Tell me about the Oranges, Caldwell & Wayne areas? (Passaic: house prices, neighborhood)

[Caili]

Anticipating a job move for hubbie to NJ late fall-early 2021.


Been looking at houses in West Orange, the Caldwells and Wayne; can afford up to $700,000, though would prefer a little lower.


Our adult disabled son lives with house, so house would have to have a bedroom on first floor, and we realize other modifications would need to be done. Looking at the Oranges because of its proximity to Kessler, which is where he did his rehab.


Thoughts?

[DannyHobkins]

Originally Posted by Caili

Anticipating a job move for hubbie to NJ late fall-early 2021.


Been looking at houses in West Orange, the Caldwells and Wayne; can afford up to $700,000, though would prefer a little lower.


Our adult disabled son lives with house, so house would have to have a bedroom on first floor, and we realize other modifications would need to be done. Looking at the Oranges because of its proximity to Kessler, which is where he did his rehab.


Thoughts?

West Orange is nice, Caldwell is beautiful and so is Wayne. Also many towns surrounding Caldwell and Wayne are nice too. I would stay away from the other Oranges as many parts are no go areas. Also most houses in New Jersey are old, so many are oddly configured and have bedrooms in the first floor.

[Dangerous-Boy]

lots of traffic in wayne. it also floods.

[Kthnry]

Of the four Oranges, you would probably only want to consider West Orange and South Orange.

I'm thinking newer houses - one-story ranches and split-levels - might be easier to modify for accessibility. You don't find a lot of those in West/South Orange. Most of the housing stock is 1920's or earlier with lots of stairs.

[Caili]

Thanks all - we've seen more ranches than I thought we would, and that would be ideal. Split levels wouldnt work, as we'd have to ramp most everything. Two story w/bedroom on the 1st floor would definitely work.



Wayne floods? Where does that come from - poor drainage, runoff from higher areas? Never even thought of that!

[DannyHobkins]

I dont know the frequency that you will need to be going to west orange, but id also recommend bringing your search out a little more west into Morris County. Taxes are lower then Essex County, house prices are lower, less congestion and in my opinion its a just as nice or better.

Also as for flooding I would leave that up to a realtor you work with as they know the flood zones for all areas.

[ansky]

If you are interested in a ranch style house you might want to take a look at Parsippany. They seem to have a lot of this style housing.

[nykstevenyg]

I am pretty sure at that price range you could find a ranch house in West Orange built in the 50s-70s. Only parts of WO have an older housing stock, much of it is post-WWII.

[nybbler]

Lots of houses with first floor bedrooms in West Orange in the St. Cloud neighborhood (where the main Kessler is), and I've seen a few modified with a ramp, so it clearly is practical to do. Probably well under $700K, though you'll want to save some to pay our outrageous taxes.

I have a split with 3 bedrooms top floor, formal living room in the middle, and 1 bedroom plus kitchen, family room, and dining room on the entry level. This is called an informal entry split or for some reason a "dipsy-doodle" split; not sure if it would serve your purposes but there are a lot of them in the neighborhood, as well as ranches.

[ansky]

Originally Posted by Caili

Wayne floods? Where does that come from - poor drainage, runoff from higher areas? Never even thought of that!

The section of Wayne near Willbrook Mall and Little Falls is notorious for flooding from the Passaic River. I'm not sure about other parts of town but I don't think it's a widespread problem. Obviously check the flood zone maps and ask your realtor.