Not a good house hunting trip to NJ..... (about)

[lolamom]

Originally Posted by JamesBoyer

I have to say, you are talking about my market area, while I have never been to Atlanta I do have friends who sell Real Estate there, and I know you get a lot more for your money there, but lets get real here. You could not find one home in any of these towns up to 2M that met your standards?? I am very much having a hard time believing this.

Perhaps you need to take a second look, unless you were thinking you were going to get a 10,000 Sqft brand new house on 10 acres of land, which is available here in Summit NJ and Chatham NJ but of course such a home is more like 10M, for as you see, the land that these homes sit on is in many cases worth more than the house that is built on it.

You know, this is an old thread... We looked at a few cities and decided to stay put in Atlanta. For $2M, yes silly me, I was expecting something substantial. Maybe not 10,000sq ft but certainly something NOT on a main road. Anyway, we are staying in Atlanta where I can live in my beautiful home on 2 acres within city limits. If I am going to spend that much money (and that is a ton of money) I want to feel it. I am feeling it here. Sorry if that offends you; it's my truth. If you keep reading you will see that yes, I had the realization that a home like ours in Atlanta (comparable ammenties and proximity) would run closer to $6M. That is out of our market range....so our choice was to remain in place. Great choice for us.

[lolamom]

PS. My "standard" was certainly something that would at last wow me the way our current home does...and no, those plain jane Chatham homes on main roads somehow left me cold. Silly me!!!

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by lolamom

PS. My "standard" was certainly something that would at last wow me the way our current home does...and no, those plain jane Chatham homes on main roads somehow left me cold. Silly me!!!

i thought you were moving to Dallas?

[lolamom]

You know we looked at Dallas--we came VERY close to moving there. We found a great home but in the end, the deal fell through so we are staying here. This is all came to fruition just in the past two weeks. I am really happy about it--it was a bit stressful. We have been through a lot in the past few years (cancer, parental death)--it's kind of nice just to stay put and try a bit of stability for a change. Since January, I looked at three cities but somehow, it worked out so we can stay here at least for another school year. So who knows, I may be back in the market (NJ and Dallas) again in 9 months. I sure hope not, though, I really just want to stay here.

[lolamom]

Hey Tahiti, one other observation. There was a part of Dallas that was just like Chatham---incredibly expensive for what did not seem like a lot to me. I came to the conclusion that the high end market is either irrational in those markets OR that our home in Atlanta is undervalued! (I am hoping the latter so it appreciates!) and then maybe I can move back to NJ in the style to which I have "grown accustomed to". ;-)

[wileynj]

Originally Posted by lolamom

Hey Tahiti, one other observation. There was a part of Dallas that was just like Chatham---incredibly expensive for what did not seem like a lot to me. I came to the conclusion that the high end market is either irrational in those markets OR that our home in Atlanta is undervalued! (I am hoping the latter so it appreciates!) and then maybe I can move back to NJ in the style to which I have "grown accustomed to". ;-)

"whatever Lola wants...Lola gets"..hey ya southern bell : )) I have decided against moving to Georgia... pal of mine moved there and she hates it! Says Atlanta "sucks"! We have decided to stay in NJ - there's no better State in the Nation in my opinion. Yes, it is expensive but here is where the money is! There's just something about NJ... 4 seasons... NJ attitude!...NYC an hour away... Philly 2 hrs.... Acceptance...diversity!!! We have it all! it's just the greatest State in the nation! I wouldn't consider places like Chatham or Madison..not my kind of people - snobs who think they are better than you...I've got news for ya...the smart folk live west! We have what they have for a 3rd of the cost! Better schools..my ass! Money buys numbers..that's all I have to say! Those areas you looked in...way over-rated folks! 2 mil. by me buys you a "real" mansion! Something to be proud of without having to tell people what you paid...it's already obvious! Ok, off the soap box. If you ever decide to come north, let me know - this native NJian will show you where you should look!

[lolamom]

You know what doll, if we have never moved, I'd be right there with you. At the end of the day, home is where you hang your hat. What I learned through all this was I liked where my hat was, just fine!!!! As for moving west, I believe it. We used to live in Basking Ridge and had it not been for the realtor I got matched with, that is where we were planning on looking....Somerset and Hunterdon. Anyway, all is well that ends well.

xo Wiley, you always were a class act!

[kaday]

Welcome back (home) Lolamom!

[airbayforce]

For 2 mil you get have a seriously nice house in an awsome, most beautiful community here. A hair south/west of Basking ridge is Raritan Township! All close to Raritan will give you the same. Hop skip over to PA in Solebury, Bucks county. You got the right person here to point for you.

[NORMGLO]

I told dh last night that maybe we should rent for a year somewhere fun like Hoboken, look for private schools and take our time doing so and see what real estate prices do. From what I could observe--and i don't care how fantastic Chatham is---those prices, for those homes, cannot be sustainable.



Your plan to rent first might be your best approach at this time for a number of reasons including giving you time to adjust to the cultural/financial shock of the NE.

I would suggest that, instead of renting in a "fun" place that you consider renting in your area of interest - that way you will have a better chance of getting used to the schools, people, amenities and lifestyle of the area and be able to more easily change locale should you pick an area that does not work.

I had a neighbor who did the opposite - he, his wife and 3 young children were transferred to the Atlanta area from Central NJ and it took them a while to adjust to the SE. At first he was very happy with how much more house he could get for less $$ but then they had to adjust to a different lifestyle and they did. So try to put emotion aside make the best decision for you and your family.