Why are Levittown homes cheaper? (Hempstead, Oyster Bay: houses, buy, construction)

[helen8899]

My wife and I are relocating from Connecticut to Long Island with two kids (5 & 8) and have been house hunting for the past 2 months. We have noticed that houses in Levittown are much cheaper than comparable houses in the surrounding towns ( Bethpage, Farmingdale, Wantagh,...). Why??? Can someone shed some light on this? Much appreciated.

[Kbinspections]

Most of the houses in Levittown are built by Levitt. Since it is the first "development" in the country, it comes with many construction flaws and general dislikes.

General dislikes:

No basement
Boiler in kitchen
No garage or converted carports

Construction Issues:

Termites!
Buried oil tanks
Limited access to the the water main and sewer clean out
Elec. box in closet
Failed copper heating pipes in the slab
Poor insulation
Poor additions and dormers

With all that said, many have been undergone major improvments with satisfactory results.



Many have been updated well

[llama8]

I moved to Levittown 2 years ago and it is a great town. It is very family oriented and safe. The homes are cheaper because they were made cheaper. They were mass produced by William Levitt as the first suburbia without basements (they have slabs). Also the original Levitt homes were very small. Most people have expanded, but you can buy an original (not updated) home very cheaply.

When looking, make sure to get a home with updated electric and heating.My friend bought a Levitt home in Wantagh (Levit schools) that was completely original and she had a lot of expensive updating to do.

Also, all of Levittown is a very safe, but some parts are aesthetically nicer than others. The Division area (school district) is not super desirable. Most homes are original and it is more working class (which is not bad, but some people may not want that). You will probably want either the Macarthur high school or Island Trees.

I live in Island Trees section which is very nice. Our school district is seperate from Levittown and it includes the towns of: (part of Levittown, Seaford, Bethpage, Plainedge, and a small section of Massapequa). It is a smaller school and it is considered to be very good.

Also: anyone in a Levitt home has free use of the Levittown public pools.

Good luck on you house search.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by llama8

My friend bought a Levitt home in Wantagh (Levit schools) that was completely original and she had a lot of expensive updating to do.

Depending on exactly where your friend's house is located, that house is not in the Hamlet of Wantagh but most likely is in that part of the Hamlet of Levittown that has a "Wantagh, NY 11793" mailing address.


For those who may not be familiar with Levittown:

Levittown is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the northeast part of the Town of Hempstead, in the southeast part of Nassau County, along the Hempstead/Oyster Bay town line.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Levittown in the Town of Hempstead is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Hicksville and the Hamlet of Bethpage in the Town of Oyster Bay (the Hempstead/Oyster Bay Town line); on the east by the Hamlet of Plainedge and the Hamlet of North Massapequa in the Town of Oyster Bay (the Hempstead/Oyster Bay town line); on the south by the Hamlet of North Wantagh; and, on the west by the Hamlet of East Meadow and the Hamlet of Salisbury.





The Hamlet of Levittown has a different border than does the "Levittown, NY 11756" postal zone (i.e., a place can have a "Levittown, NY 11756" mailing address and not be in the Hamlet of Levittown and a place can be in the Hamlet of Levittown and have other than a "Levittown, NY 11756" mailing address): places that have a "Levittown, NY 11756" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Levittown are in the Hamlet of Plainedge and the Hamlet of Salisbury; and, at the same time, there are places in the Hamlet of Levittown that have a "Bethpage, NY 11714", "Wantagh, NY 11793" and "Seaford, NY 11783" mailing address.


For a good set of town-by-town maps showing all the villages and hamlets in each of LI's 13 towns (3 in Nassau County and 10 in Suffolk County): //www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by llama8

I live in Island Trees section which is very nice. Our school district is seperate from Levittown and it includes the towns of: (part of Levittown, Seaford, Bethpage, Plainedge, and a small section of Massapequa).

While parts of the Island Trees Union Free School District have a "Bethpage, NY 11714" and "Seaford, NY 11783" mailing address, the Island Trees Union Free School District is 100% in the Hamlet of Levittown in the Town of Hempstead (see the preceding map of the Hamlet of Levittown).

[OhBeeHave]

and a small section of Massapequa

What part of Massapequa is in Island Trees? That is a completely news to me. I grew up in Massapequa; anything west of Route 107 was considered Seaford (Behind Miljay's and up and along to Island Rec, etc.), north of Boundary was Bethpage (as you went further east on Boundary it became Farmingdale.) North of the 135/107 intersection, you entered Plainedge.

[llama8]

Originally Posted by Walter Greenspan

While parts of the Island Trees Union Free School District have a "Bethpage, NY 11714" and "Seaford, NY 11783" mailing address, the Island Trees Union Free School District is 100% in the Hamlet of Levittown in the Town of Hempstead (see the preceding map of the Hamlet of Levittown).

You are correct, Island Trees is in Levittown and it encompasses parts of other towns zoned for that district, however it is entirely seperate from the Levittown school District. It is it's own smaller school district. It has a seperate school board, budget vote, and taxes. Even though Island Trees is in Levittown, it is not part of the Levittown school district.

[llama8]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

What part of Massapequa is in Island Trees? That is a completely news to me. I grew up in Massapequa; anything west of Route 107 was considered Seaford (Behind Miljay's and up and along to Island Rec, etc.), north of Boundary was Bethpage (as you went further east on Boundary it became Farmingdale.) North of the 135/107 intersection, you entered Plainedge.

I think you are correct and I am mistaken. There is this one strange block that is 1/2 bethpage and 1/2 massapequa and that is the dividing line for the district (middle of the steet). I don't believe the side that is massapequa is zoned into Island Trees. My apologies.

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

What part of Massapequa is in Island Trees?

You're correct: no part of the Hamlet of Massapequa, nor any place with a "Massapequa, NY 11758" mailing address, is in the Island Trees Union Free School District.


For those who may not be familiar with Massapequa:

Massapequa is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the south part of the Town of Oyster Bay, in the southeast part of Nassau County, along the Oyster Bay/Hempstead town line.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of Massapequa in the Town of Oyster Bay is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of North Massapequa; on the east by the Village of Massapequa Park; on the south by South Oyster Bay; and, on the west by the Hamlet of Seaford in the Town of Hempstead (the Oyster Bay/Hempstead town line).





Massapequa is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where the majority of the places with the community name as part of their mailing address are not in the hamlet: places that have a "Massapequa, NY 11758" mailing address that are not in the Hamlet of Massapequa are in the Hamlet of North Massapequa and the Hamlet of East Massapequa


For a good set of town-by-town maps showing all the villages and hamlets in each of LI's 13 towns (3 in Nassau County and 10 in Suffolk County): //www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by OhBeeHave

I grew up in Massapequa; anything west of Route 107 was considered Seaford (Behind Miljay's and up and along to Island Rec, etc.), north of Boundary was Bethpage (as you went further east on Boundary it became Farmingdale.) North of the 135/107 intersection, you entered Plainedge.

You seemed to have jumped over the Hamlet of North Massapequa!

For those who may not be familiar with North Massapequa:

North Massapequa is a hamlet (an unincorporated area) in the south part of the Town of Oyster Bay, in the southeast part of Nassau County, along the Oyster Bay/Hempstead town line.

Beginning on the north and moving in a clockwise direction, the Hamlet of North Massapequa in the Town of Oyster Bay is bordered on the north by the Hamlet of Plainedge; on the east by the Hamlet of South Farmingdale and the Village of Massapequa Park; on the south by the Hamlet of Massapequa; and, on the west by the Hamlet of North Wantagh and the Hamlet of Levittown in the Town of Hempstead (the Oyster Bay/Hempstead town line).


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/9/92/North-Massapequa-map-ny.gif (broken link)


North Massapequa is one of those many villages and hamlets on Long Island where none of the places in the community have the hamlet name as part of their mailing address: places in the Hamlet of North Massapequa have a "Massapequa, NY 11758", "Farmingdale, NY 11735", and "Seaford, NY 117873" mailing address.


For a good set of town-by-town maps showing all the villages and hamlets in each of LI's 13 towns (3 in Nassau County and 10 in Suffolk County): //www.city-data.com/forum/long-...-resource.html