Moorestown, Maple Shade, Mount Laurel, Delran (Camden, Berkeley Heights: mortgage, equity, trip)

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by AKF

Thank you for the input. How far of a drive would you say these locations are from Philly?
I did read up on Moorestown but think it may be slightly higher than where I want to be. Mt. Laurel sounds more up my alley. Does it have a "city" feel or is it more rural?

Same question for Maple Shade. I really would like to avoid any areas that are too rural.

Thank you again.

I'm in Browns Mills takes me 35 - 45 mins to get to Mount Laurel, total of an hour 15 minutes to get to Philly airport. It depends on time of day / traffic on any of the roads. You figure it's about 30 from Mt Laurel to Philly maybe less.

Mt Laurel is a nice town, doesn't take long to get to the major shopping malls (Moorestown / Cherry Hill).

Have you signed up at all the major real estate sites?
Caldwell Banker
ReMax NJ
Exit Realty Cherry Hill
Realtor.com main search - click advanced search to get more options
Prudential Fox & Roach
Weichert
NJ MLS
Yahoo Real estate - even though it is Prudential, you still need to sign up independantly. You can check foreclosures there also. It's a pretty decent list. You can also find an agent through their Home Gain.
Century 21

Make an account at all of the sites. Put in your search criteria then save the search. You will get emails when new listings come on as well as price drops. Every site is different and in order to find a house, you may have to sign up at all because sites like C21 do not get picked up at other sites, nor do they show anything but their own.

My favorite site is Remax for ease of use. I actually save all homes I'm interested in from other places in my Remax home finder. I will copy the MLS # searching at Remax.

[LittleMissSunshine]

All four towns are not too rural. It's the suburban area of South Jersey.

I would consider Moorestown the nicest (has the cutest little town center), but also very expensive homes.

I live in Mount Laurel, actually near the Moorestown border. Mount Laurel is huge, there is a better mix of McMansions, normal homes and townhouses. Mount Laurel does not have a town center though...all the stores are randomly scattered through out since it's more of a township.

Maple Shade is cute. It has some walkable stores. It's not as nice as Moorestown, but still nice. I actually like driving through it, it reminds me of the town I grew up in , in North Jersey. It has a nice little feel.

Delarn I know less about even though it's only a few minutes away.

Any of the towns will have you in a good spot to reach malls, places to eat, Philly etc. You will have easy access to Route 73, 38, 295 and the Turnpike. When there is no traffic at an off time, you can be in Philly from Mount Laurel in 15 to 20 min. But obviously, if you're going for work during rush hours add lots of extra time.

[Calcbunny]

If you are looking at Mt. Laurel, also consider Marlton (Evesham township).

Good Luck!

[AKF]

Hey Guys,
Thank you soooooooooooo much for your help. You have all been very insightful. I think Moorestown might be a little pricey for me (at least for now) so I am going to see if I can find a rental in either Mt. Laurel or Maple Shade until I am ready to buy.

Which brings me to my next question...exactly how bad are the taxes in NJ for homes?

Thanks.

[spp17]

Moorestown is nice, but you are right next to camden....who wants to live next to that. Mount Laurel is very populated, but nice. There is a lot of traffic in Camden county especially. 295 gets backed up a lot. gloucester county is just okay...there are nicer rural areas that you could commute to going around south of philly. It really depends on what you are looking for. The further south you go, the cheaper it gets. Medford Lakes and Evesham are nice, but again alot of traffic and right next to Camden.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by AKF

Hey Guys,
Thank you soooooooooooo much for your help. You have all been very insightful. I think Moorestown might be a little pricey for me (at least for now) so I am going to see if I can find a rental in either Mt. Laurel or Maple Shade until I am ready to buy.

Which brings me to my next question...exactly how bad are the taxes in NJ for homes?

Thanks.

someone just posted the link to NJ Taxes HTH

[Calcbunny]

Originally Posted by spp17

Moorestown is nice, but you are right next to camden....who wants to live next to that. Mount Laurel is very populated, but nice. There is a lot of traffic in Camden county especially. 295 gets backed up a lot. gloucester county is just okay...there are nicer rural areas that you could commute to going around south of philly. It really depends on what you are looking for. The further south you go, the cheaper it gets. Medford Lakes and Evesham are nice, but again alot of traffic and right next to Camden.

You really don't know what you are talking about. All of the places he asked about are in Burlington County. Moorestown is not right Next to Camden, did you forget about that buffer called Cherry Hill? There are rural parts of Mt Laurel...it is a really nice place.


To the OP:

If you rent in Maple Shade, just remember Fox Meadow is called "Fox Ghetto".

Good Luck!

[LittleMissSunshine]

Originally Posted by Calcbunny

You really don't know what you are talking about. All of the places he asked about are in Burlington County. Moorestown is not right Next to Camden, did you forget about that buffer called Cherry Hill? There are rural parts of Mt Laurel...it is a really nice place.


To the OP:

If you rent in Maple Shade, just remember Fox Meadow is called "Fox Ghetto".

Good Luck!

Thank you....

I sat here thinking "Moorestown and Mount Laurel don't border Camden" , not at all. Yes, maybe in terms of miles it isn't all that far. But it's enough miles and enough highway inbetween that Mount Laurel and Moorestown are both extremely low crime areas.

[Calcbunny]

Originally Posted by LittleMissSunshine

Thank you....

I sat here thinking "Moorestown and Mount Laurel don't border Camden" , not at all. Yes, maybe in terms of miles it isn't all that far. But it's enough miles and enough highway inbetween that Mount Laurel and Moorestown are both extremely low crime areas.

I'm with Little Miss Sunshine. There really is not much Public Transportation from Camden to Mt Laurel or Moorestown. Maybe a bus to the Mall. Look up Money Magazine story about 2 years back on Moorestown. Maple shade is ok, but the homes are small and old. You will most likely do better in Mt Laurel as far as building equity. Get a map and drive around Moorestown and Mt Laurel...you will like it.

I used to live in Southampton, which was very rural and I loved it.

Mt Laurel has much more in terms of a varity of homes and lots of condos.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by Calcbunny

I used to live in Southampton, which was very rural and I loved it.

That was the 1st place we looked but the prices are pretty high for a house with no basement

I have a few Southampton houses saved if the OP would like to see them. Nice houses but I could buy more in Williamstown