Young family looking in Bucks County for first home (Levittown: foreclosures, rental)

[lubyaustin]

Our daughter, son-in-law, and 3 year old grandson are looking to buy their first home. Our son-in-law works for his Austin Texas firm from home, and daughter works for Solvay in their Bristol lab and UPENN collaborative lab. They moved from Austin last year and have been renting at Salem Harbor in Bensalem this first year. Location has allowed our daughter to commute to either lab via SEPTA which has been great. They would like to buy their first home and have decided to target the best school districts reasonably close to Bristol/train access. They are focused on Council Rock, Pennsbury, and Neshaminy school districts in Newtown, Yardley, Langhorne, and parts of Levitown that fall into those school districts (Falls Township, Tullytown Burough, and Middletown). I am helping them research houses since I have way more time now than they do. I am finding lots of track housing and foreclosures in Levittown, Fairless Hills areas which do not seem to be best for a young family. With a budget of 250,000 - 275,000 for 2 bedrooms, it seems like they are limited to looking at townhomes or condos in Yardley and Newtown. Are their areas of Yardley and Newtown that they need to avoid for safety reasons? Are they missing areas that would be more reasonable but safe with decent schools? Lastly, are there great rental developments in these areas for young families that may be more reasonable to consider than buying to be in a good school district. Thanks for any advice!

[NovaDragon]

I can't speak for the rental opportunities, but you seem to be in the right location for access to SEPTA & Bristol. While Fairless Hills can be a bit hit or miss, there are still areas that should be OK for young families, especially within the Pennsbury SD. You don't, however, need to worry about safety in Yardley or Newtown because they pretty much don't exist, lol. However, the prices can get steep, even for smaller homes. I would also recommend looking into the Village Shires area in Holland (Northampton township). It's also in Council Rock and has a number of townhomes options that might be manageable.

How far is your daughter willing to commute? I might also recommend Horsham Twp. It is a little further away, but it's close to the turnpike so it's a relatively easy trip to Bristol. You also get a pretty good range of housing so they should definitely be able to find something in that price range (for example, we bought a 3br townhome below their range about 5 years ago). You're also close to 2 different train lines, which makes it a little easier (& I think they're quicker than the West Trenton & Trenton lines). It's also on par with Pennsbury as far as school districts go. So even though it's further out than Warminster (Centennial SD), Willow Grove (Upper Moreland SD) or Upper Southampton (Centennial SD), you get a better school district and better housing. But again, that's only if your daughter is willing to commute a little bit.

Hope this helps. Good luck!

[lubyaustin]

Originally Posted by lubyaustin

Our daughter, son-in-law, and 3 year old grandson are looking to buy their first home. Our son-in-law works for his Austin Texas firm from home, and daughter works for Solvay in their Bristol lab and UPENN collaborative lab. They moved from Austin last year and have been renting at Salem Harbor in Bensalem this first year. Location has allowed our daughter to commute to either lab via SEPTA which has been great. They would like to buy their first home and have decided to target the best school districts reasonably close to Bristol/train access. They are focused on Council Rock, Pennsbury, and Neshaminy school districts in Newtown, Yardley, Langhorne, and parts of Levitown that fall into those school districts (Falls Township, Tullytown Burough, and Middletown). I am helping them research houses since I have way more time now than they do. I am finding lots of track housing and foreclosures in Levittown, Fairless Hills areas which do not seem to be best for a young family. With a budget of 250,000 - 275,000 for 2 bedrooms, it seems like they are limited to looking at townhomes or condos in Yardley and Newtown. Are their areas of Yardley and Newtown that they need to avoid for safety reasons? Are they missing areas that would be more reasonable but safe with decent schools? Lastly, are there great rental developments in these areas for young families that may be more reasonable to consider than buying to be in a good school district. Thanks for any advice!

Thank you, your reply is very helpful. We will take a look at the other areas as well.

[NYtoNJtoPA]

Levittown and Fairless Hills are fine for a young family as long as you are outside of Bristol Twp.