Planning first home in Maplewood
essexhome said:
Hi all, am new to this forum but have heard a lot of great things from local references. My wife and I currently living/working in NYC are looking at Maplewood for a move to the suburb,mainly drawn as others with the great commute and the sense of community. No kids yet but planning for one soon.
We are looking at a 3 or max 4BR, with 2.1 Bath, preferably upgraded/renovated . The main criteria is we definitely would like to be at a 10min walk(not too close to the tracks) to the station.As our commute times are variable do not want to depend on the jitney or car.
We will start to work with brokers as well, but one of my friends suggested this forum for any word of mouth from folks that are looking to sell or know of folks looking to sell that might make the process mutually beneficial and easier. Pls send me a pvt msg and we can discuss or we can visit during one of our weekend open house visits to Maplewood.
Appreciate all your help very much and we are very much looking fwd to being part of the Maplewood community.
A colleague is currently looking in Maplewood / South Orange with the same parameters. Anything in decent shape is drawing hoards to the open houses, with at least five offers in hand shortly thereafter. Houses are typically going for $100k over asking. She just placed her first bid on a property similar to what you describe. Lovely home, great location, but with an in-ground oil tank, roof needing immediate replacement and a furnace that won't last through next heating season: five offers, three in excess of their offer.
Not trying to turn you off, but the market is heated, so manage your expectations.
And welcome to MSO!
sac said:
Good luck!
What is .1 bath?
apologies, meant 2 full, 1 half bath.
@essexhome - Be sure to look at South Orange also. In many ways, the two towns are one community. They share a school district and many recreation and social activities and organizations. Most of the "features" of Maplewood are shared by South Orange as well.
We moved here (South Orange) last Feb after looking starting during the Summer of 2014. We had been living in Washington Heights and one of the things that led us elsewhere was how competitive the market in the Heights had gotten. Not only were things expensive and was there little inventory, but since we require *gasp* a mortgage we couldn't make any headway.
Our first house we found we lost because someone else put in an offer that wasn't more, but it was all cash. Our second house we found we lost because despite being one and a half weeks 'in contract' (attorney review) the broker was still showing the house and someone else came in with an all cash offer.
We eventually found a home in a great neighborhood, and we're happy but it was a lot of work. A broker will help, but just knowing that it may not be as easy as you'd expect will help set your expectations. While we thought things were slightly crazy when we were buying, we've seen plenty since that seems to show that things are even crazier now, so good luck!
not sure if you would be interested in renting while you try to buy (it may take a while)- but i just gave notice to my landlord i will be moving into a home I bought- rental is in Millburn but walking distance to maplewood - house is a lovely corner lot - 3bdrm 2ba fireplace, hardwoods, finished basement, updated kitchen
Have you searched GSMLS? Have your realtor you choose send you daily emails of new home listings. The good houses go quick so be prepared for: Open House on Sunday, offers sent in and to be reviewed with the seller by Monday or Tuesday. The house, again if it is a good house, will likely be listed the week of the open house so you literally have to act quickly. If you're opening bid was aggressive enough, you'll be in the running for potential negotiations for best and final - unless the seller only asked for best and final as part of their "wish list". Its a very tough market in both Maplewood and South Orange but there are tons of listings and now is when listings ramp up. We just moved to Maplewood last summer and everything was selling above asking, even if the house wasn't worth it. It is an exciting yet incredibly nerve-wracking process...but always in the sellers favor.
essexhome said:
Hi all, am new to this forum but have heard a lot of great things from local references. My wife and I currently living/working in NYC are looking at Maplewood for a move to the suburb,mainly drawn as others with the great commute and the sense of community. No kids yet but planning for one soon.
We are looking at a 3 or max 4BR, with 2.1 Bath, preferably upgraded/renovated . The main criteria is we definitely would like to be at a 10min walk(not too close to the tracks) to the station.As our commute times are variable do not want to depend on the jitney or car.
We will start to work with brokers as well, but one of my friends suggested this forum for any word of mouth from folks that are looking to sell or know of folks looking to sell that might make the process mutually beneficial and easier. Pls send me a pvt msg and we can discuss or we can visit during one of our weekend open house visits to Maplewood.
Appreciate all your help very much and we are very much looking fwd to being part of the Maplewood community.
Hi essexhome!
We just closed on our first house in Maplewood so I can tell you some of our recent experiences. I'm not sure what your price range is but there was very little inventory in our price range so be prepared for bidding wars particularly in desirable neighborhoods. What worked for us is that we were happy with (and actually preferred) a fixer upper. For us, the location was more important versus a "done house."
If you need a recommendation for a real estate agent, let me know. Best of luck to you!
Real Estate talk for 1/2 bath
sac said:
Good luck!
What is .1 bath?
new207040 said:
not sure if you would be interested in renting while you try to buy (it may take a while)- but i just gave notice to my landlord i will be moving into a home I bought- rental is in Millburn but walking distance to maplewood - house is a lovely corner lot - 3bdrm 2ba fireplace, hardwoods, finished basement, updated kitchen
We moved to Maplewood from NYC nine years ago when the real estate market was similarly hot as it is now, and we ended up renting a house here for three years before we took the plunge and bought. It worked out very well for us. We had more time to get to know the area and the housing market a lot better and it also allowed us to be in a better financial position to buy when the time came. And when we did eventually buy in 2010, the market was much more in our favor (not that anyone can really put a crystal ball to this sort of thing...). Also, we wanted a chance to test out suburbia before committing fully -- obviously Maplewood passed the test! Something to consider.
(coincidentally enough, there is currently a "for rent" sign in front of the house we had rented. Good location and landlord...)
Perseverance said:
What worked for us is that we were happy with (and actually preferred) a fixer upper. For us, the location was more important versus a "done house."
^ This -- in line with what was said upthread about managing expectations. This is how we got our house in South Orange during the last real estate bubble, pre-2008. The house was so ugly and shabby that I wanted to run away and never look back. It was also much smaller than I wanted, and didn't even have a dishwasher in the kitchen. But hubster insisted that we weren't going to get another chance at anything in a halfway decent location -- and he was probably right. We are in a great neighborhood in easy walking distance to everything, including both SO train stations, the pool, parks, library, etc. The house still needs a lot of work but we have done what we can within our means over the years... and have learned valuable lessons about what makes a house truly a home. (It's certainly not central air or finished basements or jacuzzi tubs...)
bluepool said:
Perseverance said:
What worked for us is that we were happy with (and actually preferred) a fixer upper. For us, the location was more important versus a "done house."
^ This -- in line with what was said upthread about managing expectations. This is how we got our house in South Orange during the last real estate bubble, pre-2008. The house was so ugly and shabby that I wanted to run away and never look back. It was also much smaller than I wanted, and didn't even have a dishwasher in the kitchen. But hubster insisted that we weren't going to get another chance at anything in a halfway decent location -- and he was probably right. We are in a great neighborhood in easy walking distance to everything, including both SO train stations, the pool, parks, library, etc. The house still needs a lot of work but we have done what we can within our means over the years... and have learned valuable lessons about what makes a house truly a home. (It's certainly not central air or finished basements or jacuzzi tubs...)
Same here - we picked a house in rough shape, on a very busy street, because we couldn't afford anything within walking distance of the MW train station any other way. Six years later, and though we can't change the location, the house is looking great and we are happy here, especially with our 7 minute walk to the train.
We ended up compromising on walk to the train -- found a house about a mile from the train (easy walk in the morning/in good weather) but 20 yards from a jitney stop. Worked well for us -- we ended up much preferring our quiet, leafy street to the busy car-lined ones by the station.
We also went for an outdated house. Not exactly a fixer upper, since we could live with it, but it didn't have that newly redone feel. We spent about $10k right away on updates (paint, floors, light fixtures) and have gradually been working on the rest. It turns out that some things we thought were urgent have turned out to be no big deal, and others have moved to the top of the list.
Finally: I have owned three houses so far in MSO, and each one looked *less* like the "standard" Maplewood Colonial or SO Victorian than the one before. When we moved from Brooklyn, we were bowled over by a historic arts and crafts house with stunning fireplace, paneling etc. It didn't seem like such a big deal that the kitchen wasn't eat-in; there were only 1.5 baths, none on the first floor; and the house was too old to put in central air. Fifteen years later, we have traded cachet for comfort and are happy as clams in a mid-century split level (with central air, big yard, gorgeous neighborhood) for literally half the price of the arts and crafts beauty down the block.
Every single time I see the thread title "Planning first home in Maplewood", I say "Bring piles of cash" silently to myself.
But I wish you the best! It's a great place to live.
I think deborahg makes very good points. Although we did end up in a typical older home, I certainly kept in mind the advantages to newer construction. Better insulation. Often better use of space. If windows in old home haven't been changed, which costs a fortune, they leak a lot of cold air. Usually better closet space.
I've lived in a beautiful old colonial where touching the gorgeous woodwork on the stairs was one of my best memories for each day. Heating, cooling and maintaining it were among my worst. I now live in a small three bedroom ranch and I can't even tell you how much I love it. And the ease of making it so comfortable.
Since you don't have kids yet, you could consider looking at the 2-3 family houses for sale. We found the competition for them was not so crazy, and we could use the income unit pre-kids, then open the house into one larger one later. Many of the multi-family homes had originally been one-family homes that were converted.
My best advice: keep an open mind while house hunting and you may be surprised to find a home that makes you happy. Sometimes it will fit all your pre-defined conception of your needs, and other times it will be something you had not thought about.
Do consider South Orange. Or, even nearby areas of West Orange. Jitneys help to make neighborhoods like ours almost as convenient as somewhere 10 minutes from the train station. I'm a beautiful 20 minute walk from the station...it helps clear the mind after a hectic day in Manhattan. Keep in mind that you still may want to change things in that perfect 'move-in' home so why pay extra if you know that you really don't want the whole place painted in the hottest colors of the day like gray.
We've lived here over 25 years and are still in our original home despite having seriously looked to move within Maplewood-South Orange. Our house still sang to us whenever we returned from our visits to other houses.
Good luck.
My tips: Since SO and Maplewood share the same schools and you're planning to have kids, you really can and should consider the two towns as one unit. I wouldn't necessarily consider West Orange as part that unit since our shared schools are a big part of the MSO experience.
Many people moving from the city are thrilled by the idea of having a garage for their car(s). But once they move here, many people find that the standard detached MSO garages just aren't that convenient for car parking -- they're often small and don't come with automatic door openers. So the garages end up becoming junk spaces that you worry will collapse whenever there's a hurricane. My current SO cottage doesn't have a garage, and I truly don't miss the one I had in Maplewood.
Pay attention--lots of attention--to the issue of water in the basement. In my old Maplewood neighborhood, the water table was 5 feet below ground level and basements were generally 8 feet down....not good.
We keep our cars in our detached Maplewood garage. (We had a garage door opener installed.) It sure beats digging them out after snow storms!
We have a two car garage with opener. We like having it but I agree that it shouldn't be a determine factor. We are the exception in our neighborhood in having a garage and using it for the cars.
I think with regards to the statement quoted below- most sellers want to be as out there as possible right now and not work with a buyer independently. The bidding wars are great for the sellers. When we sold a house here a few years ago, we thought about working with someone quietly but quickly realized we could get a lot more over asking by putting it out there - our first open house had twenty people, six offers by the next morning. We were able to go back to all of them and say, "give your final and best offer..." Needless to say we got way over asking which left us in a good spot to purchase our new place.
"We will start to work with brokers as well, but one of my friends suggested this forum for any word of mouth from folks that are looking to sell or know of folks looking to sell that might make the process mutually beneficial and easier. Pls send me a pvt msg and we can discuss or we can visit during one of our weekend open house visits to Maplewood."
I agree with still_life about putting it out there. I've been contacted several times about selling my house privately, but with the market like it is, I would want as much exposure as possible.
Anybody remember the real estate threads from five years ago, when you had to purge your house and make it look like a Pottery Barn catalog to even get buyers in the door?
Yup! And even now, doing that gets you an extra 40-80k with minimal expenditure. Alternately, there are still bargains where the bones of the house are great but the owners didn't bother to purge or stage. I saved a huge amount on my new house for just this reason.
I'm selling my home at 464 Elmwood Ave. Open house is this Sunday 3/20.
It's a sweet home to raise a family, walking distance to train, or jitney stop 1.5 blocks away. Best neighbors you could wish for.
It doesn't match your bathroom criteria, as it only has 1 really nice full bathroom with heated floors. Part of the yard is fenced. And this home is missing having little kids in it. It yearns for a little family.
http://www.trulia.com/property/3228761413-464-Elmwood-Ave-Maplewood-NJ-07040
jeanneh said:
I'm selling my home at 464 Elmwood Ave. Open house is this Sunday 3/20.
It's a sweet home to raise a family, walking distance to train, or jitney stop 1.5 blocks away. Best neighbors you could wish for.
It doesn't match your bathroom criteria, as it only has 1 really nice full bathroom with heated floors. Part of the yard is fenced. And this home is missing having little kids in it. It yearns for a little family.
http://www.trulia.com/property/3228761413-464-Elmwood-Ave-Maplewood-NJ-07040
You have a beautiful home! I especially love your hardwoods.
Perseverance said:
jeanneh said:
I'm selling my home at 464 Elmwood Ave. Open house is this Sunday 3/20.
It's a sweet home to raise a family, walking distance to train, or jitney stop 1.5 blocks away. Best neighbors you could wish for.
It doesn't match your bathroom criteria, as it only has 1 really nice full bathroom with heated floors. Part of the yard is fenced. And this home is missing having little kids in it. It yearns for a little family.
http://www.trulia.com/property/3228761413-464-Elmwood-Ave-Maplewood-NJ-07040
You have a beautiful home! I especially love your hardwoods.
Yeah, super nice kitchen renovation and beautiful plasterwork in the dining room, too. Sent it to my colleague who's looking this weekend.
as a 15 year resident of South Orange who just moved to West Orange - consider looking here, too. You would need to take the jitney (goes to South Orange) station. Try upper Gregory and Wyoming area for neighborhood feel that's very much like Maplewood & South Orange.
After multiple bidding wars that went south, I, reluctantly at first, turned to West Orange, and was delightfully surprised. I'm in tthe upper Gregory area, just a couple blocks over from SouthOrange. Great elementary and middle school walkable.
I bought an absolutely stunning Tudor, with NYC views, great yard. Neighbors awesome (lots of kids on my street, though mine are in college now).
Taxes equally high, but you'll get more house for money. That said, there was a bidding war on this house, too and I made my first bid the first day it was on the market.
Welcome!
Hi all, am new to this forum but have heard a lot of great things from local references. My wife and I currently living/working in NYC are looking at Maplewood for a move to the suburb,mainly drawn as others with the great commute and the sense of community. No kids yet but planning for one soon.
We are looking at a 3 or max 4BR, with 2.1 Bath, preferably upgraded/renovated . The main criteria is we definitely would like to be at a 10min walk(not too close to the tracks) to the station.As our commute times are variable do not want to depend on the jitney or car.
We will start to work with brokers as well, but one of my friends suggested this forum for any word of mouth from folks that are looking to sell or know of folks looking to sell that might make the process mutually beneficial and easier. Pls send me a pvt msg and we can discuss or we can visit during one of our weekend open house visits to Maplewood.
Appreciate all your help very much and we are very much looking fwd to being part of the Maplewood community.