from exit 8A Park & Ride to NYC (Stratford: new house, buying)

[sjiang80]

Does anyone here lives in Monroe and commute to NYC by bus from 8A park & Ride? If so, can you give me some comment about the commute? On the schedule it says that it only takes 1 hour, but how realiable is the service? is it really 1 hour or it usually takes more time?
Really appreciate your input!

[culater88]

Yes, it's the last stop before the bus go straight to the Turnpike. It's an hour to Port Authority, it's a nice & smooth commute unless there're accidents or weather related delays, then it's anyones guess. The buses come frequently during the rush hours, one goes downtown too.

[sjiang80]

Thanks culater88. Just wondering, how do you like Monroe? I am thinking about buying a new house from southfield estate from Renaissance Properties. do you have any comment on the area, school, etc.
really appreciate your reply.

[hiworld1]

I am also looking for New cons/ or fairly new house in Monroe, NJ and like to know some reviews regarding school, area, commute.. I am interesetd in Southfield estate as well as Stratford community by hallmark homes.
sjiang80, did u get a chance to negotiate the price for sourthfield estate with Renaissance properties for your dealing?

any input is greatly appreciated.

[sjiang80]

hiworld1, we have not negotiate anything yet. but seems to me they are offering more incentive than the first time I visited, they are offering a free vacation in addition to the $25000 free upgrade. We will visit them again with an agent in the coming month.

[practicalposts]

we reserved lot at Stratford at mission drive section. Even though lots are very narrow, I prefer that as I get longer backyard. Infact I find mission drive lots better than regular lots.

Though builder is offering no incentive.

Search for stratford and you will see other cons and pros i listed out in other threads

[sjiang80]

practicalposts,
I saw your previous post. I think I want to wait until early next year to reserve a lot. housing market is still going down. I feel there will be more incentive.
Commute is a big concern for me. I work in the city and usually arrive office by 7:45 and leave at around 7. my boss is actually worried that once I move to NJ, it will affect my performance.
well ... I am really tired living in the city. if I really want a big new house, then nothing shall stop me ..

[nkinjc]

Hi folks: I'm just starting to look into Monroe Twp. for single family (first time buyer). Can anyone post their experience with Renaissance or anyone else there. Please tell me about your experince and price. How do you negotiate with the builder, I visited some other areas but the builder said no to neg on the base prices.....also is there any incentive to bring in a realtor? Does the realtor get any comminission from them? At what point should you ask for options list ( some were reluctant to give!). Thanks.

[culater88]

Monroe is a nice town, it's getting a little more congested with all the new constructions. I moved here 10 years ago when it was mostly farm land. The schools are good and they are building a couple of new schools here so keep that in mind because it'll effect your property tax.
The property is reasonable for resell properties in comparison to the neighboring townships but for new constructions, they are expensive, expect to pay $10,000 + a year, depending on the location. Another thing to keep in mind is that there are a lot of senior communities in town so you have to be very patient driving around town.

I hope the above information is helpful.

[arunsanan]

We just bought a new construction from Renaissance Properties @ Dynasty and love it. The houses sold pretty quickly there. They did not come down on the price of the house but did give us nice incentives. Instead of using the monies towards design center, which is absolutely over-rated/expensive as hell, we decided to use the money on structural changes...extra bedroom, bathrooms, garage, higher basement ceiling, etc. The only thing that we had them upgrade was kitchen cabinets, which would have cost us a lot more outside. The downside to that was that the cabinet company they outsourced the work to did not put one inch of wood underneath the cabinet for future tiling and now it's going to cost us additional $$$ to lift the cabinets to support the tiling…cabinet company did not have any common sense.