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Weekender:Vernon, NJ

Weekender:Vernon, NJ published on

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If the great outdoors is your thing, you might want to check out Vernon, NJ. Apart from skiing, hiking, kayaking and swimming, the town itself doesn’t offer much. Actually, I think the town center is the local A&P.

Now, this doesn’t suit me personally because I want the best of both worlds. I’d like to be able to go for a strenuous hike up a mountain and then dine in a great restaurant that evening. Oh, there are definitely ways to spoil yourself in Vernon, but where’s the village?

Vernon is 1 hour from NYC and is considered part of the metro area. It’s not really accessible by public transit. The bus goes to neighboring Warwick, NY and from there you would have to make your way over the NJ border. Taking the train sounds even more complicated. That will land you farther away in Orange County, NY.

Let’s get to some positives of Vernon Township.

42% of total 70.5 square mile area is federal or state preserved property, dedicated to the preservation of open space, natural resources, and wildlife habitat. The Appalachian Trail winds through Waywayanda State Park. The Wallkill River Wildlife Refuge offers up birdwatching, hiking and kayaking. There are a couple of stables in the area for horseback riding. Private lakes dot the area of Highland Lakes, so if you’re lucky enough to rent or own one of these homes, water access is right in your backyard.

Mountain Creek is a ski lodge in the winter and water park during the summer months. Hidden Valley’s snow sports is located on Breakneck Road. Wonder which came first…the name or the lodge? Speaking of breaking necks, see the area while in freefall with Skydive Sussex.

If pampering yourself is more your thang, there’s holistic Wildflower Spa or Crystal Springs Golf Resort. But if you’re reading this blog, the quaint Apple Valley Inn is probably more your speed.

There are farm stands, wineries and apple picking in the surrounding area. If you need the restaurants, antiques shops and galleries, Warwick, NY really isn’t far. Warwick is great!

The reason I choose to write about Vernon over Warwick this week? The house prices! Nearly $100k less.

Vernon Chamber of Commerce

Weekender: Bucks County, PA

Weekender: Bucks County, PA published on

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Photo: Doug Picadio

Forgive me. I’m lumping one big county together here in a pretty vague post because 1) I’m not really up on the geography of Bucks County, 2) I haven’t visited in a few years and 3) Pennsylvania is doesn’t count as the tri-state area so you’re lucky you’re getting this at all.

Way back yonder when we were living in Park Slope and started looking for a country place, our first stop was Bucks County. We had a friend who moved from Hoboken to an old farmhouse on 7 acres and we loved visiting. This was pre-internet (we are so F*in old!!) and I remember driving around with a big MLS book looking at homes. There was nothing for under $300k and our range was more like $100k so we gave up the dream.Continue reading Weekender: Bucks County, PA

To Buy Or Not To Buy

To Buy Or Not To Buy published on 4 Comments on To Buy Or Not To Buy

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That is the question. Whether ’tis nobler in the mind to suffer the rental until prices further drop
Or risk losing an outrageous fortune,
To take a chance on buying a sea of troubles
Or by opposing, bring prices down?
To buy; To wait…..

A friend of mine is looking for a house and he’s getting cold feet. All of his buddies are telling him to hold off. There’s a recession a comin’. Prices will drop. He asked for my opinion.

After I told him that I’m not a friggen mind reader (although I sometimes claim to be), I advised him to look at the big picture. Too many people only think about the price of the house. Well, my friends, mortgage rates and taxes are every bit as important. Think of it this way: You pay for the house once. You will be stuck with those interest rates for 30 years. Same with the taxes. And they keep going up.

You have to do the math. If you wait, you may save an extra $50k on a home, but it’s not worth anything if the interest rates are at 8%. Right now they are below 6% and may drop even more at the end of the month.

The market has already softened. It could go down even more and it certainly won’t be going up any time soon.

My opinion? I’d hold off and see if the feds announce some good news at the end of the month and then cautiously hit the pavement.

PS: I should give a shout out to the ever so fabulous mortgage broker who alerted me to the fact that it might be refinance time for me if rates drop any more. Give a big hand to Jonathan Meadors of Preferred Empire Mortgage! He kicks ass! jmeadorsATpemconlineDOTcom


			
		

		
		
	
	




	
		
	

		
					
			
Housing Slump

			
				
		

			
			Housing Slump published on 4 Comments on Housing Slump			
		

	

	
			
		

			
			
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Author: Brett


We have not been out house hunting since we lost the last one. It’s not that we can’t bring ourselves to look even though we are practically in mourning. While buyers all over the country seems to be getting great deals on homes, we have yet to see any houses we want to buy come down in price enough to be in our reach.


We have narrowed our search to two towns: Port Washington, NY, in Nassau County, Long Island, and Westfield, NJ, in Union county. Nothing new seems to be coming on the market since the end of last year (ok, last month if you’re an optimist). We flip between listings in each town. My MIL ponders whether the “new” listing in the New York Times is actually new to the market, or if it’s just new to The Times (every week I tell her that I think that it is new to the paper, but she still asks me anyway). She gives me scraps of paper with MLS numbers scribbled on them. It may or may not have a basement. I am to check it out if I feel like it. Later, she will ask me, did I find out about that house, the one she told me about a mere 6 hours ago? I think back to the last 6 blurry hours of solitary poopy diaper changes and sweeping far-flung cheerios from the recesses of the kitchen, cleaning running noses, rinsing dropped pacifiers, laundry washing, naptime orchestrating, clapping hands to “This Old Man” and “Itsy Bitsy Spider”. Huh? Listing? Which listing?Continue reading Housing Slump

			
		

		
		
	
	






	
		
	

		
					
			
Second Home Guilt?

			
				
		

			
			Second Home Guilt? published on 3 Comments on Second Home Guilt?			
		

	

	
			
		

			
			
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I saw this survey on Re-Nest and didn’t participate because there wasn’t an option for what my response would’ve been. I’m all about second homes. I’d have third and fourth homes if I could afford it.


Re-Nest on second homes: “They take more stuff to build; more energy to heat and to cool; and you have to get to the second home somehow, too — and that usually means time in a carbon-spewing car.”Continue reading Second Home Guilt?

			
		

		
		
	
	




	
		
	

		
					
			
Think Green Live Green Video Contest

			
				
		

			
			Think Green Live Green Video Contest published on 			
		

	

	
			
		

			
			


Get those web cams rolling again! Junto Venture is holding a think green challenge for all of you tree huggers out there. The grand prize is a deluxe camping and the lesser prizes are quite useful as well.Here’s what you do: Watch the video. Upload your response to YouTube. Vote.


More details here.

			
		

		
		
	
	




	
		
	

		
					
			
Affordable NYC: Jackson Heights

			
				
		

			
			Affordable NYC: Jackson Heights published on 7 Comments on Affordable NYC: Jackson Heights			
		

	

	
			
		

			
			
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Photo: JP Chan 


I’m a bit disappointed that Jackson Heights isn’t as affordable as I thought (see listings below). Coops and condos can be had for under $300k, but I’m a firm believer in 2-3 family homes where tenants help with the mortgage. I didn’t come across any here for under $800k.


That’s not to say I don’t have a whole lotta love for Jackson Heights! If you have never been, it’s worth the trip for Little India alone. I trek over from Brooklyn occasionally just for the Jackson Diner. If you’re not into Indian food, the neighborhood certainly isn’t lacking on the ethnic restaurant front.


Jackson Heights is one of those remarkably diverse communities where everyone seems pleased as punch to be there (Or is it just me drinking the Kool Aid?). There’s a very large Latin American population and in fact, the neighborhood is the center for gay Latinos in Queens.


The architecture: Jackson Heights is known for it’s urban planning. The neighborhood consists of many pre-war rowhouses and garden apartments built around courtyards. Much of the area is historically landmarked.


Subway service is not a problem. The 7, E, F, G, and R all run through Jackson Heights.


Jackson Heights Beautification Group

Jackson Heights Life Forum

Jackson Heights Blog

Jackson Heights NYC

Jackson Heights NYC Info

			
		

		
		
	
	





	
		
	

		
					
			
Weekender: New Paltz, NY

			
				
		

			
			Weekender: New Paltz, NY published on 6 Comments on Weekender: New Paltz, NY			
		

	

	
			
		

			
			
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 Photo of Mohonk Mountain House: C Purrin


New Paltz is pretty perfect. Seriously, you can’t get much better than this. Located within 90 minutes of NYC and accessible by public transit, the town is completely walker friendly.


And this is no podunk town. It’s a full service village. There are plenty of restaurants, including the eclectic Main Street Bistro (complete with a punk era Beastie Boys/Murphy’s Law poster on the wall), The Guilded Otter brewery and the local/organic/slow food Village Tea Room. There’s also a Lemon Grass Grill, Italian, Indian and Middle Eastern restaurants.


When you tire of eating and shopping, there’s always The Gunks. If you’re not fond of rock climbing, there are plenty of hikes. Or it’s cool to just sit on your ass and look at the mountains. For a great adventure, check out The Ranch in nearby Gardiner. Deniro jumped there. And so did I.


New Paltz is a college town, so there’s no lack of hip factor or nightlife. In my day, SUNY New Paltz was known as the “party school”. I don’t know if that still holds true. It’s quite a veggie friendly, yoga momma, liberal town. In 2004, New Paltz was the site of New York’s first same sex marriages.


Oh please, if New Paltz was commutable I would so live there.


Chamber of Commerce

Unofficial Site

			
		

		
		
	
	






	
		
	

		
					
			
Affordable Burb: Cranford, NJ

			
				
		

			
			Affordable Burb: Cranford, NJ published on 3 Comments on Affordable Burb: Cranford, NJ			
		

	

	
			
		

			
			
Author: Brett


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Andrew and I have employed a couple of methods over the years in order to pinpoint the town that is right for us. Some of them are zany, like looking up the area where a certain film was shot because we liked the street or studying the train map and researching the towns within an hour’s ride from Manhattan. Then there are the times when we hear about a place through word of mouth. That’s how we discovered Cranford, NJ.


One day, I was complaining to a coworker about how long we have been looking for a house in a town with a vibrant downtown area and that we would like said house to be no more than a 20-minute walk to the train station. She mentioned that her best friend lived in Cranford in Union county, New Jersey and that it seemed to have what we were looking for.Continue reading Affordable Burb: Cranford, NJ

			
		

		
		
	
	


		




	
	

		
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