Looking to relocate to LI (if possible) (Islip, Brentwood: real estate, condo)

[mrONEderful1911]

I'm a So. Cal resident looking to relocate to NY. I'm looking for an affordable home 250K and under. I may have 20% down for a 150K home and less for a home closer to 250K. I visited western NY and the Hudson Valley, but want to be closer to the City. I see Central Islip with affordable homes, but hear nothing but bad things about the town. I'm all ears to hear about affordable homes on Long Island. That is, if they exist.



Thanks in advance for your replies.

[anotherNYer]

It will be very difficult to get a house for $250,000 on LI in a good area. If it is priced that way it is for a reason. Although I moved off LI last year and I am not as familiar with home prices as before, I would say it is impossible to find a home under $350,000 in a nice area.

[Crookhaven]

You can get a nice starter in the Sound Beach area in the mid 2s

Safe/Good schools/low taxes/Walk to Beach/Exit 63 off the LIE

Its definitely doable.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/22-Urbans-Rd_Sound-Beach_NY_11789_1109713328 (broken link)

Stay away from anything cheap western or middle of the island.


Crooks

[Walter Greenspan]

mrONEderful1911, Lawn Guyland is lot different from California, and in case you are unfamiliar with the local geography:

What people refer to colloquially as "towns" are actually villages and hamlets, which are within actual towns; and, because villages and hamlets are referred to as "towns", then, many times, the error is compounded when actual towns are referred to as "townships".

Also, many colloquially refer to a "downtown business district" in a hamlet as a "village".

NYS Geographic Glossary and Excellent Long Island Geographic Resource may be of some help to you in understanding the geography of "Lawn Guyland".

On LI, You Ain't Where You Think You Are, rev. 1 may help you understand the great geographic confusions caused by non-conforming ZIP Code postal zones.

When you do find a house that you like, you can find out in which community (city, village or CDP) that house is actually located, which is oftentimes different from the community named in that house's mailing address, by using the Census Bureau's online address search function. (CDP or Census Designated Place is the Census Bureau equivalent for a hamlet in Nassau and Suffolk Counties.)

And, very importantly, among other things, the Census Bureau's online address search function also indicates in which school district an address is located.


For those who may not be familiar with Central Islip:

Central Islip is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the north-central section of the Town of Islip, in the southwest part of Suffolk County.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Central Islip in the Town of Islip is bordered on the north by Hamlet of Hauppauge and the Village of Islandia; on the east by the Hamlet of Ronkonkoma and the Hamlet of Bohemia; on the south by the Hamlet of North Great River, the Hamlet of Islip Terrace and the Hamlet of Islip; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Brentwood.





The Hamlet of Central Islip has a different border than does the "Central Islip, NY 11722" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Central Islip, NY 11722" mailing address and not be in the Hamlet of Central Islip and a place can have other than a "Central Islip, NY 11722" mailing address and be in the Hamlet of Central Islip): places that have a "Central Islip, NY 11722" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Central Islip are in the Village of Islandia, the Hamlet of Hauppauge and the Hamlet of Islip Terrace; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Central Islip with a "Bohemia, NY 11716" 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): Excellent Long Island Geographic Resource

[twingles]

Depending on your definition of "Close to the city"....by my definition (within an hour) then no. You won't even come close to something nice for $250K - not a house anyway.

LI real estate is not all that different from SoCal, from what I hear from friends out there. And here, your property taxes are not fixed, they go up every year.

[captne76]

I would maybe suggest you take a peak at Rockland County NY, maybe the prices there are more copmpatible? It's not that far up from NYC, up near and past the Tappan Zee Bridge.

[Crookhaven]

Originally Posted by twingles

Depending on your definition of "Close to the city"....by my definition (within an hour) then no. You won't even come close to something nice for $250K - not a house anyway.

LI real estate is not all that different from SoCal, from what I hear from friends out there. And here, your property taxes are not fixed, they go up every year.

Agreed.

For some its west of 110...for others 112.

A Sound Beach commute isnt optimal... but doable from Ronkonkoma.

Crooks

[zulu400]

you can probably get a 2 bed condo for that price, with a 3-4k tax and about $2-300 per month for utilities in a decent area. Cheack out waverly park in holtsville. This is probably abt 10 mins from Ronkonkoma train station.

[Jrprofess]

I would recommend parts fo Putnam County where you could maybe find something closer to your range, and hop the metro north to the city. Finding that on the island will be tough in a decent area. Maybe...maybe....Ronkonkoma, but then you are still 80 minutes out on the train to the city.

[dman72]

There are condo complexes 5 minutes from the train in Ronkonkoma that you could own in, but even the Ronkonkoma express in the morning only gets you to Penn in 55 minutes....where are you going after that? Factor a 1.5-2 hr commute each way unless you work in 1 Penn Plaza. It all depends on where you will work. I'm assuming you're single, so Central Islip probably isn't worse than the middle of the road parts of LA in terms of crime.