OT: Town Recommendations

Jtung230

Heisman
Jun 30, 2005
19,183
12,342
82
Closing on the sale of my house at the end of the month. We interviewed a few realtors. One came in prepared with a ready-made buyer $10k above our intended asking price. In addition, she only charged us a total of 2.5% commission (since she already had the buyer). The house was ready to sell but no need to bring a bunch of people into the house and inconvenience the family. We also didn't have to publicly list the house and we were out of attorney review and all inspections done in 5 days. It's amazing what a good market and sharp realtor can accomplish.
I’m going to call BS or that realtor is either the dumbest or most honest ever.
 

yesrutgers01

Heisman
Nov 9, 2008
122,354
38,107
113
I’m going to call BS or that realtor is either the dumbest or most honest ever.

I'm feeling something sounds wrong here too...and to your point, let's say everythng is spot on...what broker is lowering their commission if they are walking in with a buyer over asking.inspection and atty review in 5 days also? not that it cant happen and should happen with perfect houses...but you cant get two atty's to work that fast and never seen inspectors on the ball like that so quick as well...something seems off
 

Phi_1055

All-Conference
Feb 27, 2006
3,189
3,864
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Where in Manhattan? A year ago I would have said no way, but it might be possible currently. But don't forget the preschool cost.

And I'll bet that $750k 3 BR in Cranford would have run $650- 675k last year, and the $1 mil in Summit $825-850k.

I wish. Home prices in Summit are mostly flat to last year and down at some price points. The cap on SALT deductions isn’t helping.
 
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mdk02

Heisman
Aug 18, 2011
26,674
18,962
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I wish. Home prices in Summit are mostly flat to last year and down at some price points. The cap on SALT deductions isn’t helping.

Then Summit is an outlier. My office is above a realty firm in Bergen County, and they're saying prices are up and demand is through the roof.
 

BigWill

Heisman
Jul 25, 2001
53,317
31,779
113
I too did a quick Zillow look-a-bout for RENTs in decent areas of Manhattan with 2 bedrooms.

There are literally 100's in the 2 to 3 K range.

No need to use preschool for 1 year olds. Baby carriage to Central Park from Upper East or West Side below approx 90th ST..

Dump you car payments, car insurance, eliminate commuting time AND cost, and Bank ten's of thousands for your next promotion/reassignment in a sane real estate City/State.
 
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mdk02

Heisman
Aug 18, 2011
26,674
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I too did a quick Zillow look-a-bout for RENTs in decent areas of Manhattan with 2 bedrooms.

There are literally 100's in the 2 to 3 K range.

No need to use preschool for 1 year olds. Baby carriage to Central Park from Upper East or West Side below approx 90th ST..

Dump you car payments, car insurance, eliminate commuting time AND cost, and Bank ten's of thousands for your next promotion/reassignment in a sane real estate City/State.

And pay NYC resident income tax. BTW, who's going to give up their job to care for the 1 year old (which actually is a job)?
 

RUschool

Heisman
Jan 23, 2004
49,921
14,007
78
Then Summit is an outlier. My office is above a realty firm in Bergen County, and they're saying prices are up and demand is through the roof.
Bergen prices are thru the roof. A lot of bids over asking price. I looked at a Summit and most houses are over the $1 million price easily with a few houses in the $800k.
 
May 11, 2010
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Bergen prices are thru the roof. A lot of bids over asking price. I looked at a Summit and most houses are over the $1 million price easily with a few houses in the $800k.

Lodi, Garfield, Wallington, Little Ferry, Lyndhurst, all Bergen County and you can find something
 

RUschool

Heisman
Jan 23, 2004
49,921
14,007
78
Had a job interview in Little Falls today

There or Cedar Grove are good towns, but parts of LF near downtown flood often.
They are fine the Passaic Valley HS is a terrible school. Most of these high price towns are for the school system. You can find the same house in two different towns and they could be $200-250k difference due to the schools.

i don’t know if the schools are worth it since it still up to the student but that how parents are.
 
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RUschool

Heisman
Jan 23, 2004
49,921
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Lodi, Garfield, Wallington, Little Ferry, Lyndhurst, all Bergen County and you can find something
Well, that’s the different part of Bergen county. Paramus, Glen Rock, Ridgewood, River edge, Ramsey, Oradell which have the good school systems are expensive.
 

BigWill

Heisman
Jul 25, 2001
53,317
31,779
113
And pay NYC resident income tax. BTW, who's going to give up their job to care for the 1 year old (which actually is a job)?

IN the 7 pages of this thread, he has never mentioned that his Wife was employed outside the home.

So the difference between NJ and NY/NYC income taxes is the drop dead decision maker ?
iMO it's quality of life. When I commuted into NYC from Manasquan and it was up to 5 hours every day by train/cab or car/ferry/walk, it was a major factor in my marriage. Almost as bad as when I commuted from Kansas City to NJ for 2 years M-Fri.

IF this is the LAST move your company is likely to promote you then go for Location/Location/Location. IF you could be transferred in 2 - 3 years, before your child is 3-4, look Manhattan, Rentals
 
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RUnTeX

All-Conference
Dec 21, 2001
7,097
4,264
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Well, that’s the different part of Bergen county. Paramus, Ridgewood, River edge, Ramsey, Oradell which have the good school systems are expensive.

Now you've done it....northern vs. southern Bergen Co. And more importantly, is there a central Bergen and what are its borders?
 
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RUschool

Heisman
Jan 23, 2004
49,921
14,007
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Now you've done it....northern vs. southern Bergen Co. And more importantly, is there a central Bergen and what are its borders?
It’s more like great school systems vs good or average school system. It’s like deciding Rutgers or Boston College, Villanova or Boston University.
 
May 11, 2010
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They are fine the Passaic Valley HS is a terrible school. Most of these high price towns are for the school system. You can find the same house in two different towns and they could be $200-250k difference due to the schools.

i don’t know if the schools are worth it since it still up to the student but that how parents are.

Why is PV terrible?
 

mdk02

Heisman
Aug 18, 2011
26,674
18,962
113
Lodi, Garfield, Wallington, Little Ferry, Lyndhurst, all Bergen County and you can find something

Not if you have kids in school, particularly high school So when you figure out what tuition is at a parochial like Paramus Catholic or Bergan Catholic (which are closer than Don Bosco and St. Joe's) you'll go somewhere else. And a non-religious school? Elizabeth Morrow (K-8) tuition runs around 30k and Dwight Englewood (9-12) around 40K.
 

mdk02

Heisman
Aug 18, 2011
26,674
18,962
113
It’s more like great school systems vs good or average school system. It’s like deciding Rutgers or Boston College, Villanova or Boston University.

I wouldn't go with those comparisons for Garfield et. al. . They're another level down. A non-geographic middle ground would be Waldwick and Midland Park, possibly Fair Lawn. Hawthorne, just across into Passaic would fit there too.
 

Mr. Magoo1

Heisman
Nov 15, 2001
15,454
16,291
113
Just sold my house last week in Hunterdon County in two days for over asking price and am heading down to Florida earlier than I thought I would (October). I'm gonna miss the people, the pizza, and RU sports (31 year season ticket holder) and not much else. Not retiring so I'll be back from time to time. Everyone stay safe up here.
 
May 11, 2010
72,487
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Not if you have kids in school, particularly high school So when you figure out what tuition is at a parochial like Paramus Catholic or Bergan Catholic (which are closer than Don Bosco and St. Joe's) you'll go somewhere else. And a non-religious school? Elizabeth Morrow (K-8) tuition runs around 30k and Dwight Englewood (9-12) around 40K.

what's wrong with those high schools?

I've heard NJ has the best public school education
 

mdk02

Heisman
Aug 18, 2011
26,674
18,962
113
what's wrong with those high schools?

I've heard NJ has the best public school education

They're not as good as:

Northern Highlands (Allendale)
Ramapo Regional
Ridgewood
Glen Rock
Tenafly
River Dell
Paramus
Fair Lawn

among others

No state has high schools that are of uniform quality.
 

Jtung230

Heisman
Jun 30, 2005
19,183
12,342
82
Just sold my house last week in Hunterdon County in two days for over asking price and am heading down to Florida earlier than I thought I would (October). I'm gonna miss the people, the pizza, and RU sports (31 year season ticket holder) and not much else. Not retiring so I'll be back from time to time. Everyone stay safe up here.
Congrats and best of luck. Hopefully RU football will come to you for bowl games in the near future.
 

BigWill

Heisman
Jul 25, 2001
53,317
31,779
113
Decided which section to live ?

Can the board have an argument over which section of Florida is best ?
 

jmc11201

Heisman
Dec 16, 2005
11,752
16,946
113
IN the 7 pages of this thread, he has never mentioned that his Wife was employed outside the home.

So the difference between NJ and NY/NYC income taxes is the drop dead decision maker ?
iMO it's quality of life. When I commuted into NYC from Manasquan and it was up to 5 hours every day by train/cab or car/ferry/walk, it was a major factor in my marriage. Almost as bad as when I commuted from Kansas City to NJ for 2 years M-Fri.

IF this is the LAST move your company is likely to promote you then go for Location/Location/Location. IF you could be transferred in 2 - 3 years, before your child is 3-4, look Manhattan, Rentals
Wife does not work outside the home, so we don't have to worry about child care and her work.

Employer is basically shutting down the Boston office and looking to move us to NYC where the main office resides...so if I stay with this company, NYC is where the job will remain. Also, I'm in the investment industry, so NYC obviously the place to be for that, so should I choose to switch employers, NYC remains a pretty safe bet on a place to find work.

I'm early 40s at this point and have mostly avoided bad commutes other then a brief time in Chicago. I don't think my wife, nor I, would be thrilled with three or more hours a day going back and forth to work. Renting in the city is probably the smart move, but we aren't desperate to live in the city.

We're hoping this drags out a year or two as they won't move us until they sublease our existing space...so perhaps we'd get a reprieve. But at the same time, I'm amenable to doing something different if I can find something interesting and financially palatable (I don't need to make the same or more than I'm making). We'll see!
 
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BigWill

Heisman
Jul 25, 2001
53,317
31,779
113
Here's my experience and my relatives.

Jacksonville area; Some change of seasons. Real estate reasonable. Beaches are nice and close to many areas in that section. College sports are blah. Jags are blah.

Orlando; Traffic bad, Disney is not my cup of tea. Airport is OK as long as you don't mind sitting with hundreds of kids either way and their parents.

Tampa; Gulf of Mexico always looks strange to me like it's a little murky/dirty/on my wrong shoulder. Sports are OK. South like Ft Myers and Naples are nicer IMO.

Gold Coast; Has to be above Ft Lauderdale. No Miami at all. Border towns around Palm Beach and Martin County is very nice. Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens around that area is very nice.

IF I were to go down there again, I would probably go Avondale which is a Spring Lake type suburb just west of Jacksonville, without the 3 extra 000's on the RE prices.
 

mdk02

Heisman
Aug 18, 2011
26,674
18,962
113
Wife does not work outside the home, so we don't have to worry about child care and her work.

Employer is basically shutting down the Boston office and looking to move us to NYC where the main office resides...so if I stay with this company, NYC is where the job will remain. Also, I'm in the investment industry, so NYC obviously the place to be for that, so should I choose to switch employers, NYC remains a pretty safe bet on a place to find work.

I'm early 40s at this point and have mostly avoided bad commutes other then a brief time in Chicago. I don't think my wife, nor I, would be thrilled with three or more hours a day going back and forth to work. Renting in the city is probably the smart move, but we aren't desperate to live in the city.

We're hoping this drags out a year or two as they won't move us until they sublease our existing space...so perhaps we'd get a reprieve. But at the same time, I'm amenable to doing something different if I can find something interesting and financially palatable (I don't need to make the same or more than I'm making). We'll see!

I would make no decision before you know if the office is Midtown or Wall St. Major difference in the commute.
 
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mdk02

Heisman
Aug 18, 2011
26,674
18,962
113
Midtown. Times Square area.

That weighs in favor of Bergen and Essex. One thing you should definitely check out is the Vince Lombardi Park and Ride at the northern end of the NJ Turnpike. Was a breeze in the mornings and fast, taking you into the PA Bus Terminal. Sometimes slow going back out if there was still heavy traffic Manhattan bound into the Lincoln Tunnel. Works for all of Bergen and parts of Passaic Counties. Been over a decade since I used it so you need to see if anything has changed.
 

RUnTeX

All-Conference
Dec 21, 2001
7,097
4,264
113
Midtown. Times Square area.
Certain NJ burbs should be palatable for that via buses to PABT or trains to Penn Stn (or even NY Waterway Ferry from the Gold Coast/Hudson County riverfront towns). Or consider certain Manhattan neighborhoods too to avoid the tunnel/bridge/crossing commute.
 

RUevolution36

All-American
Sep 18, 2006
8,169
5,648
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That weighs in favor of Bergen and Essex. One thing you should definitely check out is the Vince Lombardi Park and Ride at the northern end of the NJ Turnpike. Was a breeze in the mornings and fast, taking you into the PA Bus Terminal. Sometimes slow going back out if there was still heavy traffic Manhattan bound into the Lincoln Tunnel. Works for all of Bergen and parts of Passaic Counties. Been over a decade since I used it so you need to see if anything has changed.
bus into PA suuuuuuuuuucks. and if and when they start construction on a new bus terminal, that will make traffic in that area even worse.
 
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mdk02

Heisman
Aug 18, 2011
26,674
18,962
113
bus into PA suuuuuuuuuucks. and if and when they start construction on a new bus terminal, that will make traffic in that area even worse.

From Middletown perhaps. But a 10 mile drive from Bergen County to the Vince at 7:15AM with busses lined up to take you in with the bus lane and it was 35 minutes plus the walk down to my office in the Flatiron. I wouldn't dismiss it before checking out.