Archive for the 'Livingston' Category

Hey suburbia-phobic New Yorkers- we have great FREE schools in New Jersey!

By Sue Adler
Categories: Chatham, Livingston, Madison, Millburn-Short Hills, Schools, Summit
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Just released : the 2009 New Jersey School report card  

http://tr.im/NwwE   Our local NJ schools continue to be strongly ranked - Millburn, Livingston, Chatham, Madison, Summit, Berkeley Heights, New Providence and others are among the top ranked New Jersey public  schools.   So listen up all you suburbia-phobic New Yorkers – come in for the town tours, and visit our great schools….. OK, ”free” may be arguable since you’re paying for it in your taxes,  however, it’s still less expensive than New York private schools, and only a 25 to 45 minute direct train into midtown Manhattan.

Wanna be in pictures? Shooting town tours of my 8 New Jersey towns next week, and I need your input!

By Sue Adler
Categories: Chatham, Communities, In The News, Livingston, Madison, Maplewood, Millburn-Short Hills, South Orange, Sue Adler Team, Summit
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Dear Friends,

This past Wednesday  I held my 4th annual Client Mix and Mingle Party, which I hold every year so that my clients who have just moved to the area can meet new friends.  Thanks to  the 60 people who attended!   Pictures are up on  facebook   http://www.facebook.com/sueadler  so feel free to check them out!

I’m really grateful for the friends I’ve made through my business and I probably don’t express that enough.  

  Referrals from my clients  now account for 70% of my business and my team is currently #2 in the entire MLS YTD for dollar volume production, and #1 in the midtown direct towns for units! THANK YOU!! 
So…since I do so much relocation, I’ve got this great idea for relocation buyers that I’m finally putting into action. Could use your input…..  I’ve hired a professional videographer to shoot town videos of Millburn, Short Hills, Maplewood, South Orange, Summit, Livingston and Chatham.
I’ve hired a radio host to interview locals and capture your stories about living here on video ( he’s very conversational and puts people at ease right away! ) We’re also interviewing shop and restaurant owners and filming homes that would be typical for the community.  Read the rest of this entry »

Manhattan Bagel to open in Summit NJ

By Sue Adler
Categories: Chatham, Communities, Dining Out, Livingston, Maplewood, Millburn-Short Hills, South Orange, Summit
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When I moved from the Philly burbs, where we had great bagels from places like Hymies and Murrays, I just expected that living  ”outside of NYC” the bagels could all be bought fresh out of the oven with a crusty exterior with the soft inside. mmmm.  They’re fine, so I’m not really complaining, but they just dont exceed my expectations either. So the news of Akram Kwaik opening up a Manhattan Bagel in Summit is music to my ears, that is, if the bagels actually taste like  New York bagels .  Is anyone out there familiar with them? That brings me to my next question… where are your favorite places to get great bagels around here?  Would you vote for  Livingston Bagel , Bagel Chateau, or Bagels 4 You in Short Hills? Any others?

Summit NJ Wine and Food Festival- Not to be missed!

By Sue Adler
Categories: Chatham, Communities, Dining Out, Livingston, Madison, Maplewood, Millburn-Short Hills, South Orange, Summit
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Save these dates and get your tickets now! July 24, 25, 26th at the Grand Summit Hotel 

courtesy of www.summitwineandfood.com 

Get your tickets for The Summit Wine and Food Festival here.

 Friday July 24th is opening night featuring 15 world-renowned chefs preparing their signature dishes. There will be 15 leading wineries providing the accompanied wines. The cost of the opening night reception is $195.  Afterwards, there is an Invitation Only after hours party for mingling with the winemakers, chefs and sommeliers at the Hunt Club Restaurant.

Saturday morning  from 10-12 the Rubicon Estate’s Master Sommelier Roger Dagorn will lead you through a vertical tasting of the legendary wines of this vineyard. Read the rest of this entry »

In the NJ Midtown Direct Trainline Towns, 95 Homes Have Gone Under Contract In Past Two Weeks!

By Sue Adler
Categories: Buying a home in this market, Chatham, Livingston, Madison, Maplewood, Market Updates, Stats & forecasts, Millburn-Short Hills, Real Estate, Selling a home in this market, South Orange, Summit
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Over the past two weeks,  did you notice how many homes in our NJ Midtown Direct Trainline Towns are selling????  

I just went into GSMLS and searched all homes in  Millburn, Short Hills, Summit, Chatham, Madison, Maplewood, South Orange and Livingston, and found that 95 homes have gone under contract in the past two weeks. This does not include all of the ones that are in attorney review! 

Compare This To the last 2 weeks of  March, where only 45 homes went under contract in these towns, and the last 2 weeks of February where there were only 18 homes to go under contract.

Why now??

Move up Buyers finally are selling their existiing homes and there is finally enough inventory for them to want to make the upward move.

MORE  NJ Sellers are pricing right, staging their homes and listing with Realtors who are creating a sense of urgency for them  ( yes, shameless plug) , so those 95 homes are selling, while others remain sitting. 

The RATES-  I just refinanced at 4.625%.  How long do you think they’ll stay below 5%?

Its Spring!  The clock is ticking to get in for the school year – beats the 30k per year private school tuition.  The 3rd baby has been born and the 1 bedroom apartment won’t work anymore, etc… life goes on.. you get the picture.

The Times They Are A Changin- walkability rules!

By Robin Benjamin
Categories: Buying a home in this market, Chatham, Communities, Commuting Info, Livingston, Madison, Maplewood, Millburn-Short Hills, South Orange, Sue's Picks, Summit
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Post by Robin Benjamin – Accredited Buyer Representative – Sue Adler Team

Work in NYC? 10 Reasons why you should commute from New Jersey.

By Sue Adler
Categories: Buying a home in this market, Chatham, Communities, Commuting Info, Dining Out, Livingston, Madison, Maplewood, Millburn-Short Hills, Schools, South Orange, Sports and Recreation, Sue's Picks, Summit
Comments: 3 Comments »

10 Reasons why you should move from Manhattan to our awesome New Jersey towns….

1. NJ Transit- Midtown Direct Train gets you into New York Penn Station in 20-40 minutes from South Orange, Maplewood, Millburn, Short Hills, Summit, Chatham & Madison, in that order on the line, and 45 minutes to an hour if you head out towards Morristown, or Basking Ridge. If you click on link above, you will see parking options whether you live in one of these towns or one of the surrounding towns. Need to commute to downtown to the financial district? Just take the train to Hoboken, and then the path or ferry.

Oh, did I mention that there is valet parking at the Millburn train station, and that there is a jitney bus to get you to and from the Maplewood & South Orange train stations during morning and evening rush hours?

2. We have great public schools! 2007 New Jersey School Report Card

3. Our towns are absolutely charming and beautiful. They are SO not like the New Jersey stereotype. Each town has its own personality(and different sections within each town do as well), and you’ll find that living here you will frequent all of the surrounding towns for different things from shops to restaurants to theatre to fitness centers to art, piano or karate lessons.

Virtual Tour of Millburn & Short Hills

Virtual Town Tour of Maplewood & South Orange

Virtual Town Tour of Summit

Virtual Town Tour of Chatham

4. There are very active Newcomers Clubs in each of our towns. A great way to meet other newcomers & put the “bourbon back in suburban” is to attend the Octoberfest or Spring Formal. My husband and I STILL go to the monthly wine tastings at the Millburn/Short Hills Newcomers Club because we’ve made so many new friends at this event. Newcomers Club Sample Activities, Activities with Children

5. We have lots of Golf Courses in New Jersey . Prefer tennis instead? There is the Racquet’s Club in Short Hills or the Orange Lawn Tennis Club in South Orange. You can join for tennis or just get the social membership. There are always tons of activities going on. But the cherry on the top is- each of our towns has its own town pool, a relatively inexpensive and popular option.

6. Contrary to Manhattan real estate, in New Jersey, we have a Multiple Listing Service (MLS), so ONE realtor can show you all of the listings in the Garden State MLS. http://www.garden-state-listings.com/

7. Cars today have navigation systems, so you can wander around our beautiful winding tree-lined streets and not get lost if you move here.

8. We have beautiful parks, arboretums, the South Mountain & Watchung Reservations, and local dog parks in Millburn and Livingston. You can go to Millburn Deli and stroll through their parking lot into Taylor park to eat, and relax to a concert or movie in the park as well during the summer.

9. We have a variety of great restaurants!

Scalini Fedeli in Chatham, La Focaccia or Fiorino in Summit and Bascilico in Millburn are my favorites for Italian. For Asian/Thai food, I recommend Toro or Thai Chef in Montclair, Khun Thai in Millburn or Monster Sushi in Summit. The new Roots Steak house in Summit is really great ( reserve early!), and for Happy Hour, join us at Winberries in Summit every Thursday night. Or head over to Toro Loco in South Orange. If you would like to add your favorite restaurants to this post, please comment!

10. You are not, I repeat… ARE NOT… allowed to pump your own gas in New Jersey. Is that great or what?!?