We are in a fierce seller’s market. This is no surprise to anyone. When the market is like this, an offer needs to be competitive, obviously, but also it needs to be bulletproof once the offer has been [...]
If there’s one thing the pandemic showed me about my community, it was that having a nice place to walk is priceless. My friend really illuminated the essence of what it’s like to live in this walkable suburb when she described her now-daily ritual of hitting the sidewalks. She agreed to let me share it here:
We’ve lived here for nine years and part of what drew us to Montclair was being able to walk places. So, my partner and I often took walks. But last year when the gyms and yoga studios closed, we decided to do a daily four-mile walk for exercise. We do the same route every day, but on Saturdays, we do it in reverse because I like to start at the Farmer’s Market, which is one of my favorite places to people watch.
From there, we head to Watchung Plaza, which is invariably lively and full of people. This is always the highlight for me. I like to see what’s going on there, what new stores are opening up. I stick my head into Local Coffee and wave to Robert, and I usually run into someone I know outside Bluestone Cafe.
Besides watching people, I like to look at people’s gardens and see how they progress over time. And I like looking at the houses. One thing I love about Montclair is that the houses are all different from one another. We usually walk on Midland Ave, which has a lot of nice houses and gardens.
Once we hit Walnut Street, we head back toward the market and invariably stop at Cucina for a chicken parm sandwich, or sometimes I go into Curated Home and Living, which is an amazing place to buy gifts. Walnut Street itself is usually hopping, so there’s more people watching to be done.
If it’s an especially nice day, we sometimes make a pit stop at home and then head out in the other direction for a second walk. This time we go up Glenridge Avenue toward Church Street because: People!
When we’re in that neighborhood, we usually check out the progress of the new arts center by The Wellmont theater. I’ve been watching that area come together from the beginning and I’m really excited about it.
Sometimes we walk up to the art museum and then swing by Whole Foods on the way back home. Other times, we loop around and visit the beautiful public garden behind the United Way building on South Fullerton. This is one of my other favorite places in town.
Each walk usually takes a little over an hour. We walk at a good pace, but it never feels like we’re doing “exercise” – it feels like we’ve having an outing.
If you have a favorite place to walk in Montclair, please share it in the comments! And if you want to take a walk around town with me to get a sense of this walkable suburb, call or text! I love showing off my town. 973-809-5277
Last Thursday night was the bus parade. And, of course, I got teary.
As always, a string of school buses load up the 500 or so high school seniors who had just graduated that day, ferrying the class to some undisclosed location for a party that lasts into the morning. But first, they drive through the town.
They say the route is a secret, and maybe at one time it was, but most everyone now knows that the caravan takes the kids past each of the seven elementary schools and two of the middle schools as they make their way out of town.
Every year, the parade is joyous mayhem – with flashing police cars leading the pack and fire trucks tooting horns, and bus after bus carrying freshly minted grads who are hanging out the bus windows screaming and reveling and being met with screaming, reveling onlookers.
People come out of their homes and stand at the curb, clapping for the kids, banging pots with wooden spoons, shouting and yelling at the passing bus line as if they were at a championship game and the home team just took the pennant. People gather at the elementary schools. They throw lawn parties. It’s so loud and siren-y that I often warn my new-to-town clients that it’s about to happen so they don’t think we’re in the middle of an air raid.
I don’t know of another town that does this and it feels so special to me. It’s not just for the parents of the grads, or for parents in general, it’s for everyone.
Last year, there was no bus parade, and I really missed it. It’s my all-time favorite community event. If you’re a spectator, it lasts only a few minutes as the buses drive by – 10 maybe. But it is unbridled jubilation, and in that way it feels like 10 hours of glee.
This year, there was even more glee than usual. And more tears. It was really moving to see this tradition restored after our year of having to put so many traditions on hold. The bus parade isn’t just a graduation thing…it’s a community thing. One of the many ways this big, vibrant, walkable suburb feels like a family.
If you want to see the parade starting off, here's a video from our local paper.
In a recent post, I shared some reviews from sellers I worked with in the past year, all of whom were very pleased with the sale price they got on their home. As I mentioned, getting top dollar for a home often requires an upfront investment on the part of the seller. Meaning, you may need to spend some money to shine up a house you’re about to leave. Believe me, this is not something anyone is eager to do.
When I meet with you about marketing your house, I’ll explain all your options. I will tell you what could be done to your house before listing it, and what type of return you are likely to see from doing those things. Similarly, I will lay out what it will cost to not do certain things. For example, that $1,000 paint job the seller opts not to do often turns into a $2,000 deduction they need to give the buyer to seal the deal. It’s almost always better for you if you get the work done yourself!
Even if you bought your home five years ago and you moved into a house that was perfect and newly done, that pristine space is now “lived in.” Before going to market, it is worth it to take care of the fingerprints on the walls and the dings on the cabinets —things you might not bother doing if you were going to stay in the house.
Together, my clients and I strategize how to best use their resources. It’s not unusual for a family to take out a short-term loan for $10,000 of improvements and have that yield an extra $50,000 in the sale. In fact, I just read a statistic about one of the big real-estate portal companies that has gotten into the home-buying business. This company will buy a home for, say, $310,000 and spend $10K doing painting and minor repairs. They then turn around and immediately sell for $350K.
This practice is not considered “flipping.” They’re just jumping on an opportunity to buy houses in which the sellers failed to do some very basic maintenance before going to market; they make a nice, quick profit on easy fixes.
Most everyone has the same initial reaction: I want to save my money and spend it on fixing my new house. As far as I’m concerned, you should not feel pressured to do anything you don’t want to. But as your marketing partner, it is my job to present you options and educate you on how you can benefit from this tried-and-true equation. This gives you the information to make the best choice for you.
And it is a choice. Once upon a time, making small improvements may have made a difference between a house selling and not selling. Not these days. In this market, Your house will sell whether you fix it up or not. Instead, it has become a matter of how much more you can get for it.
If you'd like to talk about how to squeeze out all the equity your home has to offer, call or text!
973-809-5277
One of my clients purchased a single-family home in Montclair recently and left a really nice review about working with me. Part of what he said was this:
“Lina combines 3 qualities that made working with her perfect for us:
Sold: Single-Family home in West Orange, NJ - July 2020
“We began the process early in 2020, meeting and discussing how the process would go. We signed the contract and set a date the house would go on the market. Unfortunately, Covid 19 hit and all our plans had to be put on hold. Throughout this time, Lina stayed in touch and kept us in [...]
Open House - Saturday 4/3 & Sunday 4/4 from 2 - 4
Offered at $875,000
Classic storybook Tudor on the outside, surprising open plan on the inside. Amenities abound in this updated 4 bedroom, 4.1 bathroom Glen Ridge charmer.
Modern layout combines living room, dining room and kitchen and spills out onto oversized paver patio with new hot tub (2020), outdoor kitchen and private backyard [...]
1. Declutter
2. Declutter
3. Declutter
No one wants to hear this, because it’s not an easy thing to do. But if you’re thinking of moving – particularly if you’ve been in your home for a while – this is the absolute best place to put your resources.
Here’s my philosophy on this in a nutshell:
If you have the slightest notion that you may want to sell in the next five years, start the very liberating process of decluttering as soon as possible. If you end up putting your home on the market in a year, you’ll already be halfway to making your house ready to show. If you dont list your house for another five years, you can enjoy living in a calmer and more orderly environment.
We’ve all just spent so much more time in our homes this past year, doesn’t a more serene space seem so very appealing? It does to me!
Decluttering isn’t easy for many reasons, most of them having to do with memories. Besides the physical toll, it takes a lot of mental energy to make decisions about all our “stuff.” This is why, when I need to declutter my own space, I call in the big guns: my associates Jodi or Linda.
While my Scandinavian sensibility is very streamlined and spare, my actual living space veers from that ideal. Jodi or Linda can wrangle any kind of disorganization and clutter that may have crept into my space. They take what has become chaotic and make it make sense.
I’ve turned each of them loose on my garage, attic, and the closet into which I’ve been stuffing the loot from too much Costco shopping. For my clients, they have made molehills out of mountains in an impressively short time.
I know one obstacle to decluttering for many people is: How do I get rid of my stuff?
If you’re in Montclair or nearby, I just found out there’s a one-day Clothing Drive at Montclair High School (Chestnut St.) on April 3rd from 9AM-1PM. They’re taking clothing, shoes, accessories and household items like blankets and towels in good condition. (No furniture, only soft goods. Items must be in a plastic bag and you can drive through the circle and drop from the car.)
If you’d like me to send you a list of my regular top places to donate, drop me an email! Or reach out even if you just need a pep talk! lina@walkablesuburb.com
NEW TO MARKET: 757 Broad Street, Bloomfield
OPEN HOUSE
SUNDAY 3/21 from 2 - 4 PM
Offered at $499,000
The spring housing market is in full swing and with inventory at all time lows I know 757 Broad Street will not be on the market long.
This sunny, stylish, recently renovated four bedroom colonial has it all. An open flow first floor with [...]
One year ago, I watched my beloved town close down. Like everyone else, I thought it would be temporary. Like everyone else, I was worried for my family and the people I loved. Like everyone else, I had no idea what to [...]
