Hi! New to this forum and moving to NEPA in Dec (Scranton: middle-class, real estate)

[pil]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and moving to NEPA soon to take a job at the Tobyhanna Army Depot that I have been hired for. I currently live in Oklahoma and have been a member of the US Air Force for the past 9 years. My question is what are the property taxes in the Carbon and Lackawanna Counties for a house built in the 90s with a price of between $150K and $175K on about 1/3-1/2 acre. From what I hear about the taxes I am considering not even coming even though the job I am hired for pays in the mid $50K range.

On a second note, does anybody know some reputable realators I can get in contact with.

Thank you in advance for any help you can give me.

[SteelCityRising]

For a home in Lackawanna County with a market value between $150,000-$175,000, you might be expecting a total tax bill of $2,500-$3,500 annually, which will include your taxes for the public school district, county, and municipality of residence. Certain communities, like Dunmore, Scranton, and Clarks Summit, also levy a wage tax ranging from 1.0%-3.4% in addition to property taxes in order to generate additional revenue. Most municipalities around here also have what is known as an EMS tax of $52 that is levied upon those who work in their municipal limits and earn at least $12,000 annually. This is taken out at a minimal $1 per week, so it truly isn't a budget-breaker.

I'm unsure of Carbon County's tax structure, but I figure it might be similar or even slightly lower than Lackawanna County. I believe my parents pay roughly $3,500 per year for our three bedroom, one-bath, 1,500 square foot home on a 3/4-acre lot in Northern Luzerne County, but that is also factoring in our school district's relatively-high tax rates in relation to the rest of the region. Our home has a market value of $200,000. Reassessment is slated to occur in both Luzerne and Lackawanna Counties soon, so new values will be assigned---some will go up, and others will go down to keep the system as equitable as possible in relation to a home's value.

I'd probably recommend that you check out either the North Pocono area of Lackawanna County (Moscow/Mt. Cobb/Gouldsboro) or perhaps even the Greentown area of Pike County, which is part of the Wallenpaupack School District.

My brother-in-law works at the depot as an electrical engineer, so I can try to ask him some questions about the facility when I see him over Thanksgiving if you'd like.

[SteelCityRising]

As far as realtors are concerned, I've been impressed in Lackawanna County by how quickly a relatively-new firm, Semian & Gress, based out of Downtown Scranton, has been capturing market share in the area. They have been eating up a good chunk of the listings in the Scranton and North Pocono areas as of late, so if they're growing this quickly they must be doing something right.

I've met a woman by the name of Ann Lewis who worked for Lewith & Freeman Real Estate in Luzerne County when I worked at Lowe's Home Improvement, and we worked together to try to find the perfect items so she could "stage" a home she was selling in Bear Creek. She seemed to be very knowledgeable and friendly, but her listings seem to be concentrated in the Bear Creek area.

[pil]

Thank you very much SWB, I would appreciate any info you could get me about the depot; I will be working as an electronics technician. I have looked at the areas you mentioned and they seem very nice. I am also looking at the Albrightsville area of Carbon County and the Thornhurst area of Lackawanna County. I've noticed many people on here have had good things to say about those areas as well.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by pil

Thank you very much SWB, I would appreciate any info you could get me about the depot; I will be working as an electronics technician. I have looked at the areas you mentioned and they seem very nice. I am also looking at the Albrightsville area of Carbon County and the Thornhurst area of Lackawanna County. I've noticed many people on here have had good things to say about those areas as well.

Thornhurst is a very nice, quiet area and is part of the highly-regarded North Pocono School District. Most of Thornhurst's residents live in Thornhurst Country Club Estates (TCCE). The community is home to a lot of wooden chalet-style and A-frame homes in the low-to-mid $100k range. Many of these are used only seasonally by upper-middle-class folks from NY and NJ as vacation homes, but a growing number are becoming year-round residences.

Here is the link to TCCE:

Thornhurst Country Club Estates, Pocono mountain golf community

Bear in mind though that part of the charm of Thornhurst is that it's so isolated in relation to urbanized areas. A trip to the grocery store, gas station, schools, etc. will require quite a hike to Daleville or Blakeslee. A trip to work for you would be about a half-hour. A trip to work from Albrightsville would be about 35 minutes, but you'd also be only 20 minutes from Jim Thorpe, which is a great small town. With gas prices in our area now averaging around $3.15/gallon, it might make more sense to move to Gouldsboro, which is right next to the depot and part of the North Pocono School District.

There are a lot of commuter vans of co-workers that make the trip back and forth to the depot from different areas, and each co-worker takes turns driving it; my brother-in-law takes the van from Pittston. This helps to cut down on traffic congestion and the stress of having a long daily commute. I don't know if there are any vans from Albrightsville (there might be one from nearby Blakeslee), and I'm certain there won't be one from Thornhurst given the small population.

I'll ask my brother-in-law some general questions on Turkey Day.

[pil]

Originally Posted by ScrantonWilkesBarre

Thornhurst is a very nice, quiet area and is part of the highly-regarded North Pocono School District. Most of Thornhurst's residents live in Thornhurst Country Club Estates (TCCE). The community is home to a lot of wooden chalet-style and A-frame homes in the low-to-mid $100k range. Many of these are used only seasonally by upper-middle-class folks from NY and NJ as vacation homes, but a growing number are becoming year-round residences.

Here is the link to TCCE:

Thornhurst Country Club Estates, Pocono mountain golf community

Bear in mind though that part of the charm of Thornhurst is that it's so isolated in relation to urbanized areas. A trip to the grocery store, gas station, schools, etc. will require quite a hike to Daleville or Blakeslee. A trip to work for you would be about a half-hour. A trip to work from Albrightsville would be about 35 minutes, but you'd also be only 20 minutes from Jim Thorpe, which is a great small town. With gas prices in our area now averaging around $3.15/gallon, it might make more sense to move to Gouldsboro, which is right next to the depot and part of the North Pocono School District.

There are a lot of commuter vans of co-workers that make the trip back and forth to the depot from different areas, and each co-worker takes turns driving it; my brother-in-law takes the van from Pittston. This helps to cut down on traffic congestion and the stress of having a long daily commute. I don't know if there are any vans from Albrightsville (there might be one from nearby Blakeslee), and I'm certain there won't be one from Thornhurst given the small population.

I'll ask my brother-in-law some general questions on Turkey Day.

Thanks again for the info. I am hoping to get a little away from the more urbanized areas. I currently live in Oklahoma City, and although pretty nice overall it's not exactly my cup of tea. I spent 6 years in North Pole, Alaska and miss that small town feel. Thanks for the commute times, with the price of gas, I'll be looking around.

On another note, why are most of the hotels booked solid in the upcoming months? Is it the ski crowd?

[Gretchen570]

Any help would be greatly appreciated !!!

[Gretchen570]

Originally Posted by Gretchen570

Any help would be greatly appreciated !!!

This was supposed to go on the legislation thread ..sorry!!!

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by Gretchen570

This was supposed to go on the legislation thread ..sorry!!!

It's okay! We all get a bit too excited sometimes! LOL! It brought me a good chuckle though.

[SteelCityRising]

Originally Posted by pil

Thanks again for the info. I am hoping to get a little away from the more urbanized areas. I currently live in Oklahoma City, and although pretty nice overall it's not exactly my cup of tea. I spent 6 years in North Pole, Alaska and miss that small town feel. Thanks for the commute times, with the price of gas, I'll be looking around.

On another note, why are most of the hotels booked solid in the upcoming months? Is it the ski crowd?

I know the new Mt. Airy Casino & Hotel just opened, so perhaps that is responsible for some of the booked rooms. Skiing is also very, very popular in the Poconos, and with all of the snow we just got today, some clever resorts might be able to open up to make a killing during the Thanksgiving weekend when many out-of-towners are in visiting family and might want to go skiing as a diversion. A major travel web site also just ranked the Poconos as being amongst the top 10 vacation destinations in the world, right alongside places like Paris and Venice, so perhaps the positive spin-off from that is leading to an increased interest from New Yorkers.