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Okay...this is my between a rock and a hard place post.
We live in central NJ and are renting due to not being able to afford a house. I lived and grew up in Point Pleasant all my life until moving here for commuting purposes.
The rental we have is in a complex, and the complex has really turned bad. A very bad element floated in here(drug and spousal abuse, drug selling, animal abandoning and abuse, loud music, late parties, bugs, the list goes on)
We need to get out of here and want to move back towards my parents in Point but rents are about $1200 for what we need, and we feel it's insane to keep paying that in rent. We need at least 2 bedrooms.
So...we went looking at homes and there are NONE that we can buy for what we can afford. NJ is insane with the housing and taxes. We can only get a $130k mortgage without going "house poor". The only things we can afford are in very bad neighborhoods around Trenton or mobile homes. We saw 3 bedroom homes in Hamilton, but we hear that is a bad neighborhood? Besides that it would be a commute for my boyfriend. He doesn't mind driving 40-45 minutes to his job, but an hour is too long.
We tried affordable housing lists, but there are so many NJians on them, that it is now being done by "lottery", and who knows when that will happen, or even IF.
If we go further south, they become more affordable, but my boyfriend's job is in central NJ. (me, as a therapist , I can set up anywhere.)
We don't know what to do or where to go and we are desperate to leave here and own, and it's depressing.
Do you have any money to put down beside the $130,000. mortgage? Toms River is overflowing with 2 bedroom homes 4 sale. Mind you, It's a small house, but, at least it's a house. You would need at least $175k. Your in a tough perdicament. Maybe renting right now wouldn't be so bad, untill you guys can work on getting bigger pay checks. Or, 1 bedroom condo close to that price range. There's always moving out of state. Unfortunetly, NJ has chased so many good people out of the state.
leenerbups, I can relate. My husband and I are in the same predicament. We both make good salaries, but still can't afford to buy a house. Even if we could scratch together the minimum of $250K to buy a "starter" home, add taxes, insurance, auto insurance, FOOD! It's a tough situation.
NJ is definitely not friendly to couples buying their first home, at least right now. Have you considered a 2-BR townhouse/condo? This might be too far north for you, but I see a few in your price range in Edison.
One thing to consider, though, is that buying may not necessarily be the most financially prudent thing to do. Right now NJ rents are very low; they've been basically stagnant in nominal terms for the past 10 years, so that means in real money terms, they've actually been going down (due to inflation).
You say that you need a $1200 apartment. Let's say you do successfully buy a house/townhouse/condo that fits into your budget, you may actually find yourself paying over that amount every month to things that don't even build your equity. Add up property taxes, maintenance fees for your property, maintenance of your house and appliances (that would normally be included in your rent), heating and hot water costs (that would normally be included in your rent), homeowner's insurance, and you might actually find yourself paying close to $1200 just for that. And that's not even considering your mortgage payment.
Another consideration is how permanent you are considering this new home. If you would be selling in the next 5 years, for example, you might find yourselves owing more than the home is worth when it is time to sell. The real estate market is bad right now and prices are dropping. You may not be worried about this if you're in the home for the long haul. The last time the housing market was stagnant in the northeast, prices didn't recover for many years.
I'm not saying you absolutely should or should not buy a home, just that there's more to consider than the simple platitudes that everyone needs to build equity or that renting is money down the drain. As I'm sure many homeowners here can tell you, it's pretty easy to throw money down the drain owning a home, as well.
Thanks to all of you for such great advice, perhaps renting is something we should continue to do, albiet in a different place.
And to those who are in the same predicament as I am, I feel for you. I really have to wonder how people make it here?
I see HUGE 1/2 million dollar homes going up. Who is buying these things? Are salaries THAT high? I'd like some of that butter for my bread..lol But seriously, what the heck is going on in NJ?
As someone said, all the good people are leaving. That may be us. My boyfriend is an underwriter for a large insurance agency, and perhaps he can be transfered to another state at some point.
The problem is, this is MY home. I miss the salt air and the memories of generations of my family around me. Stinks, really.
You mite want to look in Bayonne nj, it is going through some nice changes ,and i just moved out of the place. I purchased a home in rockaway.I will miss Bayonne though,,it has great parks and schools,,nice town for kids.The new lightrail provides a service to you when it comes to going to n.y. or just hoboken to have lunch.It is centraly located and has the avenue for shopping! The 16th street park is very nice for bike rides with the kids and the hot dogs are great too! you can check the local bayonne news paper for the summer outside movies in town and jazz conserts at 16th street park in the summer. The new walkway is supposed to run all along the waterfront (the rents are set between $700.and $1000. a month NOT BAD! for a two bedroom apt." listen good luck in your endevers" .(llestat19@aol.com)
Only place I can think to suggest is The Orchard, a development on the East Windsor/Cranbury border with condos in the low $100s. Twin Rivers in East Windsor is another condo development that might be another option.
Some parts of Hamilton are very nice and 100% safe...the areas that border Trenton, however, are very, very bad. If the homes in Hamilton you are considering are in the low $100s, you're definitely in a bad area.
If you can afford to buy something cheap, at least you will be building equity. If not, keep renting. You can rent for less than $1200/month. We have a 2 bedroom apartment in Robbinsville and are paying $855; our development is very nice and quiet, well maintained.
Do you have any money to put down beside the $130,000. mortgage? Toms River is overflowing with 2 bedroom homes 4 sale. Mind you, It's a small house, but, at least it's a house. You would need at least $175k. Your in a tough perdicament. Maybe renting right now wouldn't be so bad, untill you guys can work on getting bigger pay checks. Or, 1 bedroom condo close to that price range. There's always moving out of state. Unfortunetly, NJ has chased so many good people out of the state.
Yes we all hear about the 'slowing market' with tons of inventory. But prices are not falling and rents are quickly catching up with PITI payments especially in Hudson & Bergen counties..
Buying a home in NJ from Monmouth county north (or even renting a decent apartment) is nearly impossible unless you are making somewhere in the six figures (depending on location) and have thousands to invest for a few months rent + the 15% brokers fee (15% of the annual rent similar to NYC) or can put down 20% of the purchase price + another 7% of the mortgage to be paid at closing for closing costs & prepaid escrows.
Yes we all hear about the 'slowing market' with tons of inventory. But prices are not falling and rents are quickly catching up with PITI payments especially in Hudson & Bergen counties..
I would have to disagree with that. We currently rent in Hudson County and are moving (bought a house) to Bergen County - so I can speak for both counties on both issues (renting prices and purchasing prices).
Prices in Bergen County have fallen at least 15%. We just bought a house in Bergen County and have been following the "Bergen County" market (looking for a house) for the past year. Prices have absolutely gone down. It might not seem this way because both counties are still ridiculously expensive (even with this downturn) but if you're on the market right now (buying or selling), you would know that the price-drop is pretty obvious. As far as rents (I only know about Hoboken, which is where I live), they have been pretty flat. We rented our first apartment in Hoboken 8 years ago for $1700. The one we are renting now is $2000. So, 8 years later we are paying $300 more for a much better/bigger place.
Buying a home in NJ from Monmouth county north (or even renting a decent apartment) is nearly impossible unless you are making somewhere in the six figures (depending on location) and have thousands to invest for a few months rent + the 15% brokers fee (15% of the annual rent similar to NYC) or can put down 20% of the purchase price + another 7% of the mortgage to be paid at closing for closing costs & prepaid escrows.
What areas (or brokers) are there in NJ that charge 15% broker's fee? I personally have never seen that in the Northern NJ market, not even in Manhattan-centric areas like Hoboken or Jersey City. I've only ever seen fees of 1-month's rent.
For first time buyers, it's definitely hard to even buy a starter home in a decent Northern NJ area without a six-figure salary, but renting is easy without a high salary. There's plenty of cheap (relatively) apartments in NJ. Unless you just have to live in a luxury building in Hoboken or Jersey City, that is. That's always going to be expensive but there's plenty of cheaper alternatives in those cities as well.
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You would need at least $175k. Your in a tough perdicament. Maybe renting right now wouldn't be so bad, untill you guys can work on getting bigger pay checks. Or, 1 bedroom condo close to that price range. There's always moving out of state. Unfortunetly, NJ has chased so many good people out of the state. 
tell me about it
It's a tough situation.
