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KoalaNJ- Good info! I don't really want to worry about floods and CrAzY Housewives
Thanks also for the flood zone map, what do the colors mean (I have no idea what the letters stand for)?
My heart is still for MOUNTAIN LAKES... if we get a home that needs a little work (repainting, carpeting, refinishing floors, etc) where is the most reliable source for honest and cost-effective businesses to carry out improvements? How is lead paint going to affect us (do we scrape off the 100yrs of old paint before repainting or remove the baseboards and other trim and replace it altogether)?
As far as the map the areas colored blue are bodies of water (lakes, rivers, ponds, creeks, etc.) The areas shaded green are areas that frequently flood. The yellowish areas surrounding the green are areas that "occasionally" flood. (though FWIW, I have a friend who's daughter lives in an area of Denville that supposedly only "occasionally floods" and the poor woman has been flooded 3 times in the past 4 or 5 yrs.)
You need to be very careful about older homes that are in need of renovation. In 2008 a sweeping new federal law was passed and the EPA issued new guidelines regarding lead based paint removal. Essentially if you hire a re-modeler and are painting/disturbing more than 6 sq feet of interior painted surface, or 20 sq ft of exterior surface, you must hire a licensed lead abatement contractor, and you must dispose of the paint that is removed as Haz-Mat. The entire area must be sealed, so as to not let any dust (which would be lead laden) to escape. All workers must wear haz-mat suits and wear special respirators. This, as I am sure you can imagine, is a costly and time consuming process. I believe there are also regulations about being able to have kids living in the house during such abatement. If you need to remove the baseboards, you will have to have it done by the licensed contractors, and disposed of properly. Any disturbing of the paint that may cause the particles to become airborne are subject to the (new) law. If you plan on doing the renovations yourself, you must follow all the guidelines established by the EPA on lead abatement. (the same ones that the licensed contractor must follow, haz-mat suits, approved respirators, sealing off the rooms air-tight during the process, and proper haz-mat disposal of all the material (including paint chips and dust) This will give you a bit more info Lead | US EPA
The good news is that the home referenced by cjanet appears to have already been recently renovated
Good luck! From reading the posts I think you started house hunting (at least on line) when we did. We found what we were looking for on our 1st trip to NJ...looked at 23 homes in 2 days with a great realtor & scooped up a nice place in Mt Lakes!
We are moving from Southern CA in about 3 weeks......we looked all over Morris County & into Basking Ridge, Bernardsville (Somerset Co).....I ahve to say I thought the home selection was very good....just depends on what features/areas are important to you....
Good luck! I saw you mentioned Smoke Rise in Kinnelon...I took a tour of that areas with a realtor and found it to be very nice, huge custom homes but too "woodsy" and out of the way for us...
I need referrals to someone who can refinish wood floors in a Hapgood and a designer/remodel for a few bathrooms, and a painter. Also a designer who will help me decorate with my own things after we move in.
I need referrals to someone who can refinish wood floors in a Hapgood and a designer/remodel for a few bathrooms, and a painter. Also a designer who will help me decorate with my own things after we move in.
The absolute best, honest, and reliable referrals I have gotten for repair people, service tech, craftsmen, etc has been through a local Yahoo group that covers the Morris County area, MorrisNJCafeChat : MorrisNJCafeChat they are a sister group to the local Freecycle group, (freecycleMorrisNJ : Freecycle Morris, NJ Freecycle.org® ) so you may have to join the Freecycle group to become a member of the cafe. Both groups are absolutely free to join and participate in. There is no advertising allowed on the group, and when you ask for recommendations on the cafe, you'll hear from your fellow members (and neighbors) who they used and how their experience was. I have been quite happy with all the recommendations I have received through the group, and very much appreciated the heads up on who to avoid! It is also a great way to meet some of your new neighbors!
KoalaNJ
PS, I believe in order to send and receive DMs you need to change your settings and then click on my name at the top of one of my posts and select direct message from the drop down list. (re your previous post)
STILL on the hunt for our future home!!! Hubby is going to look at a few in Basking Ridge this week. Give me the dirt on this area PLEASE!
Oh no! Does that mean the home in Mt Lakes fell through? I am so sorry to hear that.
Basking Ridge is a wonderful place, great schools, beautiful area. Close to highways, so getting around is easier. Be sure to check out all of Bernards Twp not just BR. The Twp consists of Lyons, BR, Millington, and Liberty Corner. Most realtor sites are notorious for not presenting all the sections of the town together, so you must search by each section of the Twp. BR has a small downtown area, but you will have to go outside of the Twp for most of your shopping, though there are several grocery stores within a 15 min drive. You'll be close to two excellent hospitals, Morristown Medical Center, and Overlook Hospital (about 15 min away in Summit) BR has a train station, so that would make trips into NYC easy. Hubby's commute to Parsippany may be a little longer than you had initially desired, depending on where in the Twp. the home is located. (for me, adding an additional 5/10 min on my commute would not be an issue at all considering how much BR has to offer, I think it is a good trade off)
Since you are expanding your search area, consider also looking at Mendham, which is adjacent to Bernards Twp. You'll find it a wonderful place to raise a family, the schools are fantastic (W.Morris Mendham HS is considered one of the best high schools in the Nation) Both Mendham Twp and Mendham Borough will have a nice selection of homes in your price range. (don't let anyone tell you Mendham is only large estates!) There is a quaint downtown in the Boro, and you are only a short hop (10 min) to Morristown and all it offers.
Thanks KoalaNJ. Yes, the ML home fell through. We are still watching the area as homes become available and also expanding our search. We looked in Mendham when we went on our house hunting trip a few months ago, it just seemed like the homes were so far apart and we want out kids to be able to run over to their friend's house down the street, kind of closeness. The longer I look, the better new construction is looking since we want something updated and move in ready. Unfortunately not an abundance of new neighborhoods popping up! Occassional new homes, but usually built on a busy road or under large power lines or next to train tracks... the way my husband transfers, we need to buy a home that will sell fast, so these details are important in that respect.
Seriously though, I think new construction will be very hard to find that meets the rest of your criteria in the towns that you like. Finding a reasonably updated place gives you the best chance of getting that neighborhood feel that you want. In the towns you mention, land available for new construcion is often "on a busy road or under large power lines or next to train tracks".
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