Livingston area (Union, West Orange, Orange: hardwood floors, condos, townhomes)
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My husband just got a job in Livingston. We need to find an area with good schools, esp for kids with special needs. Problem is trying to find a home around $320,000 and not have $10,000 taxes. I'm unfamiliar with the area. Any suggestions? He's willing to commute up to about 50 minutes to work.
My husband just got a job in Livingston. We need to find an area with good schools, esp for kids with special needs. Problem is trying to find a home around $320,000 and not have $10,000 taxes. I'm unfamiliar with the area. Any suggestions? He's willing to commute up to about 50 minutes to work.
In order to give you truly useful suggestions, we really need more information from you as to what you are wanting in a new town. Please see the sticky post at the top of this forum for the questions/info that we need. http://www.city-data.com/forum/new-j...residents.html Also more specifics on the size type of home you are needing (number of bedrooms, etc) and whether you are open to townhomes, condos, etc. or just looking for a SFH.
That being said, with the limited info provided, I'd say you need to confine your search to the eastern edge of Morris County, you'll find good schools, reasonable commute to Livingston, as well as much lower taxes than Essex (or Bergen, or Union) Counties. As long as you are seeking a walkable downtown or midtown direct trains look at Florham Park, or Whippany/Cedar Knolls, both are good options. If you want a walkable downtown and a train station, given your price range, I'd try Morristown or Morris Plains.
That or look around Denville, Rockaway Township, Boonton, etc all close to Livingston.
The problem with these towns is you'll have a brutal commute heading east into Livingston. I know people that do it every day. You'll definitely hit bad traffic on 80 East to 280 East. The other option is route 10, but with all the lights it's not going to be any faster.
On a budget of 320K you could easily find a nice house in West Orange. At that price taxes will be around $8k. West Orange borders Livingston so the commute would be very easy. But I don't know how good the school district would be for special needs students.
At an assessed value of 320K (and W.O. re-assessed in 2011, so assessed and market values should be close), taxes in West Orange would be about 10,800. It's a great commute to Livingston and you could find a 3BR in a neighborhood with a good elementary school for that price, but the taxes are extreme, no kidding.
Since you're not familiar with the area, I'll start by saying that in general, Essex County (where Livingston is located) is one of the counties that are known for higher property taxes. You'll generally see lower property taxes the farther west you go (i.e., Morris County and Sussex County).
Also, in general, $10,000 property taxes are pretty standard in northern NJ for a single family home in an average suburb. $10,000 is probably even below average.
In your particular case, I would just look for a house in Livingston.
First of all, Livingston has a school system that is worth the extra taxes. They also have good programs for special needs, including autism specifically, which is mentioned in your profile. See here:
Plus, your husband will have a 5 minute commute. Imagine how advantageous that would be. Not just for him either...for both of you...he'll be home a lot earlier at the end of the day, he can even go home for lunch, he'll be able to help you out more at home, etc. etc.
Given similar, comparable properties, you'll only be saving about $2,000 or $3,000 anyway on property taxes by moving to a town on the eastern side of Morris County...and a big chunk of that would just be spent on gas for his commute.
For example, it's about a 30 minute drive between Livingston and Morris Plains. Mileage wise, it's a round trip total of about 25 miles for the day. That comes out to 125 miles per week, or 500 miles per month, or 6,000 miles per year. Six thousand miles equates to about 15 tanks of gasoline, or about a $1,000 a year spent just on gasoline for the commute alone (and don't forget the 6,000 miles of wear and tear on the car each year).
So, you'd only be saving a couple grand, AT MOST, by moving to a town farther west with cheaper property taxes. And that's assuming regular (not premium gas), and an average sedan (not an SUV, minivan or anything with AWD)...factoring these in (not to mention gas prices inevitably rising), you'll be spending even more money on your commute and saving less on property taxes than I just laid out
Plus, you'd be sacrificing the Livingston school system (not that Morris County doesn't have good schools...they do...it's just that Livingston's school district is a big selling point).
The other thing that makes the extra property taxes in Livingston worth it are the municipal services covered with those taxes...e.g., you won't get a standalone, flat rate sewer bill that's approaching a grand a year on top of the property taxes; you won't have to pay piece meal, per bag for garbage & recycling collection. Yes, there are town in NJ that have systems like this.
If you find a house or a neighborhood in Morris County that you fall in love with, by all means, go for it. However, it's not necessarily to your benefit to cross Livingston off your list altogether based solely on property taxes.
If you're gonna go solely by property taxes...you want them to be as low as possible...I'd say look for towns as far west of Livingston as possible...really max out your 50-minute commute limit. Look in Sussex County. In Morris County look more in the western half, as opposed to the eastern half. Otherwise, the property taxes are gonna be a wash when you factor in the commute, and you might as well just pay the few extra grand to live in Livingston.
Here's a listing in Livingston I just found that might fit your criteria:
Are you looking for something with more bedrooms, or something more updated, or something with a bigger yard? That would also need to be factored in to your decision.
I'd be careful with that particular one. See the tile floor in the kitchen? You can't tell from the picture but it looks like it could be vinyl-asbestos tile. And if it's there, it might be under the carpet elsewhere.
I'd be careful with that particular one. See the tile floor in the kitchen? You can't tell from the picture but it looks like it could be vinyl-asbestos tile. And if it's there, it might be under the carpet elsewhere.
Yeah, no doubt, anything that's not new construction needs extra thorough inspecting. I don't remember if asbestos tile is one of the things that needs to be in the disclosure documents. Would need to be checked out, in any case. That house obviously needs some updating too (look at the cabinets).
If the OP wants new construction, all updated, stainless steel, marble counter top, jacuzzi tubs, giant walk-in closets, hardwood floors throughout, etc. etc., Livingston will probably be out of the question at the $320K range.
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