Coventry seems affordable--what's the catch? (Providence, Warwick: insurance, mortgage, new house)

[CBA]

My family is moving to RI in a few short months. Our house-hunting trip a few weeks ago for a home within commuting distance to Warwick resulted in no purchase. We looked in North Kingstown, E. Greenwich, Cowesset area of Warwick, western Cranston, and S. Kingstown. Nothing fit. Sellers are still looking for the prices they got last year before the market turned. Add $500/month to the mortgage payment for property taxes, and you get the picture. We're just not going to pay close to $500k for a house with an olive green bathroom from 1962. Nor can we afford to pay close to $700k for a new house. Nor do we want to squish into 1700 square feet of newer home for $450k.

Hence, my inquiry about Coventry. Seems like you can get a newer (less than 10 yrs), larger (2000+ sq. ft.) home for about $400k. This is just what we're looking for. So, what's wrong with Coventry? I know the school test scores are not as high as E. Greenwich or N. Kingstown. But, they've recently converted to a standards-based report card system, which I think shows innovation and a willingness to try alternatives--something I value over high standardized test scores and traditional teaching methods.

Anyone have any insight? For example, when I searched "bigbook.com" for a grocery store, I couldn't find one. Closest shopping seems to be at least 20-30 minutes away. But, the town has lots of lakes/ponds, and it appears as though some are large enough for motor boats? It all sounds great! What's the catch?

I know you can get a newer good-sized home in western Cranston for under $500k, but if you can get the same house in Coventry for $50-$60k less, why would you choose Cranston over Coventry?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

[Judy]

Hi CBA, I have lived in Coventry for over 20 years here and it is really starting to build up here it used to be very rural here but there are still parts that are. We do have shopping centers here, Stop and shop for grocery's, Walmart, etc. There is a major shopping center going up right now with more to come . I used to live in Warwick but like the more quietness of Coventry, not to much in the state of RI is far to travel thats for sure. As far as lakes for motor boats there is Johnson's pond where they allow that and have jet skiing and water skiing on it. On the main strip in Coventry there are quite a bit of businesses now.
Hope that helps some

[mr2448]

Coventry is a combination of densely populated on the eastern side to rural toward the Connecticut border. Western Coventry is made up of small towns, Summit, Greene; but, even these are growing. The feeling in Rhode Island is if you live near Route 102, the north south route through western Rhode Ilsand, you live too far away. Western Rhode Island is a great place to live. Western Coventry, Exeter, Richmond are all affordable. Commutes to Warwick can be 30-45 minutes. The schools are good, but probably not at the East Greenwich, Barrington or Lincoln level.

[CBA]

Thanks for the replies. I think we'd try to stay closer to the eastern side of Coventry so as not to have too long a commute to Warwick, but I've been told that there are are "pockets" of Coventry that are nice but that the town on the whole is a "mishmash." I'm not sure what this means...are there areas that are really run-down with trailer parks or something?

There seem to be some newer housing developments closer to the eastern side of Coventry...Hope Furnace Estates, Walker Ridge, Fairview Commons, Highwood Estates, Summerfield Estates. Anybody have any insight into these developments? I've never driven through the area but have seen these listings on the MLS and the houses look nice. No insight into the neighborhoods, however.

Thanks!

[Lula]

I think when you hear mish-mash about the eastern part of Coventry it refers to the older housing stock and mixed zoning that results in homes next to businesses on the main rds. Coventry (on the east side) and West Warwick were mill towns and the industrial parts are still there. Western Coventry was at one time very rural but as the town grew, most of the newer developments pushed out that way.

Taxes are higher in Coventry than some of the towns you looked into previously and sections of town are covered by volunteer firefighters whose districts charge a separate fire tax on property to raise money for equipment, supplies and fuel. The is usually no more than $500 per year. Lots of Coventry properties are on wells instead of city water, but that is common in the whole lower portion of the state.

Here is the link to the town's website - with a wealth of info for you.

http://www.town.coventry.ri.us/

[mikey2]

I've lived in Coventry for the past 28 years, and it's really a nice town to live and raise a family.
I can get to Warwick in 10-15 minutes and Providence in 20-25.
School system has been very good for my kids.

Housing is a mix of new and some beautiful older homes. If you're looking at Fairview Commons, don't pass up looking further down Fairview Ave. which is one of the nicest parts of Coventry, with beautiful Colonial homes.

Good Luck in your search.

[daveimme]

Originally Posted by mikey2

I've lived in Coventry for the past 28 years, and it's really a nice town to live and raise a family.
I can get to Warwick in 10-15 minutes and Providence in 20-25.
School system has been very good for my kids.

Housing is a mix of new and some beautiful older homes. If you're looking at Fairview Commons, don't pass up looking further down Fairview Ave. which is one of the nicest parts of Coventry, with beautiful Colonial homes.

Good Luck in your search.

What is the range for 3-4 bedroom houses there? I am looking to relocate here and would benefit from knowing where I may want t purchase a house. I do not mind a 30-45 min commute to work (I presently drive about an hour each way), so that's not a real issue for me. TIA

[mikey2]

Originally Posted by daveimme

What is the range for 3-4 bedroom houses there? I am looking to relocate here and would benefit from knowing where I may want t purchase a house. I do not mind a 30-45 min commute to work (I presently drive about an hour each way), so that's not a real issue for me. TIA

Most 3-4 bedroom Colonials run between the mid-three's to mid-four's in Coventry. More in communities like East Greenwich and North Kingstown.

Here's two points to consider:

1). I'm partial to towns like Coventry because I can get a lot more house for a lot less money than say Barrington and East Greenwich. I can easily get to Providence in 20-30 min., depending on traffic.

2). I would absolutely not consider buying ANY home ANYWHERE near the coastlines (and this includes several miles inland) because insurance costs and cancellations are becoming a huge problems.
This week the Providence Journal ran the SECOND article on this topic. It stated 6000 policies are now being canceled in R.I. and many others are finding huge rate hikes. (All this without any hurricanes, yet).
There are people I know right now who are trying to sell before this becomes as widely publicized as it is in Florida.

If you need more information, please feel free to PM me.
Good Luck.

[Lula]

To get a visual for what you get for the money search on websites riliving.com or realtor.com

Get yourself prepared.