About Morris County, NJ

"Congress voted on Thursday to extend the tax credit and President Obama plans on signing it into law Friday morning. The $8,000 credit will apply to all contracts, for homes up to $800,000, entered into before April 30, 2010, and closed by June 30. It creates a new $6,500 credit for property owners who have lived in their home for at least five consecutive years."

Income limits for eligible home buyers are expanded to $125,000 for single buyers and $225,000 for couples, from $75,000 and $150,000, respectively. To help guard against fraud, buyers are required to attach documentation of purchase to their tax return. From the NY Times:

Read more: http://njrereport.com/

Paul Stillwaggon, For All Your Real Estate Needs Contact New Jersey Estates Real Estate Group E-mail: njestates@gmail.com Web: http://www.newjerseyestates.net 908-561-5492 (Paul S) 908-310-1358 (Cell)

NJ Estates Real Estate Group Weichert Realtors 908-561-5492 55 Stirling Road, Watchung, N.J. 07069

Equal Housing Opportunity

Current Listings Info
Luxury New Homes
Custom Build A New Home
Land & Building Lots
New Jersey Estates
All New Jersey Homes
Real Estate Listings Blogs
Real Estate Info Blogs
Open Houses & Directions
Our Testimonial Letters
Going Green/ Complete Info

Here are questions that haven't been asked during the gubernatorial election campaign:

What kind of state should New Jersey be? How should its people live - separately, divided by race and wealth? Or together, in integrated communities, sharing its riches and its problems?

Read about it: http://blog.nj.com/njv_bob_braun/2009/11/being_a_leader_demands_vision.html

Paul Stillwaggon, For All Your Real Estate Needs Contact New Jersey Estates Real Estate Group E-mail: njestates@gmail.com Web: http://www.newjerseyestates.net 908-561-5492 (Paul S) 908-310-1358 (Cell)

NJ Estates Real Estate Group Weichert Realtors 908-561-5492 55 Stirling Road, Watchung, N.J. 07069

Equal Housing Opportunity

Current Listings Info
Luxury New Homes
Custom Build A New Home
Land & Building Lots
New Jersey Estates
All New Jersey Homes
Real Estate Listings Blogs
Real Estate Info Blogs
Open Houses & Directions
Our Testimonial Letters
Going Green/ Complete Info

Bi-level house with a 3rd floor addition. Master suite with jacuzzi tub, large family room, eat-in-kitchen with professional stove (6 burners, griddle & 2 ovens), living room and formal dining room. Wonderful home for a family, great school system! Private location at the end of a road. Beautiful private setting great outdoor living spaces, surrounded by 3 sides of water! Fish and Swim right off of your own backyard! It's like being on vacation everyday! Great home for entertaining family and friends. 2 car garage and large U-shaped driveway for tons of parking! To directly access this property, use this shortcut: http://www.fizber.com/new-jersey-buy-single-family-home-11648218.html

Being the daughter of a mechanical engineer (who was also in the military), we had lists for everything....there was a place for everything and everything had to be in it's place. I wish I could keep up with that philosophy still today, however I can share some of my Dad's ways to winterize a home....I grew up in New England and the winters were cold so he had us prepapred.

Winterizing Your Home

Preparing Your Home for Winter

Here are ten tips to help you prepare your home for winter:

1) Furnace Inspection

•· Call an HVAC professional to inspect your furnace and clean ducts.

•· Stock up on furnace filters and change them monthly.

•· Consider switching out your thermostat for a programmable thermostat.

•· If your home is heated by a hot-water radiator, bleed the valves by opening them slightly and when water appears, close them.

•· Remove all flammable material from the area surrounding your furnace.

2) Get the Fireplace Ready

•· Cap or screen the top of the chimney to keep out rodents and birds.

•· If the chimney hasn't been cleaned for a while, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote.

•· Buy firewood or chop wood. Store it in a dry place away from the exterior of your home.

•· Inspect the fireplace damper for proper opening and closing.

•· Check the mortar between bricks and tuckpoint, if necessary.

3) Check the Exterior, Doors and Windows

•· Inspect exterior for crevice cracks and exposed entry points around pipes; seal them.

•· Use weatherstripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home and caulk windows.

•· Replace cracked glass in windows and, if you end up replacing the entire window, prime and paint exposed wood.

•· If your home has a basement, consider protecting its window wells by covering them with plastic shields.

•· Switch out summer screens with glass replacements from storage. If you have storm windows, install them.

4) Inspect Roof, Gutters & Downspouts

•· If your weather temperature will fall below 32 degrees in the winter, adding extra insulation to the attic will prevent warm air from creeping to your roof and causing ice dams.

•· Check flashing to ensure water cannot enter the home.

•· Replace worn roof shingles or tiles.

•· Clean out the gutters and use a hose to spray water down the downspouts to clear away debris.

•· Consider installing leaf guards on the gutters or extensions on the downspouts to direct water away from the home.

5) Service Weather-Specific Equipment

•· Drain gas from lawnmowers.

•· Service or tune-up snow blowers.

•· Replace worn rakes and snow shovels.

•· Clean, dry and store summer gardening equipment.

•· Sharpen ice choppers and buy bags of ice-melt / sand.

6) Check Foundations

•· Rake away all debris and edible vegetation from the foundation.

•· Seal up entry points to keep small animals from crawling under the house.

•· Tuckpoint or seal foundation cracks. Mice can slip through space as thin as a dime.

•· Inspect sill plates for dry rot or pest infestation.

•· Secure crawlspace entrances.

7) Install/Check Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

•· Some cities require a smoke detector in every room.

•· Buy extra smoke detector batteries and change them when daylight savings ends.

•· Install a carbon monoxide detector near your furnace and / or water heater.

•· Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they work.

•· Buy a fire extinguisher or replace an extinguisher older than 10 years.

8) Prevent Plumbing Freezes

•· Locate your water main in the event you need to shut it off in an emergency.

•· Drain all garden hoses.

•· Insulate exposed plumbing pipes.

•· Drain air conditioner pipes and, if your AC has a water shut-off valve, turn it off.

•· If you go on vacation, leave the heat on, set to at least 55 degrees.

9) Prepare Landscaping & Outdoor Surfaces

•· Trim trees if branches hang too close to the house or electrical wires.

•· Ask a gardener when your trees should be pruned to prevent winter injury.

•· Plant spring flower bulbs and lift bulbs that cannot winter over such as dahlias in areas where the ground freezes.

•· Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks.

•· Don't automatically remove dead vegetation from gardens as some provide attractive scenery in an otherwise dreary, snow-drenched yard.

•· Move sensitive potted plants indoors or to a sheltered area.

10) Prepare an Emergency Kit

•· Buy indoor candles and matches / lighter for use during a power shortage.

•· Find the phone numbers for your utility companies and tape them near your phone or inside the phone book.

•· Buy a battery back-up to protect your computer and sensitive electronic equipment.

•· Store extra bottled water and non-perishable food supplies (including pet food, if you have a pet), blankets and a first-aid kit in a dry and easy-to-access location.

Being the daughter of a mechanical engineer (who was also in the military), we had lists for everything....there was a place for everything and everything had to be in it's place. I wish I could keep up with that philosophy still today, however I can share some of my Dad's ways to winterize a home....I grew up in New England and the winters were cold so he had us prepapred.

Winterizing Your Home

Preparing Your Home for Winter

Here are ten tips to help you prepare your home for winter:

1) Furnace Inspection

•· Call an HVAC professional to inspect your furnace and clean ducts.

•· Stock up on furnace filters and change them monthly.

•· Consider switching out your thermostat for a programmable thermostat.

•· If your home is heated by a hot-water radiator, bleed the valves by opening them slightly and when water appears, close them.

•· Remove all flammable material from the area surrounding your furnace.

2) Get the Fireplace Ready

•· Cap or screen the top of the chimney to keep out rodents and birds.

•· If the chimney hasn't been cleaned for a while, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote.

•· Buy firewood or chop wood. Store it in a dry place away from the exterior of your home.

•· Inspect the fireplace damper for proper opening and closing.

•· Check the mortar between bricks and tuckpoint, if necessary.

3) Check the Exterior, Doors and Windows

•· Inspect exterior for crevice cracks and exposed entry points around pipes; seal them.

•· Use weatherstripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home and caulk windows.

•· Replace cracked glass in windows and, if you end up replacing the entire window, prime and paint exposed wood.

•· If your home has a basement, consider protecting its window wells by covering them with plastic shields.

•· Switch out summer screens with glass replacements from storage. If you have storm windows, install them.

4) Inspect Roof, Gutters & Downspouts

•· If your weather temperature will fall below 32 degrees in the winter, adding extra insulation to the attic will prevent warm air from creeping to your roof and causing ice dams.

•· Check flashing to ensure water cannot enter the home.

•· Replace worn roof shingles or tiles.

•· Clean out the gutters and use a hose to spray water down the downspouts to clear away debris.

•· Consider installing leaf guards on the gutters or extensions on the downspouts to direct water away from the home.

5) Service Weather-Specific Equipment

•· Drain gas from lawnmowers.

•· Service or tune-up snow blowers.

•· Replace worn rakes and snow shovels.

•· Clean, dry and store summer gardening equipment.

•· Sharpen ice choppers and buy bags of ice-melt / sand.

6) Check Foundations

•· Rake away all debris and edible vegetation from the foundation.

•· Seal up entry points to keep small animals from crawling under the house.

•· Tuckpoint or seal foundation cracks. Mice can slip through space as thin as a dime.

•· Inspect sill plates for dry rot or pest infestation.

•· Secure crawlspace entrances.

7) Install/Check Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

•· Some cities require a smoke detector in every room.

•· Buy extra smoke detector batteries and change them when daylight savings ends.

•· Install a carbon monoxide detector near your furnace and / or water heater.

•· Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they work.

•· Buy a fire extinguisher or replace an extinguisher older than 10 years.

8) Prevent Plumbing Freezes

•· Locate your water main in the event you need to shut it off in an emergency.

•· Drain all garden hoses.

•· Insulate exposed plumbing pipes.

•· Drain air conditioner pipes and, if your AC has a water shut-off valve, turn it off.

•· If you go on vacation, leave the heat on, set to at least 55 degrees.

9) Prepare Landscaping & Outdoor Surfaces

•· Trim trees if branches hang too close to the house or electrical wires.

•· Ask a gardener when your trees should be pruned to prevent winter injury.

•· Plant spring flower bulbs and lift bulbs that cannot winter over such as dahlias in areas where the ground freezes.

•· Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks.

•· Don't automatically remove dead vegetation from gardens as some provide attractive scenery in an otherwise dreary, snow-drenched yard.

•· Move sensitive potted plants indoors or to a sheltered area.

10) Prepare an Emergency Kit

•· Buy indoor candles and matches / lighter for use during a power shortage.

•· Find the phone numbers for your utility companies and tape them near your phone or inside the phone book.

•· Buy a battery back-up to protect your computer and sensitive electronic equipment.

•· Store extra bottled water and non-perishable food supplies (including pet food, if you have a pet), blankets and a first-aid kit in a dry and easy-to-access location.