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I moved with my family from DC about a year ago. We have been living in corporate housing while looking for a house. Initially we were really interested in Larchmont because of the ex-pat community (my husband is European) and the charming town. We just found a house in Pelham that we like a lot but I am scared we are going to make a mistake. It seems as though the sellers in Larchmont are not budging with their house prices although the market has clearly come down. Do you think we should wait for house prices to fall in Larchmont or take the leap with the Pelham house? Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
Both are wonderful communities. It would help if you were more specific. What is the mistake you're afraid of making? What's the leap you're making in Pelham.
Larchmont is a wonderful place to live, and the town is special in many ways. My husband and I live in Larchmont. People who list their homes here seem to be completely out of the economy loop - they have no idea that housing has been greatly affected. There are many people we know who are super wealthy, live in Pelham, and would never ever leave. Many people who live in Pelham absolutely love it and could afford to live in Larchmont on the water if they desired. In addition, the school system in Larchmont is not much to write home about. Chatsworth and Murray Ave. are good (both have a low technology rating, however), and Mamaroneck high school is not great. Even though I say all this, I truly love it here for many reasons. I know I may not be much help, but I can definitely say that the people, charm, and history in Pelham are very special and you should definitely consider buying there. Prices here are not dropping at the rate they should be, and waiting for a house that you love for the right price may take years. Both are truly special and unique communities, and you will be happy no matter what you choose. Good luck and keep us updated.
If you prefer Larchmont, but simply believe sellers are overpricing, then you have a simple answer: look at homes you like in Larchmont, that have been on the market for a while, and make an offer that you consider fair. If you have correctly assessed the market, then eventually a seller will accept your offer. Some sellers may simply opt not to sell at all. But others will simply have to accept the offer.
On the other hand, if you are underestimating fair values, then sellers will safely refuse your offer, and they will secure a better offer.
Either way, there is no shame in offering 10-15% less than asking price. Worst that could happen is the seller says no.
Thanks for the advice and feedback. I guess I feel like I am taking a leap buying a house in this housing market and we were initially thinking that Larchmont was the place for us. We love the little town and it seems like there is a big ex-pat community. People don't really talk about Pelham as much as Larchmont although both my husband and I think that Pelham is a lovely town. I am nervous that I will miss having a small downtown area and that we will feel like we made the wrong choice. Why would somebody think that Pelham is better than Larchmont? Are the schools better?
Thanks for the advice and feedback. I guess I feel like I am taking a leap buying a house in this housing market and we were initially thinking that Larchmont was the place for us. We love the little town and it seems like there is a big ex-pat community. People don't really talk about Pelham as much as Larchmont although both my husband and I think that Pelham is a lovely town. I am nervous that I will miss having a small downtown area and that we will feel like we made the wrong choice. Why would somebody think that Pelham is better than Larchmont? Are the schools better?
It's still isn't really clear what your concerns are except having a quaint village. What's the leap? The risk of overpaying in this market is immeasurably lower than it would have been 6 months ago or 6 months before that. Anyway, Pelham vs Larchmont:
Pelham: somewhat more down to earth, less pretentious. More solidly upper-middle class (less middle, less super-rich). Lousy parks, lousy to nonexistant waterfront (a pity since it's on LI sound). Arguably better schools, especially high school. Downtown so-so.
Larchmont: More social stratification, more of the super-rich to make the non super-rich feel inferior, wonderful waterfront, nicer downtown (more upscale, more places for stay-at-home-moms to congregate). High school more "diverse," cause it's mixed with a working class and immegrant Mamaroneck element.
Last but not least, part of the reason People don't talk about Pelham is that the kind of people living there feel less need. It's lower profile, less high strung. Incidently, I regularly employ substantial numbers of high school kids from Pelham and Larchmont. Kids reflect their parents' and town's values with perfect precision. The Pelham kids are uniformly better employees -- less entitled, better attitude, stronger work ethic, regardless of what part of town they're from (I look at kids houses with Google Earth to gauge socioeconomic status). Larchmont applicants are far FAR more likely to apply for a summer job "except those 2 weeks I'll be in Italy, this week I'll be on the Vineyard, and I can't work after Aug 10th cause we always go sailing" etc, etc, and expect us to work around their lifestyle. Sounds absurd, but it's absolutele real. Make of this what you will.
I really don't know Pelham very well but I can tell you that it is consistently "cheaper" than Larchmont. Not exactly sure why, but homes in Pelham tend to be cheaper than other parts of southern Westchester with good schools.
In comparison to Larchmont, it is a smaller school district, which has the greatest impact at the high school level. Larchmont feeds into Mamaroneck HS, which is large and diverse, but still recently rated. Pelham is a smaller high school.
I suggest you put aside your fear of "this market.". Nobody can really judge a real estate market except in retrospect. 2 years ago, people thought they were buying into a good market. Those are the people now hurting the most. We know that mortgage rates are now at historic lows, prices stand at 2004-2005 levels, and signs show the market starting to stabilize. If you do your homework before you purchase, and you intend to keep your home for the long term, then short term changes in the real estate market won't affect your purchase.
A "good" real estate agent can educate on true fair market values of homes you like, and you can educate yourself with the help on websites like trulia and zillow (but take their estimations with a huge grain of salt)
Too funny - I had a message all typed out to you to click on this link since it touches upon a similar topic but then when I scrolled down I see that you already posted in it, so you already know.
Anyway, since we're still in the same boat as you I'm going to be following this thread as well (thanks for getting the topic going again). And check out rubygreta's last post in there since I think it touches upon important comments about the taxes and why they're so high as well as the triple-gov't structure.
kletter1 - thanks. from our research i thought you nailed the breakdown of plusses and minuses between the two areas as far as we've learned about them. The one thing that surprised me was how snooty your description of Larchmont kids was. My impression was that one of the advantages of Larchmont over some other Westchester towns like Scarsdale or Bronxville is that it is supposed to be more down to Earth. Are you saying that it's out of touch in comparison with Pelham but less so than those other towns ... or is it just as out of touch as some of the wealthier towns are rumored to be? (apologies to people from those towns - I know there's great people everywhere and I truly have no idea what is what in Westchester so I'm going off of extreme stereotypes we picked up along the way )
The one thing that surprised me was how snooty your description of Larchmont kids was. My impression was that one of the advantages of Larchmont over some other Westchester towns like Scarsdale or Bronxville is that it is supposed to be more down to Earth. Are you saying that it's out of touch in comparison with Pelham but less so than those other towns ... or is it just as out of touch as some of the wealthier towns are rumored to be?
I'd say that there's a continuum with these towns in a general way. I don't mean to characterize the Larchmont kids as snooty, in my experience they aren't. Just, on average, that more of them are generally more entitled than the Pelham kids. It's a matter of degree. Bronxville is another step up the scale with Scarsdale topping the list. But the difference between Pelham and Scarsdale is vast.
I've had a couple great Scarsdale high kids for 2 years, but they have a refreshing kind of "oh god, don't judge me by Scarsdale's reputation" attitude. It's amazing, they've had to prove to their coworkers from lesser communities that they weren't themselves snobs. Anyway, they report that Scarsdale High kids with real, paying jobs are generally considered losers. What is cool there are the fake, 1 month "rebuild a Nicaraguan village" tours costing $3000 that they put on their college application (fortunately all the colleges have pretty much wised up to that scam).
So, back the "what's up with Pelham?" question. Maybe it's less "prestigious," well known etc because it isn't snobby enough to earn a reputation.
Last edited by kletter1mann; 04-08-2009 at 06:06 AM..
Reason: Forgot a key point.
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Sounds absurd, but it's absolutele real. Make of this what you will.
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