Bev and Bob Meaux - Towne Realty Group

Every town has its share of short sales and bank-owned properties nowadays. According to the Garden State Multiple Listing Service (GSMLS), as of November 22 there are over a dozen homes in South Orange, New Jersey listed as either a short sale or a bank-owned home. Instead of you finding these properties scattered all over the place, I've created a list of them here for you.

A short sale is when the owner owes more on the home than it is currently worth in the market and he has received (or trying to receive) an agreement from the bank(s) to accept the lesser value. A bank-owned property is when the owner has lost the house and the ownership has reverted back to the bank. You have to have the stomach to sit through the months (sometimes almost a year) waiting to hopefully get a positive answer from the bank(s) on a short sale. You can sometimes get a response on a bank-owned property in just a couple of weeks but it also sometimes can take months.

Contact my partner Bob Meaux by email or phone, 201-647-6144, to receive more information on these properties and to schedule an appointment.

The town has been abuzz with the release of Split Ends, a movie from the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce member Libby Christensen, the owner of The Chelsea Set. Libby has been cutting hair for decades and now she moved into the movie arena.

The movie premiered at the Maplewood Theatre on October 18 with a Meet the Stars reception across the street at the Maplewood train station. With a two-week run at the theatre, each show was sold out.

Split Ends won the 2009 Garden State Film Festival Best Home Grown Feature Film. Maplewood residents Libby Christensen, Gila Zalon, BobPusateri and Jimmy Allen wrote and produced the movie. The entire move was shot locally so residents got a blast seeing people and sights they knew all to well.

Libby has been the hairstylist for the singer Connie Francis for quite awhile and she or one of the other talented stylists at The Chelsea Set can be your hairstylist, too. Stop by Maplewood and give them a try.

To learn more about Maplewood, NJ contact us today and we'll show you your various real estate choices.

Photo courtesy of Maplewood Chamber of Commerce

The holidays are a big deal in Maplewood, New Jersey. It all starts with the annual Halloween Parade that's sponsored by the Maplewood Chamber of Commerce and continues to New Year's Day with celebrations, events and activities mostly hosted by the Chamber and the Maplewood Village Alliance. The annual Dickens Village event is a series of activities that help ring in the holiday spirit for the old and young alike.

Holiday decorations transform the village downtown streets and the Dickens Village is set up in the Ricalton Square, the little park across from the Maplewood train station along Maplewood Avenue. The base of Dickens Village is an assortment of small houses each decorated uniquely for people to come by and admire and take pictures. But, it's so much more. You'll see the holiday spirit come alive through many festive activities. There will be carolers dressed in character, you may see Scrooge causing havoc in the pub or store, and Santa will be around, too. Santa will arrive via a fire truck on December 5 for the annual tree lighting cermeony at Ricalton Square. Live reindeer will be around and visitors can take a horse-drawn wagon ride through the village. There will be live music on some days, a petting zoo on other days, and more things to come. Stay tuned to the Dickens Village website, www.maplewooddickensvillage.com for the full schedule.

This all began years ago as a "thank you" from local merchants and has become a part of the town tradition. The Maplewood Village Alliance is comprised of property owners, merchants and residents dedicated to the betterment of Maplewood Village. The Maplewood Chamber of Commerce promotes and strengthens the business community through goals and programs that encourage the entrepreneurial spirit and foster a positive image of Maplewood.

It's great to have these groups around to help insure a great community spirit for Maplewood, New Jersey.

Come by and get in the spirit.

There were 26 residential homes sold during the month of September in Maplewood, New Jersey, a 61.5% increase in the amount of homes sold year-over-year (between 2009 and 2008). A house sold in September normally means a homeowner accepted the offer that led to this closing somewhere around July.

The average list price for these 26 single-family homes was $493,380. The average sales price was $477,019, which translates into 96.68% of the averaged sales price. Although the number of homes sold increased this year, compared to last year, the price of homes didn't. The average list price in 2008 was $528,679, while the average sales price was $521,843.

Contact us to learn more about the Maplewood real estate market. Click here to view all the Maplewood homes currently for sale.

MAPLEWOOD RESIDENTIAL HOMES SOLD - SEPTEMBER 2009

Maplewood, New Jersey may just be the idyllic town for you to call home. If you're looking to live in the northern New Jersey area and you haven't given this village a chance, you just don't know what you've been missing. It's a place that believes in cultural arts and a community atmosphere with a mix of mostly well-kept older and older-feeling like homes that brings back the feeling of the character and charm of colonial and tudors in a Norman Rockwell postcard. The neighborhoods provide a burst of warmth and individuality at every corner. One key reason so many people flock to the village is the Mid-Town Direct train that can get you into the New York Penn Station within 30-minutes. Add to this the jitney shuttle service that brings residents to the train station on a regular basis.

The town is stepped in history that began a few hundred years ago. Read the Maplewood Historical Mural Book to learn how a colonial rural community became the Township of Maplewood. Now home to artists, intellectuals, and everything in between this is an inviting place. Whether you go to the Maplewood Arts Center, a performance at arts Maplewood, one of many programs at the schools, or just walking through the train station, you will find that cultural arts abounds in Maplewood, New Jersey. The art work in this blog is from the Maplewood train station.

In 2002, Maplewood was listed by Money Magazine as one of the 10 Best Places to Live in their 16th survey of America's top towns to find where people are moving and real estate is booming. Where you can find, as the magazine states, the best neighborhoods and suburbs for lasting value, quality of life and just plain fun. Money Magazine defined Maplewood as follows: a favorite compromise for city people who want good public schools and their own yards. The town has a palpable sense of community (there are close to 30 block associations in Maplewood and South Orage) and residents prize its diversity.

When you become a resident don't feel alone. Join The Newcomers Club where you'll immediately meet neighbors and new friends, and learn how to navigate around the neighborhood. You'll find that Maplewood and South Orange are two towns joined at the hip. The Newcomers Club has various events and activities ranging from park play dates, poker and morning coffee to telecommuters lunch, progressive dinners, book discussions and more. Stay abreast of the town news with The Maplewood Leaflet the town newsletter and the News-Record, the local paper.

See all the Maplewood houses available for sale and contact Bev and Bob for a town tour and more information. There's so much more we can tell you and show you. As stated in the Maplewood Historical Mural Book, Maplewood is well named for it's green oasis situated as a suburb of the largest populated area in the world. Maplewood has followed the axiom, "Let the light of the past illumine a pathway to the future."

Come home and make your future and your history in Maplewood, New Jersey. We'd love to show you how.