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If you needed a house for 450k, with a decent size yard, good schools, within a 1.5 hour commute to WTC/Wall St door to door, where would you choose?
Is 1.5 hours possible from putnam county (i've hear good things about mahopac)? How about rockland/orange or is an area in New Jersey an option? No long island please....i have family far northwest (upstate ny) of the city so LI would just make it harder to get back on occassion.
I would choose for that timeframe. Forks, Pa........up behind College Hill.
Homes are about that price at this moment. Schools are expanding and will upgrade....but, they are not all that bad now. You'd take 78 in to the city.
Best of all you can take the Trans-Bridge bus at the park and ride, so you
don't have to drive in. Freemansburg is also nice and is close to the bus area.
You can certainly find a decent house in Mahopac for about $450K, however, the commute to downtown will be closer to 2 hrs. door to door.
You might want to consider Yorktown (Northern Westchester) as well - housing will be in similar price range, commuting might be few minutes less (not much, and it will depend on what park of Yorktown you are in).
Good luck!
The commute from Yorktown Heights (the southern part) is 1 hour and 5 minutes to Grand Central-- 10-12 minutes to Croton and then 45 minutes on the train, plus a few minutes for parking. The commute from northern Yorktown is longer--about 15 minutes to Peekskill and then 57 minutes on the train. Plus 20-25 minutes to get to Wall Street. $420,000 would be very hard to find in Yorktown Heights. In northern Yorktown you'd get a small ranch, but nothing much. Peekskill is a great place and you'd get a nice house for that price, but the schools are not great. I'd suggest Cold Spring. Small houses in town can be had for the 400's. The commute is quite long, about 1 hour 30 minutes to Grand Central.
Mahopac is your best option, Yorktown in that price range is really not too appealing, a townhouse in that price range may work but I looked at a ton of homes under $500,000 in Yorktown over the past few weeks and unless you like shag carpet and paneling then it is not the best place to buy. Mahopac "pound for pound" you will get the best for your buck, Carmel even better but schools not as good as Mahopac, any other areas in Putnam I wouldn't recommend because they are too far north and/or schools not being all too "sought after" for a lack of a better word.
And don't go near Peekskill, though the commute is decent, especially from the Riverbend Townhouses, you can walk to the train, you can see it outside your deck, so for convenience it is good, but that is it.
Most people looking for what you are looking for are hovering the Mahopac, Somers, Yorktown area, for the price most of those people end up in Mahopac... $450,000 just won't cut it in Somers and Yorktown. It will in Mahopac because those $450,000 houses were $550,000-$575,000 1 - 1.5 yrs ago. As an example, I saw a house last week in Yorktown for $599,000, it was a raised ranch, price was down to $500,000, probably will go for low $500,000's..BUT that is because it is in the Lakeland school district, if it was Yorktown schools it would be in the $600,000's.
Another was in the low $600,000's, raised ranch, small property, no back yard but Yorktown and in Yorktown schools but no yard. Same house in Mahopac would be under $500,000 no problem at all.
Mahopac is your best option, Yorktown in that price range is really not too appealing, a townhouse in that price range may work but I looked at a ton of homes under $500,000 in Yorktown over the past few weeks and unless you like shag carpet and paneling then it is not the best place to buy. Mahopac "pound for pound" you will get the best for your buck, Carmel even better but schools not as good as Mahopac, any other areas in Putnam I wouldn't recommend because they are too far north and/or schools not being all too "sought after" for a lack of a better word.
And don't go near Peekskill, though the commute is decent, especially from the Riverbend Townhouses, you can walk to the train, you can see it outside your deck, so for convenience it is good, but that is it.
Most people looking for what you are looking for are hovering the Mahopac, Somers, Yorktown area, for the price most of those people end up in Mahopac... $450,000 just won't cut it in Somers and Yorktown. It will in Mahopac because those $450,000 houses were $550,000-$575,000 1 - 1.5 yrs ago. As an example, I saw a house last week in Yorktown for $599,000, it was a raised ranch, price was down to $500,000, probably will go for low $500,000's..BUT that is because it is in the Lakeland school district, if it was Yorktown schools it would be in the $600,000's.
Another was in the low $600,000's, raised ranch, small property, no back yard but Yorktown and in Yorktown schools but no yard. Same house in Mahopac would be under $500,000 no problem at all.
Hope this helps.
Thanks for the great info...I hear you about Peekskill, the schools really are bad. I actually have a friend that lives in those riverbend townhouses, they are very nice and the walk to the train is great...I also think he said they have a shuttle to the train... but he plans to move before his baby is school age.
I've looked at somers but it is definately out of our price range, if we decide to go one income which we are leaning toward.
Orange County is a great place to live. Like anywhere else, some school districts are better then others, however compared to innner city schools, we are heads and tails above them. The quality of life is great in this county.
My son and I moved here to get out of the city, and he has graduated college since with two degrees and is a well rounded human being with a great carreer in front of him.
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Putnam & Northern Westchester
