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My husband and I are looking to buy a SFH (or a condo) in LI, preferably on the north shore. Budget $800k give a take.
What we are looking for:
#1. Location, must be safe to live in
#2. Easy and short commute to the city ( I work in downtown and my husband works in Suffolk County northern side)
#3. Relatively low taxes. Given that we don't have any kids we don't need to live in the town that has top notch schools. In other words we don't want to pay the high school tax. At least not for another 3-4 years.
If you could suggest some counties or areas we should check out I'd really appreciate it.
We checked out a few houses in Garden city. They are all very nice. But the tax in Garden City is on the very high end of our budget ($16k).
Thank you in advance!
Last edited by SourCreamDD; 10-02-2018 at 03:17 PM..
My husband and I are looking to buy a SFH (or a condo) in LI, preferably on the north shore. Budget $800k give a take.
What we are looking for:
#1. Location, must be safe to live in
#2. Easy and short commute to the city ( I work in downtown)
#3. Relatively low taxes. Given that we don't have any kids we don't need to live in the town that has top notch schools. In other words we don't want to pay the high school tax. At least not for another 3-4 years.
If you could suggest some counties or areas we should check out I'd really appreciate it.
We checked out a few houses in Garden city. They are all very nice. But the tax in Garden City is on the very high end of our budget ($16k).
Thank you in advance!
School taxes are high virtually everywhere on LI. The upside to that is we have very good schools. Also, you can file for the STAR tax reduction, for a reduction on your school taxes (we also don't have kids). They just mailed the rebate checks out.
North Shore will be more expensive. If you have no aversion to the South Shore, you should look there. Bellmore/Merrick/Wantagh/Seaford tend to have decent property taxes. I have seen some homes with $9k taxes, but keep in mind, the more expensive the house, usually the higher the taxes. These towns also have a LIRR stations and is about a 45-55 minute ride to the city.
Because one of us works in the city and the other one works in Stonybrook area. Trying to find some middle ground that's within the budget and has reasonal commute time (less than 90 min to downtown Manhattan).
School taxes are high virtually everywhere on LI. The upside to that is we have very good schools. Also, you can file for the STAR tax reduction, for a reduction on your school taxes (we also don't have kids). They just mailed the rebate checks out.
North Shore will be more expensive. If you have no aversion to the South Shore, you should look there. Bellmore/Merrick/Wantagh/Seaford tend to have decent property taxes. I have seen some homes with $9k taxes, but keep in mind, the more expensive the house, usually the higher the taxes. These towns also have a LIRR stations and is about a 45-55 minute ride to the city.
If you are looking for comparatively lower taxes, avoid incorporated villages such as Garden City as they impose an additional village tax.
Would the general tax for unincorporated villages be higher instead? Ie, you pay for it one way or the other? What would be the "premium" in % term would you say for living in an incorporated village?
Would the general tax for unincorporated villages be higher instead? Ie, you pay for it one way or the other? What would be the "premium" in % term would you say for living in an incorporated village?
No, the village tax is an additional tax charged by the village. Villages usually have their own services (garbage, police) but it's a lot of money. You don't get charged more by the county for NOT living in a village. Think our village tax in Garden City was close to $5000/year and I'm sure it's gone up. They have tons of pension/benefit obligations that need to be paid.
Maybe consider Mineola. It's about the same commute as Garden City with lower prices. Kind of in the middle of the island and north of the South Shore. Access to northern Suffolk County would be easier.
I'd also focus on villages along the Meadowbrook Parkway, and check for trains that go directly to Downtown Brooklyn. The North Shore has lines that go to Long Island City and you don't want that.
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