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Hi, we've moved to fairfiled county CT a couple month ago. My husband works in Greenwich CT and we are looking for a house to buy anywhere in Fairfiled county ct or Westchester NY. Since our priorty for the new house is good school system for our young children and our budget,we have been looking into Pound Ridge/ Bedford area in Westchester and Wilton/ Westport in Fairfiled county. Please educate us about the higher real estate tax situation in Westchester compare to CT. Is there any benefit to pay higher tax to be in Westchester? Is there any other taxes that we have to pay more? (income tax/business tax, etc)
How the real estate tax will be reassessed when you buy a house? like if the MLS sheet mantions an estimated tax, that means the new buyer will pay the same amount or the town will reassess the property and the buyer may pay higher tax then before? Any information would be helpful.
Thanks.
Taxes in Westchester are much higher than Connecticut. You may get a tax deduction for them but if you are paying AMT for Federal income taxes you get screwed out of the tax deduction anyway which many people in Westcehster do. Your taxes are based on the assessed value of the property. The best thing to do is to check with the town for the current assessed value. If you buy for more than the assessed current value, your taxes will likely go up. If you buy for less, they may go down but you would have to grieve your taxes.
FYI, CT taxes are less but it depends on the town too. Greenwich is much lower than Darien/New Canaan. Also, in CT you have personal property tax on cars/boats etc. You have to compare the schools but Westchester County overall has way more good school districts that make top schools in the country lists all the time. 2/3rds of the taxes you pay goes towards the schools and they are way above average and competetive. When you are looking at a house, the sellers agent should provide updated tax amounts and you may be eligible for the STAR program which saves some money on taxes. I know the Bedford/PRidge area well. And I know Westport more than Wilton (but I have a girlfriend who lives in Wilton). PR/Bedford is more down to earth. There is a lot of wealth but people are more understated. The downtowns are quant and you don't have to dress up to go shopping. Westport is way more artsy but pretentious. I had a friend move to Westport and within 2 years they left. She felt the mom's were very competitive and not very friendly and she said she was tired of spending time with the nannies who were always with the kids. Wilton is a little less than Westport - but not much from what my friend tells me. You should spend time in these towns and get a feel for the people. They really are very different.
Thanks for the info. I'm wondering how do I find out the eligibilty for the STAR program.
We have been visiting different towns eveyweeks and We have a good feeling about Bedford Villege sofar. We think that the Bedford villege elemntary school looks great. Is anyone know about the poeple there? Are poeple friendly? down to eath? Ethnic diversity? We came form Portland, OR where poeple are really down to earth and very diversity. We visited Westport, Darien, New Cannaan CT and find out the those places are not for us at all. Too pretentious! On the other hand, I mat a few moms at the play ground at the Poung Ridge and they were so nice and friendly there. Any info regarding Bedford Villege would be great. Thank you.
Bedford isn't diverse, unless you count horses. Many beautiful homes, lots of barns, stables and even a riding trail. Pound Ridge is also beautiful, less horsy, but still not diverse. Both are lovely areas. Not into the 'welcome wagon' mentality, but respectful and quiet. People respect others' privacy.
Even with the Star program Westchester residents are whining and complaining. My Dad is paying $17,000 for a 2500 sq ft single fam. home. It's insane. I dont care if the schools had gold doorway trims. Same size house in CT you can find taxes for $5800 average. If your hubsband works in Greenwich then you might as well stay in CT and not throw your money away on property taxes.
You'll get the same appreciation over time in fact maybe more in the future since CT is more affordable now, the demand will shift.
Greenwich has great schools, so does West Norwalk. And you'll have a close commute.
If you are willing to go to Weston you might want to try town of Fairfield- it's family central here, great schools, and yes, the taxes are about half as much as Westchester, and there is plenty to show for it- beach and lake beach access, lots of town programs for kids, parks, tennis, golf. The extra auto taxcosts us less than $400 a year. Sewage tax is $90 a year, I think. Our property taxes are $6,000 a year for a 4 bedroom 2000 sf house in a pretty sidewalk neighborhood.
If you feel at home in Bedford Village that sounds good- but there is no benefit to the higher taxes in Westchester towns compared to Fairfield towns.
We think that the Bedford villege elemntary school looks great. Is anyone know about the poeple there? Are poeple friendly? down to eath? Ethnic diversity? We came form Portland, OR where poeple are really down to earth and very diversity. We visited Westport, Darien, New Cannaan CT and find out the those places are not for us at all. Too pretentious! On the other hand, I mat a few moms at the play ground at the Poung Ridge and they were so nice and friendly there. Any info regarding Bedford Villege would be great. Thank you.
None of the towns you're considering are even remotely diverse in any real sense of the word. That said, Fox Lane HS (most of Bedford, Pound Ridge and Mt kisco) is probably the most diverse HS of any school districts you're considering. There's a significant minority population there, mostly from Mt Kisco and Bedford Hills. Elementary schools in PR and Bedford Village are both great.
Of all these towns Pound Ridge is by far the least pretentious. Very affluent but artsier, less wall street, less competitive than the other towns (I say this after living here for 17 years). FWIW, my wife is a dematologist with practices in Ridgefield and Wilton. She reports that the Wiltonians are vastly snobbier than Ridgefield, vastly greater sense of total entitlement.
Understand that Bedford Village and PR can both feel very "isolated" if you crave sidewalks and chatting with neighbors when you pick up the morning paper. In general you won't see your neighbors. Nevertheless, PR has a very active community with newcomers club, local library, volunteer organizations and active school groups. But you'll need to take the initiative.
This post, while absurdly over-the-top, has more than a grain of truth to it. //www.city-data.com/forum/westc...idge-info.html Lifestyle-wise much of what is said here applies to Bedford Village as well. They adjoin each other even share a folksy little local phonebook ("The Little Book of Numbers," in which phone numbers are just 4 digits long cause everyone knows the 2 respective exchanges).
Last edited by kletter1mann; 02-22-2009 at 01:32 PM..
Reason: Forgot final line
Even with the Star program Westchester residents are whining and complaining. My Dad is paying $17,000 for a 2500 sq ft single fam. home. It's insane. I dont care if the schools had gold doorway trims. Same size house in CT you can find taxes for $5800 average.
Be careful, generalizations can be dangerous. I'm paying about $11,000 for 3800 sq ft on 2 acres.
If you're considering Bedford Village, I would also consider Katonah, which is a hamlet within the Town of Bedford so you get the same town services. I agree that Pound Ridge is not as pretentious as other nearby areas.
If you want a quaint downtown, with a good quality of life, you can find that in Katonah. Real estate ranges from quaint cottages to large estates outside of the downtown area, and there are no national chain stores and few apartments within Katonah. The people are pretty friendly, and most are sophisticated and worldly, so it's no matter what your family's origins and lifestyle, and Katonah-Lewisboro is a slightly better school district, not that Fox Lane is bad at all.
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Lifestyle-wise much of what is said here applies to Bedford Village as well. They adjoin each other even share a folksy little local phonebook ("The Little Book of Numbers," in which phone numbers are just 4 digits long cause everyone knows the 2 respective exchanges).
