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Old 10-17-2012, 03:00 PM
 
3,346 posts, read 4,134,723 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kidyankee764 View Post
The house you posted (an astonishing 5,000 sf!) would easily be 550-600k in CT. The taxes on that home are extremely low as well - 5k. And that house you posted in Simsbury, taxes are about 11,000 a year. I'm not trying to say you're wrong - I just want you to be ready for the high cost of living when you do come here.

Re your sit-on snow blower - if you do find yourself needing some extra cash, I'll rent it from ya.
Where are you seeing 5000 sq feet? The Littleton house posted was ~2500 sq feet.
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Old 10-17-2012, 03:25 PM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
21,553 posts, read 27,794,997 times
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If you want to minimize costs and still have the big house at a low price, it's going to really limit the towns you can search in. That's not to say there aren't great places that will work, but you will have to make some compromises. Whether it's location, schools, overall affluence levels, etc. For example, forget about West Hartford and Madison - but maybe Killingworth or Marlborough might work.
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Old 10-17-2012, 03:56 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve View Post
Where are you seeing 5000 sq feet? The Littleton house posted was ~2500 sq feet.
10592 Cross Country Ln, Littleton, CO 80125 - Zillow
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Old 10-17-2012, 04:26 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wilton2ParkAve View Post
Where are you seeing 5000 sq feet? The Littleton house posted was ~2500 sq feet.
I think he was thinking he needed to double the 2545 (therefore making it a little over 5000). However, I believe that the 2545 includes the basement measurements, in CO it usually does. Not totally sure either way on this one, as I've never been inside, but I know that it looks smaller than the surrounding houses from the outside. This includes looking smaller than ours, which is 4000 sq ft...

Whichever size the house here is, I'm sure that the overall cost of living in CT is more expensive. Trying to figure out exactly how much more than what we're used to will be a tad tricky, since there are so many factors on both ends to consider.
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Old 10-17-2012, 04:37 PM
 
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Stylo View Post
If you want to minimize costs and still have the big house at a low price, it's going to really limit the towns you can search in. That's not to say there aren't great places that will work, but you will have to make some compromises. Whether it's location, schools, overall affluence levels, etc. For example, forget about West Hartford and Madison - but maybe Killingworth or Marlborough might work.
I've scanned Marlborough, and it looks nice...

I would really prefer to live an area where we aren't the smallest home and least affluent. That is (to me) stressful (like we are trying to live above our means)...we don't care about prestige at all. Safety and schools and comfort are our concerns. So a nice yard, 4 bedrooms, at least two bathrooms. Maybe a loft area for an office, or a downstairs family room area.

On a very preliminary basis (because it's really too early to narrow it down) here are some houses we like. These are all from Simsbury, although we aren't set on being there AT ALL. I just happened to have looked some there. We plan on purchasing in June of 2013, but if the perfect area (wherever that is haha) and the perfect house (whatever that is...again haha) for the right price comes along, we could purchase earlier. That's why I'm looking, even though we don't plan on moving until summer.
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Old 10-17-2012, 04:42 PM
 
Location: Coastal Connecticut
21,553 posts, read 27,794,997 times
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Check out Branford and Bethany in the New Haven area too. A lot of coastal might be tough if you want to maximize your home size for the money, as well as the more affluent Hartford suburbs.
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Old 10-17-2012, 07:06 PM
 
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Interesting info on the houses. But I think we all may be thinking about different things. The property you posted in Simsbury is what we call a raised ranch and only the first level is considered in the square footage. Only square footage fully above grade is considered by the town assessor and appraisers in CT to be part of the house.

Finished basement is simply finished basement. So that raised ranch in Simsbury which the realtors call 2500 square or so, might really be 1250 square feet for basic tax assessment purposes. The finished basement of course is taxed but not to the level of above grade square footage.

When you said you wanted 4,000 square feet or so, I think most to us had in mind a 4,000 square foot colonial home all above grade ( not taking into account any finished basement area. ). This is why people are saying well over $ 425,000 and likely into the $ 500's or 600's in many towns in the New Haven and Hartford areas.

If you're willing to consider split level or raised ranch type homes that opens up many more housing possibilities in the under $ 350,000 range throughout your target area.

That could get you into Glastonbury in the Hartford area or Guilford / Madison in the New Haven area . Those are excellent school districts in towns with a high amenity level. You won't have to drive far for your basics.

I have no direct knowledge of the Achievement First charter system. They run what is know as the Amistad Academy charter school in New Haven. It's rated 7 out of 10 on the great schools website and is not yet ranked due to insufficient test score data on the schooldigger website.
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Old 10-18-2012, 07:39 AM
 
Location: Connecticut
34,700 posts, read 56,496,602 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crystalreedy1 View Post
We totally count basement square footage if it's finished, and just note it as being there is if it's not. I don't want to pay 9,000 in taxes ...hahaha...too bad!
The taxes on the house you posted in Simsbury are $7,200 according to PrudentialCT.com. The site you posted shows them to be like $11,000 which is insanely inaccurate. Most homes in that price range in Simsbury will be similar (between $7,000 and $8,000). I would suggest signing up for a local real estate company's website to find homes. They give more accurate information.

Another thing I would suggest is looking for homes with gas heat. It is less expensive. And note that it will be harder to find a home with central air conditioning here in the price range. Most older homes just don't have it. You can usually add it but note it would likely be around $10,000 to do so. Jay
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Old 10-18-2012, 07:57 AM
 
8,777 posts, read 19,776,588 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by crystalreedy1 View Post

Here is a fairly comparable house (same # of bdrms, 1/2 bath less, 30 sq ft more, .75 of an acre as opposed to .12 of an acre) in Simsbury. What I DON'T know about this house is how the area of town equates to where we live currently.
MLS # L143789 - 7 North Dr, Simsbury CT, 06070 | Homes.com
I wouldn't use this home as a baseline for determining what you'll get for your $$$$ in Simsbury. The property history on this house shows that it was renovated and flipped in '08. Resold after 2.5 years in '11, and now being sold(sale pending) again less than 1.5 years later. Whether it's an issue of poor workmanship on the renovation, or if it's an issue with the actual location, i can't say. But i definitely see red flags with this house.
http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...x=CECT_L143789
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