365 places to visit in NJ with a car and a couple of gallons of gas in the tank

When I arrived in NJ in 1979 as a corporate transferee, I expected to be here for 3 years. 30 years later, I'm still here. I spent a couple of years in Europe, but, when I came home, it was to Central NJ.

This compact east-coast state easily has enough interesting places to visit for one per day for a year. You really need a car, but with about as much gas in the tank as it takes to mow a quarter-acre lawn, you can drive from anywhere in the state to any of the 365.

Warren NJ real estate update

There are currently 127 single family home listed for sale in Warren. They range in price from $329,000- $3.85Million. They have been on the market for an average of 154 days and have a median asking price of $850,000.

Since November 1st., there have been 8 new listings, and 1 house that had been reported as under contract came back on the market. 3 houses were reported under contract; there were 7 price changes and 2 sales closed. The 2 sales that closed sold for an average price of $681,500 after an average 123 days on the market.

Watchung real estate update

There are currently 56 single family houses in Watchung listed for sale. The range in price from $449,000 to $3.1 Million. They have been on the market for an average of 186 days. and have a median asking price of just over $950,000. Since November 1, 2009, there have been 2 new listings and price changes on 2 listings. One property has been reported under contract. and one sale has closed. The property which is under contract is bank-owned. The house that sold had been on the market for 289 days. The sales price was 93% of the final list price and 77% of the initial asking price.

Long Hill Township Update

There are currently 58 homes listed for sale. There have been 40 listings sold and closed since January.

There are 6 homes under contract. The average sales price was $510,282, and the highest was $860,000. During the same period in 2008, there were 24 sales averaging $556,500 with the highest being $1,40,000.

In the last month there were 21 new listings, 7 price changes, 2 houses went under contract and 10 sales closed.

Berkeley Heights Update

Number of Berkeley Heights homes currently for sale: 14. There are 3 homes currently under contract.

So far in 2009 there have been82 closed sales, with an average sales price of $585,165. The highest sale price so far in 2009 was $921,000. `During the same period of 2008, there were 46 sales averaging $555,000. The highest price paid was $1,350,000.

In the last month, there have been 23 new listings, 16 price changes, 11 homes go under contract and 14 closed sales.

Watchung real estate update

Watchung just had its first residential closing of a over amillion dollars since January.

Currently in Watchung there are 57 single family homes for sale. (active listings.
There are 10 single family homes under contract.

In the last month there were 13 price changes, 7 homes went under contract, and there were3 closed sales.

Year to date there have been 40 sales of single family homes.

The average sales price was:464,666
The average days on the market was.127 days

Under $1 million,
Threre are 35 homes for sale.
Priced Over $1000,000, there are 22 listings. In the last month with an average price of $1.73Million; 2 houses went under contract and 2 sales closed. The top closed price was $1.5Million


During the same period in 2008, there were: closed sales: 10. The average sold price was 813,550 and the highest price was $2.2Million
The average time on the market was: 105 days

Warren NJ real estate update

There are currently 142 houses listed for sale.
In the last month, there were 30 new listings; 4 listings went back on the market; there were 23 price changes; 12 houses went under contract; there were 10 closed sales. The highest sales price was $1,305,000; the average sale price was $611,272 and the average days on market was 75.

Since the beginning of 2009, there have been 82 closed sales with an average price of $786,680 and an average days on market of 99 days. The highest price paid so far this year is $2,500,000. By comparison, during the first 10.5 months of 2008, there were 36 closed sales with an average price of 801,781 and an average days on market of 72 days. The highest price paide was $2.200,000.

I've moved home.

This month after 14 years servicing the Hudson County residential real estate market, I have joined the office of RE/MAX Premier in Warren, NJ as a broker associate. I have resided in the area for 20 of the last 30 years. I was an AT&T management transferee in 1979, moving to NJ for what I thought would be a 3-year headquarters assignment. I'm still here. I began my full time real estate career here in 1991 and will again be serving residential home buyers and sellers in the Watchung Hills area of Warren and Watchung, and the surrounding communities of Berkeley Heights, New Providence, Long Hill Township, North Plainfield and Plainfield.

I can be reached by phone at 908-754-1500 x 152 or directly at 800-671-0596 x1.

Destressing closing -- when you're a buyer

Avoiding the closing day rush to get certified funds. If the terms of your purchase involve bringing the balance of funds for downpayment and closing costs to the closing, you'll have to provide that money in the form of certified funds. Generally you won't know to the penny how much that will be until 24 hours before the closing. This really becomes stressful because gee, you're packing, doing a walk through on the property you're buying and possibly even closing on the sale of the place you're living in. The last thing you need is to also have to make a trip to the bank.

What I do when I buy a house in New Jersey, and what I also suggest to buyer clients, is, a week or so before closing, I write a personal check for more money than will be necessary to the trust account of my attorney. The closing will be taking place at her office and she will be disbursing the funds from her escrow account for everything that isn't already in the seller's attorney's trust account. I make sure that there's a couple of hundred dollars more than I will need, and she just cuts me a check for the difference at the closing. It not only removes one big headache from my closing day To-do list, but it means I also get to go home from the closing with a check in my hand, like everyone else. And, so long as there is plenty of time for the personal check to clear, there is no additional bank fee for a certified check or bank wire.

Real life experience: A couple of years ago, I had buyer clients whose closing had to be postponed from Friday until Monday because they didn't get their "final number" in time to get to the bank for certified funds that day. They had had painters scheduled to come in over the weekend, before the furniture was to be delivered. Ironically, they had had these funds in their account for months. They could easily have deposited a bit more than they would need to their attorney's account weeks in advance.

Real Estate is local

The longer I'm in the business and the more I interact with colleagues around the country, the more I find that the way real estate is bought and sold is truly a local phenomenon. Of course, each state has its own licensing rules, but even the way real estate agency is practiced and how contracts are presented and the protocol for getting property transferred from the seller to the buyer can be very different in New Jersey than in New Mexico or even in New York or Connecticut.

I'll be posting only about how things are handled in residential real estate sales in New Jersey, although I might bring in information from other states to contrast. You can also narrow down my posts to relate to Northern and Central NJ, where most buyers and sellers are represented by attorneys. (In South Jersey it works differently.)

I'm not an attorney and I'm not going to give legal advise; I'm just going to comment about things I've observed while selling a few hundred houses over the last 20 years. These are things that have surprised both me and my clients over the years.

Contract closing dates are like stop signs... In NJ, they sometimes seem to be mere suggestions. (If you've driven here, you'll know what I mean.) Regardless of what date it says in the contract that both buyers and sellers have signed, obviously some very important items have to be completed first. The biggest item is making sure the money is there in time, but there are other certificate of occupancy and title items that sometimes hold things up. There IS usually verbiage in the contract that if it doesn't close "on or before" the date on the contract, any date acceptable to everyone is okay too. Unfortunately for the sellers and the buyers who are trying to plan for movers and perhaps trying to coordinate another closing on another property, it's more of the exception than the rule that the date gets moved around.

Don't forget to compare the property taxes

This is especially important when comparing condominiums for sale in Jersey City. Unlike in some other areas of the country, NJ property taxes are high (the highest in the country, I'm afraid). It gives the politicians something to rant about every election.

At about $46 per $1000 of assessed valuation, a unit that's assessed at $100,000 will cost you $383/mo. in addition to what you pay in principal and interest on your mortgage and the monthly maintenance charge.

Earlier conversions (especially pre-1990) can be a bargain. The increase in property values since 1996 has been dramatic. Condo buildings built or converted more recently are assessed (valued for tax purposes) as of the time they are first certified for occupancy as condos.

Developers of downtown Jersey City properties almost always apply for a tax abatement from the city. This allows buyers to at least temporarily reduce their property taxes. A recent property I sold was assessed at $159,000 (newly converted condo that sold for almost $400,000). A tax abatement reduces that assessment by $25,000 for the next 5 years to just under $135,000. Current (abated) taxes are just over $500/mo. After the 5 years are up, that would go up by another $100.

A similar sized unit sold recently for $375,000. It was a 1980s conversion and could use some updating. ($20,000 in updates would make the unit at least as nice.) The assessment is just over $60,000 so the monthly taxes are just over $200/mo. (that's $300 less per month…every month…) True, property taxes are deductible, but while that lessens the pain, it doesn't eliminate it.

Say you were buying one of these units with a $330,000 mortgage (6% for 30years). Your monthly payment on the 1st unit would be $2733 ($1980 + $240 maint. + $513 tx). The second unit would cost you $2424 ($1980 + $206 maint. + $238 tx). Looking at it another way, $300 per month could pay for a condo priced $50,000 higher.

So, if you're considering purchasing a condo in Jersey City, be sure to:

• Check the property taxes
• Check to see if the unit is under an abatement
  • If it is, find out for how much longer (the abatements vary greatly by complex.)