Opinions on Garden City area Bordering Mineola Needed! (Hempstead, Huntington: how much, buying a home)

[newmom101]

Hi, we are considering buying a home located on Old Country Road in Garden City, which borders the Mineola area. The house is several blocks from Roosevelt Mall. We realize that there is heavy traffic on Old Country Road and you can hear the sound of cars driving by from inside the house.

We are willing to tolerate with the sound of traffic in order to purchase property in GC for a relatively low price. We also have 1 young child and the good schools are a primary reason for our desire to move there. However, we are uncertain as to the perceived desirability of Old Country Road, since it borders Hempstead. I have read posts that the area bordering Hempstead is not that desirable. What about the northeastern part bordering Mineola? Any trouble in regards to safety etc.? Are the property values bordering Mineola severely lower than the rest of Garden City? We are concerned about re-sale value of the house in case things don't work out and we need to sell the house after a few years.

We just checked the Nassau County tax assessment and noted that the house dropped nearly $200,000 in assessed value from 2007 to 2008. Aside from the economic downturn, what other factors may be contributing to the steep decline? Since the house we want to buy is located on Old Country Road (the northern border of GC), any chance that local zoning restrictions will change so that the house will no longer be part of GC and be moved to Mineola instead? We are new to Long Island and thus are uncertain as to whether re-zoning of districts is common.

Overall, for the Garden City area, have there been steep declines in property values, aside from the re-adjustment due to the general decline in the economy? Have there been any trends regarding schools in decline, steep property tax increases, rising crime, etc. that may make Garden City less desirable than before?

My husband and I work in NYC and are interested in moving to Garden City for the good schools. We are also Asian and are surprised by the relative low percentage of the Asian population in GC. Given the good reputation of the schools and the general tendency of Asians to purchase in highly ranked school districts, does anyone know why not that many Asians are buying property in Garden City? There seems to be more Asians wanting to purchase in New Hyde Park instead?

Anyone who lives in GC and is familiar with the different sections of the village, please help! We were thinking of putting in an offer for this house this week. Thus we would greatly appreciate feedback as soon as possible. Thank you so much!

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by newmom101

Hi, we are considering buying a home located on Old Country Road in Garden City, which borders the Mineola area.

For those who may not be familiar with Garden City:

Garden City is a village (incorporated in 1919) in the north-center section of the Town of Hempstead, in the center of Nassau County, along the Hempstead/North Hempstead town line.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Village of Garden City in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Village of New Hyde Park, the Hamlet of North New Hyde Park, the Village of Mineola and the Hamlet of Carle Place, all in the Town of North Hempstead (the North Hempstead/Hempstead town line); on the east by the Hamlet of East Garden City; on the south by the Village of Hempstead, the Hamlet of West Hempstead, the Hamlet of Garden City South and the Hamlet of Franklin Square; and, on the west by the Village of Stewart Manor and the Village of New Hyde Park.





Garden City is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where many of the places with the community name as part of their mailing address are not in the village: places that have a "Garden City, NY 11530" mailing address that are not in the Village of Garden City are in the Hamlet of East Garden City, the Hamlet of Garden City South, the Hamlet of Franklin Square and the Village of Stewart Manor; and, at the same time, there are places in the Village of Garden City that have a "Mineola, NY 11501" mailing address. (The Nassau County county seat is in that part of the Village of Garden City that has a "Mineola, NY 11501" mailing address.)



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

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by newmom101

The house is several blocks from Roosevelt Mall.

Roosevelt Field Mall is in the Hamlet of East Garden City (Garden City mailing address).

Originally Posted by newmom101

However, we are uncertain as to the perceived desirability of Old Country Road, since it borders Hempstead.

While Old Country Road is the border separating the Town of North Hempstead and the Town of Hempstead, Old Country Road does not border the Village of Hempstead. The Village of Hempstead borders the south part of the Village of Garden City. (Both the Village of Garden City and the Village of Hempstead are in the Town of Hempstead.)

Originally Posted by newmom101

Since the house we want to buy is located on Old Country Road (the northern border of GC), any chance that local zoning restrictions will change so that the house will no longer be part of GC and be moved to Mineola instead?

The chance of this occurring is as close to zero as possible as any change would require a legislative act by the NYS Assembly and Senate and then a vote in both districts.

[GCGuy]

Please check my posts on how I love GC. I don't want to bore anyone. I live in that same area and love it. $200K drop, that's crazy. Mine dropped about $20K. At any rate, the area is desireable b/c it's in GC, the area is nice, and you get all teh GC benefits for a "discount" to the other areas. OCR can have traffic, of course, but it is nothing ot be worried about, truly. My wife loves the proximity to Franklin, Mineola, the mall, OCR and Glen Cove Rd shopping, and the highways.

I think it's a great place and a great move. Prices are down, but this is a very solid area and I wouldn't worry about it. As far as Hempstead goes, it's always been there and there are no problems. In the future, I think the area will be reborn and GC will be that much more valuable. I could be wrong, but that's what I think.

Good luck with everything.

Originally Posted by newmom101

Hi, we are considering buying a home located on Old Country Road in Garden City, which borders the Mineola area. The house is several blocks from Roosevelt Mall. We realize that there is heavy traffic on Old Country Road and you can hear the sound of cars driving by from inside the house.

We are willing to tolerate with the sound of traffic in order to purchase property in GC for a relatively low price. We also have 1 young child and the good schools are a primary reason for our desire to move there. However, we are uncertain as to the perceived desirability of Old Country Road, since it borders Hempstead. I have read posts that the area bordering Hempstead is not that desirable. What about the northeastern part bordering Mineola? Any trouble in regards to safety etc.? Are the property values bordering Mineola severely lower than the rest of Garden City? We are concerned about re-sale value of the house in case things don't work out and we need to sell the house after a few years.

We just checked the Nassau County tax assessment and noted that the house dropped nearly $200,000 in assessed value from 2007 to 2008. Aside from the economic downturn, what other factors may be contributing to the steep decline? Since the house we want to buy is located on Old Country Road (the northern border of GC), any chance that local zoning restrictions will change so that the house will no longer be part of GC and be moved to Mineola instead? We are new to Long Island and thus are uncertain as to whether re-zoning of districts is common.

Overall, for the Garden City area, have there been steep declines in property values, aside from the re-adjustment due to the general decline in the economy? Have there been any trends regarding schools in decline, steep property tax increases, rising crime, etc. that may make Garden City less desirable than before?

My husband and I work in NYC and are interested in moving to Garden City for the good schools. We are also Asian and are surprised by the relative low percentage of the Asian population in GC. Given the good reputation of the schools and the general tendency of Asians to purchase in highly ranked school districts, does anyone know why not that many Asians are buying property in Garden City? There seems to be more Asians wanting to purchase in New Hyde Park instead?

Anyone who lives in GC and is familiar with the different sections of the village, please help! We were thinking of putting in an offer for this house this week. Thus we would greatly appreciate feedback as soon as possible. Thank you so much!

[newmom101]

We decided to withdraw our offer on the house after the inspection was conducted. There was a old cesspool found in the front lawn, in which the soil was lumpy and uneven. There was also water moderate seepage in the basement (likely due to the nearly overflowing cesspool).

We are from NYC and thus the cesspool issue did not occur to us. We also thought that all of Garden City was hooked up to the public sewer line (apparently do not take any assumptions as buyer). Nevertheless, the existence of a cesspool did not appeal to us. The low taxes on this house (as compared to other homes in Garden City) should have raised a flag.

Anyhow, we withdrew our offer and will be looking at other homes in Nassau. Thanks to the above posters in responding to our questions!

[Kbinspections]

Originally Posted by newmom101

We decided to withdraw our offer on the house after the inspection was conducted. There was a old cesspool found in the front lawn, in which the soil was lumpy and uneven. There was also water moderate seepage in the basement (likely due to the nearly overflowing cesspool).

We are from NYC and thus the cesspool issue did not occur to us. We also thought that all of Garden City was hooked up to the public sewer line (apparently do not take any assumptions as buyer). Nevertheless, the existence of a cesspool did not appeal to us. The low taxes on this house (as compared to other homes in Garden City) should have raised a flag.

Anyhow, we withdrew our offer and will be looking at other homes in Nassau. Thanks to the above posters in responding to our questions!

Wow a cesspool in GC, that ias rare! I wonder if they just never filled it properly or just did not hook up to the sewer district.

I had an inspection in N Bellmore like that......very rare.

Well money well spent & it just wasn't meant to be.......

[newmom101]

In this case, if we were to buy the house, what steps would we have to take to have take to hook it up to the public sewer? Can you actually pay the Garden City government and request the hookup? How much would it cost? Or would the request be impossible?

We are not aware of Nassau policy and just asking to enhance our knowledge. We will likely look outside of the Garden City area due to budgetary constraints.

Which areas in Nassau and Suffolk have cesspools/ or private septic tanks?

[GCGuy]

Originally Posted by Kbinspections

Wow a cesspool in GC, that ias rare! I wonder if they just never filled it properly or just did not hook up to the sewer district.

I had an inspection in N Bellmore like that......very rare.

Well money well spent & it just wasn't meant to be.......

I agree...the house was not on the sewer system at all?

[Kbinspections]

Well most of Nassau is sewers. Small pockets of the northshore and south have no sewer system.

Yes you can hook up to the sewer system. You ne a permit and a plumber. And your taxes go up. You would have to contact the sewer district that serves that area. I would guess the cost would be at least $3500-5000. Its alot harder to hook up after the system was installed 30 years ago than when they first installed them. Its a shame they did not do it then....crazy. Was it an estate sale?

Most of Suffolk is still cesspools, Some areas of Huntington and South Western Suffolk have sewers.

[AndreaII]

IMHO, you're better off not being on Old Country Road. See if you can find a nice side street in a nice neighborhood where you don't have to worry about your child being in danger of the traffic.