Lumberton (Sunnybrook & Country Estates) (Marlton, Burlington: for sale, apartment complexes, foreclosure)

[gcctrumpeter]

I currently rent in Mount Laurel, and my wife and I are looking at townhouses in the Sunnybrook & Country Estates sections of Lumberton. Both fit our price range, and due to our commutes, we're extremely limited in where we can purchase a house.

I've been told that Sunnybrook used to have a bad reputation, but that it seems to have cleaned up a lot, but I know nothing about Country Estates. I also know that the apartments across the way have a bad reputation.

Can anyone tell me more info about these two communities? I also would like to know more about Lumberton's schools. In case you're wondering, we're looking for a 3BR, <$175k (or $200k if it's a house), in Mt. Laurel, Hainesport, Lumberton, or Medford. I know there are great options outside of those communities, but I have to stick with these four towns due to our commutes.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[NJGOAT]

I actually looked at those places about a year or so ago when my wife and I were house hunting. They fit within our price range and seemed to offer what we were looking for. After driving through the area several times (I work in the vicinity) and reading reviews, we decided against it.

The main complaints for that area were the nearby apartment complexes at Dorado and Whitehall. While that was bad enough, the actual developments themselves left a bit to be desired. The older section, which I believe is Sunnybrook, looked really run down and a lot of the houses were not well kept. In all honesty it didn't look much nicer than the apartment complexes and the gangs of kids hanging out there at all hours didn't improve the image. The newer section Country Estates was nicer, but looked like it got crushed hard in the housing fallout. There were a lot of unkempt properties and it looked like half the place was for sale or in foreclosure. On top of all that, the streets and the homes are really tight, even for a townhouse community. I think Country Estates has (or had) a lot of military families living there. While that is a positive it can also be a negative. High numbers of military usually means quick turnover so people are generally not as invested in the community.

Lumberton really seems to be a town with two sides. On one end you have the older homes, apartments and these townhome communities. On the other, you have some very large nice developments. The school system is pretty good, but not the best. The high school is Rancocas Valley, which is generally considered to not be one of the better high schools in Burlington County. At the end of the day, I wouldn't be against living in Lumberton, but not in one of those communities.

Your budget is going to be the big constraint here. The only other area that I can think of in those towns that would have something in your price range are the townhome communities along Larchmont Blvd. in Mt. Laurel. However, I don't personally think they are any better than the places in Lumberton after I looked at them. The one bonus to Mt. Laurel would be the better school system and that your kids would go to Lenape, which is better than RV.

I know you said you were focused only on those towns, but since you did list Medford, have you considered the King's Grant section of Marlton? It literally borders Medford and Medford Lakes on the west. There are places in King's Grant that you could get into with your budget and it is a much nicer community and the school system is top notch. There are also several other townhome communities along the 73 corridor in Marlton, but those may be outside of your comfort zone for the commute.

[gcctrumpeter]

Thanks, NJGOAT. I decided not to look any further into Country Estates for the same reasons you mentioned. I am still considering Sunnybrook, as I have friends who just moved out a couple months ago and thought it was a good neighborhood. I heard the same from a cop, and others have told me that the area used to be a little rough but has since rebounded.

Unfortunately, due to our commutes, even Medford is pushing it for me. My wife works in Gibbstown (exit 16 off I-295), and I commute from Larchmont in Mt. Laurel to Willingboro via Southampton, where I drop our baby off. If I didn't have to drive to Southampton every day, Marlton and Moorestown would also be on the table. I do appreciate the thought, though.

The plan (if we decide to buy this house) is that we would stay for about 6-7 years, to around the time that our next child reaches elementary school. We only have a 5-month old now. By then, I will no longer need to drive to Southampton, and we'll have most of our debt paid off, so we could feasibly afford a $300k house in the Mt. Laurel area long before our first-born ever reaches middle school.

I've also noticed some SF homes in the Hollybrook section for sale. Do you know anything about them? And do you mind me asking where you ended up buying a house?

Thanks again.

[NJGOAT]

I don't have any knowledge on the Hollybrook section other than where it's located. I'd have to say it's sort of in the same boat as the others given it's proximity to Mt. Holly and being located along Pine St. However, I think you avoid a lot of issues when you are going with a single family versus a townhouse.

As for where I ended up, interesting story. I have three kids 1, 2 1/2 and 6 years old. My wife has been a SAHM since she was pregnant with the second. Our search was of course budget limited and our conditions were a good school system and a reasonable commute to my job in Mt. Laurel/Maple Shade. We exhausted most of the areas we had traditionally considered for various reasons. Mainly that the size home we needed was either too expensive or the area was not ideal long term. We ended up buying a home in the Beckett development of Logan Twp., which is off exit 10 of 295. There were two compelling reasons for this. The first is that Logan is one of the lowest taxed towns in NJ. We pay about 60% of what a comparable home in Marlton or Mt. Laurel would be. However, we still have fantastic schools and solid services.

There were of course, two sacrifices. The first was obviously my commute time. However, I found out rather quickly that my work commute coming from Logan to Maple Shade/Mt. Laurel was not that much longer than it would have been coming from some of the other homes we considered. All in all, my morning commute is about 30 minutes and my afternoon commute runs 45 minutes. The second was that there is limited shopping and things to do in the immediate area. Outside of an Applebee's, an Acme and a few restraunts in Swedesboro there isn't much more than takeout Chinese and a couple fast food places.

The icing on the cake was that the entire Swedesboro area qualifies for USDA housing loans which are pretty much zero down 100% financing loans, but do NOT have PMI. Between the lack of PMI and the lower taxes in Logan, we were able to afford more house for our money than we could have in other areas.

I don't think any of this would really sway you to consider it, but in the case of your wife she will have almost zero commute. You could take the Turnpike from exit 2 up to exit 5 to make your drop off. I will assume you are using family to watch the baby to save on costs, so you are sort of stuck there. If not there are several daycare centers in the Beckett development itself. Conversely, using the Turnpike, you may be able to extend your search area a little more. Your wife could go from exit 4 or 5 and go down to 2 and then pickup Paulsboro-Swedesboro road and head into Gibbstown.

At the end of the day, you have to do what's best for you guys, but I found a slightly longer commute to be worth it to be in a good neighborhood that I could afford.