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We were thinking Ossining at first, but we've seen too many mix reviews. Sounds like it's it has some pretty bad areas and property values are decreasing because of people packing into houses illegally, not following housing codes. Again, this is just based off of things I've read.
Its sad to say, but at your price point, you may have limited options in the towns that you've narrowed it down to. I know people who live in Yorktown Heights and Cortlandt Manor and they like it. They really are lovely towns, and so is Croton On Hudson, which puts you closer to the city. keep an eye on property taxes as i'm sure they will be VERY high in any of these three towns. Good luck in your search!!
All of the feedback about the towns north of White Plains have an element of truth. Remember, the middle class is being pushed into the lower class as a result of the socio-economic trend. Taking on larger and larger debts and earning less and less money is not middle class living, it is lower class living. Less and less people are having access to good property and good, affordable education as the top1% usurps more and more of the nation's wealth. So here the middle class stands. Ossining and similar are your options here in the center of high finance double dealings of the world where the middle class is being decimated by your neighbors in the top 1%. Remember to say thank you.
All of the feedback about the towns north of White Plains have an element of truth. Remember, the middle class is being pushed into the lower class as a result of the socio-economic trend. Taking on larger and larger debts and earning less and less money is not middle class living, it is lower class living. Less and less people are having access to good property and good, affordable education as the top1% usurps more and more of the nation's wealth. So here the middle class stands. Ossining and similar are your options here in the center of high finance double dealings of the world where the middle class is being decimated by your neighbors in the top 1%. Remrmber to say thank you.
Come on man, please take your views to the politics forum. I don't necessarily disagree with you about the erosion of the middle class at all, but this isn't the proper forum for that. The original poster is just looking for help on places to live in Westchester and the various commute times, price points, quality of schools, etc. Let's be supportive and try to help him/her out.
Come on man, please take your views to the politics forum. I don't necessarily disagree with you about the erosion of the middle class at all, but this isn't the proper forum for that. The original poster is just looking for help on places to live in Westchester and the various commute times, price points, quality of schools, etc. Let's be supportive and try to help him/her out.
Understanding why options are limited is an important element to any any socio-economic discourse. The problem is that middle class people are doing nothing to push back other than accepting their lot which is music to the top 1% ears.
I told the op why southern Westchester is closed and I explained why. That is a complete answer and deserves an A+ as a finals grade. Now the op can consider the only options available which have been created for the decimated middle class I.e. worse housing, longer commutes, worse education. It is called a lower standard of living.
I told the op why southern Westchester is closed and I explained why. That is a complete answer and deserves an A+ as a finals grade. Now the op can consider the only options available which have been created for the decimated middle class.
An A + in your mind perhaps, but it read like a gentleman's C in mine.
thanks for all of your help. i've actually seen a lot of options on realty sites for the 3 towns we've narrowed it down to...we'll just have to keep an eye out for property taxes.
We actually just finished a fairly extensive property search in Westchester over the past year and a half and, after losing a few bids (competitive market), I did observe a few things. This, mind you, is mostly limited to the river towns, but hopefully you might find it helpful. Our budget was a bit different from what you are looking for, but after enough searching you get a pretty good idea of what is available in an area in all price ranges.
We found that Ossining had the lowest combination of home prices and tax rates of all the towns we considered (Chappaqua, Briarcliff, Pleasantville, Irvington, Tarrytown, Dobbs, Ardsley, Hastings). This seemed to be largely due to the school district when compared with neighboring towns. Although this wasn't a big deciding factor for us, it did come up when considering the resale value on an Ossining house as opposed to one zoned for, say, Briarcliff. However, there were a number of nicer homes in Ossining in the sub-$500k range than in the other mentioned towns.
The second contender for lower prices with a nice downtown was Tarrytown. The drawbacks may be that houses in that area tend to be a lot older with less square footage overall and may require some TLC.
That said, we noticed that some areas like Watch Hill as well as the immediate downtown area tended to have a lot of options on the sub-$500k range. Taxes in Tarrytown on older properties also seemed to be significantly lower than other neighboring towns like Pleasantville, etc. I did see one smaller 1950's 3bd cape style house in Tarrytown that was in nice condition, selling for $480k, around 1200 sq feet.
Finally, there's Dobbs where you may find a good mix of houses in your price range if you are willing to consider a townhome. Dobbs seems to have a lot of more affordable apartments or townhomes close to the downtown area. Again, the taxes are high but seem to be on par with surrounding villages and a lot of the lower priced homes seem to be relatively new compared to similar offerings in, say, Tarrytown. In Dobbs, you might be more likely to come across a 2-3 bd town home constructed in the last 30 years within your desired price range.
Hope this helps and good luck in your search!
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