How home prices will change neighborhoods (Newark, Jersey City: assessor, crime, how much)

[GiantRutgersfan]

Originally Posted by openheads

And yet my brother & his wife (who both don't have college degrees) purchased a house in a nice (not rich) town in North Jersey & are not struggling to pay bills with 2 kids.
Hummmm??????????

and how old are they?

I would bet they are at least 30.

Things have gotten a lot worse since 2002-2003 or so

[elflord1973]

Originally Posted by USER876

In a lot of towns, the townhomes are as much as or more than single family homes!

If you'd been inside some of those SFHs, you'd see why. Your 300k townhouse is usually in much better condition than the 300k house.

[zhelder]

Originally Posted by openheads

And yet my brother & his wife (who both don't have college degrees) purchased a house in a nice (not rich) town in North Jersey & are not struggling to pay bills with 2 kids.
Hummmm??????????

If you don't mind, Openheads, could you state what town your brother lives in? Just curious to see if we're all on the same page regarding what a "nice, not rich" town is.

For me, the "nice, not rich" towns in Bergen County would be towns like Fair Lawn, Rutherford, Dumont, New Milford, and maybe Hasbrouck Heights. Maywood and Rochelle Park could be included in this group too, but the Hackensack High School issue brings the "nice" appeal of these towns down a bit.

Move up a step on the scale to towns like Paramus, Hillsdale, River Edge, and even Waldwick and Midland Park (Midland Park would have been on the "nice, not rich" list maybe 15 years ago, but not anymore) and you're starting to approach the low end of "rich" territory, IMHO.

[brandy76]

Originally Posted by elflord1973

If you'd been inside some of those SFHs, you'd see why. Your 300k townhouse is usually in much better condition than the 300k house.

That is so true! I'm dealing with that now, looking for homes in the $350K range. I settled on getting a townhome since they're newer and have at least 2 baths. Many single family homes in the $350K range had 4 bedrooms but still only 1 bathroom. And a lot of rennovatins needed to go into these homes.

[brandy76]

Originally Posted by openheads

And yet my brother & his wife (who both don't have college degrees) purchased a house in a nice (not rich) town in North Jersey & are not struggling to pay bills with 2 kids.
Hummmm??????????

Im curious to know what their approx. salaries are. Me & my bf have combined of $150K and I feel utterly poor during my current home search

[PEBCAK]

Originally Posted by brandy76

Im curious to know what their approx. salaries are. Me & my bf have combined of $150K and I feel utterly poor during my current home search

Hate to say this, but you need some serious budgeting help if you feel poor with that combined income. You should be able to afford most of the desirable towns in NJ and in Bergen County.

[njerzygrl]

Originally Posted by brandy76

Im curious to know what their approx. salaries are. Me & my bf have combined of $150K and I feel utterly poor during my current home search

I agree.

My fiancee and I also have a combined income of approximately 150k...and we are putting 120k down, and our househunting search has been depressing.

Many older people, who sadly have not kept up with their homes, or renovated since they bought their houses, are still asking top dollar.

Some of the places we have looked at in the 300-350k range need total renovations and/or were filthy.

I lowered the price of my condo by almost 10% and it sold. I don't understand why people that bought so inexpensively so many years ago...don't get the concept that the real estate market dropped and that they won't see 2005 prices again for a long time.

Of course the prices might almost be tolerable if it weren't for the outrageous property taxes...

[gradstudent77]

Originally Posted by njerzygrl

I agree.

My fiancee and I also have a combined income of approximately 150k...and we are putting 120k down, and our househunting search has been depressing.

Many older people, who sadly have not kept up with their homes, or renovated since they bought their houses, are still asking top dollar.

Some of the places we have looked at in the 300-350k range need total renovations and/or were filthy.

I lowered the price of my condo by almost 10% and it sold. I don't understand why people that bought so inexpensively so many years ago...don't get the concept that the real estate market dropped and that they won't see 2005 prices again for a long time.

Of course the prices might almost be tolerable if it weren't for the outrageous property taxes...

If you feel that the market for the good you want is set at a price that is too high, you shouldn't buy.

[FBone]

Originally Posted by gradstudent77

The young people need to get over this whole "nice suburban town" thing or good riddance when they leave for greener pastures. They look down their noses at towns I consider to be great while they are much, much less wealthy than I am and presumably will be in the future, considering how our career arcs are shaping up so far.

Originally Posted by PEBCAK

Hate to say this, but you need some serious budgeting help if you feel poor with that combined income. You should be able to afford most of the desirable towns in NJ and in Bergen County.

I agree with both of these posters.

Whatever happened to young couples buying a starter home in a mixed neighborhood to start the housing ladder?

[njerzygrl]

Originally Posted by gradstudent77

If you feel that the market for the good you want is set at a price that is too high, you shouldn't buy.

I won't, but my options are dwindling