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Happy Halloween! In my eight years as a realtor, I've collected enough thrilling stories for one lifetime. (I don't think I know many realtors who like haunted houses and it's likely because the work is scary enough.. lol) Here are my top three scary real estate stories. (Most of which did thankfully have a happy ending.) 1. The Creature in the Attic One ominous evening my clients and I scheduled an appointment to visit a home in West Orange. It was a property set all the

There are two types of people in New Jersey in October: those who want to spend an evening being chased by someone with a chainsaw, and those who would prefer to sip apple cider and admire a pumpkin from a safe distance. Luckily, we live in a state where you can enjoy both! With Halloween just around the corner, here are a few ways to get out of the house, enjoy the season and make the most of October before we all start pretending it’s time for Christmas 1. The 13th Hour Ha

Anyone who's grown up in North Jersey has a story about their family living in a two-family, with a relative on every level or a single family with grandma in the basement, cooking up the Sunday gravy in the summer kitchen. This multi-generational housing aspiration is still very real for many of us in North Jersey, especially given the cost of housing and childcare, have parent nearby to watch the kids offers additional time and cost savings afterall. For generations, this

Apparently, you don’t have to go to Miami to find Miami. You can just go to Wayne.... If you’ve driven past the Preakness Shopping Center on Hamburg Turnpike lately, you may have noticed something looking a little... different. No, Wayne hasn't suddenly tried to become South Beach. It’s a movie set! The new Miami Vice ’85, starring Michael B. Jordan and Austin Butler, is being filmed in part right here in New Jersey. The movie is a new take on the iconic 1980s crime series,

Years ago, a mentor told me to keep an eye on something called the Gateway project. He said it could one day give the Bergen County train lines a direct ride into Penn Station. Like most big projects in Jersey, I figured I'd believe it when I saw it. Well, on Monday, I saw it! The machine is on! New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul stood in North Bergen and fired up the first tunnel boring machine for the new Hudson River tunnel. The thing is enormous

Maybe! Before I get into the weeds here, please note, I am only getting into the ability to qualify for this example investment property, not necessarily personal affordabilty. In fact, it may even be easier to qualify for a $1 million investment property than it is to qualify for a $750,000 single-family. Huh? This sounds backwards... Well, the answer has a lot to do with how the lender looks at income. When you're buying a house to live in yourself, the lender is primarily

I saw an article recently where New Jersey was ranked the #2 happiest state behind Hawaii. NJ Ranked #2 Happiest State to Live Recently, another article ranked New Jersey as the #2 best place to live, behind Idaho. I won't get into the incongruity of comparing Hawaii and Idaho in these respective lists. I'll just focus on how NJ is ranked here. On the "best place to live" list, it cited the usual factors: proximity to transportation, jobs, parks, the beach, and food. On the "

I have a confession, guys. Like so many of us, I've been relying on ChatGPT, Claude etc. for many aspects of my life. I have always loved to write ever since I was a young girl, and for the sake of ease and convenience, I've outsourced this creative expression a little too much, including in much of my writing for The Gabagool. I wanted to write this as an ode to myself and the subscribers, stating that I will write this newsletter 100% myself from now on (excluding stats and

September always feels like a reset. The kids are back in school, summer is winding down, routines are returning and for many people, this is when those conversations about “what’s next?” start becoming a little more serious. If buying or selling a home is somewhere on your radar, now is a great time to start planning, even if you aren't ready to make a move tomorrow. Still Thinking About Selling This Year? There is still time. While the spring and summer markets tend to get

Before there were diners, shore houses, traffic on the Turnpike and the eternal debate over whether Central Jersey actually exists, there was... New Jersey. And believe it or not, the story starts with a pretty interesting real estate deal. When Europeans arrived in the 1600s, the land we now call New Jersey was home to the Lenape and other Indigenous peoples. The Dutch established settlements in the region, but in 1664, the English took control. King Charles II granted the t

There’s a lot to love about condo living: less maintenance, great amenities and locations, and the ability to own without taking on all the responsibilities of a single-family home. But if you’re buying or selling a condo, there’s another piece of the puzzle becoming increasingly important: the financial health of the condo association. CONDO RESERVES ARE GETTING MORE ATTENTION If you’ve bought a condo before, you probably remember your lender asking for things like the HOA b

Apparently, the rest of the country is finally catching on.... A new WalletHub ranking just named New Jersey the second-best state to live in the entire country. Yes, lil' old us in New Jersey.... The state everyone loves to make fun of. The state of traffic, tolls, property taxes, the mafia (shhh, who said that?!) and the occasional Turnpike smell you would rather not investigate... And yet, here we are at #2! (we'll take it!) As someone born and raised in New Jersey, I tr

If you've been following the housing market, you've probably heard plenty about mortgage rates. For many buyers, today's rates have made affordability one of the biggest challenges to purchasing a home. But there's one financing option that doesn't get nearly enough attention: FHA assumable mortgages . Here's how they work : When a homeowner purchases a property using an FHA loan, that mortgage is often assumable, meaning a qualified buyer can take over the seller's existing

Did anyone else know this was actually a thing? I did not... lol Whether you've spotted inflatable snowmen on front lawns, taken advantage of Christmas in July sales, or just enjoyed an excuse to embrace a little holiday cheer, Merry Christmas in July! Believe it or not, this fun tradition has found its way into New Jersey communities with themed events, local shopping promotions, and even homeowners adding a festive touch to their summer curb appeal. It's a reminder that h

I’m writing this from the back patio of our rental in Lavallette, got my coffee, the sun and my journal with me.  We’ve rented here for years now, and every summer I tell myself the same thing, that one day we’ll own down here, even if I can’t say exactly when. This week I’ve been doing what I always do at the shore, which is walk around and look at every house like it’s a listing. Every summer, it seems like more new constructions take the place of where old little shore

Tomorrow my grandma turns 92, and like clockwork every summer, we’re spending this week down the shore in Lavallette/ Ortley beach, just like we have for the past 10+ years. This week is always more than a vacation for me. It’s become my time to reflect, to journal, and to think about what’s ahead for the second half of the year. I look forward to it every single summer. This year that reflection hits differently. Earlier this year, she had a health scare. It was scary

As our country celebrates America's 250th birthday this year, I've found myself thinking about another milestone that's a little closer to home. This year, our house celebrates its 100th birthday! haha. Built in 1926, this place has quietly stood through a century of changing seasons, growing families, economic highs and lows, world wars, and countless moments of everyday life. It's humbling to think that while we're only temporary caretakers, this home has already welcomed

Ok so you know how every Thursday night and Friday in summer the Parkway turns into a parking lot? Everyone white knuckling it south, hoping to beat traffic that never actually gets beaten... Well there's a new move (for some)... A ferry to the Jersey Shore!! This direct ferry is now running from NYC straight to the Jersey Shore. Where do I get it & Where does it go? The ferry boards at the Battery Martime Building (Slip 5) in Lower Manhattan and lands you right at Captain Bi

Are we really not so far off from this popular MEME becoming our reality in NJ with this latest Bogota listing?! A recent listing in Bergen County has been generating plenty of conversation among local residents, homebuyers, and real estate professionals alike. The property, a newly built one-bedroom, one-bathroom home in Bogota, was listed for $499,000, 16 W. Grove St., Bogota, NJ At first glance, many people were shocked by the asking price. After all, the home is notably s

The Map of Northern NJ Is Quietly Getting Redrawn Most people think about real estate town by town. But what's happening right now in Northern NJ is bigger than any single market and if you own a home here, or you're trying to buy one, it matters. NJ Transit is actively advancing the Environmental Impact Statement for the Northern Branch Light Rail extension, a proposed line that would bring new station stops to North Bergen, Ridgefield, Palisades Park, Leonia, and Englewood,