Mastic Beach may not be the best town to live on on Long Island, but as of now it seems to be the only affordable town to live in for mid to low income couples. Not only that, but it makes for a semi- affordable place to live for when you are just newly married, have a new baby, or just looking to break free from living with your parents.
Homes start anywhere from $1160,000 to $350,000 on average. Lower priced homes go fast, but they are still available.
But I don’t want to talk about lower priced home, what I want to talk about is tips for buying a home in a safe neighborhood. Their are tons of neighborhoods that are well known locally for being drug homes, pedophile homes, and section 8 homes.
Let us be honest, we don’t want to buy a home only to learn from a friend or neighbor a few months later that you are living next door to the crack den, or a child molester.
So before you move in, do a little research on your neighborhood. You can call your town and get information on any pedophiles in your area before you even buy a home in that area. Play it safe, don’t just pack your bags and expect things to go smoothly.
If you feel you have found the perfect home, don’t sign anything until you have at least driven around the place at night. Weekends are the best time to go for a drive. If you see something you don’t like avoid the house and move on. Don’t just pick a home because it is large and cheap. Keep your options open, there are tons of homes available in Mastic Beach, but in order to ensure you are getting the best deal for your money, do your homework first.
An agent is not going to spill and tell you that you are about to buy a home in the worst neighborhood in town, but if you get to know the locals, they’ll tell it how it is. Getting to know locals though does not come easy, so I figured I would give tips on how to avoid buying a home in the worst neighborhoods.
The block your home is on may not look like a drug haven in the wee hours of the morning and afternoon, but at night things you did not see before come creeping out of the bushes. Not literately.
Recently me and my boyfriend have been searching for a home of our own, and we are doing it smart. Before we get over joyed by a home we will ride by it every day of the week at random times, from 6pm to 1am. Driving by one home that seemed to good to be true up until a Saturday night when across the street we observed an enormous group of teens drinking 40’s and smoking pot in the front yard.
It didn’t take long for us both to turn around and leave it be. Too bad too, it was a nice house, but honestly, do I want to live across the street from people like this? Nay…
Another home proved to be a bust when we pulled up and waited things out for about an hour. Basically we played detective. We were in love with it, yet as our conversation grew, so did the activity in the neighborhood. We watched as car after car, after car would pull up into this house 3 doors down. They would go into the home, and leave the home shortly after. Seemed like a drug den to us, so we again moved on. Drug den or not, I don’t want to feel unsafe in my own home, I don’t want to fear getting shot if some sort of drug feud breaks out. Vrrooommm…..
The next house we went to look at seemed innocent enough. Yes there were children everywhere, and yes tons of children running around without any adult supervision makes one wonder whether or not this home was for us. It also makes you wonder how many years you have in the home until all of these wild children become rebellious teens. Do I want to live in a neighborhood where a pack of wild teens may potentially break into my home one day? Not really… but am I being paranoid? Maybe…maybe not. Do I want to live here? Outlook not so good.
So after driving around and staking out a bunch of potential homes none of them seemed to be the perfect candidate. We finally came across one on a dead end street that seems to be right for us, we have driven by this home at least 10 times already with no signs of a foul neighborhood. A few barking dogs, but honestly I can handle that, I have dogs of my own.
So what next? Next I have to find out if there are any sex offenders in the neighborhood. Turned out I was clear and that there was not a single one for blocks and blocks… and blocks.
My next tip is based on pure observation of my hometown, and probably the best tip I could give anyone wanting to buy in Mastic Beach. I will word it simple, steer clear of anything south of town. A lot goes on in these particular neighborhoods that many people would rather just avoid. Why put yourself into the middle of it, when you could all together avoid it?
Like I said though, before you buy, observe. Even homes south of town can be wonderful, and homes more inwards can have bad reps. Don’t be afraid to ask around, and don’t be afraid to pry any and all information from the real estate agent. If you have a question ask, but do make sure you do regular drive by peeks at the neighborhood, and surrounding neighborhoods. Like I said, if you see something you don’t like, keep on driving by.
So to answer the main question, should you buy a home in Mastic Beach, the answer is yes. Do buy a home, homes are much cheaper than the rest of the island, and their are plenty of lovely neighborhoods to live in. Just make sure you truly, truly look before you buy.
These tips apply for any new town you may be looking to buy a home in. With any town there is always the bad parts and the good ones, just keep your eyes open, and your ears ready for any information you may obtain on your neighborhood.
