Moving to Pocono Farms? (renting, HOA, loans)

[CuriousBird]

My husband and I are currently in contract to purchase a home in the Pocono Farms community (not Pocono Farms East). I have been doing some reading recently and see a lot of negativity surrounding the APCP area, which is a few miles from where we will be. Should I be concerned with moving to the Pocono Farms community? PA is very new to me. I moved from upstate NY (way up north past Syracuse) to PA two years ago and I am still learning all the areas. Thank you!

[Jo48]

Hi, neighbor! We have lived in the Farms for 3 years. Retired and moved up from Florida. Originally from NYC and LI.

What do you want to know?

[CuriousBird]

Hey there! We just keep reading that the Poconos (especially PCP) is not the safest and we have a daughter and I just wanted to see if a lot of it was isolated to that area or if it's just the Poconos in general. I also get everybody has their own opinion, etc. We love the privacy up there and nature! Being from upstate NY makes me miss it! We are moving over on Colt Pl.

[DavidWebb]

Anywhere up here has its negativity but that area up there is just not good regardless of what others may say....and the HOA boards: nothing but a corrupt bunch....then you also have to abide with being told what you can and cannot do....no thanks!! I buy it I do what I want....

[Chefkey]

I just don't like the feeling like you are renting when you own it. I've visited people in APCP and there are a lot of distressed homes. Then add in a potential bad element which was lured into the community with easy loans that likely own the distressed homes and their up to no good kids are roaming the streets.

[DavidWebb]

Originally Posted by Chefkey

I just don't like the feeling like you are renting when you own it. I've visited people in APCP and there are a lot of distressed homes. Then add in a potential bad element which was lured into the community with easy loans that likely own the distressed homes and their up to no good kids are roaming the streets.

[Jo48]

We know three people at the Mt. Pocono VFW who own in PCP; one elderly man and three elderly widowed women. I have never heard them complain about living in fear there. I myself regularly go to what is referred to as the "Ghetto Mall" off Rt. 196. Terrified as a elderly woman? Um, NO. I am originally from NYC and rode the subways alone as a young woman into the wee hours of the morning going to Bed Sty and the South Bronx. Think PCP scares me???

Back to the Farms. My next door neighbors are retired Military and work at the Tobyhanna ARMY Depot. Younger one is a man in his 40's with 2 young children who is an armed Security Guard there. Read between the line of that. He comes over our house all the time to check on his elderly neighbors to see how we are doing. He says, "We have a duty to make sure our elderly neighbors are ok". Both neighbors have outside cameras. All they have caught on camera are bears, trying to brake into garbage cans on their property. Our home is across the road from the State Game Lands. We see far more wild animals than people, from bears, lot of deer, coyotes, foxes, turkey.

Farms HOA? I can tell you they are not as strict as the HOA where we lived in SW Florida. We had to pay a $400 a year restaurant fee whether you used it or not. Farms does not do that. Pay as you want to go. HOA in Florida was very strict about putting up any signs or decorations on your property, One of our former neighbors put a campaign sticker on her garbage can and was fined. Nothing like that here at the Farms. Do what you want on your property? I can tell I got complaints from my neighbors 30 years ago on LI for hanging my wash outside on a line in the Summers. MY property, not a HOA. I do hang some wash outside here in Farms outside in Summers. Nothing.

I will say this to the OP. A lot of owners buy here for Summer Vacation Homes. The Winters are deserted with snow piling up in driveways and no cars around. They come back in the Summers from NJ and NY, or retirees from Florida. There are families but not a lot. Clubhouse events are far more crowded in the Summers. Go in the parking lot and all you will see are plates fom NJ and NY, but you will see that in all of Mt. Pocono. When living in Florida, I saw plates from Canada and Alaska in the Winter. Poconos is basically a Resort/Vacation area. Kinda like a reverse area to Florida.

[DavidWebb]

Originally Posted by Jo48

He comes over our house all the time to check on his elderly neighbors to see how we are doing. He says, "We have a duty to make sure our elderly neighbors are ok".

Is his concern really for the welfare of the neighbors or just to see what they have and he can take when the opportunity arises....I wouldn't trust anyone doing that considering you never know what's going on in someones mind....especially up there....

[Jo48]

Originally Posted by DavidWebb

Is his concern really for the welfare of the neighbors or just to see what they have and he can take when the opportunity arises....I wouldn't trust anyone doing that considering you never know what's going on in someones mind....especially up there....

He is a Veteran who belongs to the same VFW as my husband does. This man also works at the Tobyhanna Army Depot as a Security Guard. He is a family man with 5 and 2 year old children who is not HURTING for MONEY. His home is twice the size our ours.

If you cannot trust someone like him, you are an extremely PARANOID individual making a judgment purely based on where someone lives.

[DavidWebb]

Originally Posted by Jo48

If you cannot trust someone like him, you are an extremely PARANOID individual making a judgment purely based on where someone lives.

I did make that sound like I was referring to him....my mistake...I meant anyone in general....I should've been more specific....but it has happened where someone shows interest in the welfare of the elderly only because they were waiting for the opportune moment....but I'm also very cautious about everyone around me yes....that's just the city boy in me....I'm originally from downtown and Sunset Park Brooklyn....