Real Estate Investing
A home is an important investment, and the prices reflect this all over the United States. In some states, finding the perfect house for your budget is more difficult than in others, and this has proven to be so in New Jersey. The purpose of this research was to find out the availability of good houses in New Jersey at prices that would be affordable for a member of the lower-to-middle income families. Specifically, a three or four-bedroom two-story house with two bathrooms, equipped with natural gas energy, a basement, separate dining and kitchen, and a large backyard.
This proved to be rather difficult in Vineland, New Jersey as most houses of this description anywhere in the state exceed the $200,000 that is the budget for this project. To begin with, I calculated the amount of down-payment I was able to afford at $7000. Traditionally, down-payments have been 20% (Bruss), but I was able to find a bank that would offer 95% financing with private mortgage insurance (PMI). For a family of four seeking a house with three or four bedrooms and two bathrooms, even with no other parameters, finding one for under $200,000 was difficult.
After searching for several sites on the internet, newspaper, and calling real-estate agencies, the lowest price located was initially $310,000. Though one of the lowest-priced on the market, this house did have central heating. It was more than ten years old, however, which was older than I had hoped. I chose the neighborhood Vineland because I sought an area with a good public school system at a location outside of the city. I also sought a place that had low property taxes, but that was difficult to find.
The Newark Star-Ledger announced a “drastic increase in New Jersey property taxes,” declaring that the state has the highest property taxes in all of the United States, averaging $10,000 in 36 municipalities (Donohue). Therefore, finding a house with a reasonable tax rate was a virtual impossibility. These requirements proved to be a challenge since, according to The Daily Journal of Vineland, “Through the centuries, New Jersey has relied on property taxes to finance schools and local services” (Baldwin). This suggested that the better-funded the school system, the higher the property tax would be.
It was necessary to find a house of at least three bedrooms as there are two children in this family of four. The four-year-old needs a backyard to play in, preferably one with trees and a septic tank would be too much to handle. Houses in the suburbs generally have trees in the backyard, (though there were none at that price). I did find a two-story house for that price with a backyard, basement, and three bedrooms, but not in Vineland, and it had only one bathroom (Foxtons). It also had an attractive property tax rate, but the sewer was septic and it was 50 years old.
Further searching led to a very nice home in Vineland with all the required amenities, including separate formal living and dining rooms, city sewer, a garage. It also had a fireplace and four bedrooms. The well-funded and vibrant public school system was an added attraction (Vineland Public Schools). It was, however, 31-40 years old and being sold for $269,000. In addition, the property taxes were approximately two times as high as the $200,000 house and the average down-payment was $13,495. (Century 21).
The research found that though many opportunities exist to purchase a nice home, one has to be willing to pursue a very diligent and detailed search. Though houses exist that fit the spectrum of buyers’ desires, it is necessary to have a reasonable sum at your disposal for spending on the house of your dreams. It was difficult to find a house that fit the description (three bedrooms, two bathrooms, separate kitchen and dining, basement, central heating, excellent public school system, under ten years old) for as low as $200,000. However, a few nice ones existed for a little over $50,000 more.
Although the perfect home is yet to be located, I am hopeful that all the possibilities have not yet been exhausted, as the search has brought me closer to my goal.
Works Cited
- Baldwin, Tom. “Governor Did Little to Ease Property Tax Burden. ” The Daily Journal. Vineland. 2004. Available: http://www. thedailyjournal. com/apps/pbcs. dll/ article? AID=/20041115/NEWS01/411150337/1002
- Bruss, Robert J. “How to Buy Real Estate for Nothing Down. ” Loans USA. 2004. Available: http://www. 1loansusa. com/articles/Articles06_11_04/news1. html
- Centruy 21. “Property Details: Vineland, NJ 08361.” Available: http://www. century21. com/buy/property_detail. aspx? teasers=property-detail- pic+Property+Detail+with+Pictures&tr_key=31891830&bSite=N&Zip=08361
- Donohue, Joe and Tom Hester. “Drastic Increase in New Jersey Property Taxes. ” The (Newark) Star Ledger. 2005. Available: http://www. ire. org/extraextra/archives/000870. html.
- Foxtons. “New Brooklyn Road, Berlin” Camden. Available: http://www. thedailyjournal. com/apps/pbcs. dll/article? AID=/20041115/NEWS01/411150 337/1002
- Vineland Public Schools. “Technology. ” Author. Available: http://www. vineland. org/ technology/index. htm
