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Old 07-10-2014, 11:52 AM
 
Location: Homeless
404 posts, read 526,601 times
Reputation: 392

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with its awesome accessibility, good schools (theyre good, right?), and old school neighboorhoody feel, why is reading so affordable? am i missing something? tell me the truth. whats the nasty underbelly
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Old 07-10-2014, 12:20 PM
 
Location: Norman, OK
3,478 posts, read 7,255,485 times
Reputation: 1201
Define "affordable", because buying a house in Reading (for me) is out of my price range.
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Old 07-10-2014, 12:37 PM
 
Location: MA
675 posts, read 1,700,954 times
Reputation: 929
Because schools and libraries are free and words are printed everywhere? Sorry, your subject line made me do a double-take.

Maybe because of the roadways going through? Or maybe it just looks that way compared to its surrounding towns?
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Old 07-10-2014, 02:09 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,812,501 times
Reputation: 2962
People already realize this that's why there are nearly 5 offers per listing and the average sale price is above listing price. Even Natick which is considered a hot market only has an average sale price of 99.5% of listing. Reading and Natick were always mentioned in the same breath 5 years ago when talking about affordable towns with good schools within reasonable commuting distance to Boston. During the past 2 years, Natick home prices have shot up. While it's still cheaper than its wealthier neighbors, it's no longer considered "affordable" and Reading is not far behind.
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Old 07-10-2014, 02:11 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,812,501 times
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BTW, you are coming from Marblehead. Do you plan on keeping your house there? If not, then shouldn't your budget be a lot higher than $450k or are you undervaluing your current house?
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Old 07-10-2014, 02:22 PM
 
Location: Homeless
404 posts, read 526,601 times
Reputation: 392
my house in marbles is only $500k ish so after i pay realtors & stamp tax i walk with not much dough to go crazy
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Old 07-10-2014, 02:27 PM
 
Location: Winchester
229 posts, read 384,763 times
Reputation: 202
1. What is your definition of 'good'? I know there are many facets to 'good', but via test score rankings, their current best ranked elementary school is about 150/880 MA elementary schools.
2. It is not exactly (very) close to Cambridge, Boston, etc. if you work there.
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Old 07-10-2014, 03:04 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,812,501 times
Reputation: 2962
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3cents View Post
1. What is your definition of 'good'? I know there are many facets to 'good', but via test score rankings, their current best ranked elementary school is about 150/880 MA elementary schools.
2. It is not exactly (very) close to Cambridge, Boston, etc. if you work there.
Good as in, maybe top 25 or 33 percentile based on reputation. Good as in, a good value since we all know places like Lexington and Wellesley are overpriced.

I think it's about as close as you can get to Boston for under $500k for a typical house. Most suburbanites consider Wellesley to be close to Cambridge/Boston, but Reading is even closer.
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Old 07-10-2014, 03:08 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,812,501 times
Reputation: 2962
Quote:
Originally Posted by traffic_lover View Post
my house in marbles is only $500k ish so after i pay realtors & stamp tax i walk with not much dough to go crazy
Smart move. Don't overextend yourself and be sure to take taxes into consideration since they can vary quite a bit from town to town. My taxes went up $550 PER MONTH when I moved which is a pretty large part of my mortgage.
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Old 07-10-2014, 06:43 PM
 
417 posts, read 734,380 times
Reputation: 346
I just looked up the commuter rail into Boston, and that's a pretty good ride too. 29 min. same as mine from the south.
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