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Just relocated from Miami and I am looking to purchase a home for my family for under $300K...
What would be the top 5 towns in order that are the closets to Palisades Park(my aunt lives there)based on the info below???
1. Good school system(kids are 3 & 13)
2. Low taxes(I know they are extremely high but some areas of Bergen aren't as high)
3. Home needs to be under $300K(dont mind a fixer up er/foreclosure)
4. Prefer short commute to NYC
5. Good area to raise the kids
6. Would love a downtown area, small town feel with small shops, parks & entertainment
7. Best BANG for the BUCK
8. Humble people/middle class...Don't llike the snobby factor
9. Elbow room...Would love a backyard & some front lawn too
I'd suggest looking around Palisades Park then. Under $300k is a bit of a lowball but there's houses for that price range around Ridgefield, Ridgefield Park, Bogota, Teaneck, Hackensack, Maywood, Rochelle Park, ect. Odds are it will need work, but you stated you're ok with that, just keep in mind they may need a little more than "some" work. If you want a true fixer upper, there's a rotted out dump on Queen Anne Rd & Linwood Ave in Bogota. If that goes for anything more than the value of the land it's a ripoff!
You can find nice cape cod houses in Elmwood Park for under $300,000 - the school system isn't usually as highly regarded as other Bergen County, but it's fine. Maybe you can find something in Saddle Brook or Lodi also at the price.
But if I were you, I'd look at Fair Lawn. Good school system, middle class town, train stations to New York. One of the downsides to Bergen County is that downtowns are a thing of the past (except for Ridgewood and Rutherford) but Fair Lawn still has some tiny shopping areas left.
If you get lucky, you may be able to find an aging fixer upper in the Radburn section (my favorite) for your budget.
I'd suggest looking around Palisades Park then. Under $300k is a bit of a lowball but there's houses for that price range around Ridgefield, Ridgefield Park, Bogota, Teaneck, Hackensack, Maywood, Rochelle Park, ect. Odds are it will need work, but you stated you're ok with that, just keep in mind they may need a little more than "some" work. If you want a true fixer upper, there's a rotted out dump on Queen Anne Rd & Linwood Ave in Bogota. If that goes for anything more than the value of the land it's a ripoff!
ok here you go, in my opinion take a look at Northvale, westwood, waldwick since you dont mind the fixer up. Add Midland Park. The only problem with these towns is the tax bill. However you will find that in a fixer upper home in these towns taxes 3 b/1 ish bathroom taxes 8/9 K tax. Its worth it for the schools, towns and community. They are doable with the idea that you are not going to have a fancy palace of a home!! Its a good idea!!! These are the nicer towns and will be more lets say less blue collar than a Ridgefield park area but in this market you can get a home for 300k fixer upper and why not go to the better town????? Its not snobby!! Its better to strive to be up than down!
In this market these towns now offer a few houses that will take that price just be careful of a flood zone. Northvale is kind of a good choice !!!!
I think it's going to be 1. Fair Lawn 2. Ridgefield Park 3. Rutherford. I will start my search tomorrow....
Can anyone tell me what sections of each town above I should be looking into? Thx!
something like Rutherford is going to have the shortest commute to NYC and has a downtown and lower taxes. Dunno about much of a yard. 50'x100' likely.
You can go further away for more space, etc. but taxes won't go down.
300k is a sortof tight spot for a lot of bergen county, but in this market, not unheard of.
a lot of nicer cheaper towns don't really have like a cute main street sort of downtown though.
I would recommend Fair Lawn and honestly I think it would be a no brainer. It is very possible you can get a decent place under 300K and its a great community. Except for the lack of a downtown it meets every criteria except taxes but nowhere in Jersey has low taxes.
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Fair Lawn is a no brainer
