PHOTOS: Is it just me? Is there anyone else out there that feels Lakewood is no longer affordable? That Lakewood is only affordable for the wealthy? That the yungerleit have been priced out and it’s just getting worse?
Rent is skyrocketing. Homes are creeping up close to a million dollars. Am I the only one who doesn’t have a rich schver out there?
I have an idea. I know it may sound far fetched, but people hear me out.
Trenton.
No, it’s not a typo. Trenton!
Trenton was once a huge bustling Jewish metropolis. They even called it ‘Jewtown’. (I’m sure they meant it in a nice way)
Well Trenton is looking to rebrand itself. And I think whoever jumps for the opportunity, may be rewarded nicely, eventually.
The city of Trenton currently has an inventory of 6,000 plus homes up for sale, for just ONE DOLLAR dollar!! You heard me – a BUCK! I’ve attached a few of those houses with this article. But there are a few catches.
A. You must live in them for 10 years . B. They are in bad shape C. You have to prove you can afford to fix them up.
But people, it’s a dollar!! You can’t buy bubblegum for a buck anymore!
Didn’t our ancestors do this? Must we all be trapped in Lakewood? Our kids can still go to school here. It’s a bit if a misiras nefesh. But hey, the alternative is endless choking on high rents and high mortgages. Gevalt!
I was in Trenton recently. It’s absolutely beautiful. I believe it is possible to rebuild there.
Am I the only one who thinks this way?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
Sincerely,
Trentonbound
PS : Please don’t get me wrong. I love Lakewood, but the cost of housing is just too high!
Here’s the link to the program http://www.hcdnnj.org/trenton-neighborhood-restoration-campaign
ACTUAL ABANDONED TRENTON PROPERTIES OFFERED FOR A BUCK!!!
KPICASA_GALLERY(Trenton#)
All that has to happen is for BMG to start a Kollel there full-time ( will take one gvir to put up 700kso the guys will move there and will have money to set up a bais madras and they will need to be miser nefesh for year or two and bus their kids into lakewood. Once that happens it will fall into place rather quickly , prices in lakewood are spiraling the chasssidim are moving in and lots are going for 250 to 550 k! i think that would be the only way and I’m pretty sure kollel guys would move for 50k a year
Brilliant idea!!! How about Camden, any you do not have to commit for ten years.
I thought of the same thing but you dont have to buy the ones for $1 they have beautiful homes there for $15,000 with no preconditions, i think that would be a better idea
Where is the link to the actual program? The link you provided is for a related campaign…
You’re not taking safety into consideration.Youwould need,absolutely NEED,24 hr armed security at every corner for the first few yrs. But ur right, Lkwd housing prices are putting it out of reach for many. If I was starting a family now I would move to South Bend IN.
I met someone who once told me… Had you learned when u were a Bachur you wouldn’t be struggling today ….
Anyway, these $1 houses are sometimes more expensive then Lakewood $500k homes. Really look into it b4 u jump.
After managing and investing in properties in Trenton for close to 10 years, all I can say is I totally disagree about starting a Jewish community there. Trenton is full of crime and is not a safe place to live in at all. How do you expect to let your children play outside exactly? The city is corrupt and doesn’t care about its citizens or investors. You think the snow plowing in Lakewood is a problem? Wait until you spend a winter in Trenton! The city doesn’t even own any snow plows! If you are seriously considering buying properties there let me know because I have a handful of investors who would give you their properties for free! Please take my advice and stay far away. Trust me, you will be glad you did.
great idea but the problem is half of the homes there are already owned by yidden. and will sky rocket once it becomes an affordable place to live.
but truth is if people will start moving there yes the price for homes there will go up and many of the yiddishe owners will make lots of money and will help support the schools there and in lakewood so its a great adea.
im in if you provide the bodygaurd. Theres a reason they cost a buck, nobody wants them . also you would have to redo the entire inside and out. about as much as building a new one.
I don’t know what part of Trenton you were in that was nice. As someone who worked and invested in Trenton for years I believe that you may have been in Hamilton or West Trenton. There is NO PART of Trenton, that is beautiful.
As someone who has refurbished houses there, I can tell you that a $1 house can easily end up costing you $100,000. these houses are over 100 years old and have been severely neglected,
I am not bitter about Trenton. I did well over there while I was there, but it is a dilapidated city and crime is out of control.
To anyone thinking of investing there People have made money, but people have also lost a lot of money their. Unless you know what you are doing, have deep pockets, and or a lot of time on your hands, buyer beware. The numbers on paper don’t tell the whole story.
I agree, Lakewood is too expensive don’t know how my kids will buy a house here when they grow up, but if people are looking to start a new tiown, perhaps BMG a new Kollel like the Mir did in E”Y, they should look at places further south with a lot of open and relatively inexpensive land, not the rotting slums of Trenton and Camden
was there this week NO WAY!
If you want affordability move to NE Philly. (Rhawnhurst) You can buy a nice house for under $200K Good schools, restaurants, shopping, an hour from Lakewood. 5 Shuls to choose from. Plenty of learning.
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Time to start thinking about maybe actually moving out of town!! (ie. Minneapolis, chicago, Cleveland, Milwaukee, south Bend, Indianapolis, texas,) yes these places and many other places all have kosher food, yidden, and even kosher restaurants! It’s worth it. For more info call someine who knows.
I know the crime problems in Trenton, but what if like 1000 families would all go together, with a planned infrastructure and support from the state.
Yes bring a BMG location there why not?
The architecture on these homes are absolutely beautiful , albeit old .
Yes it may take 100 k to fix up
But it’s not 500-600 grand!!
better yet go out of NJ which is notorious for high property taxes. A little further down south in Delaware the properties are affordable, taxes are SO much less. You can be in Lakewood in a smooth one hour drive to do your shopping, simchas, etc.
This is a great idea, just what the younger generation needs, Lakewood is definitely unaffordable for the average person.
If you are thinking about moving out of town I’ve been to Waterberry Connecticut over 10 times in the past year and a half it would be a great place to live beautiful community kosher grocery pizza shop beautiful shul and housing is relatively cheap
I’ll let you in on a little secret: How about Howell? Close to Lakewood and some good deals there on large lots of land.
Oh no, Lakewood mom, you just set off a panic in Howell. I would suggest people move to Jackson just for the fun of seeing all their horrified comments on social media of how their city will be ruined.
Once you’ve talking about Howell, how about Jackson? There are many nice homes in the $200k range, great condition, and 5 minute drive from BMG! (No Route 9 traffic)
I have a friend who lived in Waterbury CT. She hated it there. Only one school. And if you don’t like it tough. Almost 2 hours to NYC. Does anyone know of any place cheap in NYC? Or is that impossible?
Unfortunately the more “in town” a city is, the more expensive the housing becomes since demand outnumbers supply. A lot of people used to “in town” don’t want to consider “out of town” because they won’t be in the heart of things but many out of town communities are large and when you’re actually there you don’t feel like you’re out of town. The main draw back to out of town is the chinuch in that the school’s are mostly community schools run by the community Rabbonim and askonim rather than individuals and accept everyone so you can’t really choose the school that fits your personal hashkafos since they all more or less cater to pleasing the “middle” road of that particular community. But if you’re willing to consider out of town, communities like Passaic (which isn’t too far from Lakewood making it possible to take advantage of Lakewood schools), Chicago, Baltimore, Detroit and Cleveland are all large frum kehillos with all the infrastructure of “in town” in place already but with much more affordable housing than Lakewood.
This is exactly what Satmar is now doing in Jersey city, NJ they bought blocks of delapidatesd homes.
The first 40 families are moving in after Shvous.
A lot of ppl don’t realize Harlem was in the same situation. In the 1800’s Harlem was a summer retreat. Many ppl would travel from the other boroughs (city’s) for the summer. In the mid 1900’s crime took hold and many of the properties were let vacant and became the property of the city. In the mid 1970’s the city began selling the old brownstones for $1. Now the properties are worth millions! Harlem went through a rennisance and is safer than its been since pre-1970’s.
It’s an interesting proposition but there’s one problem. Trenton ain’t no Harlem.