Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
First, I want to mention that your price range is at the lower end for lower westchester. That means the house is going to need a decent amount of work by most standards. So I wouldn't recommend it unless you are handy or have good connections to contractors. You also need to be pretty knowledgeable about the kind of repairs and improvements a house may need. Its probably not uncommon to buy a 500k house and put in 100k+ to fix it up. So it might be cheaper to pay a mortgage on a 600k house instead of payign 100k cash on repairs and maintenance.
Also, I would advise that you step back and look at your long term plans. For example, If your income is going to grow in the coming years, it may make more sense to wait until you can afford a 600k+ (or 700 or 800) house. You can rent until that happens. If your income is pretty steady, I would advise to look further up in north westchester. Another example, if your kids are not school age yet, maybe renting until you can afford a better house is better. It all depends on your personal situation, so not much we can do to help you decide except to say that buying a house is not always the best answer. In other words, make sure you love the house and love the school before you commit.
Secondly, I would say that westchester taxes are so high because our public schools are really private schools in disguise. So I am not a fan of people who move to westchester to send their kids to private school. If you have family/friends near here already then I understand why you would do that. So I would advise that you pick a town where you love the public school. And if possible, don't buy the house in until your children are school age.
Finally, taxes are not always above 10k. It depends on a lot of factors. I would advise that you look up the taxes on an individual basis AND you look at the date the house was reassessed AND you look at similar houses that have been reassessed recently. I believe a lot of reassessments will be going in the near future, so make sure you don't make a purchase and have your taxes go up a lot in 1-2 years.
The short answer is no.. not really, and definitely not in a "great" school district by Westchester standards. In Scarsdale a 500k house (of which there are almost none) would have 15k minimum in taxes and more likely closer to 20k. What you're looking for might be possible in Northern Westchester, but you're going to be above an hour (check out Somers school district). What you describe is basically what everyone wants and you have to have a trade-off on something. Consider the condo route if schools are your #1 most important factor.
Disagree. OP may be able to find right at that price point but may have to dig. Also look for houses in a school district but not in a village. I save myself $7k a year by doing that.
Can we get a 3 bed 2 bath house in westchester within a great school district (im thinking scarsdale is too expensive but correct me if im wrong). Would love some property but if not thats ok. Also, train ride to manhattan under 1 hour. Are taxes all above $10k?
Trying to decide on LI vs Westchester. Initially crossed Westchester off because everyone keeps saying its one of the highest taxed areas in the country but I know the schools are amazing so I want to revisit..
Hello marycotter5678,
I'm going to have to disagree with the people saying that you will not be able to find a home in your price range with your specifications. However, it may be a little bit difficult. My main recommendation for you would be to look into middle class towns with strong schools. Examples of these towns would be Mamaroneck, Harrison, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe. Though their schools typically don't perform at quite the level that Scarsdale or Bronxville's do, this is generally attributed to the socioeconomic background of the students and NOT the actual quality of the schools.
Here are a few homes in the Ryeneck schools district that have recently sold and are around your budget (some do go a little bit higher). None of these homes are huge and none of them are beautifully renovated, but they are by no means bad.
I'm going to have to disagree with the people saying that you will not be able to find a home in your price range with your specifications. However, it may be a little bit difficult. My main recommendation for you would be to look into middle class towns with strong schools. Examples of these towns would be Mamaroneck, Harrison, Eastchester, and Tuckahoe. Though their schools typically don't perform at quite the level that Scarsdale or Bronxville's do, this is generally attributed to the socioeconomic background of the students and NOT the actual quality of the schools.
Here are a few homes in the Ryeneck schools district that have recently sold and are around your budget (some do go a little bit higher). None of these homes are huge and none of them are beautifully renovated, but they are by no means bad.
Just about every home you listed is over 500k and the taxes listed from 2014 are minimum 12k a year so I don't see how that would work if their budget is 500k with taxes not over 10k?
You will have a much easier time finding a home (under 500k, taxes under 10k)on LI. Although, you might want to check out Mount Pleasant, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Pleasantville. You might get lucky. Would suggest Yorktown, but that would be over an hour commute. You "might"also have luck in Eastchester or Ardsley for a fixer upper in the 500's, but taxes will be over 10k. Best of Luck to you!
Re: posted Rye Neck homes..... I can assure there is nothing zoned for Rye Neck schools on a decent street for under 500k in 2016. They are getting big $ for tiny houses on tiny lots in Rye Neck. Check what's listed in Rye Neck right now for under 500k. Prices have increased in past two years.
So funny my house is listed in your Zillow links! We bought in 2012. We have since put on an addition and recently refinanced and the appraised value of our home has increased 300,000 since then! Before the addition, the house was way too small for any family to be comfortable, hence the low price we paid. We wanted the area so bought it and took on the construction costs to make it liveable until such time we can upgrade.
There must be something with that house in Ardsley...a nice little tudor, in the 400s, not on a main street, in Ardsely? It's been on Zillow for 171 days.
Per Zillow, they just brought the price down almost 100k in April, so that may have something to do with it. Original asking was closer to 600k. That said, it is a 1,500 sq ft house with 20k in taxes which may be a deterrant to many people (for good reason).
Also, the following may be a turnoff for many buyers:
Heating Fuel: Oil Above Ground
Hotwater: Gas Stand Alone
Air Conditioning: None
Finally, the home was built in 1929, so there could be a number of issues which an inspection might reveal. All of that said, it may be the right home for someone who really wants to get into Ardsley at a lower price point.
Hartsdale lower grade schools are fine. It's the high grades that are a concern, especially high school , which is a nightmare. However, the quality of life - cost of living is hard to beat. There are a couple of private schools that many Hartsdale parents use (and we will eventually) that are probably still cheaper than the additional taxes you would pay in other towns.
Couldn't agree more. My family moved to Hartsdale last year and we love it. Taxes are reasonable and even with the reassessment in Greenburgh, we're actually looking at paying a little less than previous years. What holds Hartsdale back is the schools. Speaking with neighbors and friends, they love the elementary schools (Lee F Jackson, Highview & Richard J Bailey). However, many parents move their kids to private school or tuition them into neighboring school districts rather than send them to Woodlands Middle or High. I'm sure there are good teachers and motivated kids there, but overall the school is poorly rated. The grounds and facilities look quite shabby. I drove through the other day and their sports fields are a real horror show compared to some of the other schools in the area.
You will have a much easier time finding a home (under 500k, taxes under 10k)on LI. Although, you might want to check out Mount Pleasant, Hawthorne, Thornwood, Pleasantville. You might get lucky. Would suggest Yorktown, but that would be over an hour commute. You "might"also have luck in Eastchester or Ardsley for a fixer upper in the 500's, but taxes will be over 10k. Best of Luck to you!
Re: posted Rye Neck homes..... I can assure there is nothing zoned for Rye Neck schools on a decent street for under 500k in 2016. They are getting big $ for tiny houses on tiny lots in Rye Neck. Check what's listed in Rye Neck right now for under 500k. Prices have increased in past two years.
Agreed. The market has really heated up in the last 6-12 months. I've been looking in Rye Neck/Mamaroneck/Larchmont since December and there has been precious little inventory under 600k, much less 500k. And anything decent that does come on has gone to multiple bids.
Just about every home you listed is over 500k and the taxes listed from 2014 are minimum 12k a year so I don't see how that would work if their budget is 500k with taxes not over 10k?
Half of them are under 500k and half are over. However, with the exception of one, none are significantly over. Going 10, 20, or even 50k over budget is not all that unusual. Re the taxes: When I read the original post, I assumed she was only asking whether all taxes were over 10k not necessarily saying they HAD to be, however now I see that this was implied. MB.
Re: posted Rye Neck homes..... I can assure there is nothing zoned for Rye Neck schools on a decent street for under 500k in 2016. They are getting big $ for tiny houses on tiny lots in Rye Neck. Check what's listed in Rye Neck right now for under 500k. Prices have increased in past two years.[/quote]
100% true, the market has been heating up lately and I did notice there was not a lot on the market at the moment. However, with the amount of housing stock in Mamk that is worth between 400-500k, I think it's unlikely that there will be NO decent options available. It may be necessary to expand search to other towns like Harrison and Eastchester if no houses come on the market soon.
About the street, there really are no *bad* streets in Mamaroneck, even if some are a bit sketchier. There are a few streets (eg. first/second/NBarry) in Ryeneck that are a little gritty, but they are by no means poor or unsafe. The fact is that its going to be difficult in Southern Westchester to find a fancy street with <500k houses. Most will be on the lower end of the middle class.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lisanicole1
So funny my house is listed in your Zillow links! We bought in 2012. We have since put on an addition and recently refinanced and the appraised value of our home has increased 300,000 since then! Before the addition, the house was way too small for any family to be comfortable, hence the low price we paid. We wanted the area so bought it and took on the construction costs to make it liveable until such time we can upgrade.
What a coincidence, sorry if I creeped you out a bit by putting up your house! In terms of size, it's impossible to generalize all families... everyone's different! OP said 1500 sq ft would be fine. My guess is a median 1500 sq ft house in the area bordering Harrison (Park,Henry,4th,5th,West) would be 550-600k and behind the train (Jefferson,1st,2nd,NBarry,Willow) closer to 500-550k, which isn't too much above OPs budget.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
