Not a good house hunting trip to NJ..... (Westfield, Summit: houses, buyer)

[Viralmd]

Have you considered Westchester? I'm sure it depends on where your husband's work is, but if it's in Manhattan, Westchester is also very nice. Bedford might be just your speed. $2M won't get you lots of acreage, but it will be a sizeable lot (at least one acre) with a nice house.

And, like NJ, the real estate taxes are killers.

[njkate]

Originally Posted by lolamom

You know I appreciate the people who took the time to read what I wrote instead of assuming that I am a snob simply because we have money to spend. Yes, we can afford a $2M home. Is it wrong of me to want to spend it wisely? Am I not allowed to question the fact that the real estate market is nuts? For the record, if you read what I wrote, I never used words like dump. I simply said that for $2M, you would expect MORE like not having to listen to the train.

Thanks for the suggestions. We loved Chester but it very far away from Newark airport and my husband's office. So that aspect was dissapointing. It is dissapointing to know we have to spend more to get less. Sorry that is so offensive to some of you.

I think we will probably stay in Atlanta--at least for now. After talking it over, no job is worth exchanging a positive living experience built on solid economics for less.

Thanks for the input and sorry if I made anyone feel uncomfortable.



Lola

I think that is a wise choice Lola, especially if you love your current home & life in Atlanta.
Truthfully you are going to get much less for your money here then in Atlanta, one of the reasons so many are fleeing NJ

[tahiti]

Originally Posted by lolamom

You know I appreciate the people who took the time to read what I wrote instead of assuming that I am a snob simply because we have money to spend. Yes, we can afford a $2M home. Is it wrong of me to want to spend it wisely? Am I not allowed to question the fact that the real estate market is nuts? For the record, if you read what I wrote, I never used words like dump. I simply said that for $2M, you would expect MORE like not having to listen to the train or look at a quarry or live on a main road.

Thanks for the suggestions. We loved Chester but it very far away from Newark airport and my husband's office. So that aspect was dissapointing. It is dissapointing to know we have to spend more to get less. Sorry that is so offensive to some of you.

I think we will probably stay in Atlanta--at least for now. After talking it over, no job is worth exchanging a positive living experience built on solid economics for less.

Thanks for the input and sorry if I made anyone feel uncomfortable.

Lola

I'm confused. You said, "We looked in Chatham, Basking Ridge, Madison, Harding, Chester..... and I was not able to find one---not one--home that didn't make me want to cry. "

But in the above post you're saying Chester wasn't an option because it's too far. Depends on your definition of too far, but it's about 40-45 minutes to the airport and Edison (which I believe is where you said your husband would be working). So I'll assume there were $2M houses there that didn't make you cry? I mean, I saw several houses on multiple acres (more than you have now) that are quite large (3600+ sq ft). I guess I live in a different world. I would be crying tears of happiness.

And you've decided to stay in Atlanta, after all of what? 2 hours after you initially posted? So I'm confused as to what type of well meaning advice you were looking for. It, to me, seemed like you just wanted to vent and dare I say, gloat, about what you have now, while putting down fully 90% of the population here. I could be wrong, you sound like a nice person, but something about your posts really rubbed me the wrong way.

Good luck to you.

[Adream]

I would spend my $2 million on a home in Avalon or Stone Harbor. That's not helpful if you have to work in North Jersey or NY, but it's a lovely place to plant your $2,000,000.00

[marye711]

I have to agree with Tahiti, every thread the op wroet was about money or wealth. And she was so torn? 2 hrs later she changed her mind? go figure

[Obrero]

Originally Posted by lolamom

Please don't flame me for expressing this but we had the worst house hunting trip ever.. We are from NJ originally and this is my 3rd relo and we are looking in the $2M range so I thought this was going to be easy. Instead, I am wondering if we should move back at all....

We looked in Chatham, Basking Ridge, Madison, Harding, Chester..... and I was not able to find one---not one--home that didn't make me want to cry. We live in a very upscale part of Atlanta and our home is magnificent. I was ready to have to downsize--however, what I saw was shocking. Homes in Chatham were the worst---small lots, mixed streets and large homes that while pretty were nothing so special to justify almost $3M price tags. Basking Ridge, further out, was equally disappointing---homes that were so so with things such as TRAIN TRACKS running across the street (50 ft!) and/or across the street from a landfill.

The worst to me was the visit to a Chatham PS. Reportedly the best, it was charming. But their curriculum in 1st grade covered everything my private school children did in Prek3. I could actually get past that if that was all. But the entire package left me really demoralized.

We live smack within city borders on 2 acres here in Atlanta. Our home in NJ would be 6+M from what I can see. I knew that was going to be the case but what I did not expect was these homes would "feel" so incredibly overpriced. I just cannot imagine any of it being a sound investment. Seems like we are going to spend MUCH MORE to have less of a life. I am very torn up.

Worst of all is my family is there so this will be a huge dissapointment to them if we don't move.

I know some of you are going to just want to flame me, but please don't. This is more than about the house. It's about:

- quality of life
- economics
- education.

If anyone has any insight into how I should be looking at this, please advise. 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.

Thoughts and well meaning advice VERY welcomed.

Lola

I think 2 mil is too much to spend in Chatham. Too close to the top of the market. Anyway, who told you Chatham was the best? Did you look in Millburn?

[lolamom]

We didn't look at Millburn or Westchester etc but we have talked about those. I was only there 2 days. My husband is going up again next week but I really think the market will need to come down before we sell here and bite there. It just doesn't seem economically feasible. I like NJ a lot and I truly was excited to come back to what I remembered: a simple suburban life, good public schools. I just did not recall how long the drive times were everywhere and at the end of the day, we have a good life here. That is why we are going to try and stay here. Never say never but for now, I think we are comfortable staying here. And yes, it took more than 2 hours to make the decision and that decision is still evolving.

I am going to need to work with a lawyer to fine tune my language if I continue posting here!! Everything gets picked apart!!!!

For everyone who responded kindly, I appreciate it. Your words and validation and suggestions were most appreciated. I have printed out this thread and will continue doing so to get names etc to further research. Even if it's no for now, it doesn't mean it's no forever! To everyone else, sorry I put you off--- although I am sure it felt good to get all huffy, didn't it??? :-) Gotta love NJ--people never shy away from telling you what they think!

Lola

[lolamom]

Originally Posted by UKOK

I think 2 mil is too much to spend in Chatham. Too close to the top of the market. Anyway, who told you Chatham was the best? Did you look in Millburn?

I think you are right about too close to the top of the market!

[Roselvr]

Last time I looked at the market in Watchung, you should have been able to find something decent for that price.

See Page 4 of realtor.com search. Also check out page 3.

btw, I would spend a good 2 weeks here to look especially if you haven't been to NJ in a long time.
More & more houses are starting to come on the larket and in a few weeks the bulk of new listings should hit.. from what I've followed anyway.

[lolamom]

Originally Posted by Roselvr

Last time I looked at the market in Watchung, you should have been able to find something decent for that price.

See Page 4 of realtor.com search. Also check out page 3.

btw, I would spend a good 2 weeks here to look especially if you haven't been to NJ in a long time.
More & more houses are starting to come on the larket and in a few weeks the bulk of new listings should hit.. from what I've followed anyway.

thank you...I think that's good advice....