Levittown (New York, Hempstead, Oyster Bay: short sales, real estate, buying a house)

[meg34]

Is buying a house here a good investment for first-time home buyers? Even with the decline of housing prices, I feel like it's still so tough on Long Island. At first I was opposed to Levittown, but lately, I've been hearing quite a few postive things about the area. I've heard the Island Trees Schools are great...and quality schools are one of things we of course want. Does anyone that lives in Levittown have any feedback? Thanks!!!

[Walter Greenspan]

Originally Posted by meg34

I've heard the Island Trees Schools are great...

Only the north east and eastern part of the Hamlet of Levittown is in the Island Trees Union Free School District. The majority of the Hamlet of Levittown is in the Levittown Union Free School District.

[Rachael84]

I'm from Smithtown and Queens, and just bought a house in Levittown last June with my newlywed husband. I LOVE this town. Everything you need is close by, neighbors are respectful, tons of kids out playing, people keep their lawns/houses neat, and best of all, it's not as expensive as other towns but the schools are still very good. We bought a short sale house for just 275,000. It was in excellent condition and we didn't even have to fix anything. I don't know if there are as many short sales now though. I feel like I never wanna move to another town.

[Walter Greenspan]

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): Excellent Long Island Geographic Resource

[CoolaTroopa]

Levittown is one of the cheapest towns in Nassau County- there are many places on Long Island with more expensive real estate, more crime, and worse schools.

However, one thing Levittown doesn't have going for it is that most of the houses lack basements.
A basement goes a long way when it comes to storing stuff, so for that reason alone, a lot of people avoid Levittown. My to-be wife is such a pack rat that I think we'd have found it very difficult to live comfortably without a basement.

I read somewhere that Levittown has one of the most efficient school districts in New York, which is sort of (but not quite) like a ratio between Quality of School District & Typical Amount Of Money A Person Spends.

BTW, have you looked at Hicksville? Hicksville has been getting better year after year and I think it'd be a good investment- according to my mom (who works as a real estate agent)- no area sells as quickly as Hicksville these days. Hicksville is relatively safe and the school district has been improving significantly over the past few years.

[S.I.B.]

I'd also check out Hicksville. Houses may run a little more, but taxes are generally lower and you have more choices as far as housing stock.

[brimasa]

If you like chain-link fences around the entire property, plastic lawn ornaments, and campers and boats in the driveway then it's for you!

And not having a basement sucks. Move before you have kids.

[MikefromCT]

Question : I read Levvittown is one of the earliest postwar suburbs on LI where people went to when they left the city. I read the Levitt brothers built most of their homes there and most were small capes and colonials. Do these still exist or have they been replaced with bigger houses? Just outof curiosity, for those who live there now, how would you describe it compared to when the houses were completed?

[Nevar242]

I do a lot of home improvement work there. [windows, doors] There are still some real nice blocks. But you need to go to the area your looking to buy in a few times during the day and Night. Then stop by the local schools to see what is walking out. Remember the homes are small on a slab and not real well layed out.

[llama8]

I live in Levittown in the Island Trees S.D. and I love it here. My husband and I bought a home in Levittown in 2005. It's a great family friendly area with lots of parks and pools and a great s.d. It's very safe and community oriented. The homes don't have basements, but if you find an expanded home like I did, you shouldn't have a storage issue...if you find an original sized home, storage can be a problem. (However, many homes on LI don't have basements).

Overall a wonderful middle class area that I am looking forward to raising my daughter in. Look around and visit to make a decision. (I was a little opposed due to repuation...but then I realized that Levittown has changed so much for the better since the 1980's). I could have afforded other areas, but I felt I got the most bang for the buck here. The more I have lived here, the better I like it!!!