Western NY prices

[Admiral Beez]

I've just returned from a week visiting customers in Western NY, including Warsaw and Lockport, and I was amazed at the low prices of some really nice homes there.

$340K http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/188-N-Main-St_Warsaw_NY_14569_M39910-97316

$232K (needs interior gut) http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/46-Park-St_Warsaw_NY_14569_M40326-11576

Of course, you'd want to live in western NY and find a job, but with property so cheap down here, it's a wonder people will pay $500K for 600 sqft condos in Toronto.

 

[ponyboy]

I was looking a couple of years back at Lewiston and Youngstown, and a bit at Lockport. Lewiston has a nice little downtown, and more vibrancy. The prices have risen somewhat since then, especially when you factor in the lonnie's depreciation. Charming 3bdrm/2bath homes in downtown Youngstown were going for $50-100k USD a couple of years back. Downsides are that the economy is bad, incomes are low, lots of pensioners, young people moving away, high property taxes, and the area legacy of nuclear waste that brings fear and uncertainty (a stigma a bit like Port Hope, ON). The NY border is about a 90 minute drive from Toronto (with good traffic), but the border crossing can be a pain if cars are backed up. If the weather is good and you buy lakeside property, you can easily sail to Toronto (50km as the crow flies), and the rules for crossing the border via water have been streamlined. There was a 25 acre parcel for sale for $100,000 just outside of Youngtown that I was considering, but I couldn't satisfy myself of the safety and investment value. Kind of wish I had bought it.

 

[rbt]

I've just returned from a week visiting customers in Western NY, including Warsaw and Lockport, and I was amazed at the low prices of some really nice homes there.

$340K http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/188-N-Main-St_Warsaw_NY_14569_M39910-97316

$232K (needs interior gut) http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/46-Park-St_Warsaw_NY_14569_M40326-11576

Of course, you'd want to live in western NY and find a job, but with property so cheap down here, it's a wonder people will pay $500K for 600 sqft condos in Toronto.

You can find prices like across small town SW Ontario (Lucknow, Wingham, Hanover, Durham, Seaforth, ...), and even lower as you approach the area around Windsor.

$159k, another $150k would make a massive make-over: https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/...7-JARVIS-Street-North-SEAFORTH-Ontario-N0K1W0

Seems there's even a few nice cheapish places good condition homes in VIA towns like Woodstock too; keep in mind the 30% discount for exchange rate:

https://www.realtor.ca/Residential/...2/45-WINNIETT-Street-WOODSTOCK-Ontario-N4S5Z4

 

[Long Island Mike]

Everyone:

As a New York State resident I will mention the expense that most affects NYS real estate: Property Taxes...

For the two properties that AB listed in Warsaw, Wyoming County the 2015 taxes were:
188 N Main Street - $10,686 and 46 Park Street - $5,878

NYS has been known for its high property tax rates - Westchester County and Nassau County bordering on the City of New York to the N and E respectively have
the highest and in the top five property tax rates in the US. At least two thirds of these taxes fund local school districts...

If one invests in NYS real estate it pays to know what the yearly tax bill is because as long as one is paying off a mortgage to a bank they are paying the annual tax
bills and once that gets paid off a homeowner then has to pay the yearly tax bill directly - and in cases this can be a substantial sum...

One thing that is bad about property taxes is that there always will be a annual bill - you can't finish paying it off like a mortgage and to me in ways the taxing entity
actually "owns" your home because if one does not pay the tax bill and it goes substantially delinquent one can lose a home for non payment of taxes...

I fully understand that WNY has much more reasonably priced real estate as compared to southern Ontario which can be attractive if one seeks to own but knowing
what the annual property tax bill is gives a better idea on actually how expensive your investment will be...

Long Island Mike