South Orange vs. West Orange (Newark, Montclair: low income, real estate, rentals)

[nykstevenyg]

The valley area is not nice, I would say it is a bad area. Otherwise, the town is very nice. Imo many people got into West Orange because of the sub-prime mortgage bubble. Now that it is over it is not as easy to get a mortgage. Foreclosures are everywhere they are not any more here than in any other town. All in all, stay away from the down the hill and you will be very happy in West Orange, except for the taxes but that is anywhere for a good town in this area.

[elflord1973]

Originally Posted by nykstevenyg

The valley area is not nice, I would say it is a bad area. Otherwise, the town is very nice. Imo many people got into West Orange because of the sub-prime mortgage bubble. Now that it is over it is not as easy to get a mortgage. Foreclosures are everywhere they are not any more here than in any other town. All in all, stay away from the down the hill and you will be very happy in West Orange, except for the taxes but that is anywhere for a good town in this area.

By the "Valley Area", do you mean Hazel ? Surely you don't mean Pleasantdale ?

[mumra]

Valley = area around or near Valley st., yes Hazel area would be considered the "valley"

But it is also not that great around Washington.

[nykstevenyg]

I consider washington the valley as well. Stay away from the valley (down the hill) and you will be very happy.

[elflord1973]

Originally Posted by nykstevenyg

I consider washington the valley as well. Stay away from the valley (down the hill) and you will be very happy.

Thanks for the heads up. I am currently looking in Gregory and St Cloud ...

[mumra]

between the two I prefer St. Cloud, seems more stable. at least your not looking near the montclair border where the old radium dump was. i remember house that were corded off and vacant for years lol

[Amazonas]

Originally Posted by nykstevenyg

I consider washington the valley as well. Stay away from the valley (down the hill) and you will be very happy.

Can you suggest the good areas by posting the zip codes? Or do the bad and good areas share the same zip code?

[elflord1973]

Originally Posted by Amazonas

Can you suggest the good areas by posting the zip codes? Or do the bad and good areas share the same zip code?

West Orange, "good" areas: 07052
West Orange, "bad" areas: 07052

The lower cost areas are Hazel and Washington. The other areas are Pleasantdale, Mount Pleasant, Redwood, Gregory and St Cloud (named after their elementary schools). Redwood and Mt Pleasant have some very upscale gated communities which tend to skew average prices in those neighborhoods.

The authoritative guide to the boundaries is the school district reference:

Transportation-Home

I sketched out a rough map of the different neighborhoods once upon a time. But generally the information is also implicitly included in GSMLS listings (e.g. the listings indicate which elementary school zone the house is located in)

Also, this realtor's blog is an excellent source on the market in WO

http://bevandbob.featuredblog.com/

[FreshFresh]

Originally Posted by mrstress324

We bought in West orange 5 years ago. I would recommend it to someone looking to raise a family. there are a lot of kids playing outside on my block, the neighbors are great. It is very quiet, we do not have fences up on our block so kids walk through our yard all the time. i think we need a better downtown , but with the 250 million being invested it should not be long. Taxes are a little high, but if you are spending 500k on a house what is a $1000 more or less going to do for you??

I dont think West Orange has a downtown. They building some big condo on Main Street I think.

[ansky]

Originally Posted by FreshFresh

I dont think West Orange has a downtown. They building some big condo on Main Street I think.

Main St. is considered the downtown area. The condo project has been put on hold.