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I would also recommend Chatham Boro, Madison, Summit, New Providence, You got lots for your money in those towns and the property taxes are much better then the other places listed above.
If you want to be a little closer in, try Maplewood, I sold a 3 bedroom 2 bath central AC house there for $335,000 in the winter, and South Orange a new construction 2 bedroom 2 bath condo 1 block from train station for $502,000. The Maplewood home had $7800 in property taxes and the South Orange condo had $10,000 in property taxes. From each of them you can be in Manhattan in about 30 minutes by train.
All of these towns are well known and are likly to hold value better then a good share of the other towns around New Jersey, big thing for them is having the train stations, as well as very good schools, and very good communities. You may not value schools but the people you sell to when you want to move likly will. Just my opinion, but well founded I think.
To your other question about is it a good time to buy. if getting the rock bottom price is your goal, now may be the right time, or 6 months from now might be right, you will not know until it is to late to have acted on it. The only sure thing is that Mortgage interest rates have been slowly moving up, and for every 1% interest rates go up you have to spend 9% less on a house to get the same mortgage payment.
SInce you're in Port Imperial, have you considered Hoboken? You may not find brand new construction (such as by the waterfront) but you should be able to find something in the 2BR market. Can't get an easier commute from NJ to NYC.
The Hamilton Park and Paulus Hook neighborhoods in Jersey City may also be worth looking at.
Thanks to all for the responses. Really appreciate it. Some more questions which would help us :
- is anyone aware of places in NJ which might provide a direct commute to Wall Street, or is it always the case that first get to Penn station/Port Authority and take a subway from there? We would very much prefer a direct commute if possible even if it is 45+ minutes at 1 go ! One alternate that I thought of was to take a train to Hoboken/Jersey city and take the path/ferry from there.
- Based on the responses I got it seems that the following are feasible for us: Secaucus/Garfield/Lodi/Maplewood/South Orange
Chatham, Montclair and Madison seem to be pretty far as we really want to keep the commute till wall street to be less than an hour !
Are there any other places that people would recommend which are within 30 minutes train ride to Hoboken/Jersey City? Or new upcoming projects which might offer a 5 year tax waiver or something on those lines?
- I gave the 400-600K range in my earlier post since whatever I saw on the golden coast seemed to be in that range. It now seems to me (through this forum) that it might be feasible to get something in the 300+ range as well if we go a bit inside. Any particular suggestions in this range? We are looking for a 2 Br+/2Bath (around 1000+ sq ft) but with preferably new or recent construction so that it has good resale value 5 years from now ...
We thought about Hoboken and Jersey city because of their proximity to NYC but both these areas seem to be very densely populated. We would prefer a place which is more spacious and away from the hustle and bustle of NYC !
- I gave the 400-600K range in my earlier post since whatever I saw on the golden coast seemed to be in that range. It now seems to me (through this forum) that it might be feasible to get something in the 300+ range as well if we go a bit inside. Any particular suggestions in this range? We are looking for a 2 Br+/2Bath (around 1000+ sq ft) but with preferably new or recent construction so that it has good resale value 5 years from now ...
We thought about Hoboken and Jersey city because of their proximity to NYC but both these areas seem to be very densely populated. We would prefer a place which is more spacious and away from the hustle and bustle of NYC !
Thanks everyone again !
Just depends on what you want in a place to live.
I would strongly advise to you for get about the preconceived notion that you seem to have that "new or recent construction" will have better resale value than anything else. It likely will make no difference.
I know you have a strong preference to new construction so I will though this out, There is a new construction project in South Orange, well the building is fully up, and the condos are 95% finished, I sold one last month for $502,000 it was 2 bedroom 2 bath about 1500sqft
Unless you go to Hoboken or Jersey City your not likely to get a direct shot to wall street.
Summit has direct trains to Penn which take 37 minutes,
Spincycle thanks for the information. Would you be having an idea on the tax situation in bergen county? I heard that in West New York tax is around 2%. Is this the same throughout NJ or does it vary? Also do some condos give tax waiver if you are a first time home buyer?
Just for the record the Plauderville townhouses next to the Plauderville train station on Midland ave are actually in Saddle Brook. Across Midland Ave on the "Goodfellas" side (high end resturant) is Garfield.
Those townhouses are all mainly 3 bedroom and run in the 430k range, so they are def worth taking a look at in terms of location/commuting. The only drawback might be the sound of the train, I'm not sure how sound proof they made the walls/windows/etc there but you are LITERALLY right on the tracks, so you have to be in a unit while a train is passing to make a decision.
The taxes in Bergen county are high in the northern area but in the southern area they aren't bad. Elmwood Park, Saddle Brook, Garfield are all pretty much the same - 5-6k
Rutherford/Heights/Woodridge are all in the 6.5-9k range
By far the lowest are Carlstadt, East Rutherford - 3-5k range
Thanks to all for the responses. Really appreciate it. Some more questions which would help us :
Quote:
Originally Posted by tidovan
- is anyone aware of places in NJ which might provide a direct commute to Wall Street, or is it always the case that first get to Penn station/Port Authority and take a subway from there? We would very much prefer a direct commute if possible even if it is 45+ minutes at 1 go ! One alternate that I thought of was to take a train to Hoboken/Jersey city and take the path/ferry from there.
Only if you live near Hoboken and can take a ferry directly to Wall St. The transfer on the Bergen/Main line isn't that bad, you get used to it. It's good if you work normal hours though because the trains are usually about 45 minutes apart so it helps if you have a set schedule or at least close to a set schedule. Important to note there are a lot of buses in the towns you have mentioned that might be worth considering, but then you'd have to take a subway downtown to wall st. from 42nd st.
- Based on the responses I got it seems that the following are feasible for us: Secaucus/Garfield/Lodi/Maplewood/South Orange
Chatham, Montclair and Madison seem to be pretty far as we really want to keep the commute till wall street to be less than an hour !
Are there any other places that people would recommend which are within 30 minutes train ride to Hoboken/Jersey City? Or new upcoming projects which might offer a 5 year tax waiver or something on those lines?
You should 100% keep Montclair on your list. It has a train into Penn Station or into Hoboken (transfers at Newark Broad St.) so you have both options. Montclair by far will provide the funest/nightlight/shopping/etc for a couple of all of the towns mentioned. It's not too far from the city at all. Chatham and Madison are much further in proximity although those train rides aren't too far either.
As mentioned in the previous post Plauderville is Saddle Brook. Lodi doesn't have a train and a lot of flood areas, I would avoid it, but just my opinion. On the main/bergen line Glen Rock would be the absolute furthest you can go to keep the commute to about 35 minutes to hoboken (not JC).
There are BRAND new townhouses built in Belleville. I know everyone will step in here and dog Belleville due to it's proximity to Newark but it's worth a look. They are on Franklin Ave, in a gated community, directly across from the Essex Golf course. Taxes there will run about 8k.
- I gave the 400-600K range in my earlier post since whatever I saw on the golden coast seemed to be in that range. It now seems to me (through this forum) that it might be feasible to get something in the 300+ range as well if we go a bit inside. Any particular suggestions in this range? We are looking for a 2 Br+/2Bath (around 1000+ sq ft) but with preferably new or recent construction so that it has good resale value 5 years from now ...
I'd say you should look at spending about 350-500k depending on how high end you want to go for a townhouse.
We thought about Hoboken and Jersey city because of their proximity to NYC but both these areas seem to be very densely populated. We would prefer a place which is more spacious and away from the hustle and bustle of NYC !
I am not an accoutant, however, as as a mortgage consultant for 23 years, the tax advantages of a new home are basically as follows: You have interest on a mortgage and twon taxes that will be tax deductions. For discussion, assime annual taxes are $8,000. If purhcase for $500,000 and mortgage is $400,000 and 30 Fiox rate at 6.125%. your nomthly payment of principal and interest and taxes would be $3,100. Over 12 months you would pay $24,366 in interest and $8,000 in taxes for a total of
$32,666 in tax deductible items which you note on Scedule A of the federal tax return. What you get in paying less taxes becasue of this depends on your tax bracket. Let's be conservative and use 28% tax bracket. That would be $9,1246
less i taxes that you would pay or about $762 a month. So paying mortgage and taxes of $3,100 monthly minus the $762 is $2,338 and that means that paying a mortgage payment of $3,100 is the rental equivalent of paying $2,338 in rent.
Mortgage interest and taxes can be included on your W4 Form at work as deductions, same as you and youir wife and kids can be deductions. The more deductions you have on your W4 Form, the more you take home monthly (less taxes taken out). If you choose not to increase your deductions on the W4 Form, then you get more back after April 15 when you file your taxes. So, you can receive the benefits of interest and town taxes either monthly or at year end.
Once again, I am not an accountant and only an accountant can tell you exactly what would occur. You could have less dedcutions if you fall into the Alternative Minimum Tax categories because of the size of your income, etc.
Summit has a direct line with one stop in Newark to Penn Station. 30 minutes or under. I don't know if there is an equivalent express to Hoboken. Check NJ Transit schedule and see.
You're smart to avoid Penn Station. It's hell on earth after work. You'll grow old early doing that crap.
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