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I'm afraid the Hamilton village does have heartstopping taxes, even by Upstate standards. Also, there is no way $299,000 will buy you waterfront in Caz. No way. $499,000 will get you a handyman special, maybe.
I'm afraid the Hamilton village does have heartstopping taxes, even by Upstate standards. Also, there is no way $299,000 will buy you waterfront in Caz. No way. $499,000 will get you a handyman special, maybe.
The dollar has gone farther on the waterfront there for the past few years... you can get a NICE place - HUGE place, couldn't possibly be more updated, on a large piece of land -with a cement dock for $700K.
I can see why you would think this house is a bargain. It does photograph well.There is a reason it has been for sale for at least the past 3 years. The house is literally 10 feet away from East Lake Road, with no front yard at all and appears to be constructed from unfinished cinderblocks. The lake frontage is across the street, and is tiny. It is true that the lakefront prices are going down, this is in large part due to the truly astounding taxes paid by lakefront residents. We have friends on the lake who pay over $33k per year, in a house that is worth about $850k. On top of this lakeside homeowners are expected to chip in with surcharges to pay for milfoil eradication, and endure a (possibly in some cases deserved) reputation for snobbery.
I can see why you would think this house is a bargain. It does photograph well.There is a reason it has been for sale for at least the past 3 years. The house is literally 10 feet away from East Lake Road, with no front yard at all and appears to be constructed from unfinished cinderblocks. The lake frontage is across the street, and is tiny. It is true that the lakefront prices are going down, this is in large part due to the truly astounding taxes paid by lakefront residents. We have friends on the lake who pay over $33k per year, in a house that is worth about $850k. On top of this lakeside homeowners are expected to chip in with surcharges to pay for milfoil eradication, and endure a (possibly in some cases deserved) reputation for snobbery.
They should definitely appeal those taxes! A couple we're friends with live on West Lake Road and have a similar home value and got their taxes reduced to $17K... with a HELL of a fight but that much money is WORTH it, you know? lol - I can't imagine!
whew! So different from Florida or MA, so much to learn from so far away. One more question, not sure how easy this one will be, but... are there any town that you wouldn't live? Higher crime, overall lower class, (which might affect schools), run down? Etc... I know here there would be a few that I would say, well, there's some really nice parts to the town, but over all it's a poor town, rough schools etc.
Also, this IS NOT the time for me to be thinking of this, how many inches of snow have you guys had? How many hours were you guys stuck in cars? Oh my!!! I grew up in Iowa, lived in MA 10 yrs, but really.... you guys are some tough peeps!!! Stay warm and thanks again and again for all of your help!
whew! So different from Florida or MA, so much to learn from so far away. One more question, not sure how easy this one will be, but... are there any town that you wouldn't live? Higher crime, overall lower class, (which might affect schools), run down? Etc... I know here there would be a few that I would say, well, there's some really nice parts to the town, but over all it's a poor town, rough schools etc.
Also, this IS NOT the time for me to be thinking of this, how many inches of snow have you guys had? How many hours were you guys stuck in cars? Oh my!!! I grew up in Iowa, lived in MA 10 yrs, but really.... you guys are some tough peeps!!! Stay warm and thanks again and again for all of your help!
We know how to handle the snow. So, it's not as bad as you might think it is. Plows usually come in a timely manner and the roads are generally clear by morning rush hour.
As for a poor town, parts of the city of Syracuse are pretty much the only areas that you describe. There are more blue collar/working class villages or suburbs like Solvay(Solvay SD), East Syracuse(village), Mattydale(North Syracuse SD), Nedrow(Onondaga Central SD) and maybe Lyncourt(has own SD, but goes to Solvay for HS) and the Galeville area of the Liverpool SD, but I wouldn't say that they are bad in terms of crime, especially serious crime. Some of these communities look rougher than others though due to their manufacturing past/present. Schools in these areas are OK to good and you can get a good education from them, but there are other school districts with better reputations.
You also have some rural areas that aren't bad in terms of crime, but schools are average, like say Port Byron or maybe DeRuyter. Again, it's not that you can't get a good education in these SD's though.
And - although I know I repeat myself to death on this - older homes generally have lower taxes. New builds are tax-assessed at their full value whereas older homes are nearer 50-60%, depending on how well the owners have kept up with the increases.
In the Syracuse photos thread, which is "stickied" at the top of all the threads, you'll see my pics of what was called (on the East Coast) a "Snowicane." Nearly two feet dropped on us and the roads and parking lots were cleared by the start of the business day. I'll bump it for you. Syracuse plowmen win awards for their snow removal... although it's always a bit rusty at the start of the season. lol - we get so spoiled during the winter, having roads bare, black and salted, that we're a little cranky when there's slush after the plowing during the first big storm of the season. haha
Great site on the taxes, was looking around for something, but nothing was nearly as user friendly as that.
And the pics... wow! I remember growing up in IA, with winter visits to upper MN.... snow storms, blizzards, oh the fun! Nothing like that happens here in MA, a snow storm lasts all of a few hours, and is cleared soon after. I do remember telling my husband that when we moved from FL to MA that I HAD to have central air, wouldn't go without that. (ya right, who needs central air here?)... I'm now telling him that if we move to NY, that I WILL HAVE 4 wheel drive. Not the best driver in the snow!
Don't worry - some of the natives aren't very good drivers either!! Get yourself a true 4 wheel drive vehicle, use common sense and you'll do just fine. Like the other posters said, the plows are out 24/7 during storms like this and most roads are pretty good.
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Syracuse plowmen win awards for their snow removal... although it's always a bit rusty at the start of the season. lol - we get so spoiled during the winter, having roads bare, black and salted, that we're a little cranky when there's slush after the plowing during the first big storm of the season. haha
