moving to Summit- New Providence-Berkley Heights, NJ (Westfield, Maplewood: best towns, apartments)

[DD3]

We've been thinking of moving from Chicago,IL to Summit-New Providence-Berkley Heights area in NJ. Can we buy small house there for 350K now? Do we have to know something bad about that towns? Thanks.

[Rootdkj]

DD3, you have made fine selections so far as these are some of my favorite places in the area.

From my point of view
I love the homes in Berkeley Heights. And OK I'll include the town homes as well. All are convenient to transportation and "off the beaten path" enough but where you can still get pizza and beers in less than a half hour.

New Providence - There's a Town-home on the market RIGHT NOW that I wish I could buy. Great location and layout of rooms....but the taxes area way too high for me there.

Summit - Well Summit I'm told is the top. Not sure why, perhaps the combination of commuters into NYC and the doctors at Overlook. When we were kids (living in Maplewood) we always to to call Summit "Scummit" at sporting events. Made us feel better somehow. Anyway, I just bought a house in S(c)ummit and I am really looking fordward to my first place.

I don't think you'll find much in the 300-350 range for a single family, maybe a condo. You may find 350-400 fixers that you can turn into a nice investment with some hard work in the area. Read the listings on Realtor.com If you need help, feel free to pm me and I'll see what I know for you.

PS - Chatham Township has some nice places also.

Good luck -- Root

[LauraPetrie]

How about the apartments on rent in Summit ? And are the schools there good?

[cp0421]

Schools in Summit are great - they have some of the highest starting salaries for teachers in the area and thus attract the best!

[mead]

Yeah, aren't little cape cods going for close to a million bucks in Summit?

I know the market rate for a 3br cape code is $600k in Madison, and Madison is a notch down from Summit.

Check out trulia.com and type in Summit, NJ. It will give you a good sample of what houses cost in the town.

[ching1698]

Summit housing is soft for some reason, may be because many wealthy babyboomers start selling their homes to down size, so do not hesitate to negotiate.

[quintab]

Originally Posted by mead

Yeah, aren't little cape cods going for close to a million bucks in Summit? ...

Cape Cods are in Chatham & Madison, Summit is mostly a Colonial town! There are a few cape codes - try West End ave. for about $600K.

[jessnboys]

Grew up in Summit and it's absolutely one of the best towns around, IMHO. Great schools--lot of Ivy League attendees in my graduating class. Would love to move back up there but the prices and taxes are pretty cost prohibitive. When we looked at homes there in 2005-ish, what you would get for around 600k was a SMALL 3 bedroom colonial where the basement wasn't finished, the kitchen needed to be gutted and the one full bath was TINY!! But, what you are buying is a lifestyle...great schools, wonderful sense of community, adorable town center where you can walk to shopping, restaurants, schools, library, post office, etc etc etc. When I go back to visit my parents though, I do notice a large number of nannies at the park with the kids. Guess that's what happens when the decent homes are close to a million.

Check out Westfield while you're at it. Probably cuter than Summit and perhaps a bit cheaper.

[208happystreet]

There's nothing bad about any of these towns. Would live in any of them, but I don't think you are going to do it on $350000? Not sure you could even buy a condo with that? I think you are going to have to look further out. Good luck. It's really expensive.

[Sergio M]

There are some condos in all three towns in the 350K price range. Starter capes in the upper 300's and up, you may be able to negotiate a little. There are some small Colonials also in the mid 4's. Let me know if you want me to send you the listings.