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Thanks for your reply, while commute times are reasonable, schools does not appear to be well regarded in any of the towns you suggested. Will take a second look now.
Why do you want to start out by renting? Are you trying to save more money for a down payment? If not, then you're basically just throwing away money towards rent that could be applied to your mortgage.
yes working on accumulating a bit more than 20% down payment.
If you're cool with that commute time and if that is your budget, I would look towards Middlesex County if you want an Indian population and good schools. Maybe East Brunswick
Will look into towns in Middlesex Country, when I checked about East Brunswick, it appeared that commute will not be under 70 minutes, will look into once again.
Fair Lawn (near Radburn station) or River Edge would be good bets given pricing constraints, commute and rent/buy budget. Wildcard is Leonia, but only if you're ok upping your monthly commuting budget by $100-200 and taking the Port Imperial Ferry, in which case you could potentially cut the downtown commute significantly and spend more time with your child.
We had been to Fair Lawn this week, appears appealing. Didnt know about River Edge, will try to find more information. And Leonia is an interesting suggestion, will check it out.
These places aren't going to be cheaper than Rutherford.
My main intention is not to find a place cheaper, its about providing continuity to my 5 yr old's education. Since anyways I decided to move out of my current residence, I was hoping to find a place which is better for the longer term.
Buy in Rutherford if you like it there. 20% down payment is nice but if you can get away with a lower down payment, it's probably to your benefit. You just need to run the numbers and figure out if paying rent for a couple of years is cheaper or more expensive than paying PMI and a possibly higher interest rate.
Buy in Rutherford if you like it there. 20% down payment is nice but if you can get away with a lower down payment, it's probably to your benefit. You just need to run the numbers and figure out if paying rent for a couple of years is cheaper or more expensive than paying PMI and a possibly higher interest rate.
While I like Rutherford due to commute, decent downtown and my familiarity to the place, I haven't heard anything good about either elementary or middle schools.
While I like Rutherford due to commute, decent downtown and my familiarity to the place, I haven't heard anything good about either elementary or middle schools.
I thought about buying there a few years back. People have memories of Rutherford having good schools, and I recall there was a blue ribbon school in the district at some point, but none of the schools have been outstanding in recent memory. I’d take fair lawn, river edge or Leonia before Rutherford.
Westfield, Cranford are on the edge of your commute time but the schools are good and there should be a few homes that are within range. You basically need to find a place without a full time fire department and other city services.
The tricky bit is actually finding a rental property these days, pretty tight market.
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