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Given some of the cities suggested above, real estate prices should fall if we were to move out a bit further right? So what about Montville, Boonton, Parsippany, Cedar Knolls, Morristown, etc.? Or what about Jersey City, Newark & Elizabeth, what are some good areas in those larger cities or do I not want to consider those at all?
Montville, Parsippany, Cedar Knolls, Morristown are good towns you may be able to find something in your range.
You'd be better off renting part of a house than an apartment.
Jersey City, Newark & Elizabeth don't have good public schools but are definitely cheaper and closer to NYC.
I would suggest check greatschools.org with towns with good schools. Also, don't go too far away from NYC, because whatever you will save in rent will be spent on transportation and time.
Check out ridgefield park. Schools are very good and it has a very small town vibe and commute to midtown is only 30 mins or so.
RE: Taxes--yes they can be included in your mortgage payment but you need to consider that you will be paying MUCH MUCH more here than in KY. My property taxes add almost $1,000 a month to my mortgage payments.
RE:Cities--forget it, the cities in NJ are awful, dangerous and have low ranked schools.
RE: Income--I was under the impression that in KY you are living very very well on $100K a year. In NJ 100K especially with 3 children is not going to do much for you, don't get me wrong you won't be living in poverty but just a lower middle class or working class lifestyle.
RE:Employment Ops--Please don't come here without a solid job offer, unemployment is just as much of an issue here as it is in the rest of the country but getting by is much more costly. I know so many people looking and companies are taking advantage and paying much less than is customary.
RE: Income--I was under the impression that in KY you are living very very well on $100K a year. In NJ 100K especially with 3 children is not going to do much for you, don't get me wrong you won't be living in poverty but just a lower middle class or working class lifestyle.
Right, 100K with 3 kids is very low. especially if you are living very well in Louiville.
With 100K salary you will be getting about 6500 per month.
You will spend minimum $100 in transport
Groceries will be about $800-$1500 (I spend avg $600 with a 1.5 year old child)
Rent (if you are very very lucky and have a 4 leaf clover) then $1200
I would say for that kinda of rental in good town you are looking at about $2000 for 3BR 2BA.
Utilities $200
If you buy lunch in city, that would be another $200
If you plan on owning a car, and you will have to have at least one if you don't live in the cities, then add about $150 to insurance.
If you are planning to buy a decent 3-4BR house (that require some fixes) would run about 380K in decent enough towns. Add about $7000 or so per year in taxes (and thats low). $80 for home insurance. $300 utilities. Plus if you don't have 20% minimum downpayment then also add about $200 mortgage insurance.
Montville, Parsippany, Cedar Knolls, Morristown are good towns you may be able to find something in your range.
You'd be better off renting part of a house than an apartment.
Jersey City, Newark & Elizabeth don't have good public schools but are definitely cheaper and closer to NYC.
I would suggest check greatschools.org with towns with good schools. Also, don't go too far away from NYC, because whatever you will save in rent will be spent on transportation and time.
Check out ridgefield park. Schools are very good and it has a very small town vibe and commute to midtown is only 30 mins or so.
But 4BR for $1200 is very tough in NNJ.
No, I would say impossible. Unless the house is missing a side or has no windows or something.
It's hard to find a two-bedroom apartment for $1200 in most places!
I think I saw someone mention that if I had a garage near a train station that I could sell or rent the space. Is that true? if so, would I need to get permits? and how much $ would a space go for?
I think I saw someone mention that if I had a garage near a train station that I could sell or rent the space. Is that true? if so, would I need to get permits? and how much $ would a space go for?
Depends from place to place, but I don't think it would give you more than $200 a month.
Look at South Orange/Maplewood - the schools don't rank as high as some neighboring districts, and teh property taxes are rough (as they are everywhere within 45 mins of the city), but its 30 mins to Manhattan, schools are actually very good, great parks etc and you kind find some smaller houses that my fit your budget. I'm not a broker, just a resident, but here's an example: Maplewood Online - House Listings
Look at South Orange/Maplewood - the schools don't rank as high as some neighboring districts, and teh property taxes are rough (as they are everywhere within 45 mins of the city), but its 30 mins to Manhattan, schools are actually very good, great parks etc and you kind find some smaller houses that my fit your budget. I'm not a broker, just a resident, but here's an example: Maplewood Online - House Listings
South Orange and Maplewood are very expensive places, especially for what OP is looking.
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