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Are the schools in East Windsor considered 'bad'? I've heard good and bad things. It seems like the resources are there. Also the town sits right in between Philadelphia and NYC, plus it's close to Princeton. Location seems to be ideal, being it's right near Route 1, the Turnpike, 130, 195, and 295. I admit I've always wondered why the property taxes were so high, even on 40+ year old homes.
OP, have you considered North Brunswick? Decent schools and with a train station in Jersey Ave (and a new one coming up in North Brunswick by 2018) much better commuting options to NYC/Jersey City as compared to East Windsor or Hamilton.
Several years ago I was in a similar situation as you are right now: 200~280k Budget and about to have a baby, looking for a 3BD and 1200~1500 sqft house with reasonable commute to NYC.
I made a terrible mistake to buy a house in Payonne, NJ.
So all I can say is, do not buy at Payonne, NJ.
Also to OP, Metuchen / Northern Edison may be good places to look at.
Your typical tough Beijinger here. After 6 years there I'm basically immune to smog and hours-long commute...
In fact we moved here (currently burrowing in Franklin Park) from Bergen, where everything is beyond our budget (rent is relatively inexpensive though). In the process we've investigated every listed property within that price range in Bergen, Passaic, Hudson, Essex, Union, Morris, Somerset, Middlesex, Mercer, even briefly touching Sussex and Monmouth, finally settling on East Windsor. If made into an animated presentation, you will see our focal point being gradually pushed toward south and west. Kind of pathetic.
The problem is that we have a personal library with us (5000-ish books), so the property must be at least 1,200 sqft large to host all those bookcases. I'm well aware that we are asking for a lot with such small budget. That much could get us a nice 2BR in Nutley or Lyndhurst (love both), but we need more space.
The hate for NJTransit is mutual, man. So these days I'm driving to Harrison (1 hour, but at least I've got a wheel to play with), then 30 minutes of PATH to NYC (Kindle time).
Can't really complain about this, so I'm basically grateful for what I've found. Better than Beijing...
Dude, East Windsor to NYC is not what many consider "reasonable commute to NYC." The commuting cost alone can be added to your mortgage and buy you more house in a closer town. You're from Beijing, I get it. It sucks in the populous Chinese towns. Esp if you live in 6th ring or something and it takes you hours to get anywhere. There used to be a joke that women can get pregnant just from riding the bus to work, that's how crammed it was. But in America, you DON'T have to live like that. Esp if you lived in the northern half of NJ closer to the city, are you really mentally ready to marry a 90 minute commute for the next 10 years? It's way different commuting when you are sleep deprived because your baby was keeping you up all night, for the fourth night in a row. My husband has a 45-50 min door to door commute to the city and on bad weeks when he's up until 1am working and our son wakes him up at 5am for the nth day in a row, he wants to shoot himself.
I strongly advise you to consider renting close to work until you need the school system. Otherwise you're subjecting yourself to 4-5 years of needless commute and house upkeep.
You also mentioned Lyndhurst. Have you looked at North Arlington? Slightly cheaper because it doesn't have a train station. You should be able to buy something decent there for your budget, or up your budget to buy a 2 family and rent out one unit to pay back the additional mortgage cost.
OP, have you considered North Brunswick? Decent schools and with a train station in Jersey Ave (and a new one coming up in North Brunswick by 2018) much better commuting options to NYC/Jersey City as compared to East Windsor or Hamilton.
Yep. Sifted through the Brunswicks (New, East, South, North) thoroughly. There are plenty of affordable options indeed, but they are in general too small. Actually they didn't feel small until we stumbled upon East Windsor. 1,500 sqft and up plus full basement or garage is very convincing...
Looking into Hamilton right now. The school system is sort of confusing. Apparently 65% of the town is doomed in a 1-3 points (GreatSchools rating) school zone, while the southeastern corner is blessed with what's in the 8-10 points range...
Quote:
Originally Posted by kagamine
Good Job OP.
Several years ago I was in a similar situation as you are right now: 200~280k Budget and about to have a baby, looking for a 3BD and 1200~1500 sqft house with reasonable commute to NYC.
I made a terrible mistake to buy a house in Payonne, NJ.
So all I can say is, do not buy at Payonne, NJ.
Also to OP, Metuchen / Northern Edison may be good places to look at.
Thank you, man. If you mean that Bayonne in Hudson county, I didn't even try looking there. Lived in Jersey City for a year, occasionally rode that direction on the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail, and took the knowledge test for driver's license at Bayonne's MVC. Didn't like it there much by the look... But how exactly is it bad? Feeling lucky that I dodged a bullet for judging a book by its cover...
Northern Edison is damn expensive. Forgot what happened to Metuchen because the past month has been one heck of a frenzy, but we didn't find anything satisfying there. Or else there's no reason we ticked it off our list. We even checked out the ghetto part of Perth Amboy...
Quote:
Originally Posted by MrsPiggleWiggle
You also mentioned Lyndhurst. Have you looked at North Arlington? Slightly cheaper because it doesn't have a train station. You should be able to buy something decent there for your budget, or up your budget to buy a 2 family and rent out one unit to pay back the additional mortgage cost.
Yep. Dug through the Nutley-Lyndhurst-Belleville-North Arlington region, because that part of NJ looks really lovely. Affordable options do exist, but we don't get much for what we pay. 280K is already a stretched budget, so 2 family + rent out isn't an option. We've now come to admit that NJ is an expensive place (unless we venture into the mountains in Sussex). With what little we have, there's always gonna be significant gives and takes. The first thing we are willing to give is short commuting time. Used to live in Newport. I know how great it is to have a subway station right downstairs. But when the amount of living space is at risk, I'm ready to switch back to the Beijing mindset any time.
Gonna try really hard to make money in the next decade...
Or anyone else know if there's any rich oldster in need of a step son? No, I don't need all your estate. Whatever bone thrown this way is heartily appreciated.
Several years ago I was in a similar situation as you are right now: 200~280k Budget and about to have a baby, looking for a 3BD and 1200~1500 sqft house with reasonable commute to NYC.
I made a terrible mistake to buy a house in Payonne, NJ.
So all I can say is, do not buy at Payonne, NJ.
Also to OP, Metuchen / Northern Edison may be good places to look at.
Starter homes all starts at $350k in Metchuchen, area been bought out by Indians. Not a bad option if the OP willing to pay a bit more. The commute cost should be less and quicker.
OP keep in mind that distance from the city will affect your resale values and appreciation. Many of the towns you think are affordable now... take a look at its housing values over the last decade or two. Esp with the younger generation flocking to the urban areas, it's sad to see even historically very desirable towns (e.g. Holmdel) have stagnant or falling house prices over the last few years compared to the northern NJ towns. A 300K investment goes up say 50% in 5 years vs a 200K investment that you lose money on when you sell... just something to think about.
OP keep in mind that distance from the city will affect your resale values and appreciation. Many of the towns you think are affordable now... take a look at its housing values over the last decade or two. Esp with the younger generation flocking to the urban areas, it's sad to see even historically very desirable towns (e.g. Holmdel) have stagnant or falling house prices over the last few years compared to the northern NJ towns. A 300K investment goes up say 50% in 5 years vs a 200K investment that you lose money on when you sell... just something to think about.
That's a very good point that's often overlooked. Right now it's a seller's market so a lot of properties heat up but when market goes down, it's the places that are closest to NYC stay up. It can be a bad school area like in JC, parts of Bayonne but property values stay high because it's close to NYC.
The only problem is that there still is a ceiling for NJ properties, if a Bergen home is valued at $450, it may go up no more than $100k because at $550k ~ 700k, there are options in NY such as Orange County or Long Island that becomes attractive. South Jersey was a attractive for short while but Trenton and AC are being abandoned as businesses flock to northern towns.
I agree with OrangeNJ. Lawrence and Hamilton are your best bets.
I don't mind East Windsor at all but all my friends who live there are Spanish speaking. I feel left out when I go down there.
Have you tried looking into Flemington/Pennington? It may not be close to the train station but the prices are not bad at all. There is less traffic over on that side of NJ as well.
How about East Brunswick and commute by bus? Townhomes are in your budget.
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