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People want champagne on a beer budget. Tale as old as time, on this forum. Especially these days. We have a whole generation thinking that life and houses are like on HGTV and Bravo. Property Brothers, House Hunters, Fixer Upper, The Real Housewives of ______. They are owed turnkey mansions at low low prices for their first homes. They would get the vapors at the thought of a starter home, or doing renovations.
That point about "more solidly built" is debatable because the construction methods used in most older homes would not comply with modern building codes. For example the roof trusses on many homes built in "The Good Old Days" are now sagging, leading to the sway-backed appearance of their roofs.
I know a couple who own a NJ farmhouse that was built in the late 1700s. When one of the exterior walls began to buckle and sag a few years ago, they called-in a reputable contractor, and after looking at the portion of the foundation underlying the sagging wall, the contractor concluded that whoever had built that part of the foundation "must have been highly inebriated at the time" because it didn't even line-up with the wall that it was supposed to be supporting. Yes, the wall--somehow--seemed to last for a few hundred years, but the bottom line is that the house wasn't well-constructed in the first place.
So... charming and more stylish?
Yes
Well constructed?
Maybe yes, maybe no
Yes, I suppose each individual house would only be as good as its builder. But newer homes seem made of lighter, cheaper materials, and therefore sort of "cardboardish".
People want champagne on a beer budget. Tale as old as time, on this forum. Especially these days. We have a whole generation thinking that life and houses are like on HGTV and Bravo. Property Brothers, House Hunters, Fixer Upper, The Real Housewives of ______. They are owed turnkey mansions at low low prices for their first homes. They would get the vapors at the thought of a starter home, or doing renovations.
I don't think this is the issue. It's more that we see homes in the rest of the country that are brand new or at least maintained for 1/2 the price and 1/4 the property taxes in NJ. Renovations are costly and when both people have to work to survive in NJ where is the money and time to fix something up that already costs $300k+ and $7k+ property taxes for a starter home in a middle class town. Boomers are selling homes they bought for <$100k for 4-6x the price and never did a thing to keep the place up to date.
This is the classic issue with older people thinking younger people just want the biggest and best. We just want something that seems reasonably fair without killing ourselves to achieve it. Not to mention we have to pay student loans, exorbitant healthcare costs, save for retirement (SS was not meant to be a safety net but we have to save a lot more now), child care that costs a second mortgage since both parents work.
I don't understand this dislike of old houses. The really old ones - I love the stone foundations and the big fireplaces. I love the proportions of the rooms and the plaster walls. The sort-of old ones like mine (1957), I love seeing my daughter curl up on a cushion next to the radiator with a book. I love seeing the diagonal wood planks of the subfloor when I'm in the basement, complete with the finger- and handprints of whomever installed them, and how solid the floors are as a result. I like the character of the barely visible lines of the old 3 ft drywall panels in the ceiling. Old houses are awesome.
My comments aren't in regard to "old houses", just the garbage housing stock in NJ. My house is over 100 yrs old and its solid. In NJ, I could never have found this house, at least not in my price range.
Yeah, the commute from the Lehigh Valley is awesome.
If you use the William Penn Park and Ride off 33 in Easton,PA, it is 2 hours by bus to Franklin and Varick and about 2 hours home by bus from the same area of NYC to the Park and Ride. That does not include getting to and from the Park and Ride or getting to and from the stops in NYC. This does not include accidents, weather, construction, holiday traffic.
If you are lucky, the best time you are looking at is 2.5 hours each way with no issues.
For this pleasure you get to pay $30.25 each way.
When you count the cost and time, it is not worth it.
Did I say it was awesome? I said thousand of people do it. You have to do what you have to do sometimes. You also don't have to work in NYC. Lots of people live out here and commute to Parsippany, Morristown, Princeton, Trenton, etc.
Did I say it was awesome? I said thousand of people do it. You have to do what you have to do sometimes. You also don't have to work in NYC. Lots of people live out here and commute to Parsippany, Morristown, Princeton, Trenton, etc.
Do you have any estimates on how many commute from Lehigh valley to nyc daily? I would guess much less than 1000 but would love to know the actual number. It’s called extreme commuting for a reason.
Oh , so now it's for the average person? Stop the spin, how is it you can judge all the homes in the state of NJ?
I'll compare to average HH income because that's the metric that makes any sense, and that's the metric that banks will look at, they don't care about how beautiful you are, otherwise you'd be looking at $3,000 houses.
There is a reason NJ has the highest foreclosure rate of any state in the US:
Think about it: how can a wealthy state have such high foreclosure rate? Because people who should be buying a $205k house based on their salary have to stretch into the $450k house to get a livable house. So its not spin, its facts.
I'll compare to average HH income because that's the metric that makes any sense, and that's the metric that banks will look at, they don't care about how beautiful you are, otherwise you'd be looking at $3,000 houses.
There is a reason NJ has the highest foreclosure rate of any state in the US:
Think about it: how can a wealthy state have such high foreclosure rate? Because people who should be buying a $205k house based on their salary have to stretch into the $450k house to get a livable house. So its not spin, its facts.
I don’t think they have to stretch. They choose to. You can find average houses under $150k in average towns. Problem is, no one wants average towns, especially average schools. I understand that everyone wants the best for their kids, but if it’s not financially possible, then they need to get the best they can afford and supplement education as needed. Losing the house means losing the school system, so what was the point? . And also some people need to accept that they may not be the generation who makes it to a comfortable life. Maybe it’s their kids who will have that life. It stinks if that’s the case, but overspending isn’t going to change it.
Do you have any estimates on how many commute from Lehigh valley to nyc daily? I would guess much less than 1000 but would love to know the actual number. It’s called extreme commuting for a reason.
Nope, no estimates. Do your own research. I don't know and I don't care. I'm stating a fact that buses go back and forth everyday, and far more do it in their own cars.
I'm not even recommending it. People can do whatever they want. I'd never do it, but then again I'd never commute into NYC.
I don’t think they have to stretch. They choose to. You can find average houses under $150k in average towns. Problem is, no one wants average towns, especially average schools. I understand that everyone wants the best for their kids, but if it’s not financially possible, then they need to get the best they can afford and supplement education as needed. Losing the house means losing the school system, so what was the point? . And also some people need to accept that they may not be the generation who makes it to a comfortable life. Maybe it’s their kids who will have that life. It stinks if that’s the case, but overspending isn’t going to change it.
Under $150k in average towns MAYBE further out into Warren and Sussex Counties. Not in Essex or Morris. Dover? Maybe....maybe. Very dumpy parts of Union county? Perhaps. But its not going to be in good shape. Also, further out, you have to contend with old septics, usually buried oil tanks, well water. Or live in industrial areas of NJ.
It is possible to live in Cumberland or Salem county at $150k. But the salaries there are a lot less.
I looked in a very average town (Hopatcong) a while back. Septic, well water, and buried oil tanks on a 1/8 acre property all near each other, surrounded by other houses with the same. $175k and no thanks! I'll take my water without fecal matter and petroleum, thank you.
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