Thinking about buying town house in NJ (Jersey City: townhouse, neighborhood)

[joemm]

Hi,

We're thinking about buying townhouse with close commute to NYC and Jersey City (Exchange Place). Basic requirements are

1) Good neighborhood
2) Good School
3) Fair Amount of Property Tax

Thanks in advance,
Joe

[Bill Keegan]

Originally Posted by joemm

Hi,

We're thinking about buying townhouse with close commute to NYC and Jersey City (Exchange Place). Basic requirements are

1) Good neighborhood
2) Good School
3) Fair Amount of Property Tax

Thanks in advance,
Joe

Your criteria are too vague. How are you defining "good" for the neighborhood & school?
What is a fair property tax in the state with the highest property taxes in the nation?
How mich do you want to spend?

[joemm]

Thanks for the quick reply. My definition of good neighborhood means family friendly and good public school area. Property tax I have in mind is 5-8K per year. My budget is around 450K.

[EANJ]

I think there are numerous towns that could fit that. What else are you looking for? Lifestyle? More urban, city-like, rural, quiet, etc.? You can go from Ft. Lee to Mahwah---one end of the extreme to the other.

You've started "broad" as far as wants, now get more specific. There is a lot of homework to do. Good luck.

[Marc Paolella]

Originally Posted by joemm

Thanks for the quick reply. My definition of good neighborhood means family friendly and good public school area. Property tax I have in mind is 5-8K per year. My budget is around 450K.

Start with the towns along the Route 78 corridor. That will provide the best option for getting into downtown Jersey City. Many of the towns along the corridor have good schools. You should be able to hit your targets for price and taxes, although the taxes for nicer townhomes are likely to be closer to $8,000 than $5,000.

Once you locate some towns, go to www.gsmls.com to look up properties. The Garden State MLS website has the most up to date information on current listings. Other sites may be a few days behind.