The Bergen County Homes Blog

Now that Thanksgiving is past, the annual holiday shopping season is in full swing.  Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, and Christmas dominate the December holiday buying season but Kwanza is also a significant holiday this month.  With all the parties, events and home entertaining that goes on in December it’s no wonder that this is a busy time of year. 

Bergen County is famous for it’s concentration of shopping malls located on Route 17 and Route 4 in Paramus although one major mall is actually in Hackensack on the Paramus border.  No matter where you live in Bergen County, you’re no more than a 10-15 minute drive to a major shopping center.  This is truly a shopper’s paradise.

Right on Route 4 you’ll find the very upscale Shops at Riverside and the discount mall Bergen Town Center and a minute or two west at the intersection of Route 4 and Route 17 is the Garden State Plaza which is one of the largest shopping malls in the New York metro area.  Further up Route 17 is the Fashion Center and the Paramus Park Mall although connecting all of these are countless other local malls.

In addition to the major malls and countless others on the Paramus highways you have major local shopping centers with national brands such as The Gap, Starbucks, Ann Taylor, Chico’s etc. in Englewood, Ridgewood and Westwood plus several other towns with strong local business districts such as Glen Rock, Tenafly, Bergenfield and Allendale. 

If you need to “shop till you drop” Bergen County has will make you smile!

If you are a New Jersey homeowner who qualifies, you have another reason to be thankful this week – New Jersey has just extended the application date for the homestead rebate to January 3, 2011.  Because the program has changed substantially this year, the State of New Jersey felt it was only fair to give people more time to file their application.

Instead of mailing homeowners a check automatically, the rebate is now a credit against property taxes.  To qualify, you must own your home as your primary residence since October 1, 2009, have paid your taxes and have an income of $75,000 or less.  Senior citizens also qualify as well as people who are disabled and have an income of $150,000 or less.

To get an application and further information, go to the State of New Jersey Department of the Treasury where you’ll also find a toll free hotline number for all your questions.

Are you shopping for a new home?  Whether it’s in River Vale, Tenafly, Dumont or Englewood the tax information that your agent can get you is invaluable; possibly the most important item is the Tax Assessor Map.

Now what on earth is that? you might ask.  Each town is divided into blocks on each block are lots.  The property the house is on has an address of it’s own by block and lot.  For example, if your home is on 20 Maple Street, it has a specific block and lot number.  Let’s say you’re on the north side of Maple Street and that’s Block 1403 and on Block 1403 there are 12 lots and 20 Maple is lot 9.  The property identification by Block and Lot would be Block 1403, Lot 9.

The New Jersey MLS has tax maps for all towns in Bergen County and also many other counties as well.  Tax maps display property dimensions of the lot and can also reveal some other very important items such as easements, streams or irregular lot lines that may not be disclosed in the listing.  Before you make any offer at all, your agent needs to check the NJMLS Tax Assessor Map to see what, if anything, is there.  Below is an example of a Right of Way.  It’s actually on Lot 9 and you can also see that the property lines on Lot 9 are very irregular too. 

It’s entirely up to you whether or not an easement, irregular property line, right of ways, etc. is acceptable but what’s not acceptable is not having the information at hand.  The NJMLS helps by having the Tax Assessor Map available – when shopping for a home, make good use of it.

Dumont homes are always in demand; the Dumont real estate market is one of the most active in Bergen County.  Not only is there a lot of “in house” demand, Dumont also represents a lot of value for out of town home buyers too.

Even with a population of 16,590 people, Dumont is decidedly small town in it’s feeling with a strong community spririt and well attended town events that bring folks together.  Every fall Dumont Day is a huge happening from the morning through fireworks at night with thousands of people attending.  

In fact, many multi generational families live here.  Children come back as adults to purchase their home.  In selling homes in Dumont I’ve seen this many times over the years.

The real estate market for Dumont homes is strong for out of town buyers because houses here are moderately priced, schools are great, there’s express bus commuting to New York City and the business district has everything you need.

For both 2009 and 2010, the difference between asking and selling prices is 5% but homes are on the market fewer days in 2010 (68 to 74).  This is significant because new banking regulations in 2010  make mortgage processing take much longer.   This can only mean that homes are selling quicker this year. 

At the same time, the average sales price is down by 6% due to more sales under $250,000 (13 as opposed to 4 in 2009) and none above $500,000 where we had 4 last year.  Still demand is up shown by less time on the market and consistently strong for sale to under contract ratios plus we have close to 20 homes under contract a lot of which will close this year.

I expect the final 2010 figures to be better.  There is no doubt that we are past the bottom and are in full recovery mode.  2011 will be an even better year for Dumont homes.

  Alpine New Jersey is well known as one of the world’s most affluent communities where magnificent estate residences are hidden in heavily wooded settings only 15 minutes from New York City.  While Alpine is certainly one of the most exclusive and highly prized locations, it also has a rich history dating back to before the American Revolutionary War.

New Alpine residents soon discover a spectacular nature preserve that hosts a boat basin and a 17oo’s pub – The Kearney House.  This 18th century establishment has a colorful past and is the scene of  many dining and other events.  Open to the public from May through October, there are also special events during the colder months.  In fact, November is a busy time at the Kearney House with “Short Stories for Long Nights” on the 21st and Thanksgiving Time on the 27th and 28th. 

Kearney House activities are so popular that they are often sold out;  it’s a good idea to plan early.  Located along the Hudson River by the Alpine Boat Basin, you are transported into another world the moment you drive down to the river.  Imagine taking your children out to a candle light dinner in this historic tavern only 10 minutes from your Alpine. home.   It’s a wonderful way to teach them about how people lived during the past.  General Cornwallis is said to have stayed there in 1776.

Listed on the National and New Jersey Historic Registers as the Blackledge-Kearney House, you can keep on top of what’s happening at Mrs. Kearney’s house through a calendar of events or by calling the Palisades Interstate Park at 201-768-1360.

 The Bergen County Animal Shelter has a great free program for pet owners who are residents of Bergen County – during certain times of each month you can go to their facility and get free rabies shots for your pet.  From 3:30 to 5 pm on the following Thursdays, you can bring your pet in for this free service:  November 18th, December 2nd and December 16th.

The Bergen County Animal Shelter is located in Teterboro at 100 United Lane.  You can reach them by phone at 201-229-4600 or by email at shelter@co.bergen.nj.us  You need to call them before bringing your pet to the shelter for a rabies shot because you may have to bring in documentation from prior shots and/or other information.

There are many great animals there waiting for someone to love them so if you’re thinking of bringing home a new pet, please visit the animal shelter where you’ll find many fine furry friends.  There are dogs and cats of course but you can also find birds, ferrets and others too.  Adopted pets make wonderful additions to your family and seem to love you even more – it’s almost as if they understand they’ve been rescued.

I’ve made a decision to change companies and returned to the Tenafly Office of Weichert Realtors.  Weichert Realtors in Tenafly was my home for about 10 years and after being away for a while, I returned to the Tenafly NJ office for many reasons.  Because I’ve made this change, I thought I should explain it to you.

Weichert has so many programs, such deep resources that I can now do more for my home buyers and sellers than anywhere else.  It truly is a great company where client service is the top priority and that’s a fit for me.  Weichert Realtors is also a company that is beyond the cutting edge in technology and support services which are unmatched in my view.

I always want to do my very best so it’s essential that I’m with the very best and that’s Weichert Realtors. 

My office information is:  Weichert Realtors – 13 W Railroad Ave – Tenafly, NJ – 07670 – 201.569.7888

The New Jersey MLS informed me that I am not allowed to post their statistical reports but I am allowed to email it to you.  Confused?  So am I. 

If you’d like this information, just email me at barbara@bergencountyhomes.com  and I’ll email it to you right away.  I apologize for this inconvenience but it’s beyond my control.

The New Jersey MLS informed me that I am not allowed to post their statistical reports but I am allowed to email it to you.  Confused?  So am I. 

If you’d like this information, just email me at barbara@bergencountyhomes.com  and I’ll email it to you right away.  I apologize for this inconvenience but it’s beyond my control.