Any Tips on Buying your 1st home in Orange County? (Washingtonville: fit in, houses)

[Evenstephens58]

I'll be buying my first home next spring. My daughter will be in her last year of high school next year, so after that we will move..so I have plenty of time to look around..I'll most likely move to Orange County since my husband works in Maybrook. I want to buy a house no more than 300K with at least 20percent down..any tips or suggestions you have for me would greatly be appreciated. This would be my first home ever and i'll be 50 years old in another week!..I've been looking at houses online and been looking at posts on places in Orange County..schools etc..

[Nancy-NJ-NY-ME?]

Since you're not in a time crunch, you should certainly come on up here on the weekends, drive around the towns and developments, walk around the villages, check out all the activities that are here on the weeks (sports, cultural, historic sites - whatever are your interests). Spending time in different areas, will give you a sense of which town/village / area appeals to you.

Happy hunting and congrats on joining us 50-somethings!

P.S. Just saw your other post and it sounds like you've already decided that you'd rather be in a village setting as opposed to being in a more rural area of a town. I can certainly relate! I love that Orange County is not fully built out, that we still have farms and open land between villages. However for a place to live, I have to agree with you, I prefer the walkability (or at least short drives) that a village provides.

The Village of Washingtonville is a nice place and you will fit in. And as the other poster wrote, you and your DH will fit in anywhere in OC.

Now, having written something positive about Washingtonville, I'm anticipating the posts that are going to follow which will bash the school district. Please do your own investigation. All the districts in this area good. Washingtonville has a great superintendent at the helm. She has been in the district for a while and as supt. has brought great leadership. Great things are happening in our schools.

[joeymarine]

Originally Posted by Evenstephens58

I'll be buying my first home next spring. My daughter will be in her last year of high school next year, so after that we will move..so I have plenty of time to look around..I'll most likely move to Orange County since my husband works in Maybrook. I want to buy a house no more than 300K with at least 20percent down..any tips or suggestions you have for me would greatly be appreciated. This would be my first home ever and i'll be 50 years old in another week!..I've been looking at houses online and been looking at posts on places in Orange County..schools etc..

Evenstephens58,

The best thing for you to do is to try and narrow it down to a few areas you would like to be in and then really focus in and watch what the homes are listing and selling for. Any agent can set you up on an automatic search that send you both the new listings that fit into your criteria as well as the sold listings so you can get a very good feel as to where the pricing is now, and where it is going. Once you get a good feel for that, you'll know a good deal when you see one and you can be ready to pounce on it the second it becomes available - because even in "this market" (which really isn't as bad as everyone screams) a good deal goes quick, and a great deal has multiple offers.

Good luck and happy house hunting!
~Joey