KGordon

Paul thanks for that very forthright answer...what a great suggestion the local construction office...since we are not ready to give up on this property yet we will try that thanks! - Mon Jun 30 2008, 17:55

Thank you all for the advice. Jeanne that is very good to know and thank u for recognizing it as an issue especially in NJ....there are many Agents who we have spoken with who don't seem to care about this issue and how much it will cost and the fact that it has an environmental affect, etc....and the fact that it will prolong a move, date, requires another person to hire, etc, etc etc.....it is a "mess" that some are not willing to deal with....on some levels it may be a deal breaker for us...we have to sit with it and see...
I am really not comprehending why these Seller's dont take care of this issue before placing their house on the market...I appreciate when they tell me upfront when I go to the open house but come on! Despite that it is a Buyer's Market, our search for a home seems to get so complicated with Seller's who are unwillingly to cooperate or don't have any info. on their home in the disclosure statement...it baffles me because myself and my wife are quite thorough and want to make sure what we are getting into before we buy any property. So we do whatever it takes to be educated and get more and more info. to protect ourselves and the property we want to invest in..... - Mon Jun 30 2008, 11:06

Peter, thank you for the suggestions. We ofcourse don't want to move forward without knowing this information, but we were told we should hire someone to look for one because the sellers don't know. Again, I find this hard to believe since they bought the home in 2000 from someone else. One would think they would have answered this question with their Home Inspection. So is it possible to ask them to reveal their Home Inspection to us? - Sat Jun 28 2008, 15:29

Jeffrey, you are right about life plan/time frame issues...they come and go regardless of how the market is or if someone is calling it distressed or not...people do want to buy even in Markets that aren't ideal....you do have to hope you make the right decisions....and then go along for the ride....so Thank You for all your thoughts....it helps us to feel comfortable about Essex as a possibility....
As far as NonRealtor's suggestion...thank you for your opinion/suggestion, but Buying/Renting is not that simplistic ...everyone buys/rents for different reasons and personally we would rather buy...we have our own personal reasons and we will be smart and find the right home at the right price.... - Wed Jun 25 2008, 09:42

Also, Jeffrey this link you posted is very helpful....
http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/markets/son200... - Mon Jun 23 2008, 20:41

First, thank you all for the advise/input....it is important to know that the biggest investment we will be making will be a wise one from the get-go....we thought we liked Bloomfield because of the proximity to things in NJ plus good transpo to NYC...and we can't afford the high prices of other areas...that being said....we are not sure now since our lender told us it is a "distressed" area....
Jeffrey, I pulled the original question because I thought I could be more succinct, therefore, posed this one....thanks for the suggestions of houses in the area but the Hawthorne house does not appeal to us and we feel it is priced too high for what it offers....we drove by the whittle house and it is on a very odd corner and didn't go in because of it...a yard is important to us...
but getting back to the posed question...the lender told us there were only 4 counties that weren't distressed....and one is Bergen county...so we will be looking there now too...
Jeffrey, we have children on the way and we have to make sure we are making a good investment....so any other thoughts you have for Bloomfield would be appreciated....like I said we thought we would buy there and now we are backing away because of our lender....
Lastly, as far as committing to a particular Realtor...we have interviewed/met with and discussed with several...we haven't signed on with one in particular...not only are we looking for a very good agent who will rep us as BUYERS but also we need to be sure which county we will be using before we commit to anyone....and not all Realtors are experts in all counties...Thanks Again.... - Mon Jun 23 2008, 20:21

So does this mean if we buy there we are making a mistake and our property won't come up in value? - Mon Jun 23 2008, 17:55

Thank you Gina and Joan for the referrals...Also, John you say they leave a can in the basement...what if there are people currently living in the home? - Sun Jun 22 2008, 19:08

We are looking in northern NJ... - Sun Jun 22 2008, 09:49

My what a spirited debate this question has turned into...I thank you all for your responses, but as you can see, as the consumer looking to buy, it can get very confusing with the differing opinions. Also, in my meeting and greetings with Agents....they are all not equal. We have met some good and some bad...some are quite motivated and some honestly seem to care less....and some could care less about the 'hand holding" that has been mentioned. Which by the way we do look for all these things in a Realtor. Furthermore, so far I was never told I don't have to hire an attorney. So thank you for that information...although if my investment is at minimum 400K, I certainly would want to be legally protected... At the end of the day I do believe most Realtors work very hard....for if they don't they cannot be successful. That being said any streamlining in the industry to make the process work better would be MUCH appreciated for the consumer. So again, thank you all for your responses all the information is much appreciated....we learn more everyday! - Fri Jun 20 2008, 20:14

Thank you Kenneth for the link you sent to the Consumer Info.....Wow, this is quite a confusing topic...I mean it seems the best thing is to get a Buyers Agent, but that doesn't always happen...it seems in NJ, many many people use dual agents....
Why is there a lack of Buyers Agents?...or maybe we haven't looked hard enough.... - Wed Jun 18 2008, 17:17

Thank you for all the answers...it seems we will look for a Buyers Agent...but for sake of argument....despite the fact that I understand the legalalities and all....wouldn't one think that even if someone was a dual agent they would still want to do the right thing to make the sale go through as well as have a smooth and happy tranistion between Buyer and Seller....Furthermore, anyone can be a Buyer one day and a Seller the next...if you make enemies or play games, etc. as a dual you certainly ruin your business in the future...no one will refer or use you when they sell....you have to have good business sense.... - Tue Jun 17 2008, 16:03

Thanks for the suggestion we will have to take a look at the house on Whittle.... - Tue Jun 10 2008, 19:58

HI All...we did some research and also wanted to point out that "do-it-yourself-ers" on average can put a single car garage in for 4000K....(contractors.com) we are a young couple but not that skilled... so upon hiring someone it will be on average 8,400 to 10,800K and up again only for a single car... a 2 car can be 13,300 to 17,100 (askthebuilder.com)...so I guess as a young couple this "added" expense indicates to us that this house is priced too high...so unfortunately for us we cannot afford that expense.... - Sun Jun 8 2008, 09:11

Thank you for all your answers...I understand your responses and do appreciate them...however on the East Coast I think we would like a garage....so we are going to look at other properties, but we will keep it on "our list' ....thanks again.... - Sun Jun 8 2008, 08:50