Jockey Hollow Park (one of four areas which make up Morristown National Historical Park) is located west of Harding Township and east of Mendham. Visitors and local residents can visit the park and enjoy all it has to offer year-round. The main entrance is located off Tempe Wick Road which runs from Route 202 in Harding to Old Route 24 in Mendham.
A brief history is as follows: In the winters of 1777 and 1779-80, General George Washington and the Continental Army set up camp in the rolling hills south of Morristown. The location was advantageous for supply and communication routes, proximity to New York, good defensive positioning, and friendly citizens. The winter weather of 1779-1780 is viewed as one of the worst of its time, but fewer than 100 soldiers died due to the well-built huts (they had learned better building techniques since the Valley Forge experience in 1777) and inoculation against smallpox.
The first stop for visitors is the Jockey Hollow Visitors Center where they can see a video and experience a soldiers’ hut tour. Be sure to ask for a Junior Ranger Handbook so your child can fully experience the visit! Continue on to the Wick House (headquarters of General Arthur St. Clair) and learn the history of Tempe Wick!
Locals enjoy the park for hiking and running. A full hike or run is about 4.5 miles around, but you can pick shorter paths! Even dogs seem to love the quiet serenity of the park and people always say “hello” as they pass you!
To find out more about this historical park, log on to www.nps.gov/morr.
Posted by: 
Mary Jane Benedetto
The Borough of Peapack-Gladstone is located in Somerset County, New Jersey. It is a small community where people enjoy both country living and proximity to New York for easy commuting by train. Schools are part of the Somerset Hills Regional District and include Bedwell Elementary School, Bernardsville Middle School, and Bernards High School.
Homes for sale range from townhouses on Main Street to 76-acre estates with many great homes in between! Victorians, ranches, and brick colonials are some of the eclectic mix of styles. The town’s amenities include great restaurants, a convenient train station, and a library.
To help buyers experience this wonderful town, Turpin Realtors is pleased to be a participant in the Peapack-Gladstone Open House day on Sunday, March 15th. You can find Turpin properties for sale on www.turpinrealtors.com by searching for Peapack-Gladstone. Several of these will be open to the public on that day and you can search for the open houses available and directions on that site. As an example, pictured here is a listing on Lincroft Drive that will be open on Sunday. The home is located in Tiger Hill, a beautiful area right off Peapack Road. It has 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, a family room, 2-story library, and a great room on 1.8 acres! Also, click on this special website for all the details: www.welcometopeapackgladstone.com
I look forward to meeting you in Peapack-Gladstone on Sunday, March 15th!
Posted by: Mary Jane Benedetto
In my first blog in this series, I talked about how homes and sellers are competing with each other in this buyer’s market in three ways. In the last segment, I talked about presentation.
Pre-approval is the third competitive factor. Today, when sellers consider an offer, they want to know if the potential buyer is pre-approved. This is different than pre-qualification, a process in which the buyer, based on stated income and other financial information, is told he or she are likely to be approved. It isn’t binding!
Pre-approval is a powerful competitive factor for the buyer and seller as both buyer and seller are winners. A pre-approval clearly says to the seller that the buyer can afford the house and will obtain financing. If you are buying, you have a big competitive advantage when you make an offer with a pre-approval in hand. If you are selling, and an offer comes in, you know that a pre-approved buyer is a qualified buyer who has started the mortgage approval process. Now you can both move on to other negotiations and ultimately strike a deal.
Posted by: Mary Jane Benedetto
