Safety and Property Taxes in DelCo (Drexel Hill, Springfield: top neighborhoods, real estate, foreclosure)

[Shikes]

Did some searching but all threads I found are a bit outdated.

I'm looking into a potential house purchase in Southern Delco. Specific neighborhoods I am interested in are: Swarthmore, Nethen Providence Township, Glen Mills, Ridley Park, Morton, Folsom, Springfield and Rose Valley.

I have only personally been to Swarthmore and Glen Mills and felt like both neighborhoods were very nice and safe. Can someone speak to the safety for a family with two young kids in the remaining neighborhoods I listed? Folsom, Morton, Springfield and Ridley Park specifically are much more affordable, and thus I'm interested in figuring out how safe they are.

Further, I realize the property taxes in DelCo are huge. My question is, is this the Upper Darby School district only that has the high taxes, or is it basically everywhere in DelCo? I was told that the Wallingford-Swarthmore School District seems to be the "best" school district in DelCo so it would be preferable. My understanding is that the taxes from the state are like 1.8%, but the foreclosure rate in somewhere like Drexel Hill are super high because Upper Darby School District contributes a ton and comes out to something like 5.6% (if I remember correctly). If I just buy in a different school district in DelCo, can I find reasonable property taxes ANYWHERE in DelCo?

Thanks in advance for the input.

[mls128]

Radnor is the best school district in delco and taxes aren't high either, but homes are pricier. Depends on your budget

[Shikes]

Budget is 400k and I have found a good amount of houses that fit what we need in all of the above locations. What worries me is that I cannot afford to pay Drexel Hill - type taxes on a 400k property and hence was wondering if those taxes stem from Upper Darby School District or DelCo in general.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by Shikes

Budget is 400k and I have found a good amount of houses that fit what we need in all of the above locations. What worries me is that I cannot afford to pay Drexel Hill - type taxes on a 400k property and hence was wondering if those taxes stem from Upper Darby School District or DelCo in general.

Did you bother looking at Havertown(it's mostly in Haverford Twp School District)? Havertown is entirely in Delco. It's safe there.

[cpomp]

Your list is comparing apples to oranges for some towns.


Folsom, Ridley Park, parts of Morton, very middle class, older housing, denser.


Rose Valley, Swarthmore, Nether Providence, wealthier, very quiet, old stately homes, very leafy.


Springfield is a mix of both


Glen Mills is very new and shiny.


Your money will get you further in Ridley Park, Morton, Springfield. Glen Mills and Swarthmore are more expensive. Nether Providence has very high taxes.




If you want top neighborhoods, schools, and safety then the latter half of my list is where you want to focus.

[DonegalGuy]

I agree wholeheartedly with cpomp. His (or her) analysis of the various towns is correct. Wallingford-Swarthmore school district is one of the best in the state but the taxes are high because those towns (Nether Providence and Swarthmore) don't have much in the way of commercial property to tax. Springfield is a good mixture and the Springfield-Morton school district is strong. They are in the process of building a new high school in Springfield. Ridley Park has beautiful old houses but the taxes in Ridley school district are making it difficult for people to keep them up. Very similar to what is happening in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby. Folsom is not bad but is also part of Ridley school district. Ridley SD built a new high school in the early 2000s.


Glen Mills also has a great school district (Garnet Valley) but, as cpomp said, everything is shiny and new in Concord and Bethel townships (Glen Mills is merely a post office mailing location for Concord township) so it will be between $350,000 and $600,000 for anything out there.

[DonegalGuy]

Shikes,


One more thing - Most of the tax burden reflects taxes for the local school districts. The property taxes for the municipalities and the county are small compared to the school districts. The high taxes in Drexel Hill reflect primarily the school district.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by DonegalGuy

I agree wholeheartedly with cpomp. His (or her) analysis of the various towns is correct. Wallingford-Swarthmore school district is one of the best in the state but the taxes are high because those towns (Nether Providence and Swarthmore) don't have much in the way of commercial property to tax. Springfield is a good mixture and the Springfield-Morton school district is strong. They are in the process of building a new high school in Springfield. Ridley Park has beautiful old houses but the taxes in Ridley school district are making it difficult for people to keep them up. Very similar to what is happening in the Drexel Hill section of Upper Darby. Folsom is not bad but is also part of Ridley school district. Ridley SD built a new high school in the early 2000s.


Glen Mills also has a great school district (Garnet Valley) but, as cpomp said, everything is shiny and new in Concord and Bethel townships (Glen Mills is merely a post office mailing location for Concord township) so it will be between $350,000 and $600,000 for anything out there.

Thanks, but I found most real estate in Glen Mills to be closer to the 600k+ range. Also depends on what they want. A nice 4 bed 4 bath home on 1/2 could cost you 1M, or you could find an older cape or nicer townhome for 350k.

[Shikes]

Originally Posted by DonegalGuy

Shikes,


One more thing - Most of the tax burden reflects taxes for the local school districts. The property taxes for the municipalities and the county are small compared to the school districts. The high taxes in Drexel Hill reflect primarily the school district.

THANK YOU! This was the answer I needed to #2. Everyone kept telling me "Can't live in DelCo cause of taxes" and I didn't know how much of that was school district and how much of that was county/municipal taxes. I had a hard time believing that the county itself is completely offlimits based on taxes. Drexel Hill taxes were legitimately scary when we were looking there though.

As far as the safety, am I fine in Folsom/Springfield for family with young kids? I know everyone's idea of "safe" is different but for reference, I think Roxborough is pretty safe but wouldn't live in Point Breeze if my life depended on it.

[cpomp]

Originally Posted by Shikes

THANK YOU! This was the answer I needed to #2. Everyone kept telling me "Can't live in DelCo cause of taxes" and I didn't know how much of that was school district and how much of that was county/municipal taxes. I had a hard time believing that the county itself is completely offlimits based on taxes. Drexel Hill taxes were legitimately scary when we were looking there though.

As far as the safety, am I fine in Folsom/Springfield for family with young kids? I know everyone's idea of "safe" is different but for reference, I think Roxborough is pretty safe but wouldn't live in Point Breeze if my life depended on it.

Folsom and Springfield are very different so shouldn't be compared. Springfield perfectly fine, middle/upper middle class area. Folsom is average in my opinion.