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About to put an offer on new construction north part of town. A bit over a million, with property taxes easily
28k a year. I commute to downtown NY, so train to Newark and the PATH works. And have three school age kids, so check that box. But I just feel like I am about to regret buying into such an expensive area with property taxes going up 3-5 percent a year. In 10 years who is going to want to pay 45k in property taxes?
Are the schools that much better than neighboring areas? Will prices have to come down as the tax burden increases? Are there that many people who can even afford to move into these neighborhoods to support the
Prices in the future. Perhaps I'm just getting the wedding jitters. Wdyt?
I'm wrestling with same conundrum as you except my kids are 1 & 3 yrs old so I have a bit more time. I've toured the "circuit": Westfield, Chatham, Madison, New Providence, Berkeley Heights, Summit, Florham Pk. etc. Westfield keeps giving us the feeling of "the one" for us but we are grappling with that same issue. Higher prop tax vs some of the others and not much prop/house for the money. But such a freakin great town from our limited visits.
Good luck with your decision, and let us know what transpires.
If you can afford a million dollar house, then additional 20k in property taxes shouldn't be a problem for you.
Comments like this show absolute stupidity on the part of the person spewing them.
You have no idea what the OP is putting down, what his mortgage will be, nor what his personal situation is.
Even if we assume the worst, 20% down on a $1m home and 4% at 30 years, his mortgage payment (PITI, excluding any PMI, if applicable) will be approximately $6300 per month. A $17k increase in taxes would equate to $7717 per month, an increase of almost 23% per month (reached over some years of course).
If he is sending those 3 kids to college, those expenses will also be present in the future.
I won't go any further since I am not the OP's financial advisor....
if you have three kids in school you will be more than getting your tax money worth.
if you have the income to buy in westfield why not, the house will at least maintain its value,
so you would get your money back when you sell, go for it if you can afford it.
You can't go wrong with Westfield. Property taxes are high and going up everywhere, at least you are getting something for that money in Westfield. If I was looking at a million dollar home and working in downtown NYC, Westfield would definitely be on my shortlist.
You are not crazy. You should also stop looking at this from purely a financial perspective. You will be living in this house, it will be your home. Your kids will grow up there, make friends, be a part of the community, it's not just a million dollars you're paying off, it's a question about quality of life, and Westfield is great. This is not just about buying a house that you can sell later, like watching a new car depreciate: in exchange you are getting a car to drive around. You've found a place to live in that you won't be forced to leave when your landlord dies or some other tragic event, you're creating a home and, while hopefully you get your purchase price back, accept that there is going to be some kind of cost with that.
Will people want to pay that in ten years? Well, that's the same question people asked ten years ago when prices were even higher before the crash and here you are. You're not making the wrong move if you've been over the numbers and can make it work.
if you have three kids in school you will be more than getting your tax money worth.
if you have the income to buy in westfield why not, the house will at least maintain its value,
so you would get your money back when you sell, go for it if you can afford it.
Agree, westfield spends $15k per kid per year, so you are actually getting $45k per year in return.
$28k is tax deductible, so keep that in mind.
It's all about supply and demand, there's a reason why the house is $1M, would you rather buy in East Orange for $300k?
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