Moving to LI, need help with neighborhoods (western suffolk vs nassau) (Huntington: for sale, foreclosures)
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Hi everyone, so my wife and I are now starting to search for a home on long island. I grew up here, then moved to NYC after, and now looking to move back. I really like it here, despite the high taxes which suck. We are kind of all over the place with towns and want to narrow it down to one area. We are targeting homes in the 300-450k range, even though we were approved for more (we don't mind fixer upper). I now work on long island so commute to NYC won't be an issue.
towns we liked:
Western Suffolk ( All parts of Huntington/ Commack/ East Northport/ Dix Hills)- All great towns with decent property. I feel like we are leaning most towards here. We have seen houses for sale online in Commack in our price range, I always thought it was way more expensive and was surprised to see homes in the 400 range. Even Dix Hills, but these homes were south closer to Wheatley (not sure about this part and how it compares to the rest of the town).
South shore Nassau (wantagh/seaford/massapequa/etc.)- this is where I grew up so I am familiar with these towns and find them all to be great places to live.
Lynbrook-looks like a nice town. Good schools. Didn't see much at all in our price range but a few smaller homes and foreclosures. We like how it is relatively close to the city in case either of us decide to work in NYC again or want to venture in.
Any advice on our search, and other towns that are recommended, with good schools, not crazy property taxes, and decent housing stock priced in the 400's? (maybe kings park or smithtown?)
It sounds like you are looking at Northwestern Suffolk so I'd recommend looking at houses that are in Smithtown but within the Hauppague school district, which will give you a bit of a break on the taxes. The Smithtown/Hauppague schools tax rate is lower than neighboring Commack/Commack schools or Smithtown/Smithtown schools.
By the way, the new Whole Foods is slated to open in Commack in a couple of months so if you are in either Commack or East Northport it'll be an easy hop if you do or plan to shop there. It's pretty much at the junction of Jericho Turnpike and Vets Highway (actually on Vets Highway just before the Jericho Turnpike merge.)
The Smithtown Pines area (a/k/a The Pines) is super convenient to Northern State if that's your usual drive and is minimum 1/2 acre zoned, unlike many other parts of Smithtown which are either 1/4 or 1/3 acre. It's not a cookie-cutter area and is nicely treed. It's right at the southwestern border of Smithtown/Commack and runs from Jericho Turnpike to Vets Highway. Houses there usually get snapped up quick though, because realtors always mention the area (Pines) in the listings.
But watch out for houses located anywhere near Hidden Pond Park, the water table is a problem because of many underground springs. If you are thinking about any specific houses that are south of Vets Highway, give AAA Cesspool Company a call to see if they service that house already - they can tell you if any issues and maybe even whether the existing cesspool is block or precast (if not, they can inspect.) They also know where the worst groundwater problems are. That goes for any house in the Smithtown/Commack/Kings Park/Hauppauge general area, actually. Nice people, knowledable and fairly priced if you need work done.
I grew up in Lynbrook and have lived in East Northport for the last 30 years, so I think I can give you some help.
Lynbrook is a very good choice, especially if you are considering commuting in the future. It is getting very built up, though in the downtown area. Schools are highly regarded. You probably are not going to find too much in your price range there, but there are some. If you want to save some money, there are parts of Lynbrook that have a Lynbrook address and Lynbrook schools but are outside of the Incorporated Village. If you find one of those there you won't have to pay village taxes.
Huntington is a big town with a lot of tentacles. The less expensive homes you see may be in some of the not so great parts of town. In Commack is a good town, but probably the ones your seeing there are either foreclosures or short sales. Also, taxes are pretty high compared with the surrounding towns. Northport is probably out of your price range, plus you will have additional village taxes. In East Northport you could find something nice (but not large) in 400 -450. It wasn't on your list, but you may also want to take a look at Kings Park, as parts of it are pretty affordable. Also, don't rule out Huntington Station. It has a bad rep because parts of it are pretty rough. But, it also has some very nice areas and prices are a little lower because of that perception.
I grew up in Lynbrook and have lived in East Northport for the last 30 years, so I think I can give you some help.
Lynbrook is a very good choice, especially if you are considering commuting in the future. It is getting very built up, though in the downtown area. Schools are highly regarded. You probably are not going to find too much in your price range there, but there are some. If you want to save some money, there are parts of Lynbrook that have a Lynbrook address and Lynbrook schools but are outside of the Incorporated Village. If you find one of those there you won't have to pay village taxes.
Huntington is a big town with a lot of tentacles. The less expensive homes you see may be in some of the not so great parts of town. In Commack is a good town, but probably the ones your seeing there are either foreclosures or short sales. Also, taxes are pretty high compared with the surrounding towns. Northport is probably out of your price range, plus you will have additional village taxes. In East Northport you could find something nice (but not large) in 400 -450. It wasn't on your list, but you may also want to take a look at Kings Park, as parts of it are pretty affordable. Also, don't rule out Huntington Station. It has a bad rep because parts of it are pretty rough. But, it also has some very nice areas and prices are a little lower because of that perception.
It sounds like you are looking at Northwestern Suffolk so I'd recommend looking at houses that are in Smithtown but within the Hauppague school district, which will give you a bit of a break on the taxes. The Smithtown/Hauppague schools tax rate is lower than neighboring Commack/Commack schools or Smithtown/Smithtown schools.
By the way, the new Whole Foods is slated to open in Commack in a couple of months so if you are in either Commack or East Northport it'll be an easy hop if you do or plan to shop there. It's pretty much at the junction of Jericho Turnpike and Vets Highway (actually on Vets Highway just before the Jericho Turnpike merge.)
The Smithtown Pines area (a/k/a The Pines) is super convenient to Northern State if that's your usual drive and is minimum 1/2 acre zoned, unlike many other parts of Smithtown which are either 1/4 or 1/3 acre. It's not a cookie-cutter area and is nicely treed. It's right at the southwestern border of Smithtown/Commack and runs from Jericho Turnpike to Vets Highway. Houses there usually get snapped up quick though, because realtors always mention the area (Pines) in the listings.
But watch out for houses located anywhere near Hidden Pond Park, the water table is a problem because of many underground springs. If you are thinking about any specific houses that are south of Vets Highway, give AAA Cesspool Company a call to see if they service that house already - they can tell you if any issues and maybe even whether the existing cesspool is block or precast (if not, they can inspect.) They also know where the worst groundwater problems are. That goes for any house in the Smithtown/Commack/Kings Park/Hauppauge general area, actually. Nice people, knowledable and fairly priced if you need work done.
thanks Tom very helpful post also! I have seen some pretty good deals in huntington but Elwood schools, is that a highly regarded school? It seems Harborfield is highly regarded in that area. I have found some decent deals in Greenlawn that were pretty cheap with Harborfield schools. Any specific part of Huntington Station to steer away from?
Quote:
Originally Posted by TomMoser
I grew up in Lynbrook and have lived in East Northport for the last 30 years, so I think I can give you some help.
Lynbrook is a very good choice, especially if you are considering commuting in the future. It is getting very built up, though in the downtown area. Schools are highly regarded. You probably are not going to find too much in your price range there, but there are some. If you want to save some money, there are parts of Lynbrook that have a Lynbrook address and Lynbrook schools but are outside of the Incorporated Village. If you find one of those there you won't have to pay village taxes.
Huntington is a big town with a lot of tentacles. The less expensive homes you see may be in some of the not so great parts of town. In Commack is a good town, but probably the ones your seeing there are either foreclosures or short sales. Also, taxes are pretty high compared with the surrounding towns. Northport is probably out of your price range, plus you will have additional village taxes. In East Northport you could find something nice (but not large) in 400 -450. It wasn't on your list, but you may also want to take a look at Kings Park, as parts of it are pretty affordable. Also, don't rule out Huntington Station. It has a bad rep because parts of it are pretty rough. But, it also has some very nice areas and prices are a little lower because of that perception.
Northport is probably out of your price range, plus you will have additional village taxes.
Plus in many parts of Northport cell phone signal/reception is somewhere between horrendous and virtually nonexistent. I call Northport "where cell phone signals go to die." It's been like that for ages.
Basically once you go north of Northport High School (Laurel Hill Rd/Bellerose Avenue) lotsa luck. You can literally watch the signal bars disappear.....
thanks Tom very helpful post also! I have seen some pretty good deals in huntington but Elwood schools, is that a highly regarded school? It seems Harborfield is highly regarded in that area. I have found some decent deals in Greenlawn that were pretty cheap with Harborfield schools. Any specific part of Huntington Station to steer away from?
thanks Tom very helpful post also! I have seen some pretty good deals in huntington but Elwood schools, is that a highly regarded school? It seems Harborfield is highly regarded in that area. I have found some decent deals in Greenlawn that were pretty cheap with Harborfield schools. Any specific part of Huntington Station to steer away from?
Nothing wrong with Elwood schools. It's a very small district, has the highest tax rate of all the districts in town of Huntington.
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