I know all about the POCONOS!!! ASK ME!! (Northampton, Stroudsburg: condominium, mortgage)

[waughy]

thanks for the replies
does anyone live in a gated community? what do you think of it? I like the idea of the community feel, lots of activities for the children. Are there any private schools in the area?

thanks

[Edward Melhado]

I,m trying to find out info on property taxes.(land and house)
Maybe a good web site.
I'm in process of buying land (2.5 acres).
Build a log cabin(2 bedrooms, 2 baths).

[MollyMe]

Originally Posted by Edward Melhado

I,m trying to find out info on property taxes.(land and house)
Maybe a good web site.
I'm in process of buying land (2.5 acres).
Build a log cabin(2 bedrooms, 2 baths).

Where, what township??

[Summering]

Originally Posted by waughy

thanks for the replies
does anyone live in a gated community? what do you think of it? I like the idea of the community feel, lots of activities for the children. Are there any private schools in the area?

thanks

I lived in a gated community for 8 years.......It started out fine. It became quite "cityish" after 9/11........Everyone I knew left, it was not longer the calm, quiet, peaceful, safe place. It had lakes, and a pool, clubhouse.........and for some reason it went downhill fast.
So I'd say no to Penn Estates......A definate No to Pocono Country Place.
I think most people like Blue Mountain Estates, gated with a lake and very nice homes. That is one of the closest to Stroudsburg and good for commuting.... Indian Mt. Lakes..(534)......a bit out of the way but, I have not heard complaints from that gated community.
I know that Stroudsburg has Notre Dame, which is a private Catholic school.
I'm not sure of others.
Lake Wynonah in Auburn Pa is a gated community with a motor boat lake.
That town is off of route 22 past Allentown.......and up a country road.

[Summering]

Originally Posted by Edward Melhado

I,m trying to find out info on property taxes.(land and house)
Maybe a good web site.
I'm in process of buying land (2.5 acres).
Build a log cabin(2 bedrooms, 2 baths).

One thing I do know...........Monroe will be on the high side
Carbon County is the best as far as taxes go.
( Carbon is also less then Pike)

[I LOVE PA!]

Waughy...
I have lived in The Hideout for 13 years, I'd be happy to answer any of your questions. I think The Hideout is a great place to raise kids. As far as starting school age...the school district that The Hideout goes to has 1/2 day Pre Kindergarten in the public school. The children need to be 4 by the first day of school. Mostly all children go at this age, I have not heard of any child going at age 6. Some school districts do not have the Pre-K program, they wait for Kindergarten, which is full day. Before eliminating the public schools in The Hideout area, please check them out, you will be pleasantly surprised. The faculty as well as the administration are all wonderful. The kids that do go to Private School either go to St. Vincent's in Honesdale or LaSalle Academy in Jessup, both have busing from the area. LaSalle has a van that comes right in The Hideout. As far as Catholic H.S.'s, there are a few choices, most in the Scranton Area.
As far as opening a day care, I do know that someone just recently opened a new day care in the lower level of our brand new Public Library in Hamlin. There is also another day care in Hamlin, not far from that one. Hamlin is definitely in need of some new business, so don't be discouraged if that doesn't work out!
If you do a search on The Hideout in this forum, you will find many of my posts, also The Hideout's website is Hideout POA - Home My kids were 2 and 6 when I moved here, and now are 15 and 19, so I know all about raising a child here. If you have any other questions, please ask!

[Going NEPA]

Hi,
My husband and I are in the process of buying a place in the Hideout. We expect to make settlement in early August. Was wondering if anyone knows of a good Home Inspection company in the area. We are from south east PA so we are not that familiar with the area. Also, what is the name of the Electric Company that services the area? Any info would be greatly appreciated!!

[I LOVE PA!]

Electric Company would be PPL. Adams Cable is the local cable and ISP. As far as a home inspection company...I see two in the local Wayne County phone book, "an objective inspection' 877-246-7728 and 'affordable home and building inspections' 888-707-1022.
When I bought my house, I didn't use one, it was fairly new, vacant and we did a good checking ourselves as well as a radon test. We knew exactly what they did as my husband watched the inspector when we sold our house on LI 13 yrs ago. They don't do much for $400. If your not buying an older home, it might be worth looking in to.
Hey, welcome to The Hideout! Just in time for summer!

[Going NEPA]

Thanks so much for all the extremely helpful info. I may be back with more questions if you don't mind. This is a stressful process but we are really looking forward to the Hideout, it has everything we're looking for and more.

[KarenRice]

I don't know that I would waive a home inspection. My husband and I did not have a home inspection with the house we bought because hey, he's a carpenter by trade and knows his stuff, right? So - sure, he was able to tell structurally that everything was fairly cool - the issues we had later with the roof probably would not have been revealed by an inspector either. BUT...

We did NOT know all the places to look for mold, and lo and behold..our two bedroom closets (cleverly painted dark blue by the tenants) were FULL of mold on the outside walls. Which not only got our daughter very sick but also ruined my wedding dress. My daughter's repeated "sinus infections" that got worse ONLY at nap time and bed time finally clued us in that SOMETHING in her room was making her sick..and then we found the mold. Would an inspector have found it? We'll never know....but I believe he would.

The real estate office where I work has worked with several different inspectors. One of the favorite ones is Pat Russell. I do not have his information here but will get it when I go to the office.