New Construction: Summerfields, Somerset NJ (Franklin: foreclosure, loans, attorney)

[NeilsMom]

Hi Yogesh

I saw your posts on this community and thought i would ask you for some advice.

We are looking to buy a new home in next couple of months and happened to visit the community today. It looks like a decent place with good rates on the homes. We have a 1st grader and another 1 year old. I wanted to check with you if you could please give me some inputs on the schools there( if you happen to have school going kids already). What elementary school do the kids from this community go to? Do you recommend any other communities elsewhere that have better schools ?

I would appreciate any inputs on the above.

thanks

Sweta

Originally Posted by Yogesh Upadhyaya

We have purchased a home (Bergen model) in Summerfields. The homes are moderately priced. We also studied other new construction homes coming up in the area. This one offers full, unfinished basement and the home layout is meticulously planned. You may have to pay little more extra (about $15-20K) for upgrades. Surrounded by open fields, a wooded lot on the site and walking/hiking trails nearby, the place is very livable.

[Guest9876]

Mike is a ripoff, I suggest staying away from him. He doesn't deliver what he promises.

[Guest9876]

Originally Posted by FirstTimeBuyerNJ

For media, has anyone purchased the structure panel? If so, why is there the need to do so?

Also, did anyone purchase the wireless access point? Is this necessary to guarantee coverage in the entire house? We are purchasing the Atlantic.

None of these options are necessary, as long as you put your router near a cable outlet. The wireless router which both comcast and verizon provide cover the whole house.

[Yogesh Upadhyaya]

Originally Posted by NeilsMom

Hi Yogesh

I saw your posts on this community and thought i would ask you for some advice.

We are looking to buy a new home in next couple of months and happened to visit the community today. It looks like a decent place with good rates on the homes. We have a 1st grader and another 1 year old. I wanted to check with you if you could please give me some inputs on the schools there( if you happen to have school going kids already). What elementary school do the kids from this community go to? Do you recommend any other communities elsewhere that have better schools ?

I would appreciate any inputs on the above.

thanks

Sweta

Sweta:

Thanks. We do not have school going children and hence unable to answer anything about school system in Somrset. If others have aswers, they can reply.

Somerset has some private schools if one prefers that way. They include, Rutgers prep School, K-12 (not connected with Rutgers University), Cedar Grove Prep School, K-8 on Cedar Grove Lane, St. Matthias school (K-8)-a catholic school, etc.

I met Dr. Menon, PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT and owner of Cedar Grove prep school few months ago at school function. His school offers K-8 and now got permission up to 12th grade. He charges $8,000/per year and has limited class size of 20 students max. Other private schools also charge about the same.

However, public shcools are also excellent. My both the sons graduated from Middlesex boro high school (an average school) but went into excellent colleges and well-settled now. The school ranking and statistics has not much meaning. 20 yrs ago, J P Stevens high school (Edison) was on the top in school ranking, 10 yr ago it was Bridgewater-Raritan high school and now Hillborough high school is in limelight. It has jacked up home prices in Hillborough.

For good education, the school should not have exceesive drug or crime problem and offer many AP courses to choose from. Family influence also counts the most. With good parental motivation and control, family talking at the dinner table, student's ability to select and reject school friends and peer pressure, etc. also chart his destiny. The school ranking and statistics are for the entire school, and not for individual one.

Moreover New Jersey demographic and population is changing every few years. It will be difficult to predict what will happen to a town after several years. With many new housing development in Somerset and professionals moving in, there will be enough qualified kids available for school company.

Yogesh Upadhyaya

[Yogesh Upadhyaya]

Walk-through for my home

We had walk-through for our new home last Friday, a step before final closing. The walk-through allows the home owner to go around the house and verify that everything is complete.

Bill, the facility supervisor of the builder, took us for a round in the home and explained all completed work, utilities, etc. We also tried to check for any water leakage by running water taps and flipping light switches, etc. This is not the final inspection, but to ensure that all the construction work is complete and owner can ask any questions related to construction.

The builder provides one year of full warranty on labor + material. He also provides limited warranty for 3 yrs. For 3-10 yrs, he provides warranty on basic construction, such as observed crrack in foundation or wall, etc. Builder's office also expect the home owner to notice any defect and make a list AFTER 30 days of stay and notify them for repair. Otherwise also they will repair any defect found in first yr. During walk-through, we observed the following:

-There was a small patch on wall around bathroom cabinet was unpainted, which Bill said he will repair it immediately.
-We verified that all upgrades for kitchen, kithen island, fire place, etc are as per contract.
-The garage remains unpainted as per contract (other builders also do the same). But we will paint it as soon as we move in. It looks bad with unfinished painting.
-The builder has provided standard lawn sprinkler system with control in garage. We can set time and duration to spray water in front, back or side lawns using a program dial.
-He showed us energy efficient windows with very high air-tightness. The downside of it, he explained, is that we can not get fresh outside air leaking in the house. He recommended to remove screens and let the window open in summer.
-For foyer area in the entrace, he informed us that due to high ceiling, the top part will have warm air, as hot air is lighter and rises to the top. He also narrated a story of his friend having cathedral ceiling in living rooms and large 12 ft high palladium windows with high heating bill, despite running large Hunter ceiling fans (to mix cold and hot air).
-For basement, he told us that it can be used as such in the current unfinished way. Builder had told us earlier that we can finish the basement (flooring, side walls) after waiting for one year to check whether any leaks take place due to rain.
-Bill advised us to take care of granite topping in kitchen by using ammonia-free solution available for cleaning granite.
-For master bedroom, he told us that it may feel somewhat cold during winter since the garage below has no heating facility (That's why new luxury homes come with side car-garages).

It was a sunny morning, and house looked just beautiful after finished (not looking so during construction).
a
Thanks,

Yogesh Upadhyaya

[mame2013]

I am very glad to have found this forum...a lot of helpful information. It would be great if anyone could provide some insight on the following questions.

Is 2% house price a fair assessment for the annual property tax? (overstate, understate?)
Can anyone recommend a good real estate lawyer you used when purchasing house in Summerfields?
Is it possible to inspect the house at different stages?

Thanks in advance.

[PDD]

Originally Posted by Yogesh Upadhyaya

Walk-through for my home

We had walk-through for our new home last Friday, a step before final closing. The walk-through allows the home owner to go around the house and verify that everything is complete.

Bill, the facility supervisor of the builder, took us for a round in the home and explained all completed work, utilities, etc. We also tried to check for any water leakage by running water taps and flipping light switches, etc. This is not the final inspection, but to ensure that all the construction work is complete and owner can ask any questions related to construction.

The builder provides one year of full warranty on labor + material. He also provides limited warranty for 3 yrs. For 3-10 yrs, he provides warranty on basic construction, such as observed crrack in foundation or wall, etc. Builder's office also expect the home owner to notice any defect and make a list AFTER 30 days of stay and notify them for repair. Otherwise also they will repair any defect found in first yr. During walk-through, we observed the following:

-There was a small patch on wall around bathroom cabinet was unpainted, which Bill said he will repair it immediately.
-We verified that all upgrades for kitchen, kithen island, fire place, etc are as per contract.
-The garage remains unpainted as per contract (other builders also do the same). But we will paint it as soon as we move in. It looks bad with unfinished painting.
-The builder has provided standard lawn sprinkler system with control in garage. We can set time and duration to spray water in front, back or side lawns using a program dial.
-He showed us energy efficient windows with very high air-tightness. The downside of it, he explained, is that we can not get fresh outside air leaking in the house. He recommended to remove screens and let the window open in summer.
-For foyer area in the entrace, he informed us that due to high ceiling, the top part will have warm air, as hot air is lighter and rises to the top. He also narrated a story of his friend having cathedral ceiling in living rooms and large 12 ft high palladium windows with high heating bill, despite running large Hunter ceiling fans (to mix cold and hot air).
-For basement, he told us that it can be used as such in the current unfinished way. Builder had told us earlier that we can finish the basement (flooring, side walls) after waiting for one year to check whether any leaks take place due to rain.
-Bill advised us to take care of granite topping in kitchen by using ammonia-free solution available for cleaning granite.
-For master bedroom, he told us that it may feel somewhat cold during winter since the garage below has no heating facility (That's why new luxury homes come with side car-garages).

It was a sunny morning, and house looked just beautiful after finished (not looking so during construction).
a
Thanks,

Yogesh Upadhyaya

The part about the master over the garage being cold in the winter is true if it is not insulated properly. Quality builders add extra insulation for rooms over unheated garages. At least they should.
My last house had a BR over the garage and it was the warmest room in the house.

[Yogesh Upadhyaya]

Originally Posted by PDD

The part about the master over the garage being cold in the winter is true if it is not insulated properly. Quality builders add extra insulation for rooms over unheated garages. At least they should.
My last house had a BR over the garage and it was the warmest room in the house.

PDD:

I forgot to add that Bill also told me that the master bedroom is padded at the bottom hence we will not feel cold from garage.

There is also construction upgrade available for insulating garade side walls for $1,700, for those who prefer. We did not go for it.

I noticed that in the family and living rooms, the heat vent supply is on the floor. I asked Bill about this new design, he told me that home is rated as energy star efficient and for that, the code only allows supply vent from the floor. In other homes, we typically find hot air supply on the side wall about a ft above the floor.

Yogesh Upadhyaya

[Yogesh Upadhyaya]

Originally Posted by mame2013

I am very glad to have found this forum...a lot of helpful information. It would be great if anyone could provide some insight on the following questions.

Is 2% house price a fair assessment for the annual property tax? (overstate, understate?)
Can anyone recommend a good real estate lawyer you used when purchasing house in Summerfields?
Is it possible to inspect the house at different stages?

Thanks in advance.

Mame2013:
1) Is 2% house price a fair assessment for the annual property tax? (overstate, understate?)

New Jersey home property tax is the highest in the country, still 2% current rate is improvement compared to past few years. One good thing done by current NJ Governor Chris Christie is that he lowered the proeprty tax (as promised during the election), by forcing towns to curtail ever-rising salary and pension costs of employees (teachers, fire fighters, policemen, staff, etc.). In somerset, the rate is 2%, some other towns may have 2-3%.

There is bill pending in NJ assembly to reduce property tax for seniors (65 yr and above) for parital reimbursement for school tax portion of property tax, it will take several yrs to pass that.

The other states have lower property taxes, with PA urban area about 1.5% and VA less than 1%.

2) Can anyone recommend a good real estate lawyer you used when purchasing house in Summerfields?

There are real estae lawyers available in every town and can be found from yellow pages or online search. All lawyers do the same work and charge about $900-$1200 for the work.

We found our lawyer Robert J Ferb, based in Middlesex borough. Phone: 732-469-3422. He is doing good work for us by pushing bank to close the loan.

3) Is it possible to inspect the house at different stages?

Yes, you can inspect the house anytime, by just visiting the site and informing the real estate office at site. Abby will be glad to help you. The only time it is not allowed when the house work is finished and painting is done at the end. Then the house is locked for few weeks and allowed only for walk-through, which is few days before home closing date.

[mame2013]

Thanks a lot, Yogesh.