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Old 03-21-2016, 01:32 PM
 
29 posts, read 46,058 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by trebler View Post
I don't know what the taxes are like (presumably high, TBH), but the area of Hartsdale north of East Hartsdale Ave and east of Central Ave might be a good fit. It's a pretty prewar suburban neighborhood that's an easy walk to the train and downtown shopping/dining, although you'd still need a car for grocery shopping. Prices in Hartsdale are relatively low because its high school (or, to be more accurate, the high school which it shares with several other unincorporated areas of the Town of Greenburgh) isn't great, but downtown Hartsdale itself is a great area. From there, your stepdaughter could walk to Central Avenue, which is the retail strip for south-central Westchester -- it's a series of strip malls, so she might not be able to find a job within walking distance, but there are plenty of retail shops up and down Central that would be a few minutes' bus ride away.
Trebler, thank you for this suggestion! We have spent some time in Scarsdale and I know it's completely unaffordable, so I hadn't given Hartsdale any thought. It looks as though the taxes CAN be insanely high, but it depends on the property. I'm seeing a few listings in our price range with taxes under 10K (and many others with taxes around 20K, ouch!).

Quote:
Originally Posted by trebler View Post
It might be worth checking out New Rochelle. I don’t spend enough time there to give serious advice, but my limited impression is that the downtown has improved in recent years and might be a good value if schools aren’t a concern.
I have looked at New Rochelle a bit, but haven't had much luck. What's in our price range seems to be in very undesirable areas of town and the taxes are still high (although I think this may be a case-by-case thing as with Hartsdale).

Quote:
Originally Posted by trebler View Post
What is it that you dislike about White Plains? The big strikes against it from my perspective are the tedium of the walk from the train station and the fratboy vibe of the nightlife, but IMO it has a lot of positives (safety, diversity, walkability) that outweigh the negatives.
I haven't actually spent that much time there, although I have a friend who lived there a while and we visited her a few times for parties and such. I've never taken the train, either, only driven. The traffic is HORRENDOUS and I agree with you on that frat boy vibe. It just has a kind of trashy feel to me, but it is a big city so perhaps I haven't explored thoroughly enough.

Anyway, thanks again for your input, and good luck with your search as well!
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Old 03-21-2016, 02:00 PM
bg7
 
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16K on a $400k house is over-taxed - it needs a reassessment.


In any event, do remember that besides not paying NYC income tax, the property taxes are deductible if you itemize (and if you are paying Westchester property taxes you may well up itemizing). That means they're not quite as bad as they look. So when all is said and done, depending on your marginal rate - they will have been 20%-30% less than the "sticker price" by the end of the tax year.
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Old 03-21-2016, 02:25 PM
 
29 posts, read 46,058 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by bg7 View Post
16K on a $400k house is over-taxed - it needs a reassessment.

In any event, do remember that besides not paying NYC income tax, the property taxes are deductible if you itemize (and if you are paying Westchester property taxes you may well up itemizing). That means they're not quite as bad as they look. So when all is said and done, depending on your marginal rate - they will have been 20%-30% less than the "sticker price" by the end of the tax year.
Yes, I've run a tax simulation on what effect buying one of these place would have on our overall tax situation - we'd save a nice chunk, but probably not enough to make paying any more than 10-11K in property taxes worth it. Right now we usually end up paying about 4K in NYC taxes; in Yonkers that would be more like $1,500. With property taxes a bit lower in Yonkers, I still think it's the most affordable area, although as trebler pointed out the topography makes walking a bit of a challenge. It actually looks like there might be some decent homes in the far southeastern corner of Yonkers, just east of the Raceway, but I'm not sure how desirable the area is. It's within walking distance of the Mt. Vernon West station, and when we drove by there yesterday I was not thrilled with the area, although just walking to the train from the other side of the river might not be terrible.
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Old 03-28-2016, 12:11 PM
 
Location: Westchester, NY
71 posts, read 104,032 times
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The Bronx is Booming: The Housing Market in the City's Fastest Growing Borough is Heating Up

Check out the above - pretty interesting, to me at least. :-)
I live in Yonkers, close to Fleetwood in Mt. Vernon but I have a lot of experience in the BX also. You definitely have options, If you like the Fleetwood area,check out Bronxville PO (still Yonkers), walkable to Fleetwood.
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Old 03-28-2016, 08:05 PM
 
29 posts, read 46,058 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Amanda Saraceno View Post
The Bronx is Booming: The Housing Market in the City's Fastest Growing Borough is Heating Up

Check out the above - pretty interesting, to me at least. :-)
I live in Yonkers, close to Fleetwood in Mt. Vernon but I have a lot of experience in the BX also. You definitely have options, If you like the Fleetwood area,check out Bronxville PO (still Yonkers), walkable to Fleetwood.
Thanks Amanda! We have looked near the Fleetwood stop but we haven't seen anything we like in our price range yet. I assume more homes will start coming on the market as the weather improves, though, so we'll keep an eye out. As for the Bronx, we visited Pelham Bay last weekend and liked the neighborhood, but I think my husband prefers to get all the way out of the city if possible. I have to admit, I don't love the idea of a long commute on the 6 train myself. The neighborhoods on the D line would be better for us in terms of commute, but other than Bedford Park and Norwood I haven't heard many positives about the area.
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Old 05-13-2016, 03:12 PM
 
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Have you considered Fleetwood?
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Old 05-18-2016, 07:20 PM
 
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Look at West Devonia Avenue in Fleetwood, Mt. Vernon, and explore houses on Hayward Avenue, Orchard Street, Ridgeway Street, and head all around that area. West Devonia is close to the Metro North station, and there are some other nice blocks around there. Fleetwood is lovely, with good shopping. On Zillow I see homes under 600k on certain streets around Devonia. Of course, the taxes are high, but it's a very nice area, right next to Bronxville. Don't let the million dollar price tags scare you away-some smaller houses are very nice and much more affordable. And you can walk to the station.
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