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If you buy a house with a 30-year mortgage and it takes you 30 years to pay off that mortgage, then buying a house is not such a great deal when you add up all the interest you have paid over that time. On the other hand, if you can buy a house in cash, or pay off the mortgage quickly, then you might make a profit when you sell the house for a higher price.
The key phrase is that buying a home is a lifestyle choice, not an investment strategy. If your property ends up appreciating wildly while you own it that's a nice perk, but its not something you should (literally) bank on. My wife's grandparents bought a home in Chatham in the late 1960s for some absurdly small amount of money. They are now in their 80s and getting (teardown) offers for $700K, but that's a rather extreme exception to the rule. We are in our forever house, and I highly doubt that in 50 years (if we should be so blessed) that it will appreciate anywhere near as much as my wife's grandparents, but in the meantime we get to experience things like this:
So when people talk crap about Newark it is generally acceptable? When someone shares positive first hand experience about a community is an advertisement?
The Ironbound has pretty much the same crime ratios per capita as Harrison, Belleville or any neighboring town. Less than Jersey City, by far.
I wouldn't advise someone who wants a good place to live to go to Harrison, Belleville or another one of those neighborhoods. Its industrial, overpriced, polluted, intersections are full of crackheads asking for $1 for their 4 quarters in all those towns. There is at least one poster who apparently owns a bunch of rentals in Ironbound area that posts here regularly always trying to upsell his rentals to people trying to move to NJ. It's a Portuguese neighborhood, not as bad as lets say Market St. in Newark, but its not desirable by any stretch most people trying to move to the state.
I wouldn't advise someone who wants a good place to live to go to Harrison, Belleville or another one of those neighborhoods. Its industrial, overpriced, polluted, intersections are full of crackheads asking for $1 for their 4 quarters in all those towns. There is at least one poster who apparently owns a bunch of rentals in Ironbound area that posts here regularly always trying to upsell his rentals to people trying to move to NJ. It's a Portuguese neighborhood, not as bad as lets say Market St. in Newark, but its not desirable by any stretch most people trying to move to the state.
Harrison may be a little rough in the areas where one would buy a home, but the area by PATH is brand new and unrecognizable to someone who visited only 3 years ago. Belleville, Kearny, North Arlington, etc. are actually pretty cool areas. For someone like me who hates suburbs, they'd be a good compromise if I marry someone who insists on moving to suburbs one day. They're not industrial or rundown or full of drug addicts.
The Ironbound is nothing fancy, but that's the point. It's a largely Brazilian/Portuguese/Spanish neighborhood and a destination for immigrants from those countries. But as every other city along PATH becomes out of reach for someone looking to afford a home, the Ironbound is a wonderful next step along PATH. It's actually quite desirable depending on the person and what they're looking for. I, for one, love Latin culture and food so the cuisine and culture of the neighborhood is very interesting to me. Also, I like urban living, so its walkable streets and access to Newark Penn are pluses for me. Some of the new residential developments there are even including shuttles to Newark Penn as an amenity. It's nothing fancy like Hoboken or Grove St, but it's not a dump either. It's a solid place for someone who wants Hudson County-style living at a cheaper cost. Just because you don't like it doesn't mean it's not desirable to anyone. Similarly, places like Wayne and West Milford and Summit and Chatham are undesirable to me because they're too suburban and the people are not often my comfort level. I know they're desirable to other people, though, just as the Ironbound is desirable to others. It's less desirable than a place like Hoboken or JC, but it's not a dump and if we give it time, I have a feeling it will only get better as Newark improves as a whole and the money moves further west down PATH.
Harrison may be a little rough in the areas where one would buy a home, but the area by PATH is brand new and unrecognizable to someone who visited only 3 years ago. Belleville, Kearny, North Arlington, etc. are actually pretty cool areas. For someone like me who hates suburbs, they'd be a good compromise if I marry someone who insists on moving to suburbs one day. They're not industrial or rundown or full of drug addicts.
Agree regarding Harrison. It's hard to believe how much development is going on there. Right by PATH, it looks like it's developing into a pretty solid Hoboken alternative if you're a young professional that works downtown. That's all studios, 1br and 2br apartments, though -- Harrison is purposefully trying to avoid having more kids come into the schools. So wouldn't think it's a place where you'd settle down.
If you buy a house with a 30-year mortgage and it takes you 30 years to pay off that mortgage, then buying a house is not such a great deal when you add up all the interest you have paid over that time. On the other hand, if you can buy a house in cash, or pay off the mortgage quickly, then you might make a profit when you sell the house for a higher price.
How you pay for a house has no bearing on the profit. If you buy a house for 100K and sell it for 150K your profit is 50k whether you have a mortgage or not. Paying off a mortgage is not always the right move. Unless you have liquid assets, paying off a mortgage can be a bad idea.
Belleville, Kearny, North Arlington, etc. are actually pretty cool areas. For someone like me who hates suburbs, they'd be a good compromise if I marry someone who insists on moving to suburbs one day. They're not industrial or rundown or full of drug addicts.
what parts look nice in those 3 towns? it all looks rundown to me
what parts look nice in those 3 towns? it all looks rundown to me
They look like typical middle class suburbs. Nothing fancy compared to places like Summit or Short Hills, but still nice. Some parts are better than others. Their retails corridors don't look upscale, but they're not dumpy.
How you pay for a house has no bearing on the profit. If you buy a house for 100K and sell it for 150K your profit is 50k whether you have a mortgage or not. Paying off a mortgage is not always the right move. Unless you have liquid assets, paying off a mortgage can be a bad idea.
I don't follow.
Person A buys a house for 100K, all cash, and sells it for 150K. That's 50K of profit.
Person B buys a house for 100K, but has to pay 20K in interest over time, and then sells the house for 150K. That's only 30K of profit. You can't just ignore the 20K in interest that you had to pay. That adds to your overall cost of buying the home.
If your logic was correct, then interest rates would not matter. Everyone could just take out a high interest loan because interest doesn't factor into the cost of buying the home.
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