Weichert has begun its 31st Annual Holiday Toy Drive and my Hamburg NJ real estate office is delighted to be participating. From now through December 11, we'll be accepting new, unwrapped toys or gift cards to be distributed to needy children within the local Sussex County community. (We regret that we are not able to distribute toys to individual families but do refer them to the different charities, who might be able to include them among recipients.)

For toys left at the Hamburg real estate office, they will be distributed to Sussex County NJ children by several charitable organizations.
In 2008, good-hearted folks dropped off more than 700 items in my office alone! That is a lot of joy destined for the less fortunate in our neighborhoods.
Almost all who bring in gifts say times are tight but that they know things are tougher on others. Some children take one item off their own wish list and donate it to the less fortunate.
"Let's give them a holiday to remember" is Weichert's slogan for the 31st Holiday Toy Drive - and one that inspires me to be even more giving this year.
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.
This bargain is a foreclosed 2 bedroom, 1.5 bathroom interior townhouse in Indian Fields. (Hardyston township shares a Hamburg NJ zip code.) In one of Sussex County's most desirable communities, this Freddie Mac REO is priced to move very, very quickly. I'm very excited to be able to offer this real estate listing at 25 Meadow Pond Road.
On the day it was listed (November 6, 2009), it is - at $188900 - by far the least expensive active home for sale in the Garden State MLS for the section Indian Fields.
Does it need wall prep and interior painting? Sure does.
Does it need new carpeting? Without a doubt. Personally, I'd also replace the vinyl floor in the kitchen.
Are a couple of the thermal windows cracked and in need of replacement? You betcha.
Does the difference between $188900 and $224900 more than compensate for the work that is needed? I certainly think so and strongly suspect that buyers will too!
The electric should be on later today; the cleaning will occur on/by Wednesday, Nov. 11. Showings, however, can already begin. It does have a finished, walkout basement too!

This bank-owned Indian Fields townhouse in Hardyston NJ is certainly what I view as one of Sussex County's current hot homes for sale. With an REO, fast decisions and closings are possible. It is being sold entirely AS-IS and the buyer will have to cover transfer tax, Certificate of Occupancy and winterization costs associated with home inspections. But it is still a great real estate deal!
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.
My Vacation Properties in Sussex County NJ series has brought new business my way, which is a wonderful thing for a fairly new blogger. By following tips learned on ActiveRain, even the pictures I'm using have given me the coveted Google juice SEO
Happy to report that the Scenic Lakes - Vernon NJ - home for sale for which I took the original photo is now Under Contract, yesterday I was honored to receive an email (excerpts below):
I work for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. We are in the process of updating the website of one of our programs, the Bureau of Air Quality Permitting Program.
We were looking for a beautiful scenic photograph from within the state to post on our website.
Upon doing a GOOGLE search a photo from your website showed, and to be honest, we love it.
The photo in question is attached, but was found on this page: http://realtorirene.com/channels/home_buying/topics/vacation_properties_in_sussex_county_nj
Its the last one (the lake view of the autumn trees).
The response by this Sussex County NJ real estate agent!
No, I didn't get paid - didn't even ask. (Okay, I'll confess I did ask this gentleman if he was interested in buying or selling any real estate - but only AFTER I gave permission to use my picture!) Personally flattered, I think this is a honor for Sussex County NJ - Scenic Lakes in Vernon in particular. Of all the lovely possibilities, our area was chosen.
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.
This Fannie Mae foreclosure is a move-in condition bank-owned, 3+ bedroom home for sale in Wantage - Sussex County NJ! Unlike some short sales, buyers can close on this REO very rapidly - in time for the $8000 tax credit. This bi-level is on a mountain in the Lake Neepaulin lake community within Wantage.
While I am not the actual listing agent, my parent company is and has honored me with the task of bringing in the buyers for this Wantage foreclosure property. New, neutral carpet has been installed in the living room, hallway and 3 upstairs bedrooms. All the rooms have been freshly painted.
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.
This Sparta NJ Real Estate Market Report is based on data recorded in GSMLS as of October 4, 2009. Statistics covering Lake Mohawks home for sale (below) are from the same source. While I don't publish monthly data on all Sussex County NJ homes for sale, I certainly can work it up for you as appropriate!
GSMLS market data for Sparta NJ real estate shows that only 11 homes were sold in September 2009. These had an average sale price of $455,773; the median price was $350,000. For 2009, 11 sales in a month are the second lowest; there were just 8 closings in Sparta in February. Given there are 26 Sparta homes for sale under contract, I'm optimistic that we'll have many more closings during October.
For the 45 new listings of homes for sale in Sparta in September, the average asking price is $524,912. The average list price for homes that went under contract in September is $660,098 - a significant jump aided by 2 very expensive Lake Mohawk properties!
A subset of my Sparta NJ real estate report, Lake Mohawk market data shows just 3 sales, recorded at $337,500, $365,000 and $615,000. During September, we had 9 Lake Mohawk homes for sale go under contract, ranging from just $239,900 up to $3,950,000. (Sure wish I represented the buyer of that big one!) As of the end of September there were still 66 active Lake Mohawk homes for sale.
Start looking at homes for sale in Sparta NJ listed between $350K - $500K.

Copyright © 2009, Irene Kennedy, all rights reserved. This blog post from RealtorIrene.com represents Irene's personal musings.
Considering selling a home or looking to buy real estate in Sussex County NJ? Benefit from creative marketing, top negotiating skills and vast real estate knowledge by contacting Irene via the data to the right.
ActiveRain Corp. is not responsible for the accuracy of the site's content (which is written by members of the ActiveRain Real Estate Network) and does not endorse the views of the real estate agents, mortgage brokers, and others listed here.
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