Where to move; Eastern/Northeastern PA (Philadelphia, Scranton: short sale, foreclosures, how much)

[charmed hour]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

I'm curious as to which municipalities you looked at in the East Stroudsburg district. Here in PA the school districts cover several boroughs and townships, and taxes can vary widely. I'm in the East Stroudsburg school district and in Smithfield Township. My combined taxes are a little over $6,000.00 a year, for a 4-bedroom 19th century farmhouse on 7 acres.

I looked at a number of houses in East Stroudsburg while house hunting (2 1/2 years ago)- and Monroe in general. A number in Middle Smithfield were closer to the $11,000 a year range with school taxes. Then community dues, some in the 1500-3000 range. The lowest we saw was a little over $6,000 before dues getting factored in.

We went to Carbon County, bigger house, more land and much lower school tax rate.

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by charmed hour

I looked at a number of houses in East Stroudsburg while house hunting (2 1/2 years ago)- and Monroe in general. A number in Middle Smithfield were closer to the $11,000 a year range with school taxes. Then community dues, some in the 1500-3000 range. The lowest we saw was a little over $6,000 before dues getting factored in.

We went to Carbon County, bigger house, more land and much lower school tax rate.

Yeah, I've heard that about Middle Smithfield and I'm glad I don't live there. I also live on a state road so I pay no dues, which how I planned it.

[theatergypsy]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

Yeah, I've heard that about Middle Smithfield and I'm glad I don't live there. I also live on a state road so I pay no dues, which how I planned it.

[lambo2936]

Originally Posted by jtab4994

I'm curious as to which municipalities you looked at in the East Stroudsburg district. Here in PA the school districts cover several boroughs and townships, and taxes can vary widely. I'm in the East Stroudsburg school district and in Smithfield Township. My combined taxes are a little over $6,000.00 a year, for a 4-bedroom 19th century farmhouse on 7 acres.

No idea; i just typed East Stroudsburg in Homes/Zillow and whatever came up came up; i thought the township WAS East Stroudsburg?

[lambo2936]

Originally Posted by charmed hour

I looked at a number of houses in East Stroudsburg while house hunting (2 1/2 years ago)- and Monroe in general. A number in Middle Smithfield were closer to the $11,000 a year range with school taxes. Then community dues, some in the 1500-3000 range. The lowest we saw was a little over $6,000 before dues getting factored in.

We went to Carbon County, bigger house, more land and much lower school tax rate.

Yeah thats sort of what i was looking at, 9k+ for taxes, which for PA Sounds extremely expensive to me. People pay that much in the rich areas of NJ and the cost of living in NJ is supposed to be much higher. Taxes like that for a house that costs under 200k is crazy. I Guess the schools are the cause.

[theatergypsy]

Originally Posted by lambo2936

Yeah thats sort of what i was looking at, 9k+ for taxes, which for PA Sounds extremely expensive to me. People pay that much in the rich areas of NJ and the cost of living in NJ is supposed to be much higher. Taxes like that for a house that costs under 200k is crazy. I Guess the schools are the cause.

The cost of the school taxes skyrocketed with the influx of transplants who came from NY/NJ (most of them to Monroe County) to buy the homes that were new and cheap with taxes that pretty much matched the area. What they didn't realize was that all that new development was in an area where the population had pretty much remained stable for many years and the schools had been sufficient for the population.

With all the new houses/people/children, the need for more schools meant build more/raise taxes. A prime example of unintended consequences. (Despite what the new people thought, the increased taxes also impacted the residents who had been here for decades.)

Builders constructed developments but didn't give a thought to how the area was going to handle the population explosion. And school districts looked at the population, and estimated how it would grow and based new school construction on that projection.

When disenchantment set in, homes were foreclosed or abandoned and the school enrollment dropped when families went "home". The bond issue for the schools still has to be paid. Unintended consequences again.

You're wise to do your due diligence, lambo. I wish you luck.

[Rogue0888]

[quote=When disenchantment set in, homes were foreclosed or abandoned and the school enrollment dropped when families went "home". The bond issue for the schools still has to be paid. Unintended consequences again.[/quote]


disenchantment aside there was that whole 2008 crash probably contributed. You are correct though, population influx = need more services = higher taxes. Population drop = stuck with the bill

[jtab4994]

Originally Posted by lambo2936

No idea; i just typed East Stroudsburg in Homes/Zillow and whatever came up came up; i thought the township WAS East Stroudsburg?

East Stroudsburg is a borough. The school district that bears its name covers the borough plus several townships in Monroe County and even part of Pike County. There are two high schools in the district with decidedly different demographics. Generally zip code 18301 goes with the "South" high school and 18302 goes with the "North" high school. The South high school has higher test scores and lower numbers of free/reduced lunch participants.

I just took a quick look on Zillow and found a 3BR/2BA home in the borough, near the University, for $145k and with combined taxes of $5327.00 per year. I suspect the New Jersey-level tax rates you saw may have been in Middle Smithfield Twp. The local government up there had quite a few goings-on in the past several years, which is mostly over with but the taxpayers are still cleaning up the mess.

[lambo2936]

Yeah, that certainly explains the crazy taxes. Its unfortunate that the 'locals' have to eat ****. To be honest, the houses there are so cheap, i don't know how builders even made money.
It costs at least 115$/sqft to build a house; i can buy a practically new 1500sqft house in the area for well under that with an acre+ of land. It's crazy. When i saw the taxes i realized why.. lol

[lambo2936]

Hey all, quick question. Was looking in Carbon County area (Penn Forest Township) and saw that a lot of the homes have propane tanks. Anyone have any idea as to what areas have Natural Gas vs. propane? I have propane right now and it is simply Expensive and a Pain in the rear. I'd like to avoid looking at area's that only offer propane for now, which i realize will probably eliminate a lot of the area's i'm interested in.
Looks like a lot have Septic too, not sure i want to deal with a tank in the ground either :/