Commuting to Midtown and do not have a big budget (Newark: short sale, HOA)

[BrooklyntoNJ]

Facts

No kids (ever)

Married

1 car

I commute to midtown 3x a week. 1 hour to 1.5 is okay for commute. Our budget is the problem.

Looking for commute+safe area single family.

350-400k budget


I'd like to put 20% down so 400k pushes that down to 15%


Checked out a lot of areas, but coming from south Brooklyn, NJ is still very mysterious to me. An example is my affinity for homes in New Brunswick which I have since been told is not a great area whereas South Brunswick is but those homes are 500k+ I keep seeing lovely homes to find out the areas are not great.

Open to agents, commuting advice, and the inevitable sass for my ignorance and limited budget.

[Leps12]

Try Clifton, Kenilworth, Parsippany-Troy Hills, South Plainfield, Bergenfield, and Dunellen. If it’s just two people and no children, you don’t need a big house. So these towns can have some small houses in your price range.

[foodyum]

Bloomfield, Teaneck, Hackensack

[Mightyqueen801]

Hawthorne

Also try Waldwick and Midland Park. Low end for those towns but they are not as expensive as the towns that surround them and sometime properties in that price range pop up.

Waldwick and Hawthorne have train stations. Midland Park has express buses to the PABT, but the bus also stops at the Ridgewood train station.

Some people do not like Hawthorne because it borders Paterson, which also keeps prices down, but it's a good town overall.

[DannyHobkins]

Originally Posted by BrooklyntoNJ

Facts

No kids (ever)

Married

1 car

I commute to midtown 3x a week. 1 hour to 1.5 is okay for commute. Our budget is the problem.

Looking for commute+safe area single family.

350-400k budget


I'd like to put 20% down so 400k pushes that down to 15%


Checked out a lot of areas, but coming from south Brooklyn, NJ is still very mysterious to me. An example is my affinity for homes in New Brunswick which I have since been told is not a great area whereas South Brunswick is but those homes are 500k+ I keep seeing lovely homes to find out the areas are not great.

Open to agents, commuting advice, and the inevitable sass for my ignorance and limited budget.

I can understand it being frustrating. 350-400k can get you a starter home in most towns. NJ is just extremely diverse in what every town offers. Also agree with whoever said New Brunswick isn't a great place, because its not. Personally think every town that touches the "Northeast Corridor" Train line isn't a great place to live, also all of central jersey has a weird vibe to it but that's just me.

[46H]

Bogota, Ridgefield Park, Dumont, New Milford, Elmwood Park are a few more to look at.

[captne76]

I would suggest areas such as "Rahwingtonville" what I call Rahway. Up and coming downtown and direct train station to NYC.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by TeeYooNJ

detached homes under 400k within 50-60 miles are scarce unless you purchase a townhouse or buy a home via short sale. I live approximately 45-50 miles from Manhattan, in a little borough called Jamesburg. Although there is a park n ride in South Brunswick off of exit 8A NJ Turnpike, I absolutely do not like commuter buses. I have the option of driving to South Amboy or Jersey Avenue train station equally 14 miles. It takes me 2 hours one way to get to work. Time is much shorter on an express bus. I purchased my townhome for 250,000. HOA is $200.00. Now, the townhouses have increased in value where I live. Jamesburg is not bad.

You might be able to find a home under 400k in a borough instead of a township. Township homes tend to be more expensive because of the schools.

Áreas you might find homes and townhomes include East Brunswick, Edison, Matawan, South Amboy. Woodbridge. With the exception of Edison, the others are Jersey Coast NJ transit train lines.

I was also thinking of suggesting South Amboy. I never thought much of it because I've only seen what I can see from a train window when we stop at the station. But a woman I worked with lived there, and I saw pictures of her cute house. She and her husband both worked in the city. They did not have children.

SA is also below the Driscoll Bridge, being on the south side of the Raritan, which might be an advantage if you think you are going to enjoy going to the beaches and places like Red Bank for dinner and shops and festivals and things.

Might want to peruse that one, OP. North Jersey Coast Line train to Penn NY. Frequent service. Can also get off at Penn Newark and switch to the PATH if you ever need to go downtown.

[veuvegirl]

Roselle Park. On a train line (you have to switch in Newark), however very easy.

[BrooklyntoNJ]

Originally Posted by Leps12

Try Clifton, Kenilworth, Parsippany-Troy Hills, South Plainfield, Bergenfield, and Dunellen. If it’s just two people and no children, you don’t need a big house. So these towns can have some small houses in your price range.

Dunellen look AMAZING - the commute looks alright by train, anyone have experience with the commute?