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I don't live in New Jersey any more. Left in 1970 at age 18, so I have no idea how much a young couple needs to make to afford a home in a fairly decent town. Since joining here, I've read numerous threads concerning schools, crime, freeway accessability, property taxes. And it really sounds daunting.
Not everyone in New Jersey is a white collar executive with a lavish pay package. So my question is based upon if you were in your early 20's and you and your spouse had joint income of say $60,000.00. What would your options be?
I don't live in New Jersey any more. Left in 1970 at age 18, so I have no idea how much a young couple needs to make to afford a home in a fairly decent town. Since joining here, I've read numerous threads concerning schools, crime, freeway accessability, property taxes. And it really sounds daunting.
Not everyone in New Jersey is a white collar executive with a lavish pay package. So my question is based upon if you were in your early 20's and you and your spouse had joint income of say $60,000.00. What would your options be?
(1) rent, save, wait for the market to correct
(2) spend more on renting something nice, and give up on the idea of buying until you get a pay increase.
(3) buy a condo (you can get these for around 200 or so)
(4) buy a small house in a sketchy neighborhood.
I don't live in New Jersey any more. Left in 1970 at age 18, so I have no idea how much a young couple needs to make to afford a home in a fairly decent town. Since joining here, I've read numerous threads concerning schools, crime, freeway accessability, property taxes. And it really sounds daunting.
Not everyone in New Jersey is a white collar executive with a lavish pay package. So my question is based upon if you were in your early 20's and you and your spouse had joint income of say $60,000.00. What would your options be?
Townhouse - Warren or Sussex County. Warren is a little more convenient for accessing major highways such as 80 and 78.
I don't live in New Jersey any more. Left in 1970 at age 18, so I have no idea how much a young couple needs to make to afford a home in a fairly decent town. Since joining here, I've read numerous threads concerning schools, crime, freeway accessability, property taxes. And it really sounds daunting.
Not everyone in New Jersey is a white collar executive with a lavish pay package. So my question is based upon if you were in your early 20's and you and your spouse had joint income of say $60,000.00. What would your options be?
Two options in New Jersey:
1 - An abandoned van down by the river.
2 - A large cardboard box at a superfund cleanup site of your choice with a few bucks leftover for a happy meal.
That's not true...
they are selling brand new townhouses out my way for 169K! 5 mins off of Rt. 78
The only thing is that one cannot control the $$$ increases in the municipal and especially NJ State Property taxes.
If one must: Roll your dice and take your chances and even "if" the mortgage is paid off one probably will have a $1k+/month tax payments as well as fees if living in a townhouse.
like it's always been.....save first. (well, except for the past 5 yrs)
what's the deal with people thinking young 20 somethings are entitled to a home?
to answer your question - save up enough for a downpayment - $40K and have a savings cushion, and you can probably afford something around $200K.
I never meant to imply any sense of entitlement; I apologize if I gave that impression. But I remember my sister and brother-in-law buying a small "fixer upper" in Hopatcong back in the early sixties with the aid of the G.I. Bill. Getting out of a 2 bedroom apartment in East Orange was what motivated them to move to the "boonies", which Hopatcong really was in 1963. And he had to commute to his job as a maintence/HVAC worker at an office building in Parsipanny. Sis was a stay at home Mom.
My wife and I didn't buy our first home until I retired from the USMC, because we had friends that had been unable to sell right away when being transferred across country in the 1980's. You get enough family seperations in the military as it is, so we preferred to live in base housing.
It just bugs me that home ownership is out of reach for so many these days. My son in Hackettstown is paying a young fortune in taxes like all of you; but he's 40 and makes in the low 6 figures. What about the young mechanic married to a secretary or entry level school teacher? It just seems harder for folks in New Jersey than in other states, though I must admit here in California it's just as bad.
My youngest son lives next door to a teacher that's married to a fireman. Both just got laid off. They have a four year old son, and she's expecting. I just don't remember the affordability factor being so out of whack years ago.
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