Relocating for a job in Lexington next month - 350K budget (Lowell: cul-de-sac, 2013)

[joey0480]

Next month I will be relocating up to Lexington for a career move. I currently reside in NJ.

My budget is at 350K, so I know I definitely need to look away from Lexington

I would be leaving at 6AM and then hopefully leaving work to commute home at 3pm. I want to keep my commute under a hour. For my previous job in NJ, I commuted a hour, but it was mainly back roads.

I am looking for average to slightly above average school systems. I have a 1 year old and a 5 year old.

Now when I was up there, I traveled on 95 for a bit. I found it abysmal, worse than some of the jersey shore traffic. I am thinking it may be wiser to look West of Lexington then (can anyone comment on that direction of a commute).

With that said, any recommendations on towns? I was considering Maynard and the surrounding areas. I was told to avoid Lowell at all costs.

Thanks in advance.

[495neighbor]

Maynard is good for young families with your budget. Try Burlington also.

[kingeorge]

I would also check Wilmington, Woburn, Chelmsford. Maynard and Burlington are great suggestions as well.

[flowbe202]

Maynard is a great town. Stow is another.

[Peabody99]

I love Stow and live in the town but for your budget, probably not going to get the house you want with a family...what square footage, etc are you hoping to get? Maynard, Waltham and Chelmsford would be my recommendations without knowing if you want the semi-rural lifestyle or more urban/suburban...?

[robr2]

You're not going to find much in Burlington for that budget. In fact, only one house is on the market at that price and it's an old, "charming" two bed/2 bath unit on a 4K sq. ft. lot. If the lot were bigger to meet today's minimum size of 20K sq. ft. it would be a teardown.

Anything under $400K is a target for a teardown.

[kingeorge]

Originally Posted by robr2

You're not going to find much in Burlington for that budget. In fact, only one house is on the market at that price and it's an old, "charming" two bed/2 bath unit on a 4K sq. ft. lot. If the lot were bigger to meet today's minimum size of 20K sq. ft. it would be a teardown.

Anything under $400K is a target for a teardown.

That is very true. Burlington is getting more expensive, It makes sense given the location. Op will have to compromise, be it size, location, schools, commute, or condition.

[vtecluder617]

We had your budget of $350K as well, but this was back in 2013 when home prices were a little lower. We focused on Burlington, Wilmington, Reading, Woburn, and Tewskbury. We couldn't find anything in those towns that weren't completely outdated, teardowns, or little ranches that had the same square footage as our apartment in Cambridge!. We had more luck in Woburn and Tewksbury, but schools weren't very desirable. And even those towns now are on the expensive side.

We ended up going to the other side of the metro on the South Shore. We found what we wanted with good schools, but still ended up going 15K over our MAX budget. If we were buying our house today, we probably couldn't afford it as its valued over 400K.

Unfortunately, I think you'll have a tough time getting much with $350K. What is your criteria for a home? # of beds/baths, sq footage, garage, big yard, main rd VS cul-de-sac, etc.

[Shrewsburried]

Originally Posted by vtecluder617

Unfortunately, I think you'll have a tough time getting much with $350K. What is your criteria for a home? # of beds/baths, sq footage, garage, big yard, main rd VS cul-de-sac, etc.

As someone looking with a 350-370K max budget, I'd say there's some truth in your comment.

One has to go pretty far west before 350k buys you a viable SFH (title v pass, not a tear down). Occasionally, a town like Littleton or Westford will have a modest/dated raised ranch or cape for under 350K. West of 495, the COL starts to drop. Towns like Shrewsbury offer pretty good value, but a commute to Lexington is not ideal (90 to 128 would be a bit of a drag and likely 60-80 minutes).

If OP can tolerate a 40-45 minute commute, buying near rt 2 or 495 in towns like Lancaster, Groton, or Bolton might be the best compromise. With OP leaving that early, a commute down rt. 2 would be relatively painless (Concord rotary being an exception). The afternoon/evening is certainly going to tough unless the OP can be on the road before 4pm.

That, or a condo/townhouse in Acton.

[vtecluder617]

Originally Posted by Shrewsburried

Towns like Shrewsbury offer pretty good value, but a commute to Lexington is not ideal (90 to 128 would be a bit of a drag and likely 60-80 minutes).

Even Shrewsbury I heard was on the pricier side. Probably due to very good schools?