Buying a house in a Trailer park at Bogart Ranch in Mahwah NJ. Good idea? (Ringwood: apartment complex, for rent)

[Dingo99]

$35,000 buys this place. I am just one guy and I am 24. I am sick of paying close to $1500 a month for a one bedroom apt between rent and utilities.

I wouldnt call it nice, but its not that bad either. I want to buy a house but its way too expensive in this area for me. I make about $55,000 a year so I am not poor. But i cant afford a house. I have about $20,000 cash in my bank. This would be a 10 minute commute to work also which would be great.

I dont want to live next to a crackhead or something though. Anyone have experience with this?

[exit82]

well, not exactly my cup of tea, but your thinking seems to be clear, I mean you're certainly not going to lose/or gain much-and you're young and employed so that's a plus so If the mortgage, +lot rent+taxes are less than what you are paying for rent- I don't see a down side. It certainly looks decent- I would just pretend I was in the Poconos! Good luck to you.

[Lusitan]

You're young, and house prices are falling and expected to fall for years to come. Do you really want to be tied down with this property?

I think buying this would not be a wise move, and I also think you can surely find less expensive rent.

[Eric S]

At your age, don't tie yourself to any one piece of property. If you were able to save $20K, then you are doing just fine. Keep yourself insulated from the market and any property ownership liability until you can afford a better investment. Keep putting your money aside until you are in your early 30s or getting married and planning a family. A home is a great deal of responsibility, costly, too. You don't need that now. Rent, keep saving and keep your credit in good standing. Make your move when you are truly settled for 10 years or so. If you tie yourself to a piece of property now, it may be exceedingly difficult to free yourself from it when you really need your financial flexibility.

-Eric

[joe moving]

Bogarts Ranch is not bad. It is not trashy. It is not your stereotypical trailer park. If you did it, you could pay that thing off in a few years and then only have 600 a month payments for essentially what is a 2 bedroom (assuming) apartment, however you want to look at it.

they interview everyone who lives there before allowing them (not sure how that works). it's a $600 a month maintenance fee. your neighbors are lots of $750,000+ houses. Great location.

HOWEVER,you are not too far from putting 20% down on a 200k house.

big difference in price though. that 600 maintenance fee includes taxes, which would be taxes on a house.

[Dingo99]

Originally Posted by joe moving

Bogarts Ranch is not bad. It is not trashy. It is not your stereotypical trailer park. If you did it, you could pay that thing off in a few years and then only have 600 a month payments for essentially what is a 2 bedroom (assuming) apartment, however you want to look at it.

they interview everyone who lives there before allowing them (not sure how that works). it's a $600 a month maintenance fee. your neighbors are lots of $750,000+ houses. Great location.

HOWEVER,you are not too far from putting 20% down on a 200k house.

big difference in price though. that 600 maintenance fee includes taxes, which would be taxes on a house.

where can I find a 200k house in this area though? its going to be probably 300k for even a fixer upper. prices are coming down, but they are still way out of reach for me.

[joe moving]

yeah you have to go a bit further out. Condo in Mahwah or Ringwood or something like that. wheredo you work?

did you drive into bogarts ranch and check it out.

what are the people like? a relative of a friend lives there, and the time i went in it was seemingly pretty normal. not like salem's lot in 8 mile.

we drive past it like 3x a week going up to Ramapo.

[Dingo99]

Originally Posted by joe moving

yeah you have to go a bit further out. Condo in Mahwah or Ringwood or something like that. wheredo you work?

did you drive into bogarts ranch and check it out.

what are the people like? a relative of a friend lives there, and the time i went in it was seemingly pretty normal. not like salem's lot in 8 mile.

we drive past it like 3x a week going up to Ramapo.

I work right on Macarthur Blvd in Mahwah. It would literally be a 5 minute commute to work.

I did drive through and the grounds do look good. the units look well maintained and has some beautiful landscaping. Didn't talk to any of the residents though.

[joe moving]

i think its an interesting and viable option. Even if you sell it for a dollar in 3 years, it's going to end up being cheaper or the same as renting probably?

i think we all have a real bad picture of "trailer parks" but not sure why it is necessarily any different than a condo or apartment complex.

[Dingo99]

Originally Posted by joe moving

i think its an interesting and viable option. Even if you sell it for a dollar in 3 years, it's going to end up being cheaper or the same as renting probably?

i think we all have a real bad picture of "trailer parks" but not sure why it is necessarily any different than a condo or apartment complex.

Yea that is the thing. For example if i bring a girl over to my place i dont want her to be thinking that because i live in a trailer park that i am some kind of loser. haha