First home in Deer Park? (Islip, Babylon: bank owned, apartments, condo)

[ny.phill]

I'm a first time buyer... born and bred in Massapequa and then I’ve been moving around for the past 5 or 6 years, but now I’m ready to settle down and get myself a house to start working on over the next few years and all that fun stuff.

So I’m looking in the 200K range and obviously my options are very limited. I’m trying to avoid apartments if I can get in a workable house, but that being said, this house is on a huge plot of land in Deer Park and is right on the school border of Wyandanch. The neighborhood changes rather drastically as you move west on Nicholls road from DPA to Straight Path.

From what I understand, Deer Park is a decent school district which is great by me as I'm single and have no kids. Schools only concern me in that they affect resale.

I guess my question is what is the general consensus on homes that lay on the border of a less desirable school district? Is it significantly more of an investment risk then something that might be 4 or 5 blocks away from the border?

[Glad2BHere]

Originally Posted by ny.phill

Is it significantly more of an investment risk then something that might be 4 or 5 blocks away from the border?

Yes.

I would not do it. I would hate to see you get stuck with it if you needed to sell. Keep looking a bit further from the border.

[Walter Greenspan]

You're buying at a discount, so you'll still make money even if you sell at a discount from a future price, with the up-side kicker that the property could, over time, lose its discount and then you will be buying at a discount but selling later at full market value.



For those who may not be familiar with Deer Park:

Deer Park is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northeast part of the Town of Babylon, inside the almost right angle formed by the Babylon/Huntington and Babylon/Islip town lines in the southwest part of Suffolk County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Deer Park in the Town of Babylon is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Dix Hills in the Town of Huntington (the Babylon/Huntington town line); on the east by the Hamlet of Brentwood and the Hamlet of Baywood in the Town of Islip (the Babylon/Islip town line); on the south by the Hamlet of North Babylon; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Wyandanch and the Hamlet of Wheatley Heights.





The Hamlet of Deer Park has a different border than does the "Deer Park, NY 11729" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Deer Park, NY 11729" mailing address and not be in the Hamlet of Deer Park and a place can have other than a "Deer Park, NY 11729" mailing address and be in the Hamlet of Deer Park): places that have a "Deer Park, NY 11729" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Deer Park are in the Hamlet of Wyandanch; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Deer Park with a "Wyandanch, NY 11798" 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

[omigawd]

Originally Posted by ny.phill

I guess my question is what is the general consensus on homes that lay on the border of a less desirable school district? Is it significantly more of an investment risk then something that might be 4 or 5 blocks away from the border?

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!! Don't do it!!!!! Wyandanch is a cesspool and stay as far away from that border as you can! Take my word for it,[mod]..[mod]DO come into the border areas of Deer Park, North Babylon, and West Babylon and steal bicycles, burglarize homes, steal cars, and rob people.

I know you don't have a lot to spend (200K on Long Island??)... is it possible for you to wait a while until you can get more money??? I would hate to see you purchase a home, only to be miserable there.

[ny.phill]

Thanks for the advice, it seems to be rather universal that people who know more then me find it to be an awful awful idea.

I'm back to focusing on co-ops in Farmingdale, Rockville Center, Great Neck, Bayside and Forrest Hills... seeing some very nice listings in Farmingdale, but that's a topic for another thread that i'll probably open up.

Either way, thanks for the advice guys. It's sad that we have such pockets of crime that we need to avoid, but it's sadder that i won't be having legendary BBQ's on my 1/2 acre of land =)

[omigawd]

You should go condo, not co-op.... do some research on it.

You can probably get a nice 1BR condo in Forest Hills/Rego Park in the 200K range (MAYBE)... As far as Farmingdale.. .I would be very careful. Same goes for Rockville Centre. You're not going to find anything in Great Neck or Bayside for 200K unless it's in a dumpy/on its way out area.

To be totally honest, I would wait. 200K in this day and age is not a lot of money when you're looking to be a homeowner. I know it may be difficult, but can you wait another year? Work another job and bank every extra penny you make to get more money aside. The extra year would also give you an opportunity to raise your credit score even more.

Have you considered a Town Home? There is a beautiful Town Home community in Smithtown behind the CVS off Terry Road.... then, you'll actually have a little bit of land where you can have your BBQ (save me some ribs! LOL!)

[rocafeller05]

Just curious on why you say "no" to coops?

[quote=omigawd;4304252]You should go condo, not co-op.... do some research on it.

[suzook]

you could probably find some bank owned homes for $200k. ask a realtor. Dealing with a bank can be a hassel, but if you put up with some aggravation, you could get a decent house in a better neigborhood for 200k.

[omigawd]

[quote=rocafeller05;4307988]Just curious on why you say "no" to coops?


Do the research on it and you'll see.

[SoCalDaveL]

Just my .02....

I was born and raised in Deer Park. Its a fairly small town. That area (Nichols Rd, near Straight Path) is only a few blocks away from the Jr. High School (Robert Frost). Deer Park itself has some strange borders. Its nestled between Wyandanch & Brentwood (West & East) and Dix Hills & North Babylon (North & South) with parts of it touching West Islip & Bay Shore.

Personally I'd have to agree with some of the sentiments above. That area, Straight Path - from just North East to Nichols Rd as it stretches past the LIRR and passes the Southern Parkway is NOT desirable at all. Resale will hurt.

Ideally you'd want to be more centered in town or East of Deer Park Ave.... but I would guess the housing costs there are a bit more. I sold my home there in 2005 for just under $400K as the market was going up and it needed quite a bit of work.