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That's interesting. Where we live, pretty much all the newer constructions are within some sort of HOAs, and most of the rules are strictly forced. We park our vehicles inside the garage, or obtained a fee based parking permit should we want our vehicles to be parked over night on the street. Is HOA a common thing in Suffolk? If they are, how much do people normally pay for the monthly due?
HOAs are still relatively new (by Long Island standards), and because we're on an island, expansion of any type of housing is limited since we're surrounded by water. You stated you're looking for at least 1/2 acre - that pretty much eliminates HOAs here, and by the way, HOA fees are in addition to real estate taxes.
In addition, there is a lot of opposition to too much building - owners like their privacy and yards.
Regarding garages, we have a lot of old housing stock; years ago, families had one car, not one for every driver, so there was no need to have 2-car garages. Further East on the island we still have bungalows which are now often being converted to year-round housing.
Newer homes (relatively speaking) are more likely to have a 2-car garage, but it also depends on the layout of the lot, or if the builder wants to keep cost and taxes down.
This is how I see it - I invite others to add to it or offer different opinions
Smithtown is very nice, and I've put this onto our bucket list. We'd also see some of the nice houses with decent size lots in Shoreham Wading River school district as well. Is this some place you would recommend?
BTW, you and I both registered the city-data account in the same year lol
Guess that makes both of us "old timers" LOL.
If you have no need for frequent NYC trips, that area is worth exploring with more opportunity for larger lots and somewhat reasonable prices. BTW, older homes tend to have lower taxes than recent/new-builds.
HOAs are still relatively new (by Long Island standards), and because we're on an island, expansion of any type of housing is limited since we're surrounded by water. You stated you're looking for at least 1/2 acre - that pretty much eliminates HOAs here, and by the way, HOA fees are in addition to real estate taxes.
In addition, there is a lot of opposition to too much building - owners like their privacy and yards.
Regarding garages, we have a lot of old housing stock; years ago, families had one car, not one for every driver, so there was no need to have 2-car garages. Further East on the island we still have bungalows which are now often being converted to year-round housing.
Newer homes (relatively speaking) are more likely to have a 2-car garage, but it also depends on the layout of the lot, or if the builder wants to keep cost and taxes down.
This is how I see it - I invite others to add to it or offer different opinions
Thank you, and it does make sense. No wonder many of the WWII era homes in our area either have one car garage, or no garage at all. We are glad that not many homes in the area with HOAs, as we typically don't against it, neither for it, and the money savings from not having a monthly due is becoming imperative as well ($300 monthly give or take in our current area).
Also, something seems interesting to us, is that many homes within our searching criteria come with a pool. Never would we ever imagined owning a house with a pool, but sure it does bring extra joy. How much do they normally cost to upkeep should it only operate during summer season?
That's interesting. Where we live, pretty much all the newer constructions are within some sort of HOAs, and most of the rules are strictly forced. We park our vehicles inside the garage, or obtained a fee based parking permit should we want our vehicles to be parked over night on the street. Is HOA a common thing in Suffolk? If they are, how much do people normally pay for the monthly due?
HOAs are pretty much non existent here, (i lived in FL so I’m very familiar with them). The closest thing to HOAs here are village codes (if you buy in an incorporated village) for example in garden city there is strictly no street parking or pools allowed. In some villages you can be fined if your lawn isn’t mowed etc. But they greatly vary from village to village.
Last edited by peconic117; 10-05-2023 at 07:40 AM..
That's interesting. Where we live, pretty much all the newer constructions are within some sort of HOAs, and most of the rules are strictly forced. We park our vehicles inside the garage, or obtained a fee based parking permit should we want our vehicles to be parked over night on the street. Is HOA a common thing in Suffolk? If they are, how much do people normally pay for the monthly due?
It's not that people park on the street (many towns/villages do not allow overnight street parking), it's that people park in their driveways and hardly ever use their actual garage.
Another question should anyone willing to chip in... I see there are many towns and or villages stated on their websites, that March 1st each year is the deadline for filling the tax abatement, but what confuses me is should I own the property sometimes in the last calendar year (for example, should I own a property in 2023, in order to be eligible to file before March 1st in 2024 for the next upcoming tax deductions, or if I buy a property in February of 2024 and still be able to file before the March 1st deadline).
I am asking because I am in the process of buying, but it seems the typical closing timeframe for NY is much longer (approximately 2-3 months in general with loan), comparing to a three-week closing time where we are at. Even if I'm in escrow now, by the time we close it, it's already sometime in January or February of 2024, and we are trying act asap on the abatement. Thanks
Another question should anyone willing to chip in... I see there are many towns and or villages stated on their websites, that March 1st each year is the deadline for filling the tax abatement, but what confuses me is should I own the property sometimes in the last calendar year (for example, should I own a property in 2023, in order to be eligible to file before March 1st in 2024 for the next upcoming tax deductions, or if I buy a property in February of 2024 and still be able to file before the March 1st deadline).
I am asking because I am in the process of buying, but it seems the typical closing timeframe for NY is much longer (approximately 2-3 months in general with loan), comparing to a three-week closing time where we are at. Even if I'm in escrow now, by the time we close it, it's already sometime in January or February of 2024, and we are trying act asap on the abatement. Thanks
For Suffolk County, all property is valued as of its condition and status on March 1st of the year. Actual grievance deadline is the third Thursday in May. So if you close after March 1st, you have to wait till the following year.
For Nassau County, status is the 1st Monday in January, with grievance deadline generally March 1st, although in recent years that deadline has been extended several times. So if you close after the 1st Monday in January, you have to wait till the following year. (Maybe it's actually December 31st.)
If you plan on using a grievance company (I can refer an excellent one), you can ask the current owner to start the process and let the grievance company know that the contract should be assigned to you upon closing, so that you can benefit right away. Feel free to PM me for more details.
BTW, your Realtor should be able to answer these questions...
Thank you for the information Elke. I just re-finished my application for the pre approval. The last one expired a few months ago. And due to the continuing increase of the interest rate and all factors in, we are seeing a drastic change in the purchase price of a home, for our case, we were pre approved to purchasing a 1.5m property a while ago, and now it's 1m. If things continue to go south, we might even see a much lower amount before locking in a rate.
Some credit unions give free rate locks when you go into contract . Chase wanted to charge me 1.5 percent of the loan for a rate lock that I got for free. Some event don’t do points and match rates. Do your shopping around for these free benefits.
Yes we are using a military/veteran associated credit union this time. Had a bad experience with one of the biggest mortgage lender and they were greedy, withheld a credit balance of a few thousand bucks for nearly 2 yrs after we sold the property.
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