RealtorIrene Blogs about Sussex County NJ Real Estate

One couple seeking a vacation or getaway property in a lovely Sussex County NJ lake community are the happy new owners of this great foreclosure in Highland Lakes, Vernon, NJ. Yes, they have lots of painting to do but that doesn't diminish their joy. A Highland Lakes home has been on their dream list for quite a few year.

 There were multiple offers on this Sussex County NJ REO owned by Freddie Mac and lots of question marks. At the time the offers were received, there were no power lines to the home. I was still juggling bids from electricians.  Getting power meant multiple visits from Vernon Township building inspectors.

With electricity, we were able to turn on the well pump.  Oops! All the pipes and the boiler had burst from freezing while the house sat abandoned. Multiple bids later, new boiler was done.  We had the home inspection the day after getting that news. Egads, the boiler ran but didn't heat the Sussex County NJ home. Buyers are now rather nervous...

While we sailed through our fire-safety inspection, Vernon Township won't grant an Certificate of Occupancy while there are still open building permits. Flunked the next Vernon building inspection for lack of an emergency shut off switch on the upper level. Closing was scheduled for Nov. 20 for this Highland Lakes foreclosure; the seller approved funds for the switch on the 17th, electrician installed on the 18th, and Vernon Township accomodated my unreasonable request for an inspection on the 19th.

We closed on time!!!

Bright and early on Monday, Nov. 23, I showed up with a thank you note and freshly-baked loaf of my breakfast bread for the Vernon NJ township employees. Without their great cooperation and attorney Marleen Horlacher's skills and her faith in my getting things done, we never would have closed on Friday.

And the new owners started painting on Saturday!

Copyright © 2009, Irene Kennedy, all rights reserved. This blog post represents Irene's personal musings.

Irene Kennedy, who is a NJ real estate agent with Weichert, Realtors, lives in Sussex County & works from the Hamburg office. Her primary market includes: Augusta, Branchville, Crystal Springs, Frankford, Franklin, Hamburg, Hampton, Hardyston, Highland Lakes, Lake Mohawk, Newton, Ogdensburg, Scenic Lakes, Sparta, Stockholm, Sussex, Vernon, Wantage.

12 High Crest Drive in Scenic Lakes, Vernon NJ was a very trying Sussex County real estate deal for the seller, her family and me, her listing agent. Two previous deals had fallen apart. Third time seemed to be a charm, until:

• The well pump died 2 days before the home inspection and installation was finishing as the buyer, his agent and inspector arrived.
• The septic, which had passed thorough inspection a year ago, flunked and required $6,000 in seller repairs on this AS-IS Scenic Lakes home.
• The clock was ticking for the first-time buyer credit and slated to close on Friday, November 20, around 1:00 p.m.
• The lovely elderly lady who owned 12 High Crest Drive in Scenic Lakes and her moving truck had headed in Florida. 

The buyers did their final walk through on Thursday night and decided the attic didn't pass "broom clean" standards because of some unused replacement materials the seller had left. Friday afternoon, their attorney proposed a credit and the deal did not close.

Late Friday, I removed the disputed items via 2 trash bags. Photos were insufficient, so we had another walk through at 11 on Saturday. The attorneys met at 4:00 and closed the deal.

12 High Crest Drive in Scenic Lakes sold for $187,000.

Although I regularly go the extra mile for my Sussex County NJ real estate clients, I'm particularly appreciative of the 2 attorneys doing the same on a sacred Saturday!

This Scenic Lakes listing also resulted in an unexpected compliment, Google Juice for Photos - One of many benefits of my Vacation Properties in Sussex County NJ series.

Copyright © 2009, Irene Kennedy, all rights reserved. This blog post represents Irene's personal musings.

Considering selling a home or looking to buy one around Sussex County NJ? Benefit from creative marketing, top negotiating skills and vast real estate knowledge by contacting Irene via the data to the right.

On Wednesday, a Franklin NJ Ranch Home for Sale sold for 95% of its list price (the average list-to-sale price ratio for Sussex County NJ real estate). From the date of listing, it was just 56 days to closing. We had 3 offers within the first 12 days, so this listing attracted great interest! The sale price was $171,000 and there were no seller-concessions.

The new owners had visited my Open House and simply had to have this home for sale in Franklin. Wonderful people and well qualified buyers, they had interacted with 6 other real estate agents before thay met me! I am 007!

Even though I represented both sides (a dual-disclosed agent in NJ lingo), both the sellers and buyers knew their interests were well served every step of the way. Sure, there were challenges. The sellers were in Florida, so I handled many aspects for them. We had multiple visits from the fire-safety inspector to get the Certificate of Occupancy. Termite treatment. The well test flunked. Over-chlorination resulted in 2 more tests and then a UV system still had to be installed.

But we got to the closing table as scheduled! Too bad a martini "shaken, not stirred" doesn't appeal to this Agent 007!

Copyright © 2009, Irene Kennedy, all rights reserved. This blog post represents Irene's personal musings.

Considering selling a home or looking to buy one around Sussex County NJ? Benefit from creative marketing, top negotiating skills and vast real estate knowledge by contacting Irene via the data to the right.

Irene Kennedy, who is a NJ real estate agent with Weichert, Realtors, lives in Sussex County & works from the Hamburg office. Her primary market includes: Augusta, Branchville, Crystal Springs, Frankford, Franklin, Hamburg, Hampton, Hardyston, Highland Lakes, Lake Mohawk, Newton, Ogdensburg, Scenic Lakes, Sparta, Stockholm, Sussex, Vernon, Wantage.