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Hey everyone, first post, long time lurker. I am finally caving and looking to get some more direct answers to my current situation. I've googled, searched, and spent days looking at towns, but I'm confident that you all may provide further insights to the current state of northern NJ towns.
Thanks in advance to those of you who take the time to help us! We just lost a house this morning in Boonton, on the final day of attorney review. The seller's agent wanted part of our commission (GF got her license to do real estate on the side) and because we were legally advised to refuse this request he told the seller to back out of the contract...very disappointing to say the least. So I am determined to find us a new home to pursue!
Here goes nothing!
Where are you coming from? Girlfriend- Clifton, Myself - West milford
Why are you moving? Buying a home to start a life with my girlfriend
Where will you be working ? GF works in Union, and I work in Basking Ridge. My parents and immediately family live in the West Milford/Boonton area, and hers in Clifton.
Will you buy or rent? Buy
What is your budget ? $2100-2200 a month is the max. Ideally closer to $2k/month. So there either needs to be affordable taxes with a mortgage <300k, or higher taxes on a lower valued home, etc. It's all relative.
What kind of place are you looking for ? SFH- Ideally 3BR and 1.5 bath. Basement for a home gym and backyard for our dog are high on the priority list. A driveway is very important and a garage would be nice, but not necessary.
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you ? Girlfriend + 1 year old German Shepherd/Akita
Do you need/want good public schools? Schools are a plus, but not necessary as kids will only enter the picture in a few years, and then 10+ years before they reach the highschools. This would offer the option for us to stay in this home more long term, but by no means does it dictate whether or not a house is viable.
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in We would like a safe and quiet neighborhood. Friendly neighbors is a plus of course, but with our families living in New Jersey we spend lots of time with them. So an active neighborhood isn't as necessary per say. Sidewalks are always nice for walks, biking, etc.
List three things that are important to you in order of importance.
Safety, downtown shops (can be a 10-15 minute drive), and a relatively short commute to Union and Basking Ridge without being over 45-50minutes from West Milford/Boonton.
In my opinion your budget is low to find anything worthwhile within your criteria. It'll be quite difficult especially since inventory is very low and trend is that RE market is shifting to seller market again. Fortunately, most of NJ isn't sellers market yet in my view.
I think you'll either need to save more for bigger downpayment or change some criteria such as bed/bath, commute to work, home gym, backyard, etc.
Check out Upper Montclair/Clifton/Montclair Heights. It is a funny little area near the University which has Clifton Taxes, Bloomfield Phone Numbers, and Upper Montclair mailing addresses. Because of the property actually being in Clifton/Passaic County the taxes are lower. Look at the McCosh Road, 07043, area, for instance.
In my opinion your budget is low to find anything worthwhile within your criteria. It'll be quite difficult especially since inventory is very low and trend is that RE market is shifting to seller market again. Fortunately, most of NJ isn't sellers market yet in my view.
I think you'll either need to save more for bigger downpayment or change some criteria such as bed/bath, commute to work, home gym, backyard, etc.
I've been watching the market and the average is still 3% below asking cost. There's deals to be had in short sales and move-out asap type situations imo.
Mostly 1400 sq/ft houses, 2br 1.5bath with .25-.3 acreage. Those criteria were what we're looking for, but if it fits most of them we are willing to let a few go to make it work.
I'm not worried about our budget, as much as I am concerned wtih moving to the right town that looks to have positive growth and community. Being able to spend 2.2k/month is well within an affordable range for NJ. Been here 25years, and my parents have been here 50+. I dont want to be argumentative, simply a difference of opinion. Please dont mistake my post though, I do still appreciate your input and welcome you to continue contributing!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ted Bear
Check out Upper Montclair/Clifton/Montclair Heights. It is a funny little area near the University which has Clifton Taxes, Bloomfield Phone Numbers, and Upper Montclair mailing addresses. Because of the property actually being in Clifton/Passaic County the taxes are lower. Look at the McCosh Road, 07043, area, for instance.
Yeah Montclair has an awesome downtown, we love eating on the strip and getting wine + a movie! The only issue becomes my commute to Basking Ridge which can be 60+ minutes pretty easily from there.
I'll definitely look into it though, thanks!
Quote:
Originally Posted by HalfFull
To better understand your monthly budget number, it would help to understand what sort of downpayment you are planning.
Towns like Bridgewater and Denville come to mind...
What was the place like in Boonton that fell through?
Yeah we love Bridgewater and Denville. Denville has a pretty limited inventory these days, and quite a bit of the houses listed tend to be in the flood areas unfortunately. These two are definitely on the map and we've visited about 10+ houses in Bridgewater already. We tend to have a little higher standards for Bridgewater since its about 50+ minutes from our family, so we try to make sure it is really worth moving so far south.
We have been working with a mortgage loan officer and we think 5% down will leave us in a more comfortable financial situation to buy furniture etc. We have about 25-30k saved up at this point.
Quote:
Originally Posted by GoodSchoolols
Well, you wouldn't have an issue buying anything in the West Milford or Clifton area to fit your budget.
Yeah, unfortunately both of those areas create 50-60 minute commutes for us, and that's something we've come to really loathe after doing it for so long.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nybbler
Springfield comes to mind.
The taxes on most of the houses were 8-10k+ though, is that typical for Springfield?
Thanks for searching, that house is gorgeous! Unfortunately its closer to $2500/month. We could probably spring for it, but it'd be tight. Someone told us that "we want to own the house, not have the house own us." So we are keeping our budget conservative (possibly too much so) just so that we can save for a vacation once a year, or go out to a nice dinner, etc.
I'll keep Springfield in mind for sure as it's come up quite a few times already. I think Rockaway, Denville, Boonton, Parsippany and Lincoln Park are some of our most common hits when we search.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EBWick
I'd check out Fair Lawn, Hawthorne, Midland Park, Saddle Brook & Waldwick. Your budget may be on low side but all solid towns.
A few of those are closer to an hour for me to get to work in Basking Ridge, but Fairlawn and Saddle Brook seem worth looking at. Thanks EBWick!
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