Buying a House

[nanoreefer22]

So I've had enough of apartment living for one life time and we're in a good spot to buy a home. We're just beginning our search and I wanted to ask for advice from those of you that know the process. Where would you start? How can we find a good home in a good area?

We're looking for a single family home, semi-detached or completely detached, garage OR driveway (both would be great), 3+ bedrooms, 1.5 baths at least (wife needs it lol), basement unfinished is fine.

Looking for a good area to start a family in a few years.

Can anyone recommend areas that we might find a house in the $450k range that meet the above?

Thanks,
Kris

 

[duke62]

Long island has the best housing market right now. Hey there selling a nice 4 bedroom 2 baths right across the street from me for 325

 

[cmantis]

You should get some recommendations for a good real estate agent. When I purchased in Philly I found one that really helped me through everything and get a great price. Also you can look for local community boards and forums to get advice and feedback on the areas. Also google maps street view was useful when searching listings online. When looking in person talk to some of the neighbors and local merchants to get a sense of the area too. I can't really help you with the areas around NYC to look since I am new here myself. Good luck with everything. I miss my house as now I am back to apartment living

 

[kres1024]

Long island has the best housing market right now. Hey there selling a nice 4 bedroom 2 baths right across the street from me for 325

Nice ,but what are the yearly taxes by you?

 

[thirty6]

The best thing to do is Search online and become familiar with whats available in your price range. Many realtor sites include profiles of schools and neighborhoods. I would use a realtor your comfortable with and if possible trust! They can be tremendous assets in process. My wife and i just closed on our second home and it was brutal this time around. Its a tremendous time to buy a home, but can be frustrating to say least. Im sure you can gind out about schools an areas here by asking, dont be afraid to contact local pd and ask questions. Few people would know area better than local police(. Decide what youd like and where and have fun looking

 

[E.intheC]

It's exciting man. But a ton of work, and it's starting to drive me nuts. :lol2:

With your budget youll be able to find a very nice house on Long Island. Taxes are CRAZY though, and they vary tremendously from town to town. Also it's been very tough (IME) balancing a safe neighborhood, good schools, and reasonable prices. (Plus I refuse to live in a neighborhood where everyone acts better than you... Lol)

I have no idea about Brooklyn or Queens.

 

[FMF0331]

nice ,but what are the yearly taxes by you?

long island taxes are sick.






.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

Get a good idea online. Westchester County is very nice.

 

[guarda]

If you don't already use them, Acris, propertyshark, streeteasy, and nycserv are the 4 most useful sites/tools in your quest. Equator for foreclosure searches is what i've perused on occasion but if there is a better free service someone else might wanna chime in.

 

[guarda]

btw i'm not a real estate expert, those sites are what i've used for personal/business. They were most useful to me.

 

[duke62]

Nice ,but what are the yearly taxes by you?

It all equals out to about the same. Us long islanders don't pay 3000 dollars per year in city taxes on our paychecks. Add that to a house in the Boros taxes which is about 3000 it's totally worth it. You might pay an extra 2000 per year in taxes compared to the city but schools,parks,living,and having a spot in a driveway or in front of your house EVERYDAY and not worrying about parking tickets priceless.

 

[yesjenks]

Check out zillow.com

They list every house that's available, every house that sold recently (so you can compare your home to others in the area) and the listing agent.

I would strongly shop around for a realtor with whom you are comfortable with. That will make all the difference.

 

[Chiefmcfuz]

+1 on Zillow. They even have apps for the i products and the android products as well.

 

[Imbarrie]

These are a couple good resources for properties on Long Island.
Some towns are great some really suck same with the schools.
Towns that are on a main LIRR line with good schools are in demand if you work in the city.
I just bought in Nassau County. Dont be afraid of taxes, unless you are looking in Westchester.

http://www.danielgale.com/property_properties-for-sale.html

http://www.newsday.com/classifieds/real-estate

 

[E.intheC]

The Daniel Gale site looks pretty well laid out.

Also check out mlsli.com.. you can search Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island. The mobile version of the site SUCKS, but if you're on your phone, just google the site name and click on the second or third link that comes up. I think it's "Buy" or similar.

 

[solo]

Westchester county and Nassau county in Long Island have the highest property taxes in the U.S. at least this was true in 2011, they are #1 and #2. But they have some of the nicest houses in the New York market for your budget right now. I also picked up this app on my smart phone called: Zillow to start my initial search and many online resources. Good luck and congratulations!

 

[E.intheC]

Westchester county and Nassau county in Long Island have the highest property taxes in the U.S. at least this was true in 2011, they are #1 and #2. But they have some of the nicest houses in the New York market for your budget right now. I also picked up this app on my smart phone called: Zillow to start my initial search and many online resources. Good luck and congratulations!

That's simply a product of the high average cost of housing in both counties.

Upstate NY pays much higher tax rates than long island. A typical $300K house here pays anywhere between $5k and $15K per year in taxes. My cousin has a house that's about $325k in upstate ny and pays over $25K in taxes per year.

Point being... The idea that us long islanders are getting "screwed" by high taxes is just plain silly. Housing is (too) expensive here.

 

[solo]

3 of the 5 highest are in New York State: Westchester County, Nassau County and Rockland county respectively. Zillow and some other sites have some really good Mortgage calculators where they take into account your tax rate, est. insurance, etc.

That's simply a product of the high average cost of housing in both counties.

Upstate NY pays much higher tax rates than long island. A typical $300K house here pays anywhere between $5k and $15K per year in taxes. My cousin has a house that's about $325k in upstate ny and pays over $25K in taxes per year.

Point being... The idea that us long islanders are getting "screwed" by high taxes is just plain silly. Housing is (too) expensive here.

 

[nycfishy]

WWW.MLSLI.COM

 

[Imbarrie]

They also have some of the best schools. As mentioned they have high taxes in Nassau county but the prices have been more stable in my town because of the quality of the schools.
Houses in my neighborhood sell immediately. Some before they even go on the market.