[Stylo]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I thought the neighborhoods north of Route 1 were fine. Do you and Stratford CT Resident agree with that? Jay

Yeah, a few blocks north of it.

[cottercutie]

OK so all of Milford and Fairfield are OK and north of Rte 1 in Stratford?

Can anyone tell me how RE agents charge for rentals? Is it like LI and you pay an arm, leg and first born or is it the LL who pays?

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by cottercutie

OK so all of Milford and Fairfield are OK and north of Rte 1 in Stratford?

Can anyone tell me how RE agents charge for rentals? Is it like LI and you pay an arm, leg and first born or is it the LL who pays?

Devon in Milford is less desirable and dumpy in spots, but it's pretty safe. I'd look at other parts of town, personally. Being near the train station would be ideal for commuting, and the area around the train station happens to be super nice.

There are parts of Stratford that are great south and around route 1. It's just the part near Bridgeport you should avoid. Pretty much all of eastern Stratford is good.

My family rented out a place through an agent and had to pay themselves, the buyer didn't pay anything. I think that's usually how it goes?

[Stratford, Ct. Resident]

Originally Posted by JayCT

I thought the neighborhoods north of Route 1 were fine. Do you and Stratford CT Resident agree with that? Jay

There is a small densely populated pocket on the Bridgeport border along Rt.1 between Weber and Clover, bounded by Canaan, that has always had some nuisance/petty issues. Unsafe? No. Desirable? No. It's probably comparable to the lessor neighborhoods in Devon.

[cottercutie]

We're coming from Long Island, house prices don't scare us LOL.

The problem on Long Island is the taxes. For a home in my neighborhood, they're 10k+. 6k as opposed to 5k? Not too bad, it's doable. We just feel we'd have more options off the island. Traffic, taxes, pricing.. the areas should be pretty comparable all things considered. The difference would be not having to pay a premium to get OFF the island LOL.

Thank you all so much for your help. I do appreciate it. I understand that coming down from the north there are a lot of backroads, but I don't think the train is a realistic option for him from what I am looking at.

We just want livable and clean, older doesn't bother me a bit. In fact, I'd rather have a charming 50's style kitchen than some of the newer kitchens I've seen.

Condo/Townhome also isn't an issue for us. I'm seeing stuff under 350k in Stamford. Are there areas to avoid in Stamford? I see a lot of townhomes/condos in the area, which does sound appealing to us at least in terms of a rental property.

Also, ok and this may sound crazy..... on Long Island, there is a big problem with rentals being illegal, in fact most of the craigslist listings are illegal apartments. Is this something we need to be concerned with in Connecticut?

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by cottercutie

Also, ok and this may sound crazy..... on Long Island, there is a big problem with rentals being illegal, in fact most of the craigslist listings are illegal apartments. Is this something we need to be concerned with in Connecticut?

Mainly in the cities - Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, West Haven, etc...

[cottercutie]

So what should we be on the lookout for to ensure we are in a legal apartment? On LI, if the apartment is in a house, they need to have a permit for an accessory apartment.

[KPMats10]

How would everyone rate Metro North from the Milford/Stratford area as opposed to driving in rush hour from these spots to Stamford on I-95? Is Metro North as big a mess as LIRR or is it a much more reliable form of transportation?

[kidyankee764]

Originally Posted by KPMats10

How would everyone rate Metro North from the Milford/Stratford area as opposed to driving in rush hour from these spots to Stamford on I-95? Is Metro North as big a mess as LIRR or is it a much more reliable form of transportation?

MNRR is pretty good. The trains are getting old and have some issues in extreme weather (heat, cold/snow), but as far as being on time, they are very reliable. An 8:47 train will roll through at 8:47 more than 90% of the time.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by KPMats10

How would everyone rate Metro North from the Milford/Stratford area as opposed to driving in rush hour from these spots to Stamford on I-95? Is Metro North as big a mess as LIRR or is it a much more reliable form of transportation?

You really can't commute by car unless you have a really high tolerance for traffic. I know someone who does that commute and it can be 60-90 minutes in one direction on bad days.

The train from that area is 30-35 minutes. Much better option, runs frequently and is pretty reliable.

They are in the process of replacing all the old cars with brand new ones. It's going to take a couple years, but they introduce new cars every month. This should improve reliability in the future.