Finding the right home in the New York City suburbs can be a formidable task. Now, there’s an app for that!
Maplewood entrepreneur David Leibowitz has founded PicketFencer, a web app that helps people choose the right hometown in the New York City suburbs. The app launches on August 3.
When former New York City resident Leibowitz was in the middle of his own search for the right home for him and his wife and young daughter, he was inspired to create PicketFencer.
“There were few resources available online to help families pick the right hometown, and I decided to create a better way,” Leibowitz said. The PicketFencer team is made up of veterans from the start-up and digital agency worlds, and is led by Leibowitz. Future iterations of the site will focus on other metropolitan areas, including Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago.
Here is more information from Leibowitz:
Finding a suburban home in the NYC is daunting. With over 600 towns within commuting distance of the city, each with its own school system, commute style, and personality, it’s hard for homebuyers to know which town is the best fit for their families.
And, while there are many websites that help people find a specific property to purchase, there are none that help them decide where to live in the first place. So home seekers are left to rely on one-off recommendations from random acquaintances and friends.
Officially launching on August 3rd, PicketFencer.com helps homebuyers find a hometown that fits, based on publicly available data and insights from the people that live there. It is the only comprehensive guide to the NYC suburbs, containing profiles for over 600 towns throughout New Jersey, Westchester, Connecticut, and Long Island.
Our search tools allow users to filter by region, commute time, school rating, walkability and affordability. We then layer in social content from Instagram, YouTube, Yelp, and Twitter to provide a qualitative picture of each town’s personality. Finally, we offer a concierge town-recommendation service for those that need more help finding the perfect hometown.
