Hey everyone! My partner and I recently checked out this house in a great neighborhood in Jersey. Here are the key points: the house was recently renovated this year, the elementary school isn’t great but the middle and high schools are good, the area is super safe and convenient, and the owner was the real estate agent on site.
Before the open house, our big worry was the crawl space. We’ve bought houses in other states with basements, not crawl spaces. The bilco door was a surprise, but the owner assured us that the crawl space was dry and the house had no history of flooding. The paint job wasn’t top-notch – you could tell it was touched up by an amateur. The dishwasher wasn’t properly mounted, and the kitchen wasn’t really new, just painted over in white. The baseboards were poorly redone, with yellowing lines on each one. Downstairs, the shower door wasn’t even properly attached. On the plus side, we liked the exterior, the deck, the number of rooms, the hardwood floors, the newer bathrooms, and the nice driveway.
When I asked for the disclosure report, the seller said he’d only share it with serious buyers. The house has been listed and relisted multiple times, and my partner and I have already seen hundreds of homes – Jersey’s real estate market is cutthroat! The owner also made it clear he wasn’t budging on the price.
So, any advice for us? We’re navigating a competitive market and want to make sure we’re making the right choice.