Housing in New England - how do you do it?

[rafiki]

.

[Melinda in VT]

:grouphug:

 

Ten years ago we moved from Utah (the new subdivision capital of the world, or close to it) to Newport, Rhode Island (any land you can legally build on already has a house on it). Sitting in Utah, I made a list of must-haves for our new house. :lol:

 

Then we started looking at houses. :001_huh:

 

"Must have master bathroom" became "Must have at least two toilets somewhere in the house."

 

"Must have walk-in closet in master" became "Must have closet of some kind in master."

 

"Must have two-car garage" became "Must have at least one off-street parking space."

 

And so on.

 

That said, we were very happy in our old, small house on a tiny lot with no garage. We loved living in Newport and I was very sad when we left.

 

WWID in your shoes? I would do what I did--change my expectations to match what is available in your price range. (Some people go a different route and move farther away from the jobs in order to get more space. Time with DH was too important to us to do that.)

 

Best wishes. It really was a great experience for our family and I hope it will be for yours also.

[Cera]

 

New Englanders tend to use words like charming, cozy and character to describe their houses. It makes the shortcomings seem like an asset.

 

The reality is that you will wind up in a smaller, probably older, home than in the midwest unless you are willing to spend quite a bit more money. the good thing is that salaries tend to be higher because of the higher cost of living.

 

While looking at homes make sure to consider how well the property is insulated. Heating bills can be incredibly high on an old, drafty house.

 

 

[Melinda in VT]

Oh, I forgot to talk about things to watch out for.

 

We had our home tested for lead (paint, water, and soil) and radon (really common because of all the granite in the ground). We split the cost of new windows with the seller (necessary because the old ones had wooden frames with lead paint).

[Matryoshka]

It is a lot more expensive to live here.

 

We live in a house from 1880 on a one-acre lot with no garage. Okay, there's a building that we call a "garage", but we can't put a car in it. :tongue_smilie: And if we were to try to buy this house today we couldn't afford it. :glare:

 

There are more and less expensive towns, often based on the school quality - so if you're planning on homeschooling straight through, that could help. It often comes down to a compromise between a shorter commute or a smaller house.

 

I do have to say I'm very happy here and can't imagine living anywhere else (at least in the US - I had dreams of returning to Europe for a while...) And I like older houses... :)

 

What state are you looking at? In MA the homeschooling climate can vary wildly from town to town. When you get closer to making a decision, posting questions on state lists to get a feel for things is a good idea.

[Deb in NZ]

My brother has his house up for sale in Vermont.

[Pongo]

It can really vary from state to state in New England. I live in MA about 30 minutes outside Boston. Prices drop dramatically just going 30 minutes west of us. I would most likely rent, you will find the housing market in MA is saturated, you would have a lot to choose from.

 

I would contact a realtor that has an office in the town you are looking for. 8 years ago we were able to get our home 3 acres, in a great location. Our home is just under 2800 sq. feet and we just built a 2 car garage. I love our area and we got it by locating a small town realtor in the town we wanted. Since they know what we were looking for, when an elderly person called and said she did not want an open house because of the traffic, she wanted to know if she could just list it quickly. We got the call, placed the bid and she accepted because she wanted it sold, quickly. Had she listed it there would have been a bidding war. We got it for a ridiculous 220,000. We had over 100,000 in equity the day we moved in, because of the price we attained it for.

Edited December 28, 2009 by Pongo

[Crimson Wife]

Housing prices aren't likely to go anywhere in the next year. I'd rent and get to know the area before you buy.

 

If you think New England is bad, you should come out to my neck of the woods here in the San Francisco area. :eek:

[Nan in Mass]

It was, however, comparitively cheap. It was very cold until we blew newspaper insulation into the walls. No lead paint because there is no paint. No garage. One bedroom. Two closets total. No bathtub. No attic. A basement that the lake invades. There were mushrooms growing around my washing machine when we first moved in. We abandon the driveway in the winter because it is gravel and steep enough to be unshovelable. We have less than an eighth of an acre. We have to be careful not to get bitten by ticks. A tree engulfed our house once. My son has fought off coyotes. A neighbor fell through the ice. Fishers eat the neighborhood cats, and we did manage to buy a house when the children were small, unlike many people. I even got to choose between a good house in a bad place or a bad house in a good place, rather than getting stuck with a bad house in a bad place.

 

Some things to check:

 

Lead paint

Insulation

Storms on the windows and doors, or double glazing

State of the roof and chimney

Are the cold winter easterlies and northerlies going to blast you and run your heating bills up?

Does the furnace work if the power goes out? Or is there a fireplace or woodstove?

Is there a well whose well-pump will quit if the power goes out?

Termites

Other wild life: Can you let the cat out without it getting eaten by fishers? Can you tie the dog out without worrying about bears? There was a skunk living under our bedroom when we moved in. Our particular skunk turned out to be used to people and not a problem, but... If there are deer, you may have to worry about Lyme ticks, which can be a HUGE problem; look for Lyme statistics for any area you are considering. Coyotes?

Check property taxes, which vary a lot from town to town.

Schools vary a lot, too, and so do services. The fire department may be volunteer, for example.

Imagine what the driveway will be like in a couple of feet of snow. If it is a steep driveway ending on a busy street, it will be scary when it is icy. Many people (at least where I live) have gravel driveways that are fine. It isn't the gravel that is the problem, usually; it is the steepness.

Don't go by milage but actually time any potential commute. The New England joke where the tourist asks for directions and the locals tell him "You can't get there from here" has some basis in reality.

Sunlight in the house. Many houses are dark and gloomy inside.

If your neighbors are hunters and you aren't, it can be upsetting to your children.

Consider what will happen to the yard during mud season.

Are the surrounding trees healthy?

 

A lot of these things are probably things you would have to deal with any place.

 

Good luck!

 

-Nan

[LMA]

Massachusetts has Proposition 2 1/2, which means your real estate taxes can not rise above 2.5% per year. To go above that, towns need voter approval for certain projects. It is much cheaper than the real estate taxes in NY! (I am quite familiar with living on Long lsland.) The price of gas is much less than NY's unless the state legislature tries to raise the gas tax by 50 cents within the year.

 

New Hampshire is a good option if you are within commutable distance of work in MA. There is no income tax and real estate and real estate taxes are quite low. You will still have to pay out of state income tax to MA if you drive to MA.

 

Health insurance is mandatory in MA. So if you lose coverage due to job loss, you must pick up a plan somewhere.

 

Homeschooling friendliness varies from town to town. The laws are clear but the superintendents try to ask for more than is needed in many towns

 

Unless you live in an urban area, homes usually have septic systems. A home's septic system has to have passed Title V conditions with two years of selling the home. Keep that in mind when looking for a house. The cost of the septic system is on the seller.

 

We live on the RI border and live one hour south of Boston. My husband used to take the T (train) to work, but now he commutes to RI. I prefer the eastern MA to western MA for living.

 

If you are coming to MA, please PM me. There are plenty of homes to rent, but the ads I see cost more than a mortgage will at this time. Homes around me are renting for $1800 a month and these homes are in the boonies. So I would only rent for a short amount of time.

Edited December 28, 2009 by LMA

[cathmom]

Nan, what do you mean "fishers eat the neighborhood cats"? What are fishers?

[LMA]

Nan, what do you mean "fishers eat the neighborhood cats"? What are fishers?

 

A fisher is a wild animal that is related to a weasel. Yes, they eat the cats. Also, watch out for those coyotes around here, even in the cities.

[cathmom]

A fisher is a wild animal that is related to a weasel. Yes, they eat the cats. Also, watch out for those coyotes around here, even in the cities.

 

Thanks! Never heard of them.

[whitestavern]

As one who prefers antique homes (ours was built in 1741) I feel like the "executive colonial" subdivisions are everywhere in CT! I mean that's all they're building now. So in order to get something less expensive you'd definitely have to go smaller, or older, or pick a less desirable town. You could also look for homes near the centers of smaller towns--they tend to have smaller yards/less privacy.

 

I would definitely rent if you're not familiar with the area and plan on staying for a while. Once you're situated you can check out all the towns in the area.

 

There are some condo complexes and/or apartment buildings (one level) that do have small yards.

[Denisemomof4]

are you looking at houses in MA? You get FAR more for your money in NH, and you can have SPACE and not be all crowded in by neighbors. Unless that's what you're looking for. ;) Depending on where he'll be working, ME is another nice choice.

 

We bought acreage and a newer home (8 years old) which would cost a mint in MA. We are 40 minutes to the MA border and dh's commute is over an hour per day. It's a trade-off. We are lucky in that he's home by 5:30 every day and can work from home some days. But it's really a way of life that many in the country get used to: commuting. He'd rather do that and live more comfortably. The commute is also his time alone, time to unwind.

[lynn]

Funny you should bring this us. The house that I have dreamed of living in since I was a little girl is in the neighborhood where I grew up. It is now for sale. I keep trying to get dh to transfer to Mass with his company but he being a southener cannot tolerate the winters. The house is a 1910 victorian with 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, huge living room/sitting room, dining room, not so big kitchen, huge 4 season room, and a basement it is around 1550 sq ft, on almost 1 acre and if someone did not ruin the flowering beds it will have dozens of tulips and lilly of the valley's in the spring all for........ready for this....

 

wait for it.....

 

 

$299,900.

 

Here in N al I have a 2100 sq ft 4 bedrooms, 2 bath for about half that. So I can't get dh to agree.

[jeri]

jeri

formerly CT

formerly RI

now in Germany

[LibraryLover]

I'm not sure how we do it, really, except to tell ourselves how much worse it is in Manhattan or San Francisco. ;)

Edited December 28, 2009 by LibraryLover

[LibraryLover]

Ha!

 

Exactly. And that is a bargain, imo.

 

Funny you should bring this us. The house that I have dreamed of living in since I was a little girl is in the neighborhood where I grew up. It is now for sale. I keep trying to get dh to transfer to Mass with his company but he being a southener cannot tolerate the winters. The house is a 1910 victorian with 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, huge living room/sitting room, dining room, not so big kitchen, huge 4 season room, and a basement it is around 1550 sq ft, on almost 1 acre and if someone did not ruin the flowering beds it will have dozens of tulips and lilly of the valley's in the spring all for........ready for this....

 

wait for it.....

 

 

$299,900.

 

Here in N al I have a 2100 sq ft 4 bedrooms, 2 bath for about half that. So I can't get dh to agree.

Edited December 29, 2009 by LibraryLover

[Georgiana Daniels]

Funny you should bring this us. The house that I have dreamed of living in since I was a little girl is in the neighborhood where I grew up. It is now for sale. I keep trying to get dh to transfer to Mass with his company but he being a southener cannot tolerate the winters. The house is a 1910 victorian with 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, huge living room/sitting room, dining room, not so big kitchen, huge 4 season room, and a basement it is around 1550 sq ft, on almost 1 acre and if someone did not ruin the flowering beds it will have dozens of tulips and lilly of the valley's in the spring all for........ready for this....

 

wait for it.....

 

 

$299,900.

 

Here in N al I have a 2100 sq ft 4 bedrooms, 2 bath for about half that. So I can't get dh to agree.

 

$300,000 is the average price of a home here too in Northern AZ (just read it in the paper last week.) That's for a 3 bedroom on no acerage.

 

Now you all have me curious--what ARE the home prices like on the East Coast?

[LibraryLover]

http://www.newenglandmoves.com/real_estate/Massachusetts/Norfolk/Wellesley.htmAZ is costly.

 

PLug in some info here and see what comes up:

 

$300,000 is the average price of a home here too in Northern AZ (just read it in the paper last week.) That's for a 3 bedroom on no acerage.

 

Now you all have me curious--what ARE the home prices like on the East Coast?

[LMA]

http://www.newenglandmoves.com/real_estate/Massachusetts/Norfolk/Wellesley.htmAZ is costly.

 

PLug in some info here and see what comes up:

 

This is Wellesley, which is the most expensive bedroom community in MA. This is not an accurate picture of the state of MA. We live in the southern part of the state, where only homes around $200,000 or less are selling. Anything more has been languishing. My neighbor has 7 acres and home for sale at $499,000 after starting at $719,000. He has been on the market for 1.5 years, trying to get to Florida to retire.

[ConnieB]

Housing prices aren't likely to go anywhere in the next year. I'd rent and get to know the area before you buy.

 

If you think New England is bad, you should come out to my neck of the woods here in the San Francisco area. :eek:

 

 

:iagree: We left the Bay Area because the media housing price was over $400,000. And that was almost ten years ago.

 

 

 

OP...remember also that because the cost of living is higher in that are the employer is likely to offer a salary that may seem quite a bit higher than you'd get where you're living now. We got very lucky, when we moved from the San Francisco Bay Area (high cost of living) to Arizona (much lower cost of living) we did it as a transfer in the same company and actually got to keep our higher salary. Now the cost of living here has increased quite a bit because all the Californians who can't afford to keep living there are coming to Arizona, but for a few years there it was very very nice for us, lol.

 

Be sure that DH does some research to find out what his job skills are worth IN THAT AREA. And don't be afraid to ask if that's the best they can offer....the employer knows what DH is making now and may not offer him their highest amount at first. If he's had 3 interviews then it's pretty clear they are very interested, so he should do a little negotiating on his salary, benefits and maybe even get them to pay for the move. It never hurts to ask, and they aren't going to pull the offer just because he hopes for more. My DH is sooo good at this part of job hunting....he asks for a higher salary than they offer plus a few extra benefits (usually an extra week of paid vacation and more of the health benefits paid by the company) and then says he'll have to talk it over with his wife. The next day almost ALWAYS the employer calls and offers one more tidbit. I absolutely hate this part of it, but it's the best way to get as much as they have to offer. Of course, I will refrain from bragging about how great my DH is at his job and how employers always are wanting to take him away from his current employer.....that helps in the negotiating of course!

 

We always rent for a short time (typically trying for a 6 month lease, but sometimes we've had to take a year) when we move to a new area. Not only do you want to take your time looking for the right neighborhood to buy a house...in this economy you want to get a firm grasp on how the town and surrounding area are doing so you can decide if the downward spiral on housing is done yet. Here in Arizona we continue to see housing plummet as more and more people are facing foreclosure which saturates the market so the buyers can lowball and desperate homeowners or banks that just want to get the house off the books are accepting the low offers. This of course makes the next house for sale in that neighbor have to start at this lower value. We're praying hard that the value will eventually come back up...but right now after 4 years of living in this particular house, we've lose almost all equity....but thankfully it's not upside down yet! Whereas a year after we'd bought this house it was worth almost 70% more than we paid. I thought housing was wild then, it's crazy now!

 

Good luck to you on your move....we have moved 11 times in our marriage....this is the second longest we've stayed in one place, lol. I hate the physical part of moving, packing and unpacking, etc....but I love the new adventure of exploring our new state and finding all the hidden treasures. I hope that you have a wonderful journey of fun and discovery.

[LibraryLover]

Weston is the most costly community in MA.

 

I didn't realize that was only a Wellesley link. But it's crazy there, isn't it?

 

 

This is Wellesley, which is the most expensive bedroom community in MA. This is not an accurate picture of th

e state of MA. We live in the southern part of the state, where only homes around $200,000 or less are selling. Anything more has been languishing. My neighbor has 7 acres and home for sale at $499,000 after starting at $719,000. He has been on the market for 1.5 years, trying to get to Florida to retire.

Edited December 29, 2009 by LibraryLover

[Crimson Wife]

Now you all have me curious--what ARE the home prices like on the East Coast?

 

Zillow says the home in which I grew up is worth $405k. It's 4 BR/2.5BA 1400 sq ft on about 1.5 acres in a nice suburb along I-495. The home my parents moved to in the same town when I was a senior in H.S. is worth $514k. It's 5 BR/2.5BA 2500 sq ft on 2 acres. They sold that in 2006 for just under $600k, which was almost the peak of the market.

[Matryoshka]

Funny you should bring this us. The house that I have dreamed of living in since I was a little girl is in the neighborhood where I grew up. It is now for sale. I keep trying to get dh to transfer to Mass with his company but he being a southener cannot tolerate the winters. The house is a 1910 victorian with 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom, huge living room/sitting room, dining room, not so big kitchen, huge 4 season room, and a basement it is around 1550 sq ft, on almost 1 acre and if someone did not ruin the flowering beds it will have dozens of tulips and lilly of the valley's in the spring all for........ready for this....

 

wait for it.....

 

 

$299,900.

 

 

 

That's a good price for MA. Most stuff here seems to go for over $400,000.

 

A few years back a friend of mine sold her very tiny house on a busy road with a lot not much bigger than the house. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, eat-in kitchen and two front rooms (living/family or whatever) - for over $300,000. Yikes. The prices have come down from then, but I'm not sure how much.

[LibraryLover]

Zillow says the home in which I grew up is worth $405k. It's 4 BR/2.5BA 1400 sq ft on about 1.5 acres in a nice suburb along I-495. The home my parents moved to in the same town when I was a senior in H.S. is worth $514k. It's 5 BR/2.5BA 2500 sq ft on 2 acres. They sold that in 2006 for just under $600k, which was almost the peak of the market.

 

This is about the size of it in my community.

Edited December 29, 2009 by LibraryLover

[Matryoshka]

Weston is the most costly community in MA.

 

I didn't realize that was only a Wellesley link. But it's crazy there, isn't it?

 

 

Oh, yeah - many, many houses there are over a million, or even two million. :svengo:

 

Pretty much avoid anything along Rte. 128, unless you can resign yourself to living in a tiny shack. I have some friends who moved out of Lexington and sold their four-room house bordering the highway (yes, four ROOM, not four bedroom, with traffic noise) for something like $350,000.

 

The prices out along 495 are more reasonable, and if you go places that either have not-as-great public schools and/or are farther from the highway (longer commute), they're even less expensive (well, for MA).

 

There are lots of jobs along 128 and 495, so just because you live farther out doesn't mean you have to commute all the way into Boston.

[whitestavern]

When we moved from the Boston area 10 years ago we had a bidding war for our less than 1800 sq ft home w/no bathroom on the second floor. It was a super cute house in a nice town, but still, it ended up over $315,000 and we were a 40 min commute from the city.

 

Most of the developments in a decent town in most of CT (your standard 8/4/2.5 colonial) are around $450,000. A nice town on the shore is well into the 600s. The "gold coast" of Fairfield County has the highest home prices in the state.

 

As someone else mentioned, you should see higher salaries where there is a higher cost of living.

[rafiki]

.

[Parrothead]

The position is in south central, CT, we probably want something with easy access to Route 91. A decision will be made next week, DH got called today for another interview. Some of you may remember my post from the week of Thanksgiving on my birthday, when dh initially interviewed for this opportunity. Money has not been discussed to date as dh wanted to be sure he and the company were a solid match for each other and what the responsibilites include prior to negotiating details. We also have a showing on our house tomorrow.

 

(His current employer will be liquidated in January.)

Yeah, CT is expensive.

 

Good luck with everything

[Georgiana Daniels]

http://www.newenglandmoves.com/real_estate/Massachusetts/Norfolk/Wellesley.htmAZ is costly.

 

PLug in some info here and see what comes up:

 

 

Thanks for the link. It sure IS costly! In some ways it's comparable to here in northern az, but at least here you can rent a 3 bed house for around $1200, if nothing else.

[Crimson Wife]

South central CT as in close to New Haven? There are some cute neighborhoods in & around New Haven that aren't as expensive because the zoned schools aren't so hot. You could look there, but I would definitely rent first to learn the area.

[jenL]

I haven't read the other posts, but to be honest with you, we didn't. I was born in NH, raised there, all family still lives there, and after 32 years of life there, I moved to NC. Here dh and I can own a great house, have me stay at home with the kids, and we are still living fairly comfortably. It's SO expensive in New England! Living there can be done, of course, but we didn't want to make the sacrifices it would take knowing there were other places where we could realize our dreams better.

[vineyard]

Hi,

I grew up in Wallingford 18 years, New Haven 2 years, Cheshire 11 years, North Windham 7 years, & now Scotland 1 year, so a life long CT resident. You can email me offline at patsarac@sbcglobal.net if you want with specific questions. I posted quite a bit over the summer I think for someone else who was looking to move to CT down to the Groton area where my dh works.

 

Don't know what type of life/home you are looking to recreate? What area/town will dh be working in? It is very true about how far out you will want to look from that area based on actual commute time vs. mileage. When we lived in Cheshire I commuted to New Haven, doable, but not great & I know it would be even worse now. Dh commutes now from Scotland to Groton, pretty much a piece of cake even though it's longer. Totally different part of the state & alot less traffic.

 

The main homeschool group that has a conference in June is T.E.A.C.H. & I know they have links for CT DOE guidelines & such.

 

I hope I can be of some help & congratulations on dh job.

[sassenach]

Housing prices aren't likely to go anywhere in the next year. I'd rent and get to know the area before you buy.

 

If you think New England is bad, you should come out to my neck of the woods here in the San Francisco area. :eek:

 

Seriously. We went from owning a 2000 sq ft home with a pool (in Florida) to renting a 1400 sq ft place. And we spend $1000 more a month.

 

To answer the OP, you lower your expectations and suck it up. In the end, you learn that you can live with less than you thought and honestly, that knowledge is liberating.