Guide Me Home to North Jersey

If you are looking to buy a home in areas within Somerset, Morris or Hunterdon County you may find that the home you love uses a septic system instead of a sewer line. If you are selling in these areas, your buyer has the right to conduct an inspection of the system and the results can have an impact on the sale.

A septic system is located on your property and you are responsible for it. The rules concerning allowable size, design, and construction are governed by the Standards for Individual Subsurface Sewage Disposal Systems, N.J.A.C. 7:9A (aka Chapter 199). The Department of Health is responsible for enforcement of this in each township.

The typical septic system is made up of 4 main components: the pipe from the home, a septic tank, a distribution box and the drainage field. Its design and positioning will depend on your property’s characteristics.

The tank can range between 1000 and 2000 gallons, and is typically made up of 1 or 2 chambers with1 or 2 manhole covers. Townships and municipalities will have specific regulations regarding the size and layouts. The overall size is mandated by the number of bedrooms in the house.

The initial reduction of waste happens in the tank. The solids settle and should be anaerobically digested creating sludge, and the liquid ferments flowing out of baffles into the distribution box. This box evenly distributes the flow of the liquid throughout the drainage field.

The next component is the leach or drainage field. The liquid flowing to the field passes through pipes that are perforated and then is eliminated by physical, chemical and biological processes into the soil.  At that point, the water is purified.

An extensive explanation of the entire process can be found at: http://www.nj.gov/dep/dwq/pdf/septicmn.pdf or http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dwq/owm_home.htm#works.

Whether you are buying or selling, it’s best to know about the components and their importance to the overall function of the system. Next time, we will talk about the maintenance of your system and why it’s important.

Posted by:Mary Jane Benedetto

In my last blog, I talked about how homes and sellers are competing with each other in this buyer’s market in three ways. In this segment, I’ll talk about price.

Price is the most obvious competitive factor. The value of a home is not in the seller’s eye, it is in the buyer’s. As a former retailer, let me put this in other terms. When a retailer (seller) purchases and prices a sweater, the seller is, in effect, valuing it. However, if the buyer disagrees with the price for styling, color, or fit reasons, the seller must reduce the price of the sweater so that it will sell. In effect, the buyer has now told the seller the value of the sweater. This is exactly what is happening in today’s Real Estate market.

The result is that the buyer can buy more house for the money, and the seller must be realistic in pricing the house so the buyer agrees with the value. The seller must approach the sale as a business decision, not an emotional decision. The seller wins with proper pricing because they are now able to sell the house.

Research shows that homes priced too high will not only take longer to sell, but usually achieve a lower sale price than similar homes that are priced more realistically. I like to tell clients to price their house where they honestly think it will sell, and be prepared to reduce the price, as previously agreed, if there is no interest or activity.

What is the second way in which homes and sellers are competing with each other? Check back on this blog for Segment Two of this series!

Posted by: Mary Jane Benedetto

In these dicey economic times, there are buyers who truly want to buy a new home. They have a mortgage pre-approval, a good idea of where they want to live and are looking faithfully at homes with a buying mindset. They are perfect buyers except for one small detail: they don’t want to own two homes because they aren’t sure they can sell their current home quickly!

These circumstances are really no different than normal times. It’s strictly a matter of confidence: buying and selling a house concurrently used to be the rule, as all involved had confidence it would all work out. But today, different buying strategies and selling strategies must be used. In effect, two hats must be worn following one rule: It’s a buyer’s market!

The serious buyer or seller will find a market and an inventory very different than a few years ago. All are to the buyer’s advantage while some are to the seller’s advantage! Some of these differences are a more leisurely pace of viewing homes, longer “Days on Market” than previously seen, more homes to be seen and judged, quicker and bigger price reductions, and buyers and sellers who are either realistic or idealistic. Homes and sellers, instead of buyers, are now competing with each other!

How do they compete? Bookmark this website and check back often!

Posted by: Mary Jane Benedetto