Bergen County Retirees seeking Lower Tax Rate Move to Southern NJ (Fair Lawn: real estate, lease) - New Jersey - City-Data Forum

AnniHanni · 08-18-2022, 02:28 PM

Hi All,

My husband and I currently live in Fair Lawn NJ (Bergen County)...in a humble home that would probably sell for 350K to 425K when the market calms down as it seems to be doing. Not sure in this current selling environment. That is a conservative to fair estimate I think, but I can''t be sure of anything.. Our property taxes are 10K a year today and we are 4 1/2 years from being able to sell and retire. We do truly love this town, but our retirement income will be moderate and have to last us for god knows how long, so the taxes will just eat too much of it and we also do not want a colonial two floor home with the washing machine and freezer in the basement. My knees are starting to ache from all these stairs. I am trying to do my research early and have a plan in place for when our time comes.

I want to stay in NJ as I have two children who own homes and are employed here, but in a lower tax area that is fairly safe and a little closer to the jersey shore. Not really really close, but an hour-ish away would be okay. We spent a lot of our summers at the Jersey shore and it would be lovely to take a few day trips here & there.

It would be nice if we could pocket 100K after selling, and pay cash for the new home. So I think our purchase price would be 250K to 300K for a 2 bed 2 bath minimum. Depending on the tax rate, I would go to a 3 bed as well, but it would just be a storage room or a divorce room for my children. Extra BR#2 would be a guest room or/escape from my husband in case he turns out to be an annoying retiree

Since we will be retirees we are not too concerned about the school system.

I guess what I worry about is:

I do not want an HOA-I want a home I own where I am not dictated too other than reasonable town ordinaces
Ability to food shop nearby
Access to medical facilities within reason
Smaller lot with less landscaping / property maintenance

I have researched so many towns in ocean county, but many are low rent or too close to the ocean that I am concerned about another hurricane Sandy.

I welcome any feedback or advice you have for me. We are not politically opinionated or easily offended so that doesn't matter-but we would like a diverse community and not one over-run by only one culture.

If you think of any point I should also consider when researching, kindly let me know. I am in the early stages here.

Thank you sooo much in advance kind City-data friends!.

A

bluewin888 · 08-18-2022, 03:34 PM

Northeastern NJ is very diverse, which is rare even in national level.

One big reason for many people to stay.

Mightyqueen801 · 08-18-2022, 04:04 PM

That's a tough budget. I live in a 2 BR condo of 940 s.f. in a Monmouth County townhouse complex, and units like mine are going for $250 - $300K.

Maybe farther down south in NJ?

I did a quick look at Jackson, which has always been cheaper, but they seem to start at $400K. You might have some luck with Brick. $250K anywhere sounds like a fixer-upper though.

Maybe someone with knowledge of towns farther south can chime in.

Leps12 · 08-18-2022, 04:24 PM

Maybe you want to expand your search into neighboring Burlington County. Check out Mount Holly and Florence.

AnniHanni · 08-18-2022, 04:26 PM

Thank you so much for your response! I have concerns about Brick and Tom's River because of the dumps and the contamination issues in the past. I haven't really found research in collective that confirms it is truly resolved.

AnniHanni · 08-18-2022, 04:34 PM

So I am an avid Reddit User. There you can save any comment or post to your history to refer back to later and you can respond directly to a specific post in a thread.

I am so grateful for the responses here, but do not want to fluff up the meat of the post.

Is there anyway to do that here?

AnniHanni · 08-18-2022, 04:36 PM

Thanks!

But remember, it is in 4 years ahead-so maybe it will be more realistic than the last two years? I hope (praying).

Mightyqueen801 · 08-18-2022, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AnniHanni

Thanks!

But remember, it is in 4 years ahead-so maybe it will be more realistic than the last two years? I hope (praying).

Yes, you never know. I bought that condo in 2010 for $180K. In subsequent years, similar units went for $160K. In 2020, I refinanced and was appraised at $170K. Now I could get at least $250K. Doesn't matter, because it is a place to live! Prices change.

But I am 6 miles inland, and after Sandy, I was glad of that. You have time to narrow down locations and then watch prices.

Meanwhile, Fair Lawn is a good place to live.

I would love to have a burger and a beer at the Dutch House again.

camaro69 · 08-19-2022, 07:19 PM

Maybe a choice for some.

Yes, it's land lease, so you don't pay real estate taxes, plus because it is land lease the cost of the home is lower.

https://thecottagesnj.com/

HudsonCoNJ · 08-19-2022, 07:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camaro69

Maybe a choice for some.

Yes, it's land lease, so you don't pay real estate taxes, plus because it is land lease the cost of the home is lower.

https://thecottagesnj.com/

This looks nice for retirement. I’ve never heard of land lease for anything other than a mobile home. How much for the house? How much for the land lease? How much for the maintenance? I couldn’t find any pricing info on any of it.