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We are looking for our forever home. We have lived in Essex county our entire lives and are not very familiar with Bergen county (which is closer to work) but after some research we narrowed it down to Oakland and Wyckoff. Both seem like great towns but it seems like Oakland has much higher taxes and the school system might be slightly worse or the same as Wyckoff. If that correct? Do you get anything for the additional tax dollars paid in Oakland.
We have two young kids and are looking for a town with a community feeling where we could easily make friends and with good schools. Availablity of reasonably priced after school activities is also important to us since we are both working parents. Seems like we can afford some of the houses on the higher end in Oakland and probably an average house in Wyckoff. Not sure which option is best.
In same boat as you. Two little ones. Both Oakland and Wyckoff funnel into the same High School. From my understanding Wyckoff probably has slightly better elementary & middle, but splitting hairs. To us Wyckoff has the edge. FWIW, we are also looking in Ridgewood, Franklin Lakes, Ramsey, Allendale etc. Each has some pros and cons.
I can tell you from a wealth and prestige perspective Wyckoff is considerably higher up on the food chain than Oakland. You will get more house for you money in Oakland.
Last edited by Goldendoodle1969; 01-25-2017 at 09:21 AM..
I can tell you from a wealth and prestige perspective Wyckoff is considerably higher up on the food chain than Oakland. You will get more house for you money in Oakland.
True. Although property tax per dollar is materially higher in Oakland.
I see where you can get a bigger house for your money in Oakland but I worry about the resale value on a house that pays over 20K taxes if we ever need to sell.
I see where you can get a bigger house for your money in Oakland but I worry about the resale value on a house that pays over 20K taxes if we ever need to sell.
Ultimately irrelevant. Taxes are factored into all house prices in North Jersey( a house in a town with low taxes costs more than the same house in a town with higher taxes, with all other things being equal.) If you are talking about percentage of appreciation, I think you will find that property taxes actually have less of an impact on that than you might think, since ultimately you are talking about a .75% or less difference in tax rate. Put simply when you are considering an emotional $500k-$1MM+ decision you really don't care about an extra $200/month in deductible property taxes. You complain about it later but it doesn't stop you from pulling the trigger, this is of course opinion but one that is backed up by 1000's of home sales in towns with much higher tax rates than Oakland.
I'm from Wyckoff and it is more expensive to live there then in Oakland. You can get a cheaper house in Oakland, but you have to make sure you aren't in a flood zone. Both areas are pretty white, pricey, but close access to NYC. When I was growing up, all the weirdos were from Oakland lol but honestly can't go wrong with either town.
I'm from Wyckoff and it is more expensive to live there then in Oakland. You can get a cheaper house in Oakland, but you have to make sure you aren't in a flood zone. Both areas are pretty white, pricey, but close access to NYC. When I was growing up, all the weirdos were from Oakland lol but honestly can't go wrong with either town.
Aside from the price of the house in Wyckoff, is it there anything else that makes it more expensive to live in Wyckoff? I have read similar comments about Oakland, which adds to the hesitation of moving to Oakland. But I don't know who I am kidding, I might actually fit in a little better in Oakland.
In same boat as you. Two little ones. Both Oakland and Wyckoff funnel into the same High School. From my understanding Wyckoff probably has slightly better elementary & middle, but splitting hairs. To us Wyckoff has the edge. FWIW, we are also looking in Ridgewood, Franklin Lakes, Ramsey, Allendale etc. Each has some pros and cons.
We started our search in Franklin Lakes but the prices seemed too high compared to what you get. It also didn't help that all the houses we saw were on a cul de sac right off of main street which I hate because I feel like you can't even go for a walk in an area like that, need to drive to just take a walk. We love Ridgewood but at the end of the day, we rather have the bigger yard and drive to the downtown area when needed.
I am also keeping my options open with Ramsey and Allendale. I should look a little closer into these towns.
Aside from the price of the house in Wyckoff, is it there anything else that makes it more expensive to live in Wyckoff? I have read similar comments about Oakland, which adds to the hesitation of moving to Oakland. But I don't know who I am kidding, I might actually fit in a little better in Oakland.
Lived in Wyckoff from 2012 to 2015 and no, I really can't think of anything that makes Wyckoff more expensive than Oakland aside from home prices. There's a Stop and Shop in Franklin Lakes that most folks on that side of Oakland go to and there's also a Shop Rite on the other side of Oakland. Wyckoff also has a Stop and Shop and I believe they're breaking ground on a new Shop Rite in Boulder Run where A&P used to be (long long time ago).
As for taxes, we were paying $11,200/yr on a 0.75 acre, 2100 sqft home which we sold in 2015 for $700k+. We have a relative that lives in Oakland and they paid $400k in 2013 (2200sq ft, 0.5acre) and they pay close to $11k in taxes. They're getting ready to list this spring for ~$425k and they'd be lucky to get that... For us, Oakland was just too far away from many things so we never considered it. My wife and I grew up in the area so we still have that perception of Oakland that poster wunderluzt alluded to above.
Not that you should ever look at a house as an investment but you'll sleep better at night knowing that you'll more than likely get your money back and then some in Wyckoff if you ever needed to sell it for some unforeseen reason. Our location in Wyckoff (close to Allendale) was central to everything, 6 minutes to route 17 via Allendale, 4-5 minutes to Rt208, close enough to Ridgewood for a night out etc.. May be biased but I really have nothing negative to say about Wyckoff.
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