Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My family consists of myself, my husband, and our 13-year-old. We are moving at Christmastime to the area surrounding Whippany, NJ.
Here is the deal...we live in Germany now and we will take a weeklong house-hunting trip next week, BUT I'm growing concerned that our list of communities we're looking at may not be a good fit for us.
Can you look over my questionnaire and give me any advice or suggestions you have?
Where are you coming from? Germany--originally western PA Why are you moving? Work relocation Where will you be working? Whippany
Will you buy or rent? Buy What is your budget? Up to $350,000 - taxes < $7,000/year What kind of place are you looking for? Detached single family home with a yard
Will anyone (spouse, children, pets) be moving with you? Husband and wife, 13-year old child, 1 dog, 1 cat
Do you need/want good public schools? YES!
Briefly describe the kind of neighborhood you'd like to live in (examples: families with young children, young, mature, artsy, diverse, safe, close-knit, block parties, etc)
Our ideal neighborhood would be community-minded; a park and a grocery store within walking distance would be ideal.
List three things that are important to you in order of importance.(examples: nightlife, outdoor activities, rural/urban, safety, downtown area, charming, new construction, proximity to XYZ, family oriented, easy parking, short commute, etc)
- Good High School
- 30-ish minute (or less) commute to/from Whippany
- Neighborly atmosphere
Here is a list of the communities we are considering:
Berkeley Heights
Bernards Township (Basking Ridge)
Denville
East Hanover
Fairfield
Florham Park
Livingston
Mendham
Millburn
Montville
Mountainside
New Providence
North Caldwell
Oakland
Parsippany-Troy Hills
Pequannock
Randolph
Rockaway
Roseland
Roxbury
Scotch Plains
Springfield
Summit
Verona
Wharton Whippany
I'd really appreciate any and all input for or against any of these locations based upon our preferences. We are really feeling the strain of trying to do this without seeing the towns first. :S
Thank you so very much in advance! Schönen Tag!
Natalie
Last edited by hausfrau-now; 11-12-2013 at 07:18 AM..
Reason: Grayed out the towns I've eliminated and bolded recommended towns
I lived in Whippany (Hanover Township in Morris County) for 13 years. It is a very nice community with a good school. Hanover Township is made up of Cedar Knolls (another nice place) and Whippany. It is convenient to Route 287 and Route 80. Plenty of shopping on Route 10 in the area (Target, Costco, Kohls, etc.) Homes can be pricey in many of the areas you are considering. Taxes are also usually higher in Essex County. You might check some of the areas that interest you by looking at homes on one of the realtor websites. www.weichert.com usually shows all the various realtors listings.
NJ is made up of cities or towns (same thing) which are included in various Counties (Essex, Morris, Warren, Union, etc.) Hope this helps you a little. Best of luck.
Actually, Whippany or Hanover seem ideal on paper (or should I say monitor..haha) with regard to schools and the commute, so I am glad to hear you confirm that.
We have been poring over the gsmls.com site as well as greatschools.com--maybe too much so. I think we have included every possible town that fits our criteria and now we need help narrowing it down so we know where to focus next week when we go house hunting with the realtor.
Thanks again for your input.
I've checked the commuting times via google maps at 7 am and 8 am and it seems I can narrow my list down (I'll fade out the towns eliminated by that)
Can anyone else shed some light on any of these towns?
Prices are on the rise right now Nation-wide in terms of Home prices...$350,000 is tight especially if you want a home and NOT a town house/condo OR a house really old.
$7,000 or less in terms of taxes...hhmmm that's also tight especially if you want something new and NOT old.
Hi jerseyexpat. Thanks for your input--I appreciate it.
We are in the market for something older that's retained it's original charm and architectural features. A well-loved and maintained home built between 1900-1970 is what we are looking for. I'd adore a "grandma house"--an outdated, but clean house where hardly anything was changed in the last 40-50 years, except maybe a new roof and furnace.
Unfortunately, we're riding on one income at the moment, so $350,000 is even pushing it.
For your price point, I think you're generally going to be looking at a house that will need some updating. For "well-loved and maintained", you're probably looking at least at $400k and $10K in taxes in most of the towns you have listed.
Looking east of Whippany will generally be more expensive since it provides shorter commute to NYC, which isn't important for you. So a town like Summit is very nice with top schools, but will be out of range for you. I'd cross off Millburn, Verona and Basking Ridge too based on budget.
Hanover Twp (including Whippany) is a good option. I live in Randolph and like it a lot, but you'll be squeezed on budget but might find something on a busier street or needing updates.
Being able to walk to the grocery store and to a park might be a stretch as typically, they are not close together. That said, I am not familiar with all of the above towns you mention. However, you might find a library and park within walking distance. Summit has a nice walkable downtown with grocery store right in town and I believe you can walk to a park too. Train is right in the center, as is the ymca, so you can pretty much walk to everything. That said, you are unlikely to find a home in your price range, unless its further from the center. I saw a small, but very cute 2 bedroom for $340k in Summit (MLS# 3049280) but it is not really walking distance to downtown Summit.
Basking Ridge is a cute town, walk to some restaurants, library, park etc. You could technically walk to both grocery stores and downtown/parks but you would have to live in just the right half way point. Again, Basking Ridge is pricey and townhouses would really be what you would find for under $350k. There is a nice development called Spring Ridge, where you could find a condo that has park, pool etc plus you can walk to A&P, dunkin donuts etc.
Others may be able to guide you to towns that might have all that you are looking for within your pice range. Plus, your realtor should be abe to research a lot of this for you.
Thank you so much Karen, HalfFull, and Ellwood for your additional input.
You guys have really helped me to reassess the list we have and give it some sort of prioritization. Definitely there were areas there with taxes much higher than we really want to pay. Between that and towns with few affordable options, I've narrowed it down to about 40 listings that I can send the realtor in preparation for our trip next week.
Wow. Re-evaluating our saved listings in light of the suggestions you all made, I've gotten to the point where I think I know which towns will be a good fit for us and it's just a matter of being there and looking around to confirm it.
Thanks ever so much again. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions once we identify "our" town.
Thank you so much Karen, HalfFull, and Ellwood for your additional input.
You guys have really helped me to reassess the list we have and give it some sort of prioritization. Definitely there were areas there with taxes much higher than we really want to pay. Between that and towns with few affordable options, I've narrowed it down to about 40 listings that I can send the realtor in preparation for our trip next week.
Wow. Re-evaluating our saved listings in light of the suggestions you all made, I've gotten to the point where I think I know which towns will be a good fit for us and it's just a matter of being there and looking around to confirm it.
Thanks ever so much again. I'm sure I'll be back with more questions once we identify "our" town.
Have a great day!
I think you may need to re assess the towns you are considering if you are using the commute times given on googlemaps. Those times are notoriously off base as to be laughable. A good rule of thumb is to double the time estimate given on googlemaps. I note that one poster suggested Spring Ridge townhomes in Basking Ridge, and while that is a nice community you should be aware of two things...the monthly maintenance fee is rather high and will be in addition to your mortgage/taxes so your possible 350k purchase price may have to be reduced accordingly. Secondly the commute from that town home community to Whippany will be well over you desired 30 min commute, more like 50/60 min during normal rush hours. It may be worth the longer commute as the schools are top notch.
You really need to look to towns that are closer to Whippany if you want to keep commute times down. I'd also take Parsippany off your shortlist, as the schools are not good, and getting worse. If it was not for a special waiver, the district would have lost all federal funding due to their under performance. There are other towns nearby with comparable housing prices and better schools. As another poster mentioned, forget towns in Essex Co, as the taxes there are ridiculous, you will find Morris Co has lower taxes.
Since you are seeking a town with more of a downtown area, focus on Cedar Knolls, Morris Plains, Morristown,(just stay away from the hollow area of town) and parts of Florham Park. Madison, Chatham, Mendham are all lovely towns with so much going for them, but you will find it pretty much impossible to find a home within your budget.
Towns that are on your list that will be a much longer commute than your desired 30 min are, Denville, Fairfield, Montville, Millburn, N Caldwell, Pequannock, Roseland, Rockaway, Springfield, Wharton, and Verona. Even if you are ammenable to the longer commute, I'd be extremely cautious about Denville, Pequannock, and parts of Fairfield and Roseland due to bad flooding issues.
Ich hoffe, das hilft
KoalaNJ
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
