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how much time did the builder gave for closing? seems most mortgage guys need 30 days to close. Is there anyone who could not close in time because the builder gave less notice? Were they accommodating in that case?
our kitchen was done about 2 weeks back and they just give an estimated 6 weeks.
how much time did the builder gave for closing? seems most mortgage guys need 30 days to close. Is there anyone who could not close in time because the builder gave less notice? Were they accommodating in that case?
our kitchen was done about 2 weeks back and they just give an estimated 6 weeks.
Grandslam21:
We also got 6 weeks advanced notice for ocmpletion of our home. As per our original contract, builder gave Sept 1 as the anticipated completion date. But usually they close earlier than that, and we were told on 1st July that home will be ready by August 15. After that, builder was pushing us to close in few days. (They are eager to get back 90% of the remaining amount quickly and move on to the next project.). We could close only in 1st week of Sept.
Our lawyer argued that the Cerificate of Occupancy was not given to us in time after the closing; and the bank appraiser had not surveyed the home immediately. The most effective argument by our lawyer was that the customer will go only as per original contractual date of Sept. 1 (given to us while signing the contract) and it is the only binding date. Moreover, there is 2 weeks grace period on top of that. The contract with builder also says that they also consider any difficulty faced by the customer in getting loan. Hence there is nothing to worry about.
Best thing will be to get pre-approved by a bank 3-4 months before the expected closing date and start applying immediately after builder states that "the home will be ready in 6 weeks". It takes 4-8 weeks for bank loan to be approved. Timing is important, as if the bank approves the loan earlier than home is complete, it can chase you for the early closing and release of its funds.
I am considering moving into the area, and possibly in the same community. What is the outlook for School system. We don't have kids yet but may be planning in couple of years. As far as I have searched, we could not find anything around the area at such reasonable price. Is the school system at least going in the right direction?
RJ16:
I am publishing my email posted last year in response to similar question about schools in area. i will answer other part of your question about "why the home prices are lower" separately.
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"We do not have school going children and hence unable to answer anything about school system in Somrset. If others have aswers, they can reply.
Somerset has some private schools if one prefers that way. They include, Rutgers prep School, K-12 (not connected with Rutgers University), Cedar Grove Prep School, K-8 on Cedar Grove Lane, St. Matthias school (K-8)-a catholic school, etc.
I met Dr. Menon, PhD in Chemical Engineering from MIT and owner of Cedar Grove prep school few months ago at school function. His school offers K-8 and now got permission up to 12th grade. He charges $8,000/per year and has limited class size of 20 students max. Other private schools also charge about the same.
However, public shcools are also excellent. The school ranking and statistics has not much meaning. 20 yrs ago, J P Stevens high school (Edison) was on the top in school ranking, 10 yr ago it was Bridgewater-Raritan high school and now Hillborough high school is in limelight. It has jacked up home prices in Hillborough.
For good education, the school should not have exceesive drug or crime problem and offer many AP courses to choose from. Family influence also counts the most. With good parental motivation and control, family talking at the dinner table, student's ability to select and reject school friends and peer pressure, etc. also chart his destiny. The school ranking and statistics are for the entire school, and not for individual one.
Moreover New Jersey demographic and population is changing every few years. It will be difficult to predict what will happen to a town after several years. With many new housing development in Somerset and professionals moving in, there will be enough qualified kids available for school company.
I am considering moving into the area, and possibly in the same community. What is the outlook for School system. We don't have kids yet but may be planning in couple of years. As far as I have searched, we could not find anything around the area at such reasonable price. Is the school system at least going in the right direction?
RJ16:
This is second part of my reply about your question asking why the home prices in this development are lower than others. Canal Walk across the street is also built by the same the builder. (Disclaimer-I have no connection with builder).
Just because home prices are lower, it does not mean that the area is not good. In fact, the builder has raised the home prices by 5-10% since beginning of this year as the economy is improved. The builder kept the price low because at that time housing economy was not good. Premier Builder had been fighting with the town since 2005 to get this agriculture get converted for residential purposes and did not want to hurt itself by raising prices and slow sales.
The homes are well designed, energy efficient with open space layout. The friends and visitors who come to our home are amazed at the construction and layout. The development is also laid out beautifully with roads crossings at right angles.
Before booking here, we also saw other developments but preferred this one. The others-Heritage Homes at Piscataway (no basement and furnace next to bedroom on 2nd floor); Churchhill Eastates, Somerset (custom built homes with small community-we prefer cookie-cutter type similar homes in large neighborhood); Beazer Homes Hillsborough (prices very high for the same area), and so on.
Snowpail, that being said if I need both TV and internet in a particular room I will need a cable and a Ethernet jack. I did not pick wireless is because Ethernet is more stable/faster and I only need internet access in family room and one of the bedrooms. I am probably only going to add two Ethernets and one or two more cable, no surround sound or any advance media wiring, but you would still recommend structure panel because the wiring in basement will be messy?
If you need both TV and internet in a particular room, yes you will need both a cable jack and ethernet jack. your internet will be fast in rooms where you have the ethernet jacks however i would recommend still getting the wireless from verizon to have the ability to use devices wirelessly if you decide to do so. it won't/shouldn't cost you anything extra and with verizon you don't need to get a router or anything. As far as the panel goes, i'm not sure if you definitely need one, but i did get one myself. it up to you.
If you need both TV and internet in a particular room, yes you will need both a cable jack and ethernet jack. your internet will be fast in rooms where you have the ethernet jacks however i would recommend still getting the wireless from verizon to have the ability to use devices wirelessly if you decide to do so. it won't/shouldn't cost you anything extra and with verizon you don't need to get a router or anything. As far as the panel goes, i'm not sure if you definitely need one, but i did get one myself. it up to you.
I agree with everything what Snopail has said. We have also gone with Verizon free wireless, as Mike's wireless was very expensive.
Yes, structural panel is a must, otherwise the basement will look messy. Also I recommend buried pipe (conduit) in wall now; so that when you want additional control wiring, you can pull it out from basement to 2nd floor thorugh attic without tearing down wall. With heavy investment made in beautiful home, it willl not be good to save few hundreds dollars now and invite trouble later. Who wants to tear down the wall for any wiring connection later and repaint over it?
Only suggestion you should avoid from Mike is to place TV cable box/DVD recorder 20 ft away from TV in kitchen closet. He will say "everyone is doing this which will look nice. For that I have to run wire all the way to cabinet, but it wil cost $600". We said no to his proposal and placed TV cable box on a small table right next to TV.
I see your point, Snowpail. Originally I thought I can't do wireless unless have Mike installed the wireless coverage. Looks like it is only a matter of what kind of feature I order from Verizon. If I do wireless from Verizon, can I still use Ethernet for its faster speed?
Yogesh and Snowpail, since both of you recommended structure panel I am going to do it. Looks like I won't be able to do this later when I finish basement or probably would be more expensive. Mike quoted me the 18" panel for $350, is it the standard?
Yogesh and Snowpail, since both of you recommended structure panel I am going to do it. Looks like I won't be able to do this later when I finish basement or probably would be more expensive. Mike quoted me the 18" panel for $350, is it the standard?
I see your point, Snowpail. Originally I thought I can't do wireless unless have Mike installed the wireless coverage. Looks like it is only a matter of what kind of feature I order from Verizon. If I do wireless from Verizon, can I still use Ethernet for its faster speed?
Yes, in areas that you want faster internet you can get MS Audio to install ethernet jacks ($170/each) but the wireless is fast enough. I did get 2 ethernet jacks from MS Audio myself but wish I actually only got one or maybe none since the wireless is fast enough.
And yes, $350 is the standard price from MS Audio for the structured panel.
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