Buying in Wayne -- Good idea? (Paterson, Clifton: insurance, buying a home, best schools)

[Pink Dinosaur]

I'm looking to buy a house in Wayne, NJ. I currently reside in Paterson, and being italian I'm pretty desperate to get out, especially due to my neighbors also fleeing the scene. Likewise there's been a few shootings outside of my home, so enough if enough.

I'm quite aware to avoid the flood zones, although it's hard to tell which areas are flood zones.

The house I'm currently looking at is on Valley Road -- Near the shopping center and school. I'm aware this is a busy road, but that is not a deal breaker for me. The more important questions:

Is this area a flood section? (A few blocks away from the supermarket/subway/comic store?)

Is the area degrading? I shudder to think that spillover is going to cause Wayne to become as bad as Paterson, and I'll be moving out for absolutely nothing.

How safe is it? In Paterson I currently lock myself up in my house and never go out.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. I already did some searches on the forums, but was hoping for more detailed responses.

Thanks!

[GiantRutgersfan]

Its not going to become paterson anytime soon. Its a large town, but there are no problems there at all right now. Its one of the area's I am honing in on in my search. I obviously would not hesitate to move there.

good luck my friend.

[luckyshoes]

I don't know anything much about Wayne, but take a look at Oakland too (next town over from Wayne, in Bergen County). It's a smaller town which is appealing. Good luck on your househunt.

[Busch Boy]

I don't think you have to worry, Wayne is probably the wealthiest town in Passaic County with the best schools in the county as well. I don't see it going downhill anytime soon. Good luck with your move.

BTW, what part of P-town do you live in now?

[LCMT]

If it needs flood insurance it's in a flood zone.
Good Luck

Best websites to research before buying a home

[GiantRutgersfan]

Originally Posted by LCMT

If it needs flood insurance it's in a flood zone.
Good Luck

Best websites to research before buying a home

does it really matter if its in a flood zone outside of you paying for flood insurance?

[GiantRutgersfan]

Originally Posted by Busch Boy

I don't think you have to worry, Wayne is probably the wealthiest town in Passaic County with the best schools in the county as well. I don't see it going downhill anytime soon. Good luck with your move.

BTW, what part of P-town do you live in now?

I dont know about that... There are a few wealthy sections, but as a whole I would not consider it to be wealthy. Its middle class for the most part (Its a very large town, 50,000+ people)

[Busch Boy]

Originally Posted by GiantRutgersfan

I dont know about that... There are a few wealthy sections, but as a whole I would not consider it to be wealthy. Its middle class for the most part (Its a very large town, 50,000+ people)

I said relative to the county. Passaic County overall is not as wealthy as its surrounding neighbors. Besides those pockets you mentioned in Wayne, some parts of North Haledon, and a few parts in Ringwood, the rest of the county is either middle or lower class. But overall, Wayne has the highest amount of wealthy pockets.

In 2007, the average household income for Passaic County towns (according to City-Data) were:

1.) Wayne: $92,730
2.) Ringwood: $90,496
3.) North Haledon: $82,808
4.) West Milford: $82,169
5.) Bloomingdale: $75,253
6.) Wanaque: $73,289
7.) Pompton Lakes: $72,773
8.) Totowa: $66,964
9.) West Paterson (a.k.a. Woodland Park a.k.a Whatever ): $66,815
10.) Little Falls: $65,245
11.) Hawthorne: $61,346
12.) Clifton: $56,478
13.) Prospect Park: $51,474
14.) Haledon: $50,548
15.) Paterson: $34,067
16.) Passaic: $27,691

[awesam]

The flood zones are the areas near willowbrook mall. you will be nowhere near the "major" flooding. perhaps some light road flooding/ponding if you are near a stream, but thats it. i live in packanack and went to valley and never had a problem.

[ghuber]

Wayne is freakin expensive. Crappy houses under 400k, a lot of the 400k's are pretty crappy. It isn't until you get over 500k that the houses get pretty nice. Taxes are pretty high too most 400k+ houses are 10k or above.

I think a lot of people like Wayne because it has decent transportation to NYC with the park and rides by 80.