Cherry Hill? (Camden, Chester: sales, homeowners insurance, how much)

[Pixel97]

My husband and I are about to relocate to the Philly area and found a place we liked in Cherry Hill. The taxes though...O.M.G.! I've also heard that due to the taxes people are leaving the state in droves. I don't want to buy something in a place where it's outrageous to live and where people won't want to buy if we end up having to move again.

So my question is...is Cherry Hill a good place to live? Why do people stay and pay these taxes? Is there something compensating for the outrageous property tax? something I can't see? Like you don't pay income tax, or you don't pay any other kind of tax...or....

[wileynj]

Originally Posted by Pixel97

My husband and I are about to relocate to the Philly area and found a place we liked in Cherry Hill. The taxes though...O.M.G.! I've also heard that due to the taxes people are leaving the state in droves. I don't want to buy something in a place where it's outrageous to live and where people won't want to buy if we end up having to move again.

So my question is...is Cherry Hill a good place to live? Why do people stay and pay these taxes? Is there something compensating for the outrageous property tax? something I can't see? Like you don't pay income tax, or you don't pay any other kind of tax...or....

Welcome to NJ : ) Did you look in PA at all? Much cheaper. People who are leaving NJ are mostly older, fixed income or people who can't make over 50K yr. It's expensive here... but the opts. to make good money are here as well.

[shannybannany]

Hi,
I live in Cherry Hill and I love it. Taxes are high everywhere in this state. Cherry Hill, located in Camden County is high but there are some great plusses to this area.

The schools here are top-notch. The town is basically divided into the East Side and The West Side. The East Side is considered more affluent but at the end of the day, all the school perform EXTREMELY well.

I just got my tax bill. My yearly tax is $5,400. Out of that amount $3200 goes to schools. For me, even though I don't have children in the public school system, I don't mind. People will always want great schools so if you are concerned with re-sale value, the towns with the better schools are always gonna be a better bet.

The proximity to Philly is soooo easy by public transportation. Services and stores are a-plenty HOWEVER...we have a lot of traffic. Personally, I avoid Rt. 70 if at all possible because it is ALWAYS jammed.

Well, that is all I can think of for now. Time to eat dinner.

GL with your decision.

Cheers,
Shanny

[tahiti]

not sure where you're moving from, so i'm not sure what taxes you have there, but basically to "compensate" (relatively speaking) for the high prop taxes, you DON'T have to pay:

tax on clothing
tax on food from a grocery store
gas prices are some of the lowest in the nation
state income tax are on the lower side for states that DO have an income tax
personal property tax on vehicles

also, depending on where you are, our homeowners insurance may be lower, water and sewer may be lower (if you have city water). car insurance *can* be high, but this will depend on where you live, your age and your driving record (my car insurance is a non-issue).

however, keep in mind that, unless you're coming from pricey areas in CA, overall it is going to be more expensive to live here.

[Pixel97]

hmm, well 5400 doesn't seem that bad depending, I suppose, on how much your house is/was. The place we are looking at is approx. 450k. What would the tax be on that? (that's before down payment and all that).

I had heard the schools were fantastic, and to be honest that's part of why I wanted to look there. We don't have kids right at this second, but we plan to, and so will however would buy our house most likely. The place we are looking I think is called Garden State or something like that, it's behind that shiny nice new looking strip mall with a cheesecake factory in it. LOVE THAT lol. It reminds me of texas lol. I know a lot of peope think strip malls mean no character but for me, that's comforting lol. All the comforts of home lol.

It's interesting because I had heard the schools in philly are horrible and that if we could afford it we would use private schools. So I suppose the tax bill would offset the private school fee?

My husband will be working in center city so he'll definitely be commuting. I don't have a job yet but will try to get one. Wish I knew where I will be working it would probably make it easier to decide where to go.

To all who answer, do you live in cherry hill and if you do where do you work? How is the commute?

[Spincycle]

Originally Posted by Pixel97

My husband and I are about to relocate to the Philly area and found a place we liked in Cherry Hill.

Why not on the PA side (i.e. West Chester, Malvern, Doylestown, etc)? Curious?

Originally Posted by Pixel97

The taxes though...O.M.G.! I've also heard that due to the taxes people are leaving the state in droves. I don't want to buy something in a place where it's outrageous to live and where people won't want to buy if we end up having to move again..

Bingo. You are now thinking!

Originally Posted by Pixel97

Why do people stay and pay these taxes? Is there something compensating for the outrageous property tax? something I can't see? Like you don't pay income tax, or you don't pay any other kind of tax...or....

The high taxes pay a good part for the outrageous pension funds for the cops, teachers, public employees here in NJ. It is the "issue of Entitlements" which seemingly nobody wants to address.

You'll do much better in metro, surburban Philly.

[MoorestownResident]

Originally Posted by Pixel97

My husband and I are about to relocate to the Philly area and found a place we liked in Cherry Hill. The taxes though...O.M.G.! I've also heard that due to the taxes people are leaving the state in droves. I don't want to buy something in a place where it's outrageous to live and where people won't want to buy if we end up having to move again.

So my question is...is Cherry Hill a good place to live? Why do people stay and pay these taxes? Is there something compensating for the outrageous property tax? something I can't see? Like you don't pay income tax, or you don't pay any other kind of tax...or....

Cherry Hill is a desirable area to live with great schools and very high taxes. You'll have great access to major roads, Philly, the shore, central and northern NJ. While I prefer Moorestown, I grew up around CH and have a lot of respect for it. Nobody regrets moving to CH though they might regret leaving this region.

[shannybannany]

Originally Posted by Pixel97

hmm, well 5400 doesn't seem that bad depending, I suppose, on how much your house is/was. The place we are looking at is approx. 450k. What would the tax be on that? (that's before down payment and all that).

I had heard the schools were fantastic, and to be honest that's part of why I wanted to look there. We don't have kids right at this second, but we plan to, and so will however would buy our house most likely. The place we are looking I think is called Garden State or something like that, it's behind that shiny nice new looking strip mall with a cheesecake factory in it. LOVE THAT lol. It reminds me of texas lol. I know a lot of peope think strip malls mean no character but for me, that's comforting lol. All the comforts of home lol.

It's interesting because I had heard the schools in philly are horrible and that if we could afford it we would use private schools. So I suppose the tax bill would offset the private school fee?

My husband will be working in center city so he'll definitely be commuting. I don't have a job yet but will try to get one. Wish I knew where I will be working it would probably make it easier to decide where to go.

To all who answer, do you live in cherry hill and if you do where do you work? How is the commute?

I know the area that you are looking at. Those are townhomes if I am not mistaken. It's right near Wegman's/Home Depot shopping center off Rt.70. I live in a smaller home but for a house like that, you are looking at 10-12k in taxes EASY!

I work in Cherry Hill so my commute is 5 minutes.

GL!
Shanny

[Pixel97]

yep, 10-12k, that's what the sales guy said. Yes they are townhomes, but very cute! and it'll have a pool and club house and playground, etc. very nice. and Wegmans! lol.

10-12k taxes. holy cow....

[shannybannany]

Originally Posted by Pixel97

yep, 10-12k, that's what the sales guy said. Yes they are townhomes, but very cute! and it'll have a pool and club house and playground, etc. very nice. and Wegmans! lol.

10-12k taxes. holy cow....

Yep! I am afraid so. From what I understand, those townhomes are top of the line. However, at the end of the day, you're sharing walls. You can do much better with a single family home.

My house is 3br/2ba, 1500 sq ' not far from the area you are looking at. My house was built in 1980. Although structerally VERY solid, cosmetically it was/well still is (we just bought in April of this year) a mess. We bought it for $170,000. It was on the market for over a year and it was an estate sale. I know I am not the norm but still....there are some tasty pickins' out there.

GL!
Shanny