Hello! Relocating to Westchester and have numerous questions. (Bedford, Pelham: sale, neighborhood)

[Dewdrop93]

I've also been looking for a house in Westchester for around your same budget. I would look at Somers, Lincolnadle, Purdys, South Salem, and the Bedford area. I've been finding some decent houses in good school districts in those areas. You can also look in Cortlandt but I didn't like that area as much. We were looking in Yorktown but the taxes were astronomical. The taxes in the places I mentioned are much more affordable. This is just what I have found in my househunting so far. I hope it helps! Just don't steal the house I want!

[quelinda]

I have been looking at the listings on a daily basis for around a year now; more out of curiousity since I dont want to move before next summer. But I am familiar with every house on the market in the price range and towns that I am looking in. Home prices are continuously dropping, with prices dropping on a daily basis. Many homes have been on the market for several months or longer. During that time the prices generally decrease by between $50K and $175K for the lower priced homes. I laugh when I see some of the homes whose owners believe that they will get the old high prices. Because I know there is competition that is nicer and cheaper. There are a few nice homes around $400K which need full renovations which will run around $60K. So yeah, prices are still dropping everyday, but if you're used to living in a 1,000 sq ft space in NYC your whole life, 1600 sq ft, plus a refinished basement and yard, is plenty.

[sumukru]

Dewdrop and Quelinda: Thank you.

I keep visiting my go-to sites for real estate, am in communication with our real estate agent and am working months in advance. I am glad to see I am not just imagining the trends I've been seeing and it's nice to have other people's input that confirms that line of thought.

Dew, I won't steal your house! LOL Best of luck in your hunt.

Quelinda,

I laugh when I see some of the homes whose owners believe that they will get the old high prices. Because I know there is competition that is nicer and cheaper.

I couldn't agree more. We looked at a home in a nice area on a lake that was in our price range. It was outdated, a poor layout, smelled like old lady, dog and moth balls! Needless to say, the price was dropped within 2 months of our visit by over 50k. It, in my opinion, is still a bit high, but certainly more reasonable.

Good luck in your search!

[ckhthankgod]

What about Rockland County? Would places like Nyack, West Nyack, Orangeburg, Pearl River and Nanuet work?

[sumukru]

Originally Posted by ckhthankgod

What about Rockland County? Would places like Nyack, West Nyack, Orangeburg, Pearl River and Nanuet work?

We drove around a bit in Rockland and found some areas and homes that we liked, but the TappanZee bridge is not something my husband wants to deal with everyday. Considering his commute, there really isn't another alternate route.

We've also toyed with the idea of CT. It's not entirely out of the picture, nor is lower Putnam County, but aside from schooling, drive time is our driving force (ooooh! Such a master of words!).

[J&A'sMOM]

Where will you or your DH be communting to? Having lived in the Midwest most of my life and moving to CT for a commute to Norwalk which turned in to 1hr 40 minute commute to NYC this is very important. If you're commuting to NYC look into some of the rivertown communties. I'm hoping to relo to Tarrytown so shorten my DH's commute to 45 minutes door to door! The schools are OK, the catholic school in town is very affordable. Also there is a rich wonderful community with many family activites around and also NYC is close for the kids on the weekends.

Not familar w/ Yorktown or Crompond - to far north for me.

Truly each communtity has a totally different feel - from Ossing, Tarrytown, to Bronxvile to Larchmont. You'll just have to spend time in each - that's why I highly recommend renting first!

There are so many weekend activites for families it's hard to list, anything from country carnivals to children's theater and even "small" ski hills for the kids. - Stowe VT is about 5 hour drive.

I'd highly reccommend renting first - truly wish we had done that to figure out where to live before getting into a house. We love living in the Northeast, it has a rich history and so close to Boston, Vermont, Philly, DC and many other wonderful places to explore. Westchester also has many wonderful farms and museums to explore with the kids. Good Luck Also - prices are really coming down in Westchester!! I've been looking for a couple of years now and where I want to buy they are now down about 30%!!

[sumukru]

Thank you for your input J&A'sMOM.

Husband is commuting to lower Westchester County, so that's nice to avoid the extra 30+ minutes to NYC. I'm a bit selfish and like having him around, which is why I'm very interested in limiting his commute to under 1 hour each way...ideally 30 minutes each way...

I poked around at private school tuitions - figuring we could find a lovely home in White Plains, but not being in love with the public schools there - however the school I was interested in was a tuition of about 30k per year...and I have two kids! Yikes! since the other private schools there had very small classes (like single digits per class) and that isn't really the environment my kids need (social little creatures that they are), private schooling isn't going to happen for us. And moreso, we're not believers, so sending my kids to a religious based learning environment doesn't sit well with me.

[nonny]

Have you looked at Pelham?

[kletter1mann]

Originally Posted by sumukru

Husband is commuting to lower Westchester County, so that's nice to avoid the extra 30+ minutes to NYC. I'm a bit selfish and like having him around, which is why I'm very interested in limiting his commute to under 1 hour each way...ideally 30 minutes each way...

Can you be more specific about where in "southern Westchester?" This covers a lot of ground commuting-wise. For example, if it's to Tarrytown Rt 119 corridor or White Plains, 30 minutes puts you in most of northern Westchester, and hour each way is MUCH farther out. But if he's working near the city line you might be talking about no farther out the I-287.

If you're selfish about his time don't even contemplate anything over the TZ.

[sumukru]

Originally Posted by kletter1mann

If you're selfish about his time don't even contemplate anything over the TZ.

I hear you!

His company will be in Ardsley.