Looking to Buy a Townhouse or Single Family home (Bloomfield: renter, HOA fees)

[luckyshoes]

How about Fair Lawn? That's a cute town in a good location. Not sure about townhouses, but they have that whole Radburn section that has the community stuff to do and the houses are on the smaller side (more affordable).

[HeatherLynn822]

Originally Posted by bru33

Heather: I tried to do a search on Hunting Ridge but couldn't find much information or pictures... do you know a website where I can find more information? thanks!

Here are a bunch of current Huning Ridge listings with pictures. The listing agent, Marvin Crane, is also my neighbor. He's a great guy! Broker Associate, Sales Consultant

[bru33]

thanks Heather - I don't think Hunting Ridge will work though.. we're looking somewhere in between Linden and Paramus area...so far we're interested in looking more into Essex Park in Belleville and Droyers Point/Society hill in jersey city as options..

[Rowen]

If you are interested in housing in Westfield (which has a train station right in town), here are some listings of homes under $400,000. Many of these houses look really cute!

Westfield real estate & Westfield homes for sale | Single family homes,Condos,Townhomes,Co-ops - REALTOR.com®

Westfield is a really nice town with a great shopping area with good restaurants, very good schools, and no bad sections but their tax rate I'm sure is high but this is NJ afterall! Also try looking in Fanwood, Garwood and Springfield. Good luck!

[Cerverizzo]

Bru33, sorry to jump in but we're selling FSBO our 2BR condo in Chatham, NJ. See zillow.com for info on address: 380 Main Street, #22 or Trulia.com. We've got an email for the sale: 380mainstreet22@optononline.net

My husband lived in Westfield and liked it, but he is also from Chatham, which isn't a far drive from that town. The condo's a 5-min walk to NYC train and it's within your price range. Listed as $359K and willing to negotiate on the price.

Best of luck--SJC

[strato]

Hey Guys,

There is a great condo community in Bayonne called the Boatworks and it has what you are looking for. Pool, entrance to the NJ Turnpike and a marina for boats up to 40ft.

But the feature most Boatworks residents really like is a Shuttle Vffan service that picks you up at the pool which is in the center of the community and then drives directly to NYC using the bus lanes and lets you off at Canal Street. Takes about 20 minutes I think and cost $4.00 per trip

Price range 325K up to about 425K

I am a realtor in Bayonne and can give you all the info you need to help you get to know this community. I actually have a listing myself there and am in the process of working on another.

Email me at JSchindler@Weichert.com or Jack.SchindlerII@Gmail.com

[Diana Sacchiero]

I think you should look to buy. Renting throws money away. You need to build equity, and now is the time.. First time buyers, as you must have heard by now may receive up to $8K tax credit.
If you have a finished basement, or one which can easily be finished, you have no worry about having onlly 2 br.
You say you are both working. So, you should be able to afford something decent, or something you could work on little bit at a time.
Sometimes it's a good thing to do. It will be a work in progress, just like a marriage.
I'm glad to help with more q's if you need.
There is always more to think about than what any of us can type out in an answer, even if it's well intentioned and well thought about.
Take it slow, but keep looking, and talking to people.
All area's have good and bad. All area's. You have to trade off all the time.
Westfield is very expensive. Belleville, less expensive. Belleville not as nice, but some beautiful sections. Also, Belleville, CHERRY BLOSSOM CAPITAL OF AMERICA. Pizza capital of the world, I think...
Definately FABULOUS RESTAURANTS ALL AROUND. Belleville, Nutley, Montclair.

Townhome vs. Home.
Home is always better. No one knows what the future holds. Sometimes, you just can't climb all those townhouse stairs. Things happen, or come up which may make it difficult. Make sure you're going to want to run up and down, and down and up, day and night, and night and day.

As I said, I would be glad to help out with any other q's you may have.
D.

[elflord1973]

Talk about bad advice ...

Originally Posted by Diana Sacchiero

I think you should look to buy. Renting throws money away.

So does buying -- you "throw money away" on transaction costs, interest payments, and property tax. This has been discussed to death here.

You need to build equity, and now is the time..
First time buyers, as you must have heard by now may receive up to $8K tax credit.

I take it that you're a realtor. If so, when have you advised that now is not the time ?

Building equity is harder if you pay too much for a place. That is more likely to happen if you buy when measures designed to prop up prices -- like the 8k credit, are in effect.

If you have a finished basement, or one which can easily be finished, you have no worry about having onlly 2 br.

Maybe ... I believe there are issues with this too though.

You say you are both working. So, you should be able to afford something decent, or something you could work on little bit at a time.

Their budget is 300-400k. If they want to be in an upscale town (like Westfield) on that budget, they won't find many houses in that price range.

Townhome vs. Home.
Home is always better. No one knows what the future holds. Sometimes, you just can't climb all those townhouse stairs. Things happen, or come up which may make it difficult. Make sure you're going to want to run up and down, and down and up, day and night, and night and day.

All things being equal, it might be better to have the house. But all things are seldom equal. From what I've seen on the market, condos and townhouses at any given price point are in vastly superior condition to houses at the same price. I don't follow the issue with stairs. Houses have stairs too, unless it's a ranch style. If you have serious mobility issues, most multi level houses will be difficult to live in (unless they have bedrooms on the ground floor which doesn't seem very common here) If you don't, then a little exercise doesn't hurt ...

One thing going with the townhouse could do for you is enable you to buy something decent in a neighborhood where you would otherwise be priced out of everything besides short sales and serious fixer-uppers. I think a 300-400k budget would make most of the more upscale neighborhoods here (including Westfield) a stretch.

[Appias]

Hi Bru33,
Have a look on realtor.com, that will give you a good idea of what is generally available in your price range. For your budget and desired community features I would recommend Montclair, South Orange, Maplewood, Cranford or Westfield. All are charming and safe towns with convenient access to highways and trains. Montclair will prove the biggest challenge for your budget, but you can definitely afford a nice condo/townhouse there if you fall in love with the town. Take a day and visit whichever towns make your short list. You can always rent first, no need to rush. By renting first you will have the flexibility to move if it turns out the town you choose isn't right for you after all.

[Diana Sacchiero]

For Bru:
Yes, check Realtor.com....Also, Zillow.com, and Trulia.com. Trulia and Zillow are really helpful. Sign up for Trulia with the zip codes you are interested in, and they will send you daily listings when homes come new on market.

I would not consider parts of So. Orange, Maplewood, and Montclair to be Safe.
Upper Montclair on the other hand is out of the question, as homes there are in the million and more range.
Quaint town though Montclair.

Be careful about condo.'s. Condo ownership can turn into a nightmare, as I know many people have been through hell after purchasing condo. You can be harrassed, bullied, and driven to madness if you don't agree with the Association or try to go against them. If you miss a monthly payment fee, and if they raise the fee (as they will if they want to), you can't do a thing about it. Don't let anyone tell you different either. Attorney fees will eat you up, because you will need an attorney in many instances, and, believe me, it is a nightmare. Also, you will be paying plenty of taxes, have no yard, and most times no place outdoors that you can use privately. You can hear through the walls, ceilings, and floors. In some places you can smell the cooking, and if rentals are allowed, and pets, and you aren't happy about who comes in, your stuck. I've read articles about an owner who got new owners next door and they made so much noise, and association would not help him. Other stories too, too numerous to mention here.

I hope I haven't upset anyone. As I said, "ONLY TRYING TO HELP"


I do believe that now is the time to buy. I'd love to buy myself now with interest rates so low, and homes a little lower, but have to sell first. I have a fixer upper with a brand new roof and replacement windows. I'm ready to downsize.

If anyone feels that they have knowlege about something and they can share actual experiences instead of making arguments for or against, and not really looking to help the poster in a fair way, then it's foolish and wasted time. I didn't post to get an argument, I posted with the best intentions from what I know on the subject.

Wishing everyone well, and hoping you (Bru), can get a good idea about your options from reading the postings. Nothing's perfect. There will always be the coulda, woulda, shoulda'vs. But much luck to you.

D.