advice for 1st time homebuyer (Somerset, Franklin: insurance, condominiums, mortgage)

[lotus99]

Hello friends,

Im looking to buy a home in New Jersey.I would like your views on following-

1) which areas have a resale value?
I was searching mainly in the Hillsborough,Branchburg,Bridgewater area.ARe these areas good enough?any other suggestions in Central Jersey?

2)single family or townhome for a better resale value?

we would like homes in the range of 410,000 to 420,000.Ideally a single family with 4 BD,2.5 bath.but a combination of newer homes and good neighbourhoods seem to fall in the price range of 500,000.

Pls advice if buying a townhome in hillsborough for example for 420,000$ is advisable.
Your inputs are invaluable.Thanks

[Jerseyt719]

WAY too much for a townhouse.

Keep looking in your area and surrounding towns, you will find a home for that price. Those areas are fine. What is it you are looking for in a community??

[lotus99]

Really??i went to zillow.com to check the worth of homes in hillsborough and the townhomes are in 430,000 price range.homes are being bought by other buyers at this price range too...Is it a wrong move?any more suggestions?we are at the offer stage...shd we drop this offer?

we saw some homes in franklin twp...i didnt like the area...no street lights.homes in edison looked affordable but were not newer.

pls suggest some areas whr we can get a 4 BD newer home which has a resale value,good neighbourhood.we are just looking for areas which are homely,have homes adjacent and in front...affordable and which wud be resold quickly.thanks for the reply!any more inputs?

[SweepTheLeg]

The factors for good resale value are:

Decent taxes
Good Schools
Curb appeal or curb potential

Even if you don't have kids, schools are a big deal when it comes to resale.

If you are looking to flip a house quickly, DO NOT BUY. The market is garbage. You should only be buying if you're planning to stay in your property for 5-10 years.

[davenj08]

Bridgewater, Branchburg & Hillsborough are some of nicest towns in Somerset County; you will not find a 4BR house in a community with amenities around 420k unless you are ready to buy an old house (built before 1970's)

[JohnVeenstra]

Houses usually have better resale value than townhouses (condominiums). That was true in the last big market turndown and will probably always be true. The reason to buy a town home may be the amenities they often have and the less outside maintenance than a house. The towns you mention are very good towns.
Further evidence of the resale value of a house being better than a townhouse: I am in the residential mortgage business. The mortgages available for townhouses is pretty much the same as for a house when you are making a 20% or more down payment. If down payment is less than that, a buyer needs private mortgage insurance. The private mortgage insurance companies (basically 5 or 6 major companies) all have much stricter requirements for townhouses--larger down payments and higher credit scores. The reason for that: They all lost value faster than houses and the private mortgage insurers are losing tons of money in this down market.

[Jerseyt719]

Sorry, but there's no way in this market I would pay $420k for a townhouse in Hillsborough. I'm telling you, you can get a home for this and even less right now. And you are right to stay away from Franklin.

[NJ987654]

buy a single in a good school district.

[lotus99]

thanks for the replies.it was a tough decision since i loved the home.it had spacious bedrooms like 23 by 14 and few other attractive things.anyways after reading your comments,we thought over it and dropped the offer.thanks a lot.

[Arrowstar_2000]

Do yourself a big favor and relocate...NJ is the tax capital of the world.
What you can buy in NJ for $500,000 can be purchased in NC for $250,000 and the taxes are most likely five times higher in NJ.