What NJ town do you feel is "Overpriced" (Teaneck: cheap house, neighborhood)

[wileynj]

Originally Posted by kalim2008

How is it over-rated?

Mountain Lakes is exceptional I think, not only because it has good schools, a good location, beautiful surroundings (with narrow winding hilly roads, several lakes, and majestic homes), but because the borough has a very strong connection to its past. I believe about half of the homes are hapgoods dating back to when the place was first settled in the early 1900s, and there are stringent regulations to keep it that way.

And is all of that worth paying 30K yr for property taxes?????? I haven't heard of too many genius' coming out of Mt. Lakes HS? It's a ncie town..nice homes but not worth what they expect you to pay in order to live there...JMO

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by wileynj

And is all of that worth paying 30K yr for property taxes?????? I haven't heard of too many genius' coming out of Mt. Lakes HS? It's a ncie town..nice homes but not worth what they expect you to pay in order to live there...JMO

On this, Wiley, you do not know of what you speak. $30k in taxes means that it's a large house on the lake or one valued at around 1.8 million. There are plenty of people who pay $10k taxes (which may still be insane but, eh, it's NJ). Frankly if you can't see the benefit of such a beautiful area with a close knit community offering top notch education then there is little point in writing this.

[Ira500]

Princeton's got to rank right up there for among the most overpriced. Oh, it's a nice town, but an 800 square foot fixer on a tiny lot costs 400,000 dollars.

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by kalim2008

How is it over-rated?

Mountain Lakes is exceptional I think, not only because it has good schools, a good location, beautiful surroundings (with narrow winding hilly roads, several lakes, and majestic homes), but because the borough has a very strong connection to its past. I believe about half of the homes are hapgoods dating back to when the place was first settled in the early 1900s, and there are stringent regulations to keep it that way.

You are correct. The other thing that the borough managers did starting back in 1930 (which I think shows remarkable foresight) was to start to buy up land / lots in the town to prevent the area getting over built, a practice that continues today. I think the borough owns 30% of the unbuilt lots in town.

[wileynj]

Originally Posted by UKOK

On this, Wiley, you do not know of what you speak. $30k in taxes means that it's a large house on the lake or one valued at around 1.8 million. There are plenty of people who pay $10k taxes (which may still be insane but, eh, it's NJ). Frankly if you can't see the benefit of such a beautiful area with a close knit community offering top notch education then there is little point in writing this.

Actually, it's a 3.4 million dollar home on the lake w/ 32K taxes... I guess that makes it a bargain then . The question posted by the OP is "which town do you (me) feel is overpriced".... Mountain Lakes - that's my answer! You're entitled to your opinion.... so am I

[brookdaleresident]

I also go with Montclair. Friends of mine paid 3.6M for their house and taxes are $74K. Outrageous.

[wileynj]

Originally Posted by brookdaleresident

I also go with Montclair. Friends of mine paid 3.6M for their house and taxes are $74K. Outrageous.

Ouch! Maybe Mountain Lakes isn't so bad then

[tallguylehigh]

Originally Posted by wileynj

Actually, it's a 3.4 million dollar home on the lake w/ 32K taxes... I guess that makes it a bargain then . The question posted by the OP is "which town do you (me) feel is overpriced".... Mountain Lakes - that's my answer! You're entitled to your opinion.... so am I

Compared to sale price, I didn't think Mtn Lks was too bad actually.

$36k is ~ 1% of the sale price of the house.

In my old house in Jefferson, the home price was about $320,000. Using the relationship in Mtn Lks, my taxes should be $3,200. In reality though, they were 6,000, or 1.875% of the estimated price.

In a thread like this, whoever responds to the OP question is bound to ruffle some feathers though.

I totally agree, its your opinion!

[OIT2GOD]

NEW JERSEY IS TOO HIGH!!!
I would say live in NJ, buy your home, save your money and then sell your home for about $400,000 or more, move toward the south (Outside of Raleigh, NC). Buy you a home for about $185,000-$210,000 put some of your money in the bank and invest the rest, Get you a great job in the Raleigh-Durham Metro area. Now you can live great. That's something to think about. I live in a small city (50,000) and the homes are $130,00 to $200,000. We're 25 minutes from Raleigh.

[dmccauley]

Rumson, Monmouth County always has been overpriced and still is overpriced.