Nicest North NJ town? Saddle River, Alpine, etc. (Englewood, Paramus: house, buyers)

[anoninnyc]

Looking for a home under 2 million. Want a lower tax town, as I would probably send kids to private school for high school, but want a good public elementary education and an upscale atmosphere. Ridgewood for instance is not on the top of my list then due to high taxes, would feel obliged to send kids to ridgewood high. What about Saddle River, Alpine, Franklin Lakes, any other recs? Want close to NYC. heard about essex fells and the caldwells, are these nice places? Any info?

[BobKovacs]

Depends on what you consider "high taxes"- regardless of where you are, a $2 million home is likely to have $20k+ in taxes.........

Bob

[emanon]

Actually what you are looking for does not exist in NJ. Try, Montana, Wyoming, Mississippi.

E

[stmaarten]

Wyckoff might me the right fit for you. It's worth looking into... good luck to you!

[njchick]

Old Tappan is nice, but taxes aren't low. Alpine is supposed to have low taxes relative to the size of house you get.

[anoninnyc]

Paramus for instance has way lower taxes than Ridgewood. But Paramus is too congested and not my taste. I know taxes are gonna be high, but they do vary from town to town. Is there a website that I can find the taxes for homes in say Bergen County? I googled and couldn't find anything. And I said 2 million tops, would prefer to keep the price down to half that if possible, but want at least 4 bedrooms, 3.5 baths minimum, very large lot, nice town, etc. and realize that anywhere close to nyc is expensive. Anyone know about Englewood? Seems like it is either very nasty or very nice. Not sure if that appeals to me.

[anoninnyc]

I know Wyckoff and I like the town. Thanks.

[ira]

You could contact each town's tax assessor's office and ask what their tax rate is. From there, you'll be able to figure out what your approximate taxes will be.

We just bought a house in Ridgewood and worked with an amazing realtor. She is an expert on Bergen County. I am sure she will be happy to tell you which towns have lower taxes.

Send me a PM if you want her info.

[anoninnyc]

Thanks so much. Will keep the realtor's info on hand. Will do my own research for now, since the market is kind of unstable right now don't want to hassle a realtor if not ready to buy. I am not in a rush so may wait a year or so to see if prices fall. I definitely want to buy a home in NJ, but think that I may get a better deal if I wait a bit. From my research so far I am thinking Saddle River as top choice but will consider Wyckoff, Ho-ho-kus, and all nice towns in the general vicinity. Will be heavily researching as it is such a big decision, so will be keeping an eye on the market. May give the realtor a call when I am a bit more serious and be honest about my timeline/intentions though and ask about what towns are lower (comparatively) taxes and I should focus my attention on. Want to spend time in each town, and since I am in NYC I can go out for dinner, drive around the area, etc. on the weekends while I visit friends in the area. Liking the town is just as important as liking the house, if not more so. It took me a full year of looking before I bought in Manhattan. I take my time and evaluate things, perhaps a bit too much. Just my personality though, hate buyers remorse.

[Wah]

If I had all the money in the world, I'd live in Franklin Lakes.