Penn and NJ taxation comparison (Philadelphia, Chester: condos, houses, buy)

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by DailyJournalist

Any towns I should checkout in PA?

Plenty. What is your budget?

Since you are working in CC, I'll only suggest towns that have train stops and are around a half hour or so train ride or less. I'll also list areas where I think you can get a nice house in a nice district for $400k or less.

Ardmore (Lower Merion SD)
Narberth (LM SD)
Wynnewood (LM SD)
Lafayette Hill (Colonial SD)
Plymouth Meeting (Colonial)
King of Prussia (Upper Merion SD)
Blue Bell (this is a little further out but worth mentioning) (Wissahickon SD)

I'm not sure of the school districts for these Delaware County towns below. Taxes in Delco are generally higher.
Media
Broomall
Havertown
Wallingford

There's plenty of other places but I've tried to include areas that have or are very near plenty of shopping.

[DailyJournalist]

Originally Posted by BPP1999

Plenty. What is your budget?

Since you are working in CC, I'll only suggest towns that have train stops and are around a half hour or so train ride or less. I'll also list areas where I think you can get a nice house in a nice district for $400k or less.

Ardmore (Lower Merion SD)
Narberth (LM SD)
Wynnewood (LM SD)
Lafayette Hill (Colonial SD)
Plymouth Meeting (Colonial)
King of Prussia (Upper Merion SD)
Blue Bell (this is a little further out but worth mentioning) (Wissahickon SD)

I'm not sure of the school districts for these Delaware County towns below. Taxes in Delco are generally higher.
Media
Broomall
Havertown
Wallingford

There's plenty of other places but I've tried to include areas that have or are very near plenty of shopping.

Thank you, this is a great list that I will check on my next visit.

[Sassygirl18]

Look in Voorhees, Marlton, Mount Laurel, close to 295 and easy to the Patco.

Those towns are in NJ. He/she was asking for towns in PA that are similar to Cherry Hill.

From what I have heard King of Prussia is similar to Cherry Hill, although it's not an area I am that familiar with. I know KofP has a big mall and is very suburban and I believe it has similar housing stock as Cherry Hill.

I live in Cherry Hill and LOVE it here, but we have been looking to move to PA to scale down and live more cheaply, so I've done some research on the question at hand. I've done quite a bit of investigating.

Generally speaking, it is cheaper to live in PA than in NJ, but this is not the case across the board. We currently pay $8,000 property taxes on our Cherry Hill home and although many areas in PA have lower property taxes (some even about half what we are currently paying), there are towns/areas in PA that have property taxes as high (or higher) than Cherry Hill. An example of PA towns whose taxes are as high (or higher) than what I am paying in Cherry Hill: Swarthmore, Elkins Park (and Cheltenham Twp. in general), Drexel Hill, Wallingford, to name a few. The PA area with the lowest property taxes that I could find is the West Chester area.

Generally speaking, in PA you will get less house for the money. As an example, we currently live in a 4-6 bedroom house that is remarkable looking (a 1926 center hall colonial) and has about 2300 square feet on 1/4 acre and whose value is around $330K. In most the nice PA suburban towns that are of an equivalent quality as Cherry Hill, for the same price we would get an unimpressive 3 bedroom 1500 sq. foot house on a small (or smaller) lot for this price. BUT in many towns we could live much more cheaply because of the property taxes being significantly lower.

Also, in PA you will pay less in state income taxes. PA has a flat rate of 3.07, whereas, NJ has a graduated rate that increases with salary level.

There are a couple realtor web sites that list the property taxes. I will PM you those web sites (because I don't think we are allowed to post them here).

[BPP1999]

Originally Posted by Sassygirl18

I live in Cherry Hill and LOVE it here, but we have been looking to move to PA to scale down and live more cheaply, so I've done some research on the question at hand. I've done quite a bit of investigating.

Also, in PA you will pay less in state income taxes. PA has a flat rate of 3.07, whereas, NJ has a graduated rate that increases with salary level.

KOP property taxes are very low, so that's a plus to the KOP area. If you are looking for areas to move, be careful about moving to KOP. While the schools are good, there's plenty of shopping, and it's at the junction of 4 highways (76, Turnpike, 202, 422), the housing stock is definately not nearly as nice as in Cherry Hill. That's one thing that KOP is missing, IMO. It was developed with houses prior to the time that it was an Edge City with 10 million square feet of office space, so there's this housing supply which looks like it's from a 1950's backwater.

[MoorestownResident]

Originally Posted by Sassygirl18

Those towns are in NJ. He/she was asking for towns in PA that are similar to Cherry Hill.

From what I have heard King of Prussia is similar to Cherry Hill, although it's not an area I am that familiar with. I know KofP has a big mall and is very suburban and I believe it has similar housing stock as Cherry Hill.

I live in Cherry Hill and LOVE it here, but we have been looking to move to PA to scale down and live more cheaply, so I've done some research on the question at hand. I've done quite a bit of investigating.

Generally speaking, it is cheaper to live in PA than in NJ, but this is not the case across the board. We currently pay $8,000 property taxes on our Cherry Hill home and although many areas in PA have lower property taxes (some even about half what we are currently paying), there are towns/areas in PA that have property taxes as high (or higher) than Cherry Hill. An example of PA towns whose taxes are as high (or higher) than what I am paying in Cherry Hill: Swarthmore, Elkins Park (and Cheltenham Twp. in general), Drexel Hill, Wallingford, to name a few. The PA area with the lowest property taxes that I could find is the West Chester area.

Generally speaking, in PA you will get less house for the money. As an example, we currently live in a 4-6 bedroom house that is remarkable looking (a 1926 center hall colonial) and has about 2300 square feet on 1/4 acre and whose value is around $330K. In most the nice PA suburban towns that are of an equivalent quality as Cherry Hill, for the same price we would get an unimpressive 3 bedroom 1500 sq. foot house on a small (or smaller) lot for this price. BUT in many towns we could live much more cheaply because of the property taxes being significantly lower.

Also, in PA you will pay less in state income taxes. PA has a flat rate of 3.07, whereas, NJ has a graduated rate that increases with salary level.

There are a couple realtor web sites that list the property taxes. I will PM you those web sites (because I don't think we are allowed to post them here).

Disagree on a couple points. Average property tax in Cherry Hill is $8K, in Swarthmore, for example, it is $6,500. There is no town in PA with the property tax of CH. As far as getting more house in NJ, I disagree, it really depends on the town and the area. When people make such statements they are often not comparing apples to apples because they have limited knowledge of the areas. CH is a huge township of 80,000 residents with a large geographical area and a huge mix of housing stock, especially bi-levels which are not very desirable and priced accordingly.

Location is a huge function of price especially in a town like CH. The wealthier towns of PA tend to have smaller populations, smaller geographical areas and different housing stock for the most part. I don't think it is a huge difference one way or the other but when you figure in NJ property taxes, especially in Camden County, NJ is more expensive. FYI, Camden County ranks 10th nationally for property tax burden. No county in PA is in the Top 100 nationally.

[Pilot1]

In this analysis, New Jersey is ranked 8th highest for total tax burden, while Pennsylvania is ranked 20th.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitors sites is not allowed

[MoorestownResident]

Data could be old. NJ just overtook NY as having the highest average property tax in the nation. NJ property taxes in the past 3-5 years have skyrocketed.

[Sassygirl18]

Disagree on a couple points. Average property tax in Cherry Hill is $8K, in Swarthmore, for example, it is $6,500. There is no town in PA with the property tax of CH. As far as getting more house in NJ, I disagree, it really depends on the town and the area. When people make such statements they are often not comparing apples to apples because they have limited knowledge of the areas. CH is a huge township of 80,000 residents with a large geographical area and a huge mix of housing stock, especially bi-levels which are not very desirable and priced accordingly.

Okay, well if I am incorrect, maybe you can point me in the right direction.

Where can I find a house in PA (Philly suburbs) comparable in size, era and quality to the house we currently own in Cherry Hill for $300K-$325K with taxes substantially less than $8,000/year and a reasonable commute to Phila (i.e. 30 minutes or less)?

Specs: Single family home, 4-6 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths 2,300 square feet, 1/4 acre, 1920s or 1930s vintage, 2 car garage, large screened sun porch, 2-zone AC, 2 fireplaces, full basement, hardwood floors, middle/upper middle class area. (Photo below)

[BPP1999]

Wow, that's a nice house. I can't believe that sells for $325k in Cherry Hill. That looks like a $325k house in Ohio.

Here's some suggestions:

Glenside and Abington. Pros: Reasonable commute to Center City (train and drive). Nice older housing stock, i.e. many homes similar to yours, many at reasonable prices. Plenty of shopping nearby. Cons: Parts of Abington are not as desirable, but overall it's a good area. Another con is though the taxes will likely be less than $8,000, they won't be that much less than $8,000. Try checking out Jenkintown as well.

Lansdale: Pros: Some nice older vintage homes (though harder to find), many at reasonable prices. Plenty of shopping nearby. Cons: Pretty far from CC. Taxes will likely be less than $8,000, but they won't be that much less than $8,000. Try checking out North Wales as well.

Drexel Hill: Pros: Great supply of vintage/victorian homes. Most are reasonable priced. Pretty close to CC. Cons: Taxes very high. Schools not that great. Try checking out Havertown as well.

Swarthmore/Media/Wallingford: Pros: Great supply of vintage/victorian homes. Pretty close to CC. Cons: Taxes and home prices high.

I don't know of many people who flee South Jersey to Bucks, Chester, Delaware, or Montgomery Counties to save money; you're not going to save. I'm confident that your taxes will drop in PA (property and personal income), but home prices are generally going to be more in SEPA for similar style housing.

Why not check out Berks, Lancaster, or Lebanon Counties? If your goal is simply to save $, look further out.

[MoorestownResident]

Originally Posted by Sassygirl18

Okay, well if I am incorrect, maybe you can point me in the right direction.

Where can I find a house in PA (Philly suburbs) comparable in size, era and quality to the house we currently own in Cherry Hill for $300K-$325K with taxes substantially less than $8,000/year and a reasonable commute to Phila (i.e. 30 minutes or less)?

Specs: Single family home, 4-6 bedrooms, 1 1/2 baths 2,300 square feet, 1/4 acre, 1920s or 1930s vintage, 2 car garage, large screened sun porch, 2-zone AC, 2 fireplaces, full basement, hardwood floors, middle/upper middle class area. (Photo below)

Well, here are several listings what one can expect to find in CH for <=350K in the current market.

Prudential Fox and Roach - Home Search / Property Profile

Property tax: 9,500

Here's a townhome:

Prudential Fox and Roach - Home Search / Property Profile

Taxes: 9,000

Prudential Fox and Roach - Home Search / Property Profile

Taxes 9,800

Prudential Fox and Roach - Home Search / Property Profile

Taxes 9,100

Prudential Fox and Roach - Home Search / Property Profile

Rancher, taxes 9,800

Prudential Fox and Roach - Home Search / Property Profile

Taxes 7,100

Prudential Fox and Roach - Home Search / Property Profile

340K, No basement, taxes 6,800

And for PA:

Cheltenham, huge 4 bed, 3 full bath, taxes 6,800

http://www.prufoxroach.com/search/se...isplaycount=20

Wyncote, 2,700 sq feet, taxes 6,800

http://www.prufoxroach.com/search/se...isplaycount=20

Cheltenham, renovated, 3,100 sq ft, taxes 8,800

http://www.prufoxroach.com/search/se...isplaycount=20

Glenside, renovated stone colonial, $334K gorgeous, finished basement, taxes 7,500

http://www.prufoxroach.com/search/se...isplaycount=20

Elkins Park, 5 bedrooms, restored farmhouse, $329K, 2,800 sq ft taxes 8,100

http://www.prufoxroach.com/search/se...isplaycount=20

Taxes 6,800

So, to answer your question you can get more house for the same money in Montgomery County, PA with less taxes. And that as 10 minutes looking on the net. Sure each house is different with sellers more desperate than others and some areas of CH are cheaper than others but PA gets you more house.