wantagh (Smithtown, Levittown, East Meadow: short sale, homes, closing)

[budsvtec]

There are a lot of affordable homes in the area. Levittown is a great area. We love it here. The taxes are higher, but you also get free Pools to go to in the summer, which I dont believe any other town in Nassau county has.
Yes the taxes are higher. I have a big piece of property, so I cannot complain.

I grew up in Lynbrook originally, and I have to say that it is a nice town, but the village taxes will kill you. My parents were paying around $10k in taxes a year, because of the village taxes. I lived in N Bellmore for a year. My wife grew up there. We also were looking for homes in that area before we bought our home that we own now, and we found a lot of affordable homes there too. You have to look. Now is a great time to buy, especially since it is a buyers market. There is a lot of inventory on the market. You just have to know where to look to find the house. Mlsli, Craigslist, Newsday online, and other real estate websites to look for exclusive listings, there are FSBO sites....etc.

Wantagh is a great town and the schools are supposed to be blue ribbon. If the houses are more expensive there, then I would say it was worth the extra money because of the schools. North Wantagh attends Levittown schools, but the schools that N wantagh attend and the area I live in Levittown attend are considered to be the more desired schools in Levittown. Salk, and Macarthur.

[DECEMBERBLUE27]

Seaford Is A Wonderful Small Community-
Excellent Schools, Huge Community Spirit.
2 Minutes From Beaches, State Park, Shopping, Etc....
Easy Commute To Nyc-
Railroad Centrally Located.
Great Area- Wantagh Is Very Similar.
Schooling Is Excellent- Huge Music Program, Great Sports. There Are Only 2 Elementary Schools, One Middle, One High School- Close-nit Commmunity.
Most Homes Are On The Water- Canals In Back-
But Other Homes Less Expensive Are Just As Great- Near Beach.
Tons Of Kids, Real, Genuine People.
You Can Get A Nice Home Off The Water In The 400k Range.
The Closer You Are To The Water The Higher The Property Taxes.
When We Moved Here We Were Welcomed With Open Arms 3 Years Ago.

Amy

[boomvang]

Originally Posted by DIDISAYTHAT

The staff at the local library are known to be nasty,

Funny you should mention that. Wantagh has one of the very worst libraries on Long Island, and the people who work there are indeed quite nasty.

[wantagh mom]

Originally Posted by trip

fopt65,

I think it has a lot to do with many different things. When things go bad with the school systems, people with young kids tend to shy away from those areas. Then when things bounce back, they come back. Right now both districts are having some issues...All it means is you need to keep an eye on it.

I have found Wantagh Schools to be amazing. I have 3 children in the school district and we are very happy with the schools. Yes the library can be a little nicer but then again I'm not here for the library. If you buy in Wantagh you need to be in school district 23. What also makes Wantagh so special is our small community and involved parents in the PTA. Our parents participate and are involved in the schools to help keep our schools a Blue Ribbon School of Excellence. Not to mention our Special Education Services surpass any other school district on the island. Yes houses and taxes are high. But then again you don't need to send your kids to private school. We love it here and never plan to move. Oh and in reply to the teachers working without a contract. Well they were working with the preious contract and were in negotiation. I would be more worried about moving to a school district that has voted against the school budget year after year like many of the schools in Nassau and Suffolk county. Wantagh has always passed their budget and have also taken on many bonds to maintain and expand our schools for our children.

[Walter Greenspan]

For those who may not be familiar with Wantagh:

Wantagh is a hamlet (unincorporated area) in the southeast section of the Town of Hempstead, in the southeast part of Nassau County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Wantagh in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of North Wantagh; on the east by the Hamlet of Seaford; on the south by the East Bay; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Bellmore and the Hamlet of North Bellmore.

The Hamlet of Wantagh has a different border than does the "Wantagh, NY 11793" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Wantagh, NY 11793" mailing address and not be in the Hamlet of Wantagh): places that have a "Wantagh, NY 11793" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Wantagh are in the Hamlet of Seaford, the Hamlet of Bellmore, the Hamlet of North Bellmore, the Hamlet of North Wantagh and the Hamlet of Levittown.





For a good set of town-by-town maps showing all the villages and hamlets in each of LI's 13 towns (3 in Nassau County and 10 in Suffolk County):

http://www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html

[elemental]

Wantagh schools are incredible and light-years better than Levittown- not because the teachers are better- it's the socio-economic difference that sets them apart.. Ask any student or parent in the town and you'll get a similar answer. The congestion certainly did pick up over the last 10 years, but people tend to flock to areas considered excellent with great schools. No surprise that it was coming. The wantagh woods area is a delightful place to live. Taxes are crazy there- expect to pay $10-12k plus anywhere in the town. Be careful down south adjacent to the Wantagh parkway. Many people are not aware of the stench that comes from the water treatement plant. Merrick Rd in Wantagh is a bear during rush hours. Ideal location is near Jerusalem Ave and Wantagh Ave.

[PeeDee]

I have lived in Wantagh for over half a century. Very good community altogether, but, yes, different parts of Wantagh have their own characteristics, be such areas near the canals by the bay or Wantagh Woods or elsewhere. Unfortunately, the community voted down the school budget twice this past year. Couple that with reduced state aid next year and there are problems to be resolved by residents who should want to preserve a good school system for today's kids and for the future. This is a solid middle class community, but everyone is feeling economically pressed these days.

[budsvtec]

I actually looked at a house today in Wantagh on Oakfield off of Jerusalem. I believe the schools were bellmore though.

The house was part of 3 Brand New Construction homes in one little area. One faces the suburban temple and the other two face each other. The house that I looked at was one of the ones in the back of the lot and they were asking $549k with get this $14,000 taxes. The real estate agent said there was a possibility of them being lowered by grievance, but I wasnt born yesterday. I know there is no way that taxes would go down if at all. Nice homes. They started at $700k in 2007 when they build them. Its weird though, The kitchen had stainless steel and granite counters. The bathrooms had granite counters but the showers and tubs were Bath fitters. Cheap. I dont think they are going to sell them for what they are asking...I think they will need to come down to at least $500k. Also there is no backyard, but there is a small side yard. All in all it was a nice house, but some finishes were cheaper than they should of been.....

Oh about Levittown. Someone posted that the schools do not compare to Wantagh, well I want to say something about that. Levittown has an excellent special ed program. One of the best around. Also Levittown high school is in the top 4% of schools in the US.

Levittown High Schools Rank in Top 4 Percent

[OhBeeHave]

HOw the index achieves the numbers:
We take the total number of Advanced Placement, International Baccalaureate or Cambridge (http://www.newsweek.com/related.aspx?subject=Cambridge - broken link) tests given at a school in May, and divide by the number of seniors graduating in May or June. All public schools that NEWSWEEK researchers Dan Brillman and Gina Pace found that achieved a ratio of at least 1.000, meaning they had as many tests in 2007 as they had graduates, are put on the list on NEWSWEEK Website, and the 100 schools with the highest ratios are named in NEWSWEEK magazine.

Jericho was #20
South Side (RVC) #47
Great Neck South #49
Cold Spring Harbor #51
Wheatley (Old Westbury) #57
Great Neck North #58
Syosset #113
Vandermeulen (PJ) #127
Manhasset #130
Schreiber (Port Wash) #179
Herricks (NHP) #230
Locust Valley #231
Garden City #233
Roslyn #240
Calhoun #248
North Shore (Glen Head) #263
HHH East #274
Harborfields #281
Smithtown #288
Miller Place #313
Mepham #339
Valley Stream South #345
HHH West #348
Floral Park Memorial #367
Hauppauge #373
P'view Old Bethpage JFK #383
East Hampton #387
Westhampton Beach #389
Lynbrook #404
JFK Bellmore #409
Oceanside #422
Carle Place #469
Northport #483
Huntington #504
MacArthur #507
Bethpage #520
Ward Melville #532
Commack #587
Oyster Bay #591
New Hyde Park Memorial #600
Southampton #647
Babylon #667
Massapequa #688
Shoreham-Wading River #695
W. Tresper Clarke (Westbury) #726
Valley Stream North #728
Valley Stream Central #733
Baldwin #821
Pierson (Sag Harbor) #858
Elwood - John Glenn #885
Walt Whitman #970
Sachem North #995
Plainedge #1111
Division #1127
Sachem East #1162
Long Beach #1269
Bayport-Blue Point #1355


Interesting article accompanying schools report:
Top High Schools: Why Smaller Works Better | Newsweek Best High Schools | Newsweek.com

"Fifty years ago, they were the latest thing in educational reform: big, modern, suburban high schools with students counted in the thousands. As baby boomers came of high-school age, big schools promised economic efficiency, a greater choice of courses, and, of course, better football teams. Only years later did we understand the trade-offs this involved: the creation of lumbering bureaucracies, the difficulty of forging personal connections between teachers and students. SAT scores began dropping in 1963; today, on average, 30 percent of students do not complete high school in four years, a figure that rises to 50 percent in poor urban neighborhoods. While the emphasis on teaching to higher, test-driven standards embodied in No Child Left Behind resulted in significantly better performance in elementary (and some middle) schools, high schools for a variety of reasons seemed stuck in a rut........"

The article goes on to discuss how the trend has been toward smaller schools.

[Chrisk327]

Hey Bud, I'm from the area and pass those houses at least once a week. I can't stand the concept. They're not particularly attractive, but whatever. They knocked down one house and squeezed 3 on the property. Terrible logistics to reach the back two and the front one has 2 houses in their backyard, yuck.

I live in Wantagh and I do like it. One thing of note is taxes are higher than surrounding areas. I live in a small house and pay more in taxes than my parents in bellmore who have a much bigger one.