We are going the coop route like some people have posted. We decided to buy a coop in Great neck. It is a great area, young with families, cute neighborhood, 18 minute train into the city( plus for me since I work there) and fantastic school district.
There is always a market for co-ops in great neck and they are affordable. We have already begun our search. I will keep you posted on what transpires..
We are tired of throwing our money away in rent and if we can't ge the house that we want in our price range than at least we can have equity in something else.
We know also this will not be our dream place to live. But 5 years down the road or so we might be able to afford the house we alwys wanted.
franksbride
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
NJ/PA here I come!!!
The price for houses in LI are absolutely ridiculous! What do you get for that kind of money? I've been all over LI and I've warned FH not to even THINK about moving there...it is SO NOT worth it to me. Taxes are outrageous!!!
I don't mean to offend anyone who lives or owns a home in LI...this is just my opinion...and I do have plenty of friends and family that live there and there are many beautiful homes there...
Although we need to stay pretty close to the City because of our jobs...we've looked in PA so far and for $250,000 you get SO MUCH MORE for your money...only thing is the commute to Manhattan is 2 hours.
But, I think I'd rather travel an extra 30 mins if it means saving $100,000...
nehaliasz
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
ugh! I hated seeing this thread, although I kind of knew it was true. We are planning on moving back home to LI at the end of next year and we're thinking that the max we'll be able to afford is $350K. We were hoping to find someplace in Suffolk for that price and not be in the ghetto. I am keeping my fingers crossed and praying that the market will cycle and the prices will come down. Both of our entire families live on the Island and we want to be closeby for when we have a family of our own. This really freaks me out!
wacky
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
Living on LI is so over rated. But the thought is living so far from my family annoys me. ' 'Although if anyone has noticed houses are sitting on the market longer, which means that the demand is decreasing and hopefully so are the prices. ' 'I have been an agent for a couple of months now and I can see that houses are coming down in price. They start out really high but then if you look at them again like a month later the price has been reduced.
So I have some faith
jvs77
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
FH and I are house-hunting too, the prices are so ridiculous, I feel everyone's pain!
When people start telling me stories of how much they bought their house for 30+ years ago, I want to be sick!!
But, on the bright side... 1) Despite the ridiculous prices, interest rates are still good! The interest is really what kills you mortgage-wise. Having an interest rate of 6.25 compared to 8.25 will save you 100's of dollars a month! (There were times when the interest rates were 10% +!) 2) Owning a home is a teriffic tax write off! Once you're a happy homeowner, you can 1) claim more exemptions so you get more in your pay check (I've been told that owning a house is like having a few kids at once, tax-break wise) or 2) have no additional exemptions for your pay and get a nice big fat tax return from Uncle Sam (thousands of dollars)! 3) Buying a home, unlike most other things, is an investment. More than likely, your home will go up in value, whether you make improvements to it or not! All the money that you put into your house is yours! When your home goes up in value, that money is yours too!
One option for those who are finding monthly mortgage quotes impossible, is to have a rental in your home. While this has its risks, it can cut your mortgage payment by 700 - 1200+ dollars, depending on how big/nice the rental is. A lot of new homeowners opt to do this in the beginning, and then take the rental back once things are easier financially.
Basic Levitt capes do not sell for 400k. (They're in the low 300's or high 200's, depending on their condition.) Actually, there isn't much in Levittown that sells for that much. (I'm a fairly new agent, which is why I know this.) Recently, more homes have been coming on the market, which means slightly lower prices as sellers have more competition.
Best of luck to everyone with their house-hunting!!!
MarcellaBella
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
I beg to differ with you on Levitt houses.. Levitt houses have skyrockted!!
wacky
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
Damn I went to go see a levit house that was listed for 400K, where are you looking?
jvs77
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
Levitt houses have definitely skyrocketed in the past few years, I agree! But you can most definitely get one for under $350,000. I just did a quick search now on www.mlsli.com (the multiple listing site for LI) and ran a search for Levitt homes between $250 and $350 and came up with 40 houses! Keep in mind that a lot of the asking prices out there are grossly inflated - they are not going to sell for that amount!
In the past year, only 5 (mls) houses in Levittown have sold for $400k or more. And these houses were extremely expanded and in gorgeous super-updated condition. The vast majority of homes sold were much much less.
MarcellaBella
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
Where are the 250? they must be REAL pieces of crap.. MY mil is the queen of levittown as they call her and there is nothing anywhere decent for 200's or low 300's
jvs77
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
Yes, for $250 you are looking at a 'handy-man special' type of house, for sure. But you can get a nice, not very expanded home in Levittown for around $350-330. Once you go to $350-$370 the homes are in beautiful updated condition with extensions. (My father's market is the Levittown area. He's been doing this for over 30 years.) So for something in the $200's or very low $300's - yes, is will most likely be in poor condition and will need a great deal of work. But you can still get something very nice with lots of space for well under $400k!
wacky
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
How is Levittown really? I have heard not so many nice stories
MarcellaBella
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
Levittown is a fabulous neighborhood.. DH was born and raised there.. great people, good schools.. very tightknit community...
MarcellaBella
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
I'm a realtor (PT) as well and I can tell you that there is truly garbage out there for 250.. unless finding a 3 bed 1 bath ranch to be you dream home (no offense to those who it is)... 350-370, eh.. still need some work..
wacky
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
Marcella, which is their school district, couple of my friends said they are ok. But their asses live in Merrick and Wantagh and you defintiley cant find anything uner $400 there.
MarcellaBella
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
LOL..
depends on which part of levittown.. there's island trees, macarthur, division.. depends really.. it's really come up though.. levittown is blooming..
jvs77
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
Oops - I really didn't mean to start a Levittown debate!
I grew up in N. Wantagh and went to Levittown schools. I own a house in Levittown now. There are some areas of Levittown that are nicer than others, which is true for any town, really.
Marcella, some really beautiful homes have sold in Levittown in 2003 in the $340 - $370 price range. There was a 7 room, 4 bedroom, 2 bath updated expanded ranch that went for $355, and a 7 room, 4 bedroom, 3 bath updated colonial that went for $340, to name a few. Just do an 'unavailable' listing search on mls and you'll find em! I'm not saying that these houses are everyone's 'dream homes' - but you can definitely get a very nice, expanded house for under $400 in Levittown.
Edited: I wrote 'expired' listing, when I should have written 'unavailable' - my apologies!
LizD
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
I have not seen anything that low in Levittown either. We are selling ours in Merrick and looking in Merrick and Bellmore. We went to a few open houses on Sunday and I could not believe the crap people are selling for the prices they are asking. It really is sickening!!
LizD
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
jvs - the only thing you have to watch is 'updated' or what condition it says. Since they are expired listings you can not go see them. I only say this b/c we looked at a house in Bellmore that said excellent condition (whcih generally means needs updating/some work) and said very clean. Well this house needed to be ripped down and redone, and to list it as clean.. OMG.. not even close to clean
MarcellaBella
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
It's ok!! =) no debate at all! MIL's house next door just got an offer for 500k!
jvs77
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Re: Homes on LI continue to rise ...
LizD,
I wrote 'expired' listings before, when I should have written 'unavailable' - I'm sorry about that! (As an agent, I can see what houses have closed and what their selling prices were.)
The first house that I mentioned at $355 I was actually in. (FH's parent's were considering buying it.) It was in beautiful condition.
Yes, I 100% completely agree with you about how people list the condition of a house! Always take it with a grain of salt!! I've seen 'Excellent' houses that should have been 'Fair,' 'Mint' houses that were just barely 'Excellent,' and so on! You never truly know until you step inside the house!
