Starter Houses on Long Island? (Huntington, Shirley: mortgage, good credit, loans)

[nowaytoknowyet]

Originally Posted by aquaecny

I would say studios are going for about 800-1000 a month, 1BR going for 1000-1300 a month. But then again, I do live in a 5BR Private House and the landlord hasn't raised the rent in 5 years.

But I really like the neighborhood of Astoria. There's a lot happening here. The people are mostly Italian Families, Greek Families, or Young people priced out of Manhattan.

There are plenty of supermarkets in the area. I walk by 2 on the way to the train. And the train runs right up 31st street, so you don't need a car. My insurance company quoted an amount triple of what I was paying upstate. So I ended up selling mine and I am getting by just fine.

At nights, it does get quiet which is nice. Another convenient thing is the proximity to LGA. Only a $10 cab ride, which I used to think didn't exist anymore! Being as close I am, I still do not hear the planes overhead either. I do like Astoria, though. Look into it. For pricing info, check craigslist .com

Thanks for the info and I shall look into it!

[sallyo]

I Live In Suffolk County It Is Very Expensive Here . There Is Nomore Middle Class Any More Here . Taxes Are Crazy High , Gas Is High, This Is A Place Were Only The Rich Vcan Live Most Of These Homes In Rocky Point Have For Sale Signs On Them . Were Out Of Here Soon..

[Kurt]

Wow! A starter on the Island. I hope you make good money. Seriously, you might be better off looking in White Plains or even towards Connecticut on the mainland. Take the train into the city if that is where you work.

But if you want to live on the Island, I saw some posts that would be worth investigating. Stay away from the water. You will not touch anything near there. Get as far inland as possible. And that is not easy to do on an island.

You must seriously ask yourself if you are a bonafide Islander. Some people will simply not settle for anything else. If that is you, keep looking. Good Luck.

[nymom]

Originally Posted by NuttyBuddy1671

I totally agree about staying on Long Island for your children's education. You will never find the kind of education your kids would get on LI anywhere else. We moved almost exactly 1 year ago to Arizona because LI was getting very expensive (we have two school-aged kids) and we have our house up for sale and as soon as we sell we are moving back to NY the main reason being the schools. You get what you pay for. High taxes on LI? YES! But what do you get? Excellent schools, the best teachers since they are paid so well, and many programs that these other schools can't offer due to lower taxes. We had to make the decision on what was more important to us.....our children or a nice house.

I have to say, I have been doing research and there are schools outside of LI that are just as good or better. I teach in one of the "best" school districts on the island and believe me, behind the scenes, it is not all it's cracked up to be. I also live in this district and I'm not always thrilled with the quality of education my own kids get. If you do the research, you will find places with affordable houses and good schools.

[NYSinger]

Originally Posted by Kurt

Wow! A starter on the Island. I hope you make good money. Seriously, you might be better off looking in White Plains or even towards Connecticut on the mainland. Take the train into the city if that is where you work.

But if you want to live on the Island, I saw some posts that would be worth investigating. Stay away from the water. You will not touch anything near there. Get as far inland as possible. And that is not easy to do on an island.

You must seriously ask yourself if you are a bonafide Islander. Some people will simply not settle for anything else. If that is you, keep looking. Good Luck.

Thank you! I will probably move off the island.

NYSinger

[steve22]

Nymom, based on your research where are these areas with schools comparable to LI? I'm sure a few of us would like to know. Thanks.

[njchick]

Originally Posted by steve22

Nymom, based on your research where are these areas with schools comparable to LI? I'm sure a few of us would like to know. Thanks.

Bergen County, New Jersey!

[nymom]

Pittsford, NY; New Hope Pennsylvania; and Avon CT to name a few. These SAT scores were equal to or higher than my district (don't ask me what that is ) Go to www.homefair.com and click on school report. You can check out any district in any state and there's a lot of information on each.

[LIDondi]

I've lived in Bellmore all my life & as early as this morning I got priced out of a potential mother/daughter cape in Bellmore. This house is next door to mine. I had purchased my extended cape in 1995 at a price of 185,000. I was obligated to this at the time as my father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and after going to an Elder Lawyer, we liquidated my father's assets and purchased the home outright. Being in my upper 20s at the time, I was fortunate enough to "get in" at that time while my friends were scraping, saving & renting. I cannot even imagine any of my friends affording a home these days on Long Island. My present home has a HELOC with a fixed balance at ~80K. The home next door to me has been on the market since March. Being that location, location, location (and in this case a 4th) location is everything I tried to see if I could buy this house as a long-term investment while renting it. I figured on plopping-down 20% using my current HELOC as a downpayment. My credit rating is 810, my current mortgage is almost nothin (less than 1K/month) etc., and yet the numbnutz selling the house priced it at an astronomical amount. The seller wouldn't budge off 500K. My house is waaaay larger and has proper permits etc and I don't think that in today's inflated market and interest rates where they are, that I would get away with $500K if I decided to sell. The house I was trying to buy has a much larger tax burden and the owner had done work to it that there are no Cert of Occupancies for. I make a six-figure salary and have great credit & almost no mrtgage and still couldn't afford this house. How is a normal couple (with little-to-no equity to speak of) supposed to afford it??

This house had a "listed range" of 485K-535K (which no one, including my mortgage broker & accountant had ever heard of before). My 1st offer was 450K, they laughed at it. My second offer was 470K and the R.E. broker informed me that any offer under 500K would not be considered. I had another conversation with the R.E. broker and I told here that a price somewhere between the 470K I offered and their 500K might be doable, but otherwise I simply cannot go near 500K. I was really looking for 480-ish (as my mortgage broker then had the house appraised and it came back @ 470). She called me today and said that the price has been set at 495K and it can be a done-deal if I agree. Yipppppeeeeeee a whopping 5K negotiation!!!! Every time I had made an offer she would say something like, "Well, that's why there is a 'range'".... Well, apparently we all still have no clue what that reason is. I told her to take a hike and that the house was simply overinflated.

Even if it weren't this particular house that I referenced, I think the current market has a serious problem where the pricing (because of the past housing boon spurred by low interest rates in years past) has left a residue of greed to the point where today's sellers think they can still get away with yesterday's pricing. These home are overvalued by the seller as they think that their prices are still valid. They're NOT simply because you can't lock-in an interest rate of 4.75% any longer on a $500K house. It is simply unfathomable how anyone could afford a house at today's pricing coupled with today's interest rates as they stand now.

My $.02,
-- D

[fopt65]

Come back in 3 months with your original offer of $450K. This house will be going nowhere. I've had the same 4 houses for sale on my block for 6 months, with the prices dropping significantly. The market is dead, the realists will get their profit and go.