Helpful Hints for Homeowners and Home Buyers in NJ

[wileynj]

Originally Posted by Alex07860

Not just a pretty face?? (Gasp!) :::taking eyes off breast area::: oh, so that's what you look like? LOL. I won't subdivide, I hate people living too close to me, if there's one thing that I would change about my home is that...more room.

I have almost 4 acres... give them 1 and you take 3 : )))

[Lusitan]

Originally Posted by Diane Giam

I've been telling people this for months on the board, and no one was believing me. I must have posted this over a year ago, and people said it was only true with my insurance company, but I explained others were also following this rule.
I'll go a step furthur, make sure if there is a remediated leak be sure the homeowners have the proper papers from the Dep.

Here is a list of properties that the Dep is aware of,NJDEP SRWM - KCS-NJ: Monmouth County (Part 1 of 2)

There is 1 on the block I used to live. I had everything done, and proper papers before I put the house on the market. It took a Year of my life.

Diane G

Yeah - I got a pretty quick education in Underground Oil Tanks 101 recently. It's one of those "out of sight, out of mind" things with many people, I guess. But with so many available houses on the market, I don't need one with a potential six-figure liability buried in the yard!

[wileynj]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

That's actually one of my business ideas- following around the builders and offering all of the upgrades they don't- better fixtures, nicer hardware, etc.- so don't be getting any ideas lady...........

Hummm...I like that idea! Ok, you be the brains and I'll be the brawn? I'll do the installations. The knobs/hinges only took me like 2 hrs. And I can change a light fixture...with a few cuss words in between in about an hour. Great idea Bob... I think you should go for it! Hook yourself up with a few suppliers... become a vendor for them so you'll get cheap prices. One could actually make a nice living at this. Plus think of the money you'll make selling those cheap gold fixtures back to another builder..lol : )

[Roselvr]

Tips

1) When you walk a house you like & bid on, if you like how the owner has the cabinets set up (dishes here, food there) make note of it or take some shots with your cell phone if you don't have a camera. This will help you when you unpack.

2) Get organized as you are unpacking. I can't stress this enough.
3) Ask to see the gas & electric bills if you are interested in the house
4) If there is a garden, ask about the plants.

I'll have more later I'm sure.

Originally Posted by wileynj

You can actually push 5 years but it all depends on the number of people in your home. There's only 2 of us but I still do it every 3 years! I use to design as well as install septic system. One development I worked on in Byram, it was mostly NYC transplants... you couldn't imagine what they thought was exceptable to flush down the toilet! Diapers!

You're absolutly right.
3 years is about right, even for a family of 4 depending on what you are putting into it. We kept a trash can in the bathrooms, if you are wiping pee, (sorry) it can go in the can, which gets dumped twice a day. We also did not do excess flushing. While it may sound gross, it's what works down here. You can get a few pees to every flush.

We had a dishwasher that dumped into it's own bin out back, for the life of me, can't remember what it was called. It was a 1/2 barrel sunk into the ground with rock. Our laundry also dumped into it.

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by wileynj

Hummm...I like that idea! Ok, you be the brains and I'll be the brawn? I'll do the installations. The knobs/hinges only took me like 2 hrs. And I can change a light fixture...with a few cuss words in between in about an hour. Great idea Bob... I think you should go for it! Hook yourself up with a few suppliers... become a vendor for them so you'll get cheap prices. One could actually make a nice living at this. Plus think of the money you'll make selling those cheap gold fixtures back to another builder..lol : )

Well, get down here, move to Cherokee County instead of the areas you're looking at (yuck), and let's have a go at it!!

[marye711]

[We had a dishwasher that dumped into it's own bin out back, for the life of me, can't remember what it was called. It was a 1/2 barrel sunk into the ground with rock. Our laundry also dumped into it.[/quote]
Are you talking about a dry well?? I actually thought they were illegal anymore??

[wileynj]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Well, get down here, move to Cherokee County instead of the areas you're looking at (yuck), and let's have a go at it!!

Well thanks to your advice, we will no longer be searching in Henry County. Our initial search was in Cherokee... there's a house that I have been keeping my eye on - price isn't dropping any and it's been on for over a year. Some lake community - Spring Lake maybe? I'll have to look it up again and send it to you for your input. My sister just purchased a house in Lake Alatoona (sp???). Question: is the company name going to be Bob's Knobs, LLC - we'll get plenty of calls from Lonely British housewives - I'll let them chime in to explain why : )))))

[wileynj]

Originally Posted by marye711

[We had a dishwasher that dumped into it's own bin out back, for the life of me, can't remember what it was called. It was a 1/2 barrel sunk into the ground with rock. Our laundry also dumped into it.

Are you talking about a dry well?? I actually thought they were illegal anymore??[/quote]

I believe they are illegal for using as your dishwasher water / laundry water disposal. Nowadays, some towns require two systems...one for you toilets and the other for you dishwashers / laundry waters.