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I checked out West Hartford and unfortunately have to say it was too uppity for me. Bloomfield has some beautiful houses but property taxes are more than I'm willing to spend. I'm also not seeing many houses in Windsor that interest me at the moment so back to the drawing board. If I find a great location, I could spend up to $600k if the property taxes are under $7k (but preferably less than $6k). Is that even possible for a nice mini mansion with a decent plot of land (an acre-ish) and some privacy? I'm used to paying $3k taxes for a 2700 sq ft house now so can't justify spending double that to move one state over. I'm still looking for a safe town with a good social scene with some down to earth non-judgmental people. Most of my friends live in Bloomfield, South Windsor, Farmington, New Haven, and Bristol. But they are married and most with kids so didn't have any advice on best towns for singletons. I'd like to live within an hour or less from them and work (Bloomfield). Any other towns that would be welcoming to single newbies with low property taxes? I would be willing to drive a couple towns over for nightlife, if needed. I'm going to look at Milford next as some have suggested but worry it might be too far. I may look at Middletown but seems like there's mixed reactions there. Appreciate everyone's help! I just want to make sure I making the right choice and have no regrets. Never realized buying a home could be so stressful!
If property taxes are a big concern Windsor Locks probably has the lowest property taxes in the Hartford area. I think this is because the airport (BDL) is located there. It will be a challenge to find a good house outside of the flight paths, since everyone else is also looking for that. I would look at houses on RT 75 south of and northof the airport for starters, but this is a busy road.
Windsor Locks is north of Windsor (the two towns border each other in case you didn't know) and would be a quick drive to Windsor's town center. Windsor Locks itself has some amenities, but no real downtown like Windsor.
I checked out West Hartford and unfortunately have to say it was too uppity for me. Bloomfield has some beautiful houses but property taxes are more than I'm willing to spend. I'm also not seeing many houses in Windsor that interest me at the moment so back to the drawing board. If I find a great location, I could spend up to $600k if the property taxes are under $7k (but preferably less than $6k). Is that even possible for a nice mini mansion with a decent plot of land (an acre-ish) and some privacy? I'm used to paying $3k taxes for a 2700 sq ft house now so can't justify spending double that to move one state over. I'm still looking for a safe town with a good social scene with some down to earth non-judgmental people. Most of my friends live in Bloomfield, South Windsor, Farmington, New Haven, and Bristol. But they are married and most with kids so didn't have any advice on best towns for singletons. I'd like to live within an hour or less from them and work (Bloomfield). Any other towns that would be welcoming to single newbies with low property taxes? I would be willing to drive a couple towns over for nightlife, if needed. I'm going to look at Milford next as some have suggested but worry it might be too far. I may look at Middletown but seems like there's mixed reactions there. Appreciate everyone's help! I just want to make sure I making the right choice and have no regrets. Never realized buying a home could be so stressful!
You are going to spend $600,000 on a house but don't want to pay more than $6,000 per year in taxes? Sorry but that does not make sense. I doubt you can find that anywhere in the northeast let alone Connecticut.
I think you need to rethink this a bit. You need to think about resale. Most people buying a $600,000 home are families with kids and at that price they want good schools. Good schools almost always means high taxes. Keep in mind that it would be easier to sell a $600,000 home in a town with good schools than one in a town with poorly regarded schools.
Maybe you should consider buying a lower priced home that has taxes in line with what you are willing to spend or accept the fact that a $600,000 home has higher taxes. Also you should concentrate on finding a town you like and the worry about the house once you pick the town. If you liked the general size and density you may like Middletown. It is not as upscale but has a great Main Street with a lot of good restaurants. Just a suggestion. Jay
You are going to spend $600,000 on a house but don't want to pay more than $6,000 per year in taxes? Sorry but that does not make sense. I doubt you can find that anywhere in the northeast let alone Connecticut.
^^beg to differ...but this seems to be a CT thing. We've been looking at real estate around Boston for the past several months. Homes even more expensive than $600K but with taxes half of what I'm paying in West Hartford now.
You are going to spend $600,000 on a house but don't want to pay more than $6,000 per year in taxes? Sorry but that does not make sense. I doubt you can find that anywhere in the northeast let alone Connecticut.
You can in Greenwich and in other towns too but that's what I'm trying to find out here. It makes perfect sense to me because if I'm spending more money on a house at least I own it and not sinking money in taxes which I won't see again. So yes I'd rather spend more money on a house in a good town with good resale value with less property tax.
You can in Greenwich and in other towns too but that's what I'm trying to find out here. It makes perfect sense to me because if I'm spending more money on a house at least I own it and not sinking money in taxes which I won't see again. So yes I'd rather spend more money on a house in a good town with good resale value with less property tax.
Good luck finding a decent home in Greenwich for 600k.
^^beg to differ...but this seems to be a CT thing. We've been looking at real estate around Boston for the past several months. Homes even more expensive than $600K but with taxes half of what I'm paying in West Hartford now.
If I don't find anything in CT, I may just stay in MA and look around the Boston area as well. Where are you looking? I have some great friends in CT so REALLY would like to find a place in CT but still trying to find a town that's right for me. If I had to describe the perfect town it would be a bunch of self-made upper middle class people in beautiful homes w/ down to earth personalities, wear jeans and shirts, friendly, and don't all drive BMWs or Mercedes. So if I can find that town with low property taxes I'm in!
Good luck finding a decent home in Greenwich for 600k.
I should have quoted a different part of his post but my point was that you can spend big bucks on a home and still pay low property tax. Yes $600k in Greenwich will get you a shoebox ranch!
If I don't find anything in CT, I may just stay in MA and look around the Boston area as well. Where are you looking? I have some great friends in CT so REALLY would like to find a place in CT but still trying to find a town that's right for me. If I had to describe the perfect town it would be a bunch of self-made upper middle class people in beautiful homes w/ down to earth personalities, wear jeans and shirts, friendly, and don't all drive BMWs or Mercedes. So if I can find that town with low property taxes I'm in!
There are several towns along the 128 corridor (Burlington, Woburn, Wilmington, etc.) where taxes are nowhere near what I'm paying now in West Hartford. But it goes without saying that those are more expensive homes on a $/sq ft basis. So it's definitely a tradeoff. I was just trying to make the point about taxes, that one can't generalize about the Northeast.
There are several towns along the 128 corridor (Burlington, Woburn, Wilmington, etc.) where taxes are nowhere near what I'm paying now in West Hartford. But it goes without saying that those are more expensive homes on a $/sq ft basis. So it's definitely a tradeoff. I was just trying to make the point about taxes, that one can't generalize about the Northeast.
I agree. CT has a greater overall state and local tax burden than MA and there is no getting around that.
I think West Hartford is comparable in many ways to Belmont and Newton which have median home prices of approx $450 per square foot or even slightly less desirable Arlington at $380/sq foot. WH is $175/sq foot. Huge difference.
$400k-600k (for example) buys surprisingly a lot in WH, including fully modernized homes with loads of character within close proximity to WH's downtown. You'd pay $1.2-1.5m + for a comparable renovated 1920-1940s house (for example) in the 'desirable' suburbs of Boston. Obviously Boston has a much more robust economy which has driven up house values anywhere with good schools and solid reputations and if you are in certain fields, you will likely benefit from being in the Boston economy. However, if this is not the case, WH is a screaming bargain compared to the overall costs of Boston's suburbs. The additional interest you'll pay on the much higher mortgage amount alone (or cost of tying up the additional capital) will likely far outweigh the greater tax burden. It's also likely that you'll pay more tax on a comparable home in a high priced Boston suburb anyway due to the higher property valuations.
I understand that you get all of this and were just referring to tax alone but I think the comparison between WH and Boston suburbs is interesting.
I agree. CT has a greater overall state and local tax burden than MA and there is no getting around that.
I think West Hartford is comparable in many ways to Belmont and Newton which have median home prices of approx $450 per square foot or even slightly less desirable Arlington at $380/sq foot. WH is $175/sq foot. Huge difference.
$400k-600k (for example) buys surprisingly a lot in WH, including fully modernized homes with loads of character within close proximity to WH's downtown. You'd pay $1.2-1.5m + for a comparable renovated 1920-1940s house (for example) in the 'desirable' suburbs of Boston. Obviously Boston has a much more robust economy which has driven up house values anywhere with good schools and solid reputations and if you are in certain fields, you will likely benefit from being in the Boston economy. However, if this is not the case, WH is a screaming bargain compared to the overall costs of Boston's suburbs. The additional interest you'll pay on the much higher mortgage amount alone (or cost of tying up the additional capital) will likely far outweigh the greater tax burden. It's also likely that you'll pay more tax on a comparable home in a high priced Boston suburb anyway due to the higher property valuations.
I understand that you get all of this and were just referring to tax alone but I think the comparison between WH and Boston suburbs is interesting.
The OP lives in Western Mass, not the Boston area so I don't know why you're making this comparison...
Coming from western Mass, the Hartford area will seem expensive...
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