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05-26-2015, 09:14 AM
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175 posts, read 233,896 times
Reputation: 57
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Hello,
Currently we live in Brooklyn, NY. I work in NYC (Midtown very close to bus terminal) and wife is home with the baby and 2nd one coming soon probably. Paying $2,000/mo rent for a 2 bedroom... Wasting our money.
We always wanted a house with backyard for kids to play on, basement, game room, space, ... you know what I mean. Not looking for a huge house ... just decent open space and somewhat spacious backyard. (grill, table, swings for kids, etc) We do care about schools but they don't need to rank all a 9 or a 10.
Bank (not official ... some calculator) pre-approved me for up to 600K
Wife and I are in our 30s.
So far we looked at houses in Old Bridge NJ and those were nice with possibly a decent commute by bus.
A friend bought a 3 story town-home ($350k) in community in Parlin, NJ and raves about it and how easy commute is to NYC.
My question is ... what other towns in NJ should we look at that offer decent prices on a 3-4 bedroom single family homes, around $400-$450K, with a decent (under 1.2 hour) commute to NYC (this is very important).
Any info would be very much appreciated.
We are looking to hopefully move this summer.
thank you
P.S. As a first time buyer ... what are the actual steps in buying a house? Do we get a realtor as Step 1?
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05-26-2015, 09:28 AM
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42 posts, read 124,776 times
Reputation: 23
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You should also check East Brunswick. The commute will be easier, schools probably better, and a choice of houses in your price range.
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05-26-2015, 09:41 AM
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253 posts, read 414,917 times
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Depending on where in East Brunswick compared to where in Old Bridge it's not necessarily true that the commute from EB will be easier.
In many instances the OB commute could be easier than then EB commute.
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05-26-2015, 10:28 AM
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Location: Maplewood, NJ
10 posts, read 39,002 times
Reputation: 19
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Maplewood-South Orange. 35-40 minutes into NYC, good schools. Taxes stink, but that's true for Essex County as a whole.  You could definitely get a 3BR (and possibly a 4BR) for $400-450K.
Factor in the average property taxes when you think of the dollar figure you'd like to spend on a house. As a shortcut, Zillow will tell you what a house's property taxes were over the past few years. There's a pretty big difference between spending $450K + property taxes and $400K + property taxes. I'd recommend trying to approximate how much a mortgage plus property taxes would equal and find houses that fit that criteria.
Good luck! |
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05-26-2015, 08:05 PM
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10,135 posts, read 18,143,862 times
Reputation: 10773
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West Orange is generally cheaper than South Orange and Maplewood for similar house/yard and parts (e.g. Gregory and St. Cloud neighborhoods) have good elementary schools and reasonable bus commutes to Port Authority. Taxes are high.
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05-28-2015, 04:15 PM
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175 posts, read 233,896 times
Reputation: 57
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Yea, trying to get as low as possible on taxes. Old Bridge was at least a bit lower than the AVG NJ
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05-28-2015, 09:44 PM
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Location: West Orange, NJ
728 posts, read 1,865,313 times
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Old Bridge may have lower taxes but the time spent on your commute is a pain. You can probably get a house in the Gregory section of WO catch the free jitney to the south orange station and be door to door to NYC in under an hour easily. I would think you can get a house in the mid 300s
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05-29-2015, 09:06 AM
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175 posts, read 233,896 times
Reputation: 57
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nykstevenyg
Old Bridge may have lower taxes but the time spent on your commute is a pain. You can probably get a house in the Gregory section of WO catch the free jitney to the south orange station and be door to door to NYC in under an hour easily. I would think you can get a house in the mid 300s
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Great commute but taxes are just crazy. Over 12K and growing every year. I get that the houses are a bit cheaper but mortgage will go away eventually, taxes however will remain. |
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05-29-2015, 09:21 AM
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253 posts, read 414,917 times
Reputation: 168
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nykstevenyg
Old Bridge may have lower taxes but the time spent on your commute is a pain. You can probably get a house in the Gregory section of WO catch the free jitney to the south orange station and be door to door to NYC in under an hour easily. I would think you can get a house in the mid 300s
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The ride from the Old Bridge park and ride to the Port Authority is 50 minutes in rush hour. |
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05-29-2015, 10:18 AM
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Location: NYC
20,552 posts, read 15,733,603 times
Reputation: 25616
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Quote:
Originally Posted by NJpoliticiansarecrooks
The ride from the Old Bridge park and ride to the Port Authority is 50 minutes in rush hour.
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50 mins is way too optimistic. It's about 65-70min more like it. There are guys that live near there typically need 90mins a day to get into nyc. |
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