moving near Princeton, NJ (Trenton, Lawrenceville: mortgage, real estate, foreclosure)

[magnoliainteriors]

Hi my husband has been offered a job in Princeton, NJ and we would have to move near that area. Can anyone recommend any areas near there that would be much less expensive than Princeton? We are in our early thirties, no children yet, but are planning on starting a family soon. We would hope to buy but our price range is low, probably $250,000 max. We wouldn't mind PA or NJ, we currently reside in Philadelphia. If anyone could help please let me know, thank you!

[culater88]

There are several nice towns around Princeton, East & West Windsor, Cranbury, Monroe Township, Lawrenceville and they are 15 mins away. For $250,000, you are most likely looking at a townhouse or a handyman special house because new construction in this area starts from $400,000+ but it's a buyer's market now so you might find a great deal. Good luck on your search.

[SkipChurch]

You can't buy anything for $250,000 in Princeton-- not in the township, nevermind Princeton Borough. I'd say that $400K is pretty much the entry level for an actual house. Having said that, the housing values rise rapidly so that is at least some consolation. I bought a house for $420,000 on Lawrenceville Road (Rt 206) in 1995 and its market value now is over $1 million. My lucky ex has that property. Nobody wanted that house because it was "right on 206" but one thing and another, it has appreciated.

Lots of McMansion type developments with pretentious faux-Olde English Gentry names go up all the time. "Yorkshire Ridings" etc. Because of the concentration of high income professionals at Merck, Bloomberg, Merrill-Lynch, and so forth, there is a constant demand for upscale housing and not much interest in devoting real estate to more moderately priced homes. The easy (well, fairly easy) commute to NYC and Philly also drives up the prices in the Princeton area.

You might look in Lawrence Township. Or Princeton Junction/West Windsor. A reasonable plan is to rent for a year and look intensively for a home to buy. Or look out toward Kingston. There are lots of cute little towns-- Hopewell, Pennington, Lawrenceville, etc-- but none that have undiscovered real estate bargains.

Good luck!

[christina0001]

That price range can be tough. I would look in East Windsor. The schools are fairly good and in the past 5 years or so, East Windsor has slowly but surely been improving and growing (not that it was ever bad, just that it seems to be getting even better, with nice new homes, new stores, etc.).

[calligraphy]

depends what size home you are looking for, there is very little in that price range especially for a single family home. Maybe a townhome or older model fixer upper. Princeton and the vicinity is very expensive. Property taxes all over are an outrage too so you have to figure that in also. Maybe you can find a short sale or foreclosure, check with a realtor as the market should drop when the arm mortgages adjust. Supposedly this is a buyers market,, so make an offer if you see something, if they need to sell bad enough you may get a good deal. But just check out the property tax rates. If your income is low enough try to get affordable housing.

[AnthonyB]

Originally Posted by magnoliainteriors

Hi my husband has been offered a job in Princeton, NJ and we would have to move near that area. Can anyone recommend any areas near there that would be much less expensive than Princeton? We are in our early thirties, no children yet, but are planning on starting a family soon. We would hope to buy but our price range is low, probably $250,000 max. We wouldn't mind PA or NJ, we currently reside in Philadelphia. If anyone could help please let me know, thank you!

Luckily everything in the area is less expensive than Princeton.
I would draw a circle around Princeton, cut out the area closest to Trenton and you should be pretty much fine. Areas north/north west of Princeton are off of the NY commute track so tend to be more affordable.
I would echo those who suggested renting for a year - nothing beats experience of an area when making a buying decision.

[magnoliainteriors]

Thank you to everyone for your input. We definitely want a fixer upper home anyway. I'm not too into big McMansions. I'm an interior design who likes to do things for myself. Any thoughts on commuting from PA to Princeton, NJ???

[AnthonyB]

Originally Posted by magnoliainteriors

Thank you to everyone for your input. We definitely want a fixer upper home anyway. I'm not too into big McMansions. I'm an interior design who likes to do things for myself. Any thoughts on commuting from PA to Princeton, NJ???

Fixer uppers have been snapped up for years by flippers unfortunately so the stock is pretty limited. Lots of badly renovated, overpriced entry level older homes :-).
Commuting from Buck County in PA to Princeton is doable, and Bucks has great schools and lovely housing stock and is much cheaper, so I would definitely look into that.

[krusher]

Any thoughts on commuting from PA to Princeton, NJ???

Lots of people I work with do this. It seems pretty tough to me. I was working a second job in PA, traveling from Princeton last year. Route 1 at night going back into PA is pretty slow going. Took me 30-40 minutes just to get to PA side. I'd assume the morning is similar.

[princetonian]

Plainsboro is your best bet. It has great schools and is neighboring Princeton. It also has great public transportation (highways and trains). It is currently building a downtown. (Market Street). It is very inexpensive in Plainsboro.