Condos in Mahwah, Ridge Road (Ramsey, Society Hill: apartment, townhouses, buyer)

[stephentch]

Downsizing from the big house and divorce, at 61, suggests time to get a condo near work. I am working with a budget of $240-280 k, with the reasonable taxes in Mahwah.

The many condo developments on the east side of Ridge Road have 2 BR, 1Ba with terrace, in that range, but I do not know much about them.

Does anyone have some advice regarding:

- quality of construction, and whether some of the different developments are better constructed than others,

- quality of maintenance companies, and whether some of them are better than others, there are some internet rumors of varying quality,

- appreciation of condos, not concerned about "flipping" quickly, but I do not want to lose the investment,

- other places in Mahwah/Ramsey that meet these goals, even at a slightly higher price.

Thanks.

[EANJ]

You are referring to Society Hill, and the various other developments there (Ridge Gardens et al). I can't speak to the prices -- but I have a few friends who live there. First, there's different developments and different types of units -- from what I would call "brownstone" type units, to more apartment type units (mid-rise) to more "townhouse" type units. The quality of the construction seems OK to me. I don't know how old the units are, but my friend's units seem to be OK and holding up well.

I can't speak to the maintenance or appreciation at all. There's a lot of them, so I think there tends to be inventory, but again, I can't speak to the details.

I don't know about the taxes -- but there's plenty of other developments. What about Paddington Square? Cambridge Heights?

Good luck.

[stephentch]

Thanks for the background. Perhaps others on the forum have more details about the differences among the developments on Ridge Road.

Taxes in the Ridge Road area condos are quite reasonable, so that is not the problem. It is in considering Ramsey that the taxes get a bit high (sometimes $8k/yr for a condo).

Paddington Square (Mahwah) and Cambridge Heights (Ramsey) are nice looking places, but a bit pricey, nothing in the $240-280 k range.

[EANJ]

Originally Posted by stephentch

Thanks for the background. Perhaps others on the forum have more details about the differences among the developments on Ridge Road.

Taxes in the Ridge Road area condos are quite reasonable, so that is not the problem. It is in considering Ramsey that the taxes get a bit high (sometimes $8k/yr for a condo).

Paddington Square (Mahwah) and Cambridge Heights (Ramsey) are nice looking places, but a bit pricey, nothing in the $240-280 k range.

I would spend the time and drive in and out of each of the developments. During the day, this time of year, there are people outside, all over the place. Pull over and ask them. I don't know that Ramsey would be that much higher in taxes, relatively and comparatively speaking. Dollar for dollar? I don't know. Cambridge Heights is a gated community, and they offer amenities, so that might be a factor. From what I gather the Ridge Road condos are more "affordable" to the masses. Across MacArthur Blvd, are two developments -- Ramapo Ridge and Birchwood Hills, where the townhouses were selling for as much as $650k plus -- but they were far nicer than the Ridge Road condos. So the Ridge Road condos were for a different buyer -- and they are large developments so there are a lot more of them.

Off the top of my head -- I think the Society Hill/Ridge Road condos are the most affordable of those types; unless you are looking at more garden apartment types, the old seminary high rise in Rio Vista, etc.

Good luck.