door, not to mention that some towns require a residential permit or a permit fee to park near the LIRR.
I am looking into purchasing a home in the Long Island area (Nassau County preferably, but not opposed to Western Suffolk County). We are looking to stay within an hour to an hour and fifteen minute commute door to door to Manhattan by way of the LIRR.
Being that I am not familiar with the Long Island area, can you please help guide me in finding a nice area that is safe, family-friendly, has a great school system, near transportation and LIRR, and has low property taxes (under $8,000 preferably). Our budget is around $450,000-$600,000 price range (below $450k would be ideal however, if at all possible).
Does such an area even exist?
I need all the information I can get! I am very overwhelmed and don't know where to start!
Thanks so much for all your help!!!
Your budget for annual property taxes is very low, especially for your price range. However, I looked quickly on Find a home in Nassau, Suffolk & Queens | MLSLI.com - Long Island Real Estate at Hicksville (since you are targeted in Nassau/Western Suffolk) and you can find those property taxes, and lower, at the low edge of the housing prices range (200s, 300s and 400s).
You will not get one of the "great" school systems for your budget on property taxes. However, you will be able to get a perfectly sound middle of the road school district.
The other thing I noticed, though, is your door-to-door commute requirement. Unless you live right on top of the station (walking distance) and your office is in Penn Plaza or a very short walk to it, Hicksville will be a longer commute. Probably not a horrible commute though if you're willing to up the commute time. I looked up some other places I might recommend, but Hicksville is the hands down winner in your target area for enough inventory in the $8K and under property taxes.
I am looking into purchasing a home in the Long Island area (Nassau County preferably, but not opposed to Western Suffolk County). We are looking to stay within an hour to an hour and fifteen minute commute door to door to Manhattan by way of the LIRR.
Being that I am not familiar with the Long Island area, can you please help guide me in finding a nice area that is safe, family-friendly, has a great school system, near transportation and LIRR, and has low property taxes (under $8,000 preferably). Our budget is around $450,000-$600,000 price range (below $450k would be ideal however, if at all possible).
Does such an area even exist?
I need all the information I can get! I am very overwhelmed and don't know where to start!
Thanks so much for all your help!!!
In short, no, what you are looking for does not exist.
You can get a good school district in your price range, but not a great one.
Try Williston Park in the Herricks school district. Or Mineola, although there are mixed reviews on this site.
In short, no, what you are looking for does not exist.
You can get a good school district in your price range, but not a great one.
Try Williston Park in the Herricks school district. Or Mineola, although there are mixed reviews on this site.
To add, a good district is perfectly fine as long as you don't send your children off to school and expect teachers to fulfill the role of parents as well. Some of the posts I've read on this board seem as if you don't attend a school in Great Neck, you're doomed for life lol. Clearly not the case!
Looking for a house if you are not from Long Island can be so totally overwhelming. Here is the process I generally suggest with my buyers:
1. Decide whether you want North Shore or South Shore. They are both wonderful in their own way but are very different from each other.
2. You know the maximum commute you want, so take a look at the LIRR timetable and figure out what stations would be feasible to get that commute. Speaking strictly based on geography and commute, epending on how far live from the train station and how you work from Penn, on the North Shore, Huntington/Greenlawn would probably be the farthest east. On the South Shore, probably Amityville. As for the center of the island, Wyancanch.
3. Decide whether having a town/village matters to you and how far you want to be from the highways. Then narrow your choices farther based on that.
4. Get opinions about school systems near those towns. On LI, a single town can have numerous school districts, so if school district is important to you, then make sure homes you are looking at are in that range.
5. Look for houses. I think it's worthwhile to do all these thought exercises before you actually look for houses because, with a few notable exceptions, in your price range you will find something. You may have to be flexible on the taxes (because $8k is low for many areas within an hour of Manhattan) but there will be something out there. In the higher priced neighborhoods that something may need A LOT of work whereas in another district that same price may get you move in ready condition.
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