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I am hoping to get advice on areas to start for a house search in Westchester county. I know very little to nothing about there area. The factors that I will use to weigh the search are:
Commute - 1 hour or less commute to Grand Central
Schools - one child about to enter K another 3 years away, high-quality ( I realize this is subjective)
House - preferably $650K, but up to $750K, min 3BR 2BA
Towns - would like nice DT area with shops/restuarants, family oriented
Again, I have no idea where to start looking and need ideas on where to start looking, if we are to move to NYS.
Are you taking into account property taxes of about $15k+ on this budget?
Offhand the usual suspects...Pelham, Rye Neck, Mamaroneck, Larchmont (but really pushing it and you'll def. need to go to $750k). Hastings, Dobbs Ferry on the other side.
To give you a rough start, use the Moderator cut: No specific broker sites on the forum, please. realtor website, select Westchester county and put in your price/bed/bath criteria. If you want an hour or less commute to grand central, assume you need travel time to the station, so cut off any town above 287 (you can use the map view to do that). That will start to give you an idea of where you can find homes in your price range. Definitely check the taxes. Jjinla is correct that taxes are insane here - in some cases you could pay up to or even above $20k on a 650K house.
Yonkers and Mount Vernon do not have stellar schools. Beyond that, you should probably consider the rest of lower westchester as worth exploring - some schools are more highly regarded, some downtowns are more quaint or walkable, etc. With your budget you'll have to make concessions if the commute is top priority (if it isn't, then definitely go north of 287 for more value for your dollar).
And keep in mind, everywhere in Westchester is family friendly, so even if 'horrors' you landed in a town that doesn't have the perfect main street, you're close to lots of wonderful things to do - great parks, libraries, nature centers, Bronx Zoo, Long Island Sound, etc, etc.
Last edited by bmwguydc; 04-02-2013 at 09:49 AM..
Reason: Please DM any specific broker sites to the OP as only non-sponsored sites are allowed on the forum.
one other weird Westchester quirk you should keep in mind - towns and school districts aren't contiguous in all cases. So if you for example find an amazing house for 650K with taxes under 10k in Bronxville (one of the most expensive towns in Westchester), it's definitely not in the Bronxville school district. Most likely it's in the Yonkers school district. So make sure you check the district on the real estate listing.
My advice is to start with commute times as this will be the easiest/most efficient way to narrow down the list of towns. Then ask about or search the boards for the specific towns that are still in the running. Since you'll be commuting to Grand Central, go to Metro-North's website and see what towns are close enough to meet your criteria. Keep in mind that time on the train is just part of the equation....I go from White Plains to Grand Central (35 min) and then walk to 55th St and it takes around 75 minutes door to door. I suspect you'll have to expand your "1 hour or less" criteria....the question is how high are you willing to go.
... If you want an hour or less commute to grand central, assume you need travel time to the station, so cut off any town above 287 (you can use the map view to do that)...
There are a number of towns above 287 that have under 45-50 minute train times to GC. As long as you live under 10-15 minutes from the station you can keep your door-to-GC time under an hour from those towns. This NY Times map of commute lengths on MetroNorth is helpful:
My number one advice on commutes is to check the schedules for frequency of trains at rush hours (or whenever you plan on commuting). Frequency of trains and having lots of options plays a much bigger impact in quality of commute than length of trip.
Thanks for all the replies for me to get started on a search. The travel time is probably the one factor that has the most weight, which I know makes it more difficult and limiting. As some of you stated the tax issue may come into play, especially if it goes as high as $20K for $650K, but yes, I am assuming a high tax of ~$15K. Also, thanks for the NYT map, I have seen that before, and have been wondering where I had seen it.
To give you a rough start, use the Moderator cut: No specific broker sites on the forum, please. realtor website, select Westchester county and put in your price/bed/bath criteria.
Ok, since I can't recommend the specific realtor websites, here's my general 2 cents on searching for houses online in Westchester. You want to find a site that allows you to search by school district as well as town. This will allow you to avoid the trap of thinking that lovely 4 bedroom house in Bronxville for under $1M is actually in the Bronxville School district - in actuality, it is probably zoned for Yonkers (otherwise known as Bronxville PO).
The second thing you want to be able to see on a listing is the taxes. There are some 750K 3 br/2 bath houses with a 15K tax bill. There are other 750K 3 br/2 bath houses with a $20K tax bill - or even more.
Ok, since I can't recommend the specific realtor websites, here's my general 2 cents on searching for houses online in Westchester. You want to find a site that allows you to search by school district as well as town. This will allow you to avoid the trap of thinking that lovely 4 bedroom house in Bronxville for under $1M is actually in the Bronxville School district - in actuality, it is probably zoned for Yonkers (otherwise known as Bronxville PO).
The second thing you want to be able to see on a listing is the taxes. There are some 750K 3 br/2 bath houses with a 15K tax bill. There are other 750K 3 br/2 bath houses with a $20K tax bill - or even more.
The Bronxville PO address is actually desirable if you don't plan to use public schools (the catholic schools in the area are great). It's the best of both world -- you get to live in Bronxville with Yonkers property taxes. There's also a Yonkers income tax but I'm not sure if you'd have to pay if you're in the Bronxville PO.
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