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Another problem to consider when considering a home south of Montauk is sewage backups. If you are hooked up to the sewer district the system can back up in the event of heavy rainfall. I think it was last year when a bunch of homes in West Islip had sewage spilling in. Not pleasant, but the water table there is too high for cesspools - you must have sewers. This doesn't occur throughout the whole sewer district, but it does in certain areas. So do your homework and check. Most important - find a good home inspector - they will know if there had been previous issues with flooding and backups.
A high water table can cause the same backup problems with cesspools as sewers, though.
When I owned the W. Islip house, it was during that time that the area was converted from cesspools to sewers (bought it with cesspools, sold it with sewers). Trust me, the sewers were a godsend because we literally had to watch the water level on the canal bulkheading to see how much water we could use! The guideline was the line of barnacles which would form on the average normal waterline. If you could see the barnacles, it was safe to use as much water as you needed (washing, showers, baths, flushing toilets). BUT.... if due to higher than normal tides, especially with rain, the water came up to within a couple of feet of the top of the bulkheading, we had to go into "Danger Mode" because that meant the groundwater level was correspondingly high and the cesspool filled up with it. If we used more than the bare minimum of water, the cesspool would always back up into the most low-lying "receptacle" which -- since the houses were on slabs -- happened to be the downstairs bathroom toilet.
During very high tides there could be no laundry, no dishwasher running, no baths, the shortest possible showers with fingers crossed, and only the most absolutely necessary toilet-flushing.
Not fun.
Once the sewers were put in, there were no more of those problems in the neighborhood, no matter how high the tide was.
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It's extremely difficult for some people to get home owner's insurance when they are so close to the bay (The Great South Bay for non-LIers ). I am pretty sure that insurance does not cover flood damage during "acts of God" like hurricanes).
Don't even get me started on the current Insurance Situation on LI as it pertains to anywhere within 2 miles of the shore.
But as far as flood is concerned, homeowners policies haven't covered ANY kind of flood ("act of nature" or otherwise) for quite a few years now. It's been a standard exclusion. Check your own policy; I bet it excludes flood damage.
It may cover water damage from burst pipes, but then again it may not. It depends on whether you have Extended Coverage or not.
Depending on where you live and when you last renewed, you may now have a new special and separate Hurricane Deductible of either 2% or 5% as well. A parting gift from Katrina.....
A high water table can cause the same backup problems with cesspools as sewers, though.
When I owned the W. Islip house, it was during that time that the area was converted from cesspools to sewers (bought it with cesspools, sold it with sewers). Trust me, the sewers were a godsend because we literally had to watch the water level on the canal bulkheading to see how much water we could use! The guideline was the line of barnacles which would form on the average normal waterline. If you could see the barnacles, it was safe to use as much water as you needed (washing, showers, baths, flushing toilets). BUT.... if due to higher than normal tides, especially with rain, the water came up to within a couple of feet of the top of the bulkheading, we had to go into "Danger Mode" because that meant the groundwater level was correspondingly high and the cesspool filled up with it. If we used more than the bare minimum of water, the cesspool would always back up into the most low-lying "receptacle" which -- since the houses were on slabs -- happened to be the downstairs bathroom toilet.
That's the absolute worst...like being up sh**'s creek without a paddle... literally.
Sounds like no need to get pi$$ed off anymore, once the sewers were put in!
As a resident of the general area I think I can give you some advice.
First of all you will definitely be able to find a home in your price rage. There are many very nice homes in both West Babylon and North Babylon. Many homes go for between $350K and $450K. As far as Babylon Village is concerned it tends to be more expensive with higher taxes. Of West Babylon or North Babylon it becomes a question of which school district and neighborhoods you might prefer.
Just so you know, parts of West Babylon go to North Babylon schools. Now this is my view. The school districts are pretty even in terms of academic achievement. Both have somewhat diverse student bodies, although NB Schools are more diverse than WB schools. I can not tell you about the WB elementary schools, but I can say that the NB elementary schools are really good. NB teachers often live in the community and have a vested interest in seeing the kids do well. Some of them have kids in the district or did have kids in the district. Also, they have the same down-to-earth attitude as many of the residents of NB of course.
One thing for sure is the amount of parental involvement in the schools - which is very high. The district welcomes parents into the schools - especially Kindergarten. The area tends to have a lot of stay at home moms who are class mothers, etc.. I think this is because North Babylon is one of the few areas where a family can afford to live on just one income - home prices are lower here. There is a tremendous amount of community pride here: we have lots of sports (Patriot Soccer, T-ball, football, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts) and community activities at the library. Of course there is Belmont State Park, but also the facilities at Phelps Lane Park: brand new pool - swim lessons for kids and day camp. We can thank Steve Bellone our Town Supervisor for that. He is doing a great deal to make Babylon Township better.
Now as far as being Jewish - nothing to worry about. I suspect, I may be wrong, that you are pretty secular Reform Jews. I think there is a temple in Deer Park? Anyway, you will find that NB schools do recognize all faiths. The kids do get to see Santa at school, but they also learn about dradles. Most people in North Babylon (11703 Census says 90% white) are probably Italian and Irish, but there are Jews sprinkled about as well.
As far as neighborhoods, West Babylon has no character. Its mostly on a grid. Most North Babylon neighborhoods are really nice with curved streets our wide streets at least with well maintained homes. The best areas are Sunset City, the Phelps Lane area and the Poet Section. I'd check out Sunset City. Lots of very nice splits in your price range.
So Good Luck, I hope this helped.
I am so happy to here, we also just moved to W.BABYLON 1 yr. ago and have pleasent nieghbors and close knit block everyone knows every ones kids and they are very helpful and friendly to not only me but the whole family very diverse nieghborhood and very clean. I am also from BROOKLYN and my sons average has skyrockted to a 70% average to a 95% the schools and teachers are great! as for crime lets just say from Brooklyn to W. Babylon it is a dramatic change! Also the people no matter where i go are always helpful and friendly we are of Spanish desent and i do not see any difference towards us or the Afro American family in the house up the block. we are having a great time here and brought a newborn to the house also and all i have to say i love my block !! my son goes to WEST BABYLON JR. HIGH SCHOOL and i am more proud of him than ever, he plays basketball,hockey,soccer and so many things to do! there are many things the kids can do here (program wise) we live on Salem ave. my son walks to school and back never had problems with that and also when the weather is really bad i always have a nieghbor picking up their kids and ask me if they can pick him up (which is very helpful since our baby is a preemie and i cannot take him every where as of yet...so i say Check us out! it is so different from broolklyn and make your own mind up. Good luck and just be carefull as to what people say, some of them really need to go to brooklyn and see the differences themselves before saying things (comparing that is) that were from about 10,20 yrs. ago.
sincerely,
usmcwife68
Last edited by usmcwife68; 09-25-2007 at 02:11 PM..
Wow, thanks so much, USMC Wife! What a great review! It's especially helpful since you're from Brooklyn, so you're making the same comparison we would be. Thanks for posting, it's really great to hear your experience!
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