If school district doesn't matter... (Hempstead, Valley Stream: houses, taxes, living)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Rockville Centre, Baldwin, Farmingdale and Valley Stream.
Is this recommendation for real or another motive? Rockville Centre is one of the higher rated SDs on LI and the others are mostly mid-list, two some would call mediocre at the very worst, but still better than many schools in the rest of the country.
I understand, but there should be somewhere you draw the line.
I think perhaps the OP is not looking at the whole picture. Even if you don't have kids or plan to send them to private school, the school district your home is in can have a very negative effect on resale value and even on the chance of selling it if the home is in a bad school district. So to a certain point, school district does matter.
Another thing is that the taxes in bad school districts are not significantly less than in a better (at least fair) school district, so you are not getting any discount for being in a bad school district. They eat up your money too. Plus the price of homes is not $200K less than in a better school district either. So where is the incentive to buy in a very bad school district?
Actually I am seeing the bigger picture. I'd just like to find the trade-off between a nice area/ house and cheaper price. If the resale value of the house is low because of the school district, the initial purchase price would be lower also, no? I'm just posting to see if there are opportunities for this kind of arbitrage.
Actually I am seeing the bigger picture. I'd just like to find the trade-off between a nice area/ house and cheaper price. If the resale value of the house is low because of the school district, the initial purchase price would be lower also, no? I'm just posting to see if there are opportunities for this kind of arbitrage.
In my opinion, because of the still-inflated housing prices, prices of homes are not yet low enough to justify a purchase in a terrible school district where people mostly want to send their kids to private school and make a house there a "bargain" compared to one in a better school district. The high property taxes are also a joke. Another thing to worry about is if you want to sell it or get in a spot where you have to sell it sooner than you anticipated when you first bought it. You may simply be stuck with it if the market continues to go down further or stagnate.
In my opinion, because of the still-inflated housing prices, prices of homes are not yet low enough to justify a purchase in a terrible school district where people mostly want to send their kids to private school and make a house there a "bargain" compared to one in a better school district.
OK, that makes perfect sense. I wonder if others share your opinion. The East Massapequa option seems like a good one, but I do agree that the discount from purchasing the home in an undesirable school district must be substantial enough to justify taking the resale risk. I wonder if there are any other areas similar to East Massapequa...
In todays market NO. But just 3 years ago YES. No one really knows where this market is going. LI real estate has always appreciated no matter what town, just some more rapid than others. But now with this down swing, just like in the 80's, it will eventually get back on track and continue in a positive aprreciation.
To answer your question..if you can only afford an area thats "cheaper" and plan on staying in it atleast 15 years then yeah go for it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by 56 Fighter
OK, that makes perfect sense. I wonder if others share your opinion. The East Massapequa option seems like a good one, but I do agree that the discount from purchasing the home in an undesirable school district must be substantial enough to justify taking the resale risk. I wonder if there are any other areas similar to East Massapequa...
There is the Island Park Union Free School District which taxes the real property within its district and operates elementary and middle schools, and then contracts with and pays other school districts to send district residents to high schools in these other districts.
I'm sure you are correct but I noticed that taxes are still a little bit lower in IP for whatever reason. You can find a 3-4 BD house for between 460-500k (with a yard and needing no work!) with taxes will be in the 7-8k range. That is not a bad deal IMO if schools are not a consideration. Go to Oceanside those taxes go up to 8-11k, Rockville Centre and Wantagh taxes go up to 10-13k. On top of that the 460-500k in the latter towns only gets you a handyman special. I just bought in Oceanside (which has some good values too), but I'm just saying you can find a better deal in Island Park IMO and even find Oceanfront or big backyards at prices you will not see in the other towns. He's asking for Nassau so there's not much to choose from...Most of the other towns have questionable schools AND high taxes (Elmont, Baldwin, Valley Stream etc...)
OK, that makes perfect sense. I wonder if others share your opinion. The East Massapequa option seems like a good one, but I do agree that the discount from purchasing the home in an undesirable school district must be substantial enough to justify taking the resale risk. I wonder if there are any other areas similar to East Massapequa...
There are plenty of homes for sale in the general Massapequa area that are in the Massapequa School District (pretty good SD) at prices and real estate tax rates comparable to those in East Massapequa (Amityville SD). If you compare house prices of same size/amenity homes and real estate taxes for Massapequa vs. E. Massapequa you will definitely NOT see much savings for condemning yourself to the Amityville SD.
Most of the other towns have questionable schools AND high taxes (Elmont, Baldwin, Valley Stream etc...)
The only officially statistically (performance-wise) "questionable" SD in your list might be Elmont in SOME rankings (and even that opinion is questionable by others).
For instance, you will see that both Long Beach and West Hempstead, where your beloved Island Park sends its students to high school, ranks lower than all the districts you consider "questionable" with the exception of it being 1 notch above Sewanhaka. Island Park therefore is the one associated with the most "questionable" high schools compared to the ones you mentioned. Is your opinion more about, shall we say "demographics," or actual performance? Because if you are basing it on performance you are sadly mistaken.
Last edited by I_Love_LI_but; 06-09-2009 at 01:04 PM..
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
