Cherry Hill Township, NJ

Like many others, this weekend I went to see Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows­ - Part 2. Since this was the last movie in the series, I wanted to see it with all the bells and whistles. I choose the AMC Lowes Theatre in Cherry Hill, NJ (2121 Route 38, Cherry Hill, NJ ) Just minutes away from Mount Laurel.

This theatre is a great choice because it offers IMAX, Real D 3D as well as normal 2D movies. The seats are comfortable with plenty of leg room. You can order tickets online and pick them up at one of many easy to use kiosks. Of course, they have all of the typical movie foods readily available.

So without giving away any spoilers, this was the best movie in the series. Well worth the wait!

Cherry Hill is a great town in New Jersey with history, various attractions, quality restaurants, incredible shopping and top-rated schools. All this and more make Cherry Hill a much sought after town for homebuyers. As a South Jersey home inspector since 1989, it's been my privilege to inspect many of the Cherry Hill homes that have been bought and sold over the last twenty years.

In the past I have been asked by homebuyers what they should expect in regards to the quality, condition and variety of homes in Cherry Hill. My answer is always the same: "Expect everything".

The homes in Cherry Hill range from fairly recent construction to the occasional old farm house in excess of 100 years old. There are plentiful condominiums and abundant mansions. In short there is a home for everyone.

The most typical Cherry Hill home is a 40 to 50 year old split-level, two-story or ranch. The quality of construction will vary from home to home and from development to development. Cherry Hill homes have benefitted from a number of experienced and good quality builders. One of my favorite builders is Bob Scarborough, who built many homes in Cherry Hill including the popular Barclay Farms development.

The Scarborough homes that I have performed inspections on have generally held together well and I consider them to be good quality. Roofs and furnaces do not last forever in any home, although when a home shifts or sags after construction that can often be attributed to a less than careful builder.

One of the features frequently found in an older Scarborough home is a catwalk along the center of the attic. As a home inspector, this is greatly appreciated and is also beneficial to the homeowner. Further, the crawl spaces in a Scarborough home are sufficiently adequate in height to allow navigation which is another highly valued feature.

There were and are other good home builders in Cherry Hill. Nonetheless, the overall quality of construction and quality of materials sometimes utilized has declined in recent years. For example, the use of lesser quality exterior wood trim is widespread and is vulnerable to rot (water damage). Furthermore, the waterproofing detail of basements (or lack thereof) can fail on the concrete block foundation of homes only a few years old resulting in basement water entry and costly repairs.

As a home inspector, I am also aware of other factors that have influenced the construction of older Cherry Hill homes. For instance, the energy shortage in the early seventies resulted in the use of aluminum electrical wiring in homes instead of copper wiring. Due to a higher probability of a fire, this practice continued for just a few years. Nevertheless, aluminum wiring is still present in Cherry Hill homes today.

The general condition of any home will mainly always come down to homeowner maintenance. Most homes are not well-maintained with maintenance being more reactive than proactive. Naturally a well-maintained home is more desirable and likely to fetch a higher selling price.

Everything in a home is fixable. Nevertheless, if a home's well-kept condition truly warrants a more expensive price tag than it is the real bargain over the cheaper, neglected home with hidden surprises.

Glen Fisher southjerseynpi@aol.com

"The South Jersey Home Inspector"

The Senior Stumble is no joke!

My mother, as you may guess, is an aging senior, who just recently relocated from Florida to south jersey to be close to me. This relocation to South Jersey did not come soon enough.

Let me just preface by saying that my mother has always had the propensity to fall. Just like her mother. and guess what? I am not too far behind. Pretty scary for being a YOUNG babyboomer!

So the story goes- my 75 year old mother, who is physically fit I might add, was out for her morning walk 2 days ago when the pavement met with her head. A raised sidewalk was not expected, and down she went. Who would think that a 1/2" raise in the side would create such havoc. www.cooperheatlh.org/cni

Fortunately, she didn't lose consciousness and was able to contact my dad, who in turn called me. We met at Virtua Hospital Voorhees, www.virtua.org. where they took her in immediately did some scans and found that she had a frontal lobe brain bleed. (I think that is the terminology!). Hence, transferred to Cooper Trauma. - www.cooperhealth.org/content/traumacenter.htm which by the way, is an amazing place!!!

Brain bleed, 4 stitches to her forehead, softball size lump, broken nose and painful back! The back is a problem because of a bike fall last year in Florida prior to her relocation here.

My father, was so upset, he could barely function. Although I knew my mother was going to be okay, my father just couldn't get it together. The confusion he was experiencing was quite upsetting. I finally realized that when you are a senior of 80 years old, and your spouse of 54 years who is in this kind of injured condition, all the mortality issues come to the forefront. This is one of the main reasons that I am so happy that they left Florida and moved here to South Jersey allowing me to oversee these types of incidents. Those of you out there who have senior parents must be able to relate to this.

I realize I am the "Sandwich Generation" in which I must look after my teens and my aging parents.

But let me tell you- I wouldn't have it any other way. The timing couldn't have been better. Thanks goodness South Jersey have wonderful,attentive hospitals.

A Senior Stumble is no joke!

Homes ARE Selling In Cherry Hill NJ

Below is a list of the homes that have sold in Cherry Hill during January & February 2010.  These homes sold for approximately 95% of the asking price in an average of 4.8 months.

There is a perfect home for EVERY Buyer!

There is a perfect BUYER for EVERY Seller.

Let Me Show You How To Find them

Call today for a ZERO PRESSURE consultation 856-685-1677

If you know someone or you hear someone mention that they are looking for a home, call me right away 856-685-1677. I promise that I will call them right away and treat them liek a member of my own family. I work with a nationwide network of Top Realtors (inc Hawaii), so my question is not limited to New Jersey.

Thank you for your help.

Your friend in the Real Estate Business

Leander McClain, Burlington /Camden County, NJ Realtor & Real Estate Consultant, Keller Williams Realty, 1814 Route 70 E Cherry Hill, NJ 08003 856-685-1677 Direct

Search NJ & PA Home Listings @ www.NJSouthRealEstate.com

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Buyers buy now. Sellers if you want or need to sell, sell now. Banks liquidate now. Realtors get retrained and get to work now. You will win big if you do. Had a sales meeting today with my associates. Asked who knows how many closings took place in Cherry Hill, New Jersey for last six months and average price? Answers ran from110 with the part timers, on up to 120, 190, 310....pulled the data from TrendMLS. 359 single family home sales. Then I explained that is actually X's2. Seller side and buyer side. So, actually 718 sides in one township. Granted one of the larger townships. Average price close to $253,000. They some in the group's reaction was from surprised to very surprised. Then I lay-ed into the "community" that shares the "gloom and doom" mentality for the excuse of not working.

Went a bit further, pulled data from 1/1/2007 till 6/30/2007. The best seller's market for the last economic expansion of the "Roaring 2000's". Care to take a guess of the number of sales of single family homes?

503 x 2. Ok. 29% drop. and an approx. drop in price of 13%. It's my belief that, about the same percentage Realtors left the market. So, just as much business for the workers of our industry. I have several associates who have earned more in 2009. Yes, they changed their direction. Yes, they put more hours in the close title. Yes, they had to get retrained for this market.

Our theme for our meeting; "2010; THE MAKE IT OR BREAK IT YEAR", FOR I KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE. Those who adjust, maneuver, face their fears and get to work will be the premier Realtors for the next economic cycle. 2010 - 2011 will be the bottom out years. 2012- 2014 will be the stabilization years. 2014.5 - 2019 will be the next pricing boom. 2019.5-2020 will be the next correction. Plan for this cycle. Be cash heavy in 2019 and buy in 2022-2025. Of course this is just my opinion from details observations.