I recently read something in a real estate publication that both surprised me and didn’t surprise me: people were asked whether they would change their living situation for the benefit of their pet and 43 percent answered “yes.”

As a pet lover, I believe that most people moving from an apartment into a house are creating an improved set of circumstances for their dogs or cats. I bought a new house in Montclair about 6 years ago, and in hindsight, I think my move was partly motivated by my cat situation. (I have four!) Letting an animal out into a fenced-in yard is an obvious benefit for everyone.

After my move from a busy corner to a quieter location, I put in a 7-foot deer fence in my backyard to safeguard my plantings. It’s worked beautifully and has offered the added bonus of creating a safe haven for my cats. They have their own cat door and can come and go as they please, perching on a rock amidst the catnip or finding the perfect vantage point to keep an eye on the neighborhood. 

If fencing is not possible, some folks build “catios” – specialty screened-in porches from which their cats can enjoy a hybrid outdoor experience! 

For dog owners, the Montclair area is heavenly. In addition to the near-constant parade of dog-walking throughout the many local parks, there are countless reasons for people to set out on foot, no matter where in town they live. From hitting the farmer’s market on a Saturday morning to picking up a snack in the afternoon, there are little shops or distinct shopping areas all over town. I’m trying to think of a house that’s more than a mile from something delicious to snack on, and there aren’t many. And the few there are, have access to the other undeniable aspect of dog paradise: hiking trails. With two multi-mile hiking reservations and a nature preserve, there are plenty of choices for dogs of all sizes and stamina.

To me, that right there is the magic of Montclair. Wilderness and Starbucks, both at your fingertips.

If you’d like me to take you around this walkable suburb from a pet-lover’s perspective, reach out! Talk or Text: 973-809-5277

Photos: Two of my cats in my backyard. Top - Oscar enjoying Pride Rock; Bottom - The Bodhisattva and the The Catnip.

Like most real estate agents, I work with many young couples coming from the city looking for a bigger space for their growing families. However, I also want to give a shout out to what might be my fastest growing client base: the downsizers.

These are couples, or singles, who are retired or close to retiring. Whose kids are grown. Who have a lot more leisure time. And who invariably say to me, “I’ve always wanted to live in Montclair.”

I’m not surprised. We are a destination for fabulous restaurant meals of every imaginable cuisine and concerts and musical performances of every imaginable genre. We are home to one of the few New Jersey movie theaters that show independent films – not to mention hosting our own Film Festival. Everywhere you turn, there are stimulating, provocative, culturally relevant offerings that keep a mind vibrant – from art galleries to lecture series to performance art. 

If you’re looking to make social change, you’d be hard-pressed to find a cause that doesn’t have a local chapter. We have garden clubs, Improv classes, a state university that offers older folks the opportunity to audit classes. If you’re looking to make friends, there are wonderful offerings for seniors through the Montclair Institute for Lifelong Learning, from yoga and exercise classes to art classes and hosted lunches. There’s stuff to do every day. And a lot of it is free!

There are trails to hike. Parks to stroll. Ducks to watch (but not to feed, please!). There are several tennis courts, golf courses, and three town pools. We also have seven train stations throughout the town in case you want to pop into Manhattan, because, yes, Montclair Art Museum is a gem, but it is not The MoMA. 

Book stores. Antique stores. Coffee shops. Tea shops. A pie store (just one, I think). Spas for pampering. Bistros for people-watching. 

I know. It sounds too good to be true. But to be fair, Montclair does not have everything. We don’t host any hot-air ballooning. If you’re looking for something like that, Montclair cannot deliver. 

However, if you’re looking for a suburb that does not feel like a suburb -- that's walkable and always abuzz with people, places, and things -- call me. I’d love to show you around the town I love.

Talk or Text: 973-809-5277

New boiler. New roof. New electrical panel. These are some of the many “unsexy” improvements that homeowners may need to spend money on -- things that will never be admired by guests. One of these “invisible upgrades” that I’ve been discussing a lot with clients these days is water management.

Because Montclair and some of the surrounding towns are built on a mountain, rainwater is often running down a slope. Most of the time, this is no big deal. The soil will absorb the rain as it falls. But when the rain falls too fast or too hard, it can end up making a mess in yards and, sometimes, basements. 

Keeping water out of a basement is truly an unsexy quest, but a completely worthwhile one. French drains, sump pumps and battery operated back up pumps decrease the likelihood of flooding and increase the value of your home. But sometimes water mitigation needs to start outside.

When I first moved into my house on a hill, my basement crawl space was damp – sometimes wet – all the time, rain or not! Some of the things I’ve done have made a huge difference, and I recommend exploring options like this for buyers and sellers alike:

• Regrade patios that butt up against the house, so water is moving away from the foundation.
• Consider an exterior French drain system to move water out to the curb.
• Minimize the amount of impervious, non-soil space in the yard (Less patio, more grass or planting beds).
• Create a swale or valley for water to collect away from the house to give the soil time to absorb it. (I haven’t actually needed to do this, though it was suggested by a landscaper.)

I’ve discovered that working with a good landscaper can be as beneficial as hiring a waterproofing company. Whether you are buying or selling, I’m happy to share my expertise and experience about all the inner workings of a home. I can provide a lot of information about how your dream house can remain dreamy, even in the rain.

I admit, I don't think of myself as a “jazz person.” So, every time I tell my clients about this amazing festival taking place here each summer, I feel like I may be speaking a bit out of my element. This year, aside from the music, I realized that one of the most special things about the Montclair Jazz Festival is that it’s such a far-reaching community event. This year, the theme was “Bringing Us Back Together Again!” 

Honestly, I don’t think anything is able to do that better than outdoor music!

The 2021 festival took place in a different (more central) part of town than in years past, and it was spread over several weekends, rather than just one – changes that I think made the event even better. I stopped by one day and listened to trumpeter Ingrid Jensen, a musician I was wholly unfamiliar with, and was blown away -- moved by the music, which was great, but also by all of us being together again. With hundreds of people relaxing on a beautiful August day, it almost felt like the pre-pandemic days.

There have been outdoor music events that I’ve come to rely on for igniting that feeling of community fun I always equate with living in Montclair. Weekend blues on the back patio of Ruthie’s BBQ on Chestnut Street. Live music on Saturdays at the Montclair Farmers Market. The mini outdoor concerts at Center Stage on Church Street (which don’t seem to be up and running again this year – but soon!).

Then there are all the surprising “concerts” that I seem to happen upon accidentally, either strolling through Edgemont Park or grabbing a coffee in Watchung Plaza. The other day I saw a flyer for an outdoor concert by the Chamber Music Society of North Jersey (Saturday, Aug 28 at 7pm in Anderson Park – bring lawn chairs/blankets!) which looks like it will be magical.

This is one of the things I absolutely love about Montclair: it is a community of people who love to use their talents to strengthen community.  

In addition to the return of live music, another things that has been feeling like the “old days” is that the highly aggressive bidding on homes seems to be starting to wane. People don’t have that “at any price” attitude that has prevailed over the last year. The market will shift yet again, and I am always available to go through the implications of those shifts, for buyers or sellers, in practical, actionable terms. 

Call or text anytime to talk about Montclair market conditions, musical events, or anything thing else I can help you with regarding my favorite Walkable Suburb!    973-809-5277 

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:

• She has a lot of experience and during walk throughs she was able to help us understand the overall state of the
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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 [...]