The Bergen County Homes Blog

Isn’t the internet great?  When you are buying a home nothing seems to beat it for all the information it has.  But when it comes to knowing a town and the neighborhood, nothing replaces being there.  Still there is one place where you can get to know a community and that’s the town website. 

Town websites give you a special look into the character and services of a community.  Although not all towns have a website, most do and they are filled with information and community news.

Are you shopping for a Tenafly home?  The Tenafly Borough site has the Tenafly Memorial Day Parade schedule telling you that everyone is invited to the Tenafly Elk’s Club for refreshments after the ceremony. 

Looking for a Ridgewood home?  If you go to the Village of Ridgewood website you’ll learn that the Ridgewood flood rating is unchanged which gives it’s residents a 15% discount on insurance. 

Looking for an Englewood home?  The City of Englewood website tells you that all Englewood residents are eligible for a 20% discount card for prescriptions.  

If you’re thinking of buying a home in Cresskill the Cresskill Borough website announces that the town is having it’s Spring Festival on June 11th.

I have all the town websites for you on my site.  Click Here and choose the town you want!

The State of New Jersey had a great idea – help for homeowners who had underground oil tanks.  Whether leaking or not, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) would administer a fund to reimburse homeowners who wanted to remove, replace or remediate their underground oil tank.   Thus was born the Petroleum Underground Storage Tank Remediation, Upgrade & Closure Fund or UST Fund as it was commonly known. 

Actually the program worked very well.  Applications for funding were processed in a timely mannter; most homeowners only waited 2 months to receive their reimbursement check.  There was only one problem – the money to pay for all this was not unlimited and now the $20 million set aside for the UST Fund has been depleted.

Because funds are so low, the NJDEP is no longer taking new applications for non leaking tanks.  If you have a leaking tank , you can send in an application which will be date stamped and held until more funds are available.  Applications now awaiting approval will be processed with what money is left.  Whether or not funding will be restored by New Jersey is truly unknown.

When you are buying a home, part of the process involves a home inspection.  Home inspections are usually done in 3 sections – structural, termites and wood destroying insects and radon.  Radon is a gas that occurs when uranium and radium breaks down in the soil or in rock formations.  When this gas is released, it can build up to dangerous levels in a house.  Radon is a leading cause of lung cancer. 

Not only is it dangerous, it’s clear and odorless.  The only way to discover if the radon level in your house is unsafe is to test for it.  Home buyers rarely re-test after they’ve moved in and most people who bought their home before radon became a known issue have never tested to see if their home is safe from this dangerous gas.  The good news is that you can solve a radon problem through contacting a licensed radon mitigation contractor; this often involves a simple ventilation system in your basement.

Bergen County Executive, Kathleen Donovan, announced that there will be a limited number of free radon testing kits for Bergen County residents on a first come first served basis this month.  Just call the Bergen County Department of Health Services at 201-634-2803 or stop by Room 103A, 327 E. Ridgewood Ave in Paramus to pick up your free testing kit.  Do this today to protect yourself and your family!

Now that we’re past one December holiday (Hannukah) and about to land on Christmas, parents of young children have that 10 day period of vacation time looming in front of them asking “What do we do with the kids?”  With the weather bound to not cooperate for at least one point in time, why not take them to a great indoor activity?  Why not go to a local museum?   

For children from 1 to 8 there’s the New Jersey Museum for Children right in Paramus.  They’re closed on Mondays but open the rest of the week although I’d check their schedule over the 2 holiday weekends we have this month.  It’s a great place for the kids and they even do birthday parties.  Their exhibits are so much fun for children as they learn and use their imagination.  One of the reasons I like this museum is because it’s tough one focused solely on our youngest children.

For children of all ages (and adults too) there’s Liberty Science Center  in Jersey City.  It’s an easy ride down the Turnpike to Exit 14 and no more than 1 hour away from anywhere in Bergen County. It’s really a snap to get to and you have a stunning view of the Statue of Liberty and the Manhattan skyline from the parking lot.  Right now they have a special exhibit that runs till January 9th on the ice age and wooly mammoths that is truly awesome.

Another good idea is your local nature center.  Many have special events for the holiday vacation week as do many local libraries all aimed at children.  And, of course, across the Hudson River is New York City.

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!

   The Bergen County Utilities Authority is hosting a special event this Saturday at it’s headquarters in Paramus NJ – it’s a one day demonstration and sale of a compost bin machine.  Featuring the home composting Earth Machine, you will learn how to create a rich compost for your lawn and gardens.  This will help you green up your property because rich compost soil reduces the need for chemical fertilizers. 

Many people who buy a home today want to be as green as possible and creating a compost does exactly that.  Growing flowers and a green lawn is part of owning a house; there’s nothing better  than a beautiful yard with blooming flowers on a sunny summer day.  Making it that way using a compost bin is an easy and fun family project.   

The Earth Machine normally sells for over $100 and is often out of stock.  The BCUA will be selling it on Saturday for $53 which is a great deal.  The sale and demonstration will be from 9 to 2 at the Bergen County Community Services Building located at 327 East Ridgewood Ave in Paramus NJ.  All you need is a check or a money order; no cash will be accepted. 

If you’re in Bergen County next Saturday, come to the Bergen County Zoo and enjoy a special day there – it’s the zoo’s 50th anniversary.  To celebrate, the zoo is offering free admission to all Bergen County residents from 10 am to 1 pm on Saturday August 14th.  Non residents will have a small fee.

With over 500 animals, a train, carousel, and pony rides, the zoo is a favorite spot for families.  Over 250,000 people visit the zoo annually and there are educational programs and activities all throughout the year for adults as well as children. 

During the summer the zoo has 3 live animal shows daily in the amphitheater and a unique exhibit called the Budgie Encounter.  Summer months also host Zoo Camp for children from 5 to 15.  Zoo Camp is a popular one week program that is always sold out. 

Located at the north end of Van Saun Park, the zoo is bordered by Paramus and River Edge.  However, people from every town in Bergen County come to the zoo so it doesn’t matter if you live in Tenafly, Dumont, Cresskill or River Vale - no matter where you are here, the zoo is a “must go” location and, if you can’t go to the zoo, the Bergen County Zoo will come to you.  The zoo has special programs for schools, organizations and senior living facilities too.  You can even book a birthday party at the zoo!

So come join us on the 14^th and help celebrate the Bergen County Zoological Park.

Senior citizens get a lot of breaks in New Jersey; sometimes you don’t even have to be that senior.  Imagine my surprise when I went into the Englewood International House of Pancakes and learned that because I’d crossed the 50 year line I could get pancakes at a discount.  Frankly, being told I get a senior rate at the age of 50 was more than disconcerting!

Property taxes are a major reason why senior citizens sell their Bergen County homes.  The cost of ownership for people who are on a retirement income often becomes a burden they cannot handle.  When they bought their family home many years ago, they had a working income but without that now, it’s just too expensive even when the mortgage is paid off.

Property taxes are a big part of the problem because they often go up every year making it increasingly more dificult for senior homeowners to afford their home.  To help out, the State of New Jersey has a property tax freeze program for those seniors who qualify and the deadline to apply for this has been extended until August 2nd.

Just go to the State of New Jersey’s Property Tax Reimbursement website where you’ll find all the information.  This program, known as the Senior Freeze, stops property tax increases for those who qualify.  As in all things relating to your finances and taxes, I suggest that you contact your accountant for guidance.  You can also call your local Tax Assessor.  But one thing’s for sure – if you’re a senior citizen, you want to check this out before August!

You don’t have to own a home in Tenafly to know what’s happening there – all you have to do is to go to the Borough of Tenafly website where you’ll discover that Tenafly is doing a revaluation right now.

Let’s say you’re thinking of buying a home in Englewood.  You see that many of the homes there are from the early 20th century so you’d like to know about the city’s history.  Just go to the City of Englewood website where you’ll find the Our History page that takes you from Englewood’s earliest days to the present.

The River Vale website is the place to go for local events – it’s always on their home page.   Park Ridge and Westwood does this too along with many other local communities.  You may find important changes on a town’s home page – this year Westwood began registering it’s various Recreation Department activities online; the announcement is on it’s home page right now.

Town websites are also a great help when you need a form.  For example, if you want to put up a fence on your property and you live in Cresskill, the fence permit form can be downloaded from the Cresskill Boro website Some towns like Tenafly actually have a step by step guide for you when it comes to getting a permit

Many community sites have portions of their building codes right on their websites.  Old Tappan has their entire borough code on line.

You may be amazed at how much information can be found on a town website.  If you’re thinking of buying a home or if you’re a Bergen County resident now, check out the borough website.  You’ll be glad you did.

  Two towns in the Pascack Valley have come together as a team to offer their residents all options for summer day camp.  If you have a Hillsdale home or a River Vale home, you now have the choice of full or half day summer camp for your children.  Each town will accept the other’s children on an equal footing with their own residents which serves to share both town’s resources and fully answer’s homeowner needs.

  River Vale has a half day summer program and Hillsdale has a full day summer camp.  This is truly innovative because most homeowners are stuck with only one choice – whatever their town has to offer.  By sharing their resources, both Hillsdale and River Vale have given their families with children an unbeatable situation.  This is just another example of why our suburban lifestyle keeps  Bergen County homes  in high demand.  

  If you have a school aged child and need a summer camp placement, go to the Hillsdale website for full day and the River Vale website for half day placements.  Whether you’re looking at Hillsdale homes or River Vale homes you know you’ve got summer camp covered!