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  • Foreclosures Foreclosed


    As foreclosed homes became more and more widespread, investors and bargain hunters have sought them out in growing numbers. But what happens when the owner of bank owned homes is foreclosed on. You then can have an FDIC owned home that may be an even [...]
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    Posted: December 08, 2009, 2:40am EST

  • Down By the Riverside



    Which would you prefer: An oceanfront, lakefront, or riverfront home? Most North Jersey folks would probably put riverfront living 3rd on the list because of flooding reports from monster storms of recent decades. As discussed in an earlier post, homes that [...]
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    Posted: December 03, 2009, 1:50am EST

  • 4 Northeastern States Make Progress in CO2 Reduction


    Carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel use are declining in a growing number of states as they invest in the clean, renewable technologies that are part of a new energy future. Emissions remain on the rise in other states that have not eased their reliance on [...]
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    Posted: November 21, 2009, 2:46am EST

  • Hopes for NJ Tax Cuts Fade After Key Merger Vote


    Brian Donahue notes on NJ.com that this month's decision not to merge the tiny towns of Wantage and Sussex could have larger implications for the debate over property taxes and consolidation in New Jersey. It's one of the great paradoxes of New Jersey politics: most [...]
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    Posted: November 16, 2009, 12:51am EST

  • Bloomfield Gains Eco-Recognotion


    New Jersey is the first state in the nation to have a sustainability program that links certification with strong state and private financial incentives, and a fully resourced program of technical support and training. The Sustainable Jersey program is now the accepted benchmark for evaluating a [...]
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    Posted: November 13, 2009, 12:36am EST

  • A New Day for Homebuyers' Tax Credit


    It's official! President Obama today signed legislation H.R. 3548, which includes a provision to extend and expand the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit, with a new $6500 Credit for current homeowners wishing to move up. The New Jersey Association of REALTORS® (NJAR®) anticipates that the' [...]
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    Posted: November 06, 2009, 10:56pm EST

  • A New Day for Homebuyers


    It's official! President Obama today signed legislation H.R. 3548, which includes a provision to extend and expand the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit. The New Jersey Association of REALTORS® (NJAR®) anticipates that the newly signed legislation will help maintain the recent momentum seen in the [...]
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    Posted: November 06, 2009, 4:58pm EST

  • The Well Rounded Home


    Nothing like thinking of the box in home design. Building materials and construction techniques are part of the story, but even once a residence is built there are furniture objects, wall fixtures and all kinds of other design elements that make rounded homes a radical challenge [...]
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    Posted: November 04, 2009, 12:27pm EST

  • Time to Move UP?


    Had very good turnout at my Open House in Nutley. 10 sets of people with no audible complaints about the roomy split level. First time in a long time that majority of buyers were current homeowners looking to upsize.

    Experts are now predicting that [...]
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    Posted: November 02, 2009, 2:57am EST

  • No Paws Left Behind


    Displaced borrowers haven't been the only victims of the foreclosure crisis. An alarming number of pets are being abandoned in vacant homes and properties. Shelters in areas with high numbers of default properties and foreclosures have warned of over-crowding of animals while neighbors of foreclosed properties' [...]
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    Posted: October 27, 2009, 12:57am EDT

  • Bloomfielders for the 350 Project




    Congratulations to Bloomfield's environental groups led by Bloomfield College.for your valiant efforts, on a stormy Saturday, in supporting the 350.org efforts on climate change awareness.
    I just wish they were positioned a little closer to the' [...]
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    Posted: October 25, 2009, 12:49pm EDT

  • New British Map shows Impact of Climate Change


    The British government yesterday raised the political stakes on climate change when it published a new map of the world that details the likely effects of a failure to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

    The map shows the impact of an average 4 degree [...]
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    Posted: October 24, 2009, 2:49am EDT

  • There's Still Time to Get Your $8,000


    Know anyone ready to purchase their first home? There's still time to move to receive that $8,000 Tax Credit before it expires on November 30. We work with attorneys and Mortgage specialists who(depending on the situation) can help you close on a home in less than' [...]
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    Posted: October 20, 2009, 2:57pm EDT

  • Treehouses On the MLS


    Tree houses are a dream living space for so many kids, yet some of the most amazing tree buildings are planned, designed and constructed for adults – from restaurants and resorts to homes away from home. Not something you'd expect in NJ, this one posed a' [...]
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    Posted: October 13, 2009, 2:56am EDT

  • Mortgage Delinquicies Mapped by County


    The Federal Reserve considers the record rate of mortgage delinquencies, foreclosures and their impacts on communities an urgent problem. The New York Fed uses its expertise and knowledge to provide detailed data on U.S. credit conditions to the public to establish a body of factual data [...]
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    Posted: October 10, 2009, 9:45am EDT

  • Climate Change in Washington State


    Visibility dropped to zero in parts of eastern Washington on October 4, as a large dust storm blew through. This image of the storm was captured on NASA’s Terra satellite shortly after noon. According to local news, the storm brought strong winds gusting to 43 [...]
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    Posted: October 05, 2009, 11:37pm EDT

  • Building An Even Better Lightbulb


    Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs), though far more energy efficient than their incandescent, have their critics. The lighting quality tends to be less intense and cool. They also contain trace amounts of mercury, posing health-related breakage and disposal concerns.

    The L Prize is the [...]
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    Posted: September 29, 2009, 10:52pm EDT

  • Avoiding A Housing Relapse



    Bloomberg is warning that the recovering housing market may be heading for a relapse as President Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke consider ending support for the industry that is widely viewed as he source of the global financial crisis.

    The Obama [...]
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    Posted: September 24, 2009, 12:15am EDT

  • New FDIC Info to Prevent Foreclosures.


    The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) announced on Wednesday that it is releasing a free tool kit of information that will help borrowers, community stakeholders and the banking industry avoid unnecessary foreclosures and stop foreclosure "rescue" scams that promise false hope to consumers at risk [...]
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    Posted: September 17, 2009, 4:01pm EDT

  • Does Living Green Increase your Life Expectancy?


    It's no coincidence that healthy living has a direct connection to green living. People that care about the health of the planet often care about eating well, being outside, and avoiding the crap that will shorten their time on this beautiful planet. So it wasn't a [...]
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    Posted: September 16, 2009, 2:55am EDT

  • Open Houses



    The 20 towns I cover the most usually average well over 200 open houses each Sunday. Yesterday there were 16 on this Labor Day weekend. What are the odds that the only two in Bloomfield were 3 doors apart from each other [...]
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    Posted: September 07, 2009, 4:25pm EDT

  • Pending Home Sales Continue Record Roll


    Contract activity for pending home sales has risen for six straight months, a pattern not seen in the history of the index since it began in 2001, according to the National Association of REALTORS®.

    The Pending Home Sales Index, a forward-looking indicator based on [...]
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    Posted: September 05, 2009, 1:35am EDT

  • Treeless Tree City?



    For many years, Bloomfield has been praised as one of the most prominent Tree Cities in New Jersey. This image has been tarnished in the past 2 weeks by the rapid cutting of about a dozen of it's older trees on' [...]
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    Posted: August 30, 2009, 11:13pm EDT

  • Watching the Sun Go Down -- In Price


    For solar shoppers these days, the price is right. Panel prices have fallen about 40 percent since the middle of last year, driven down partly by an increase in the supply of a crucial ingredient for panels, according to analysts at the investment bank Piper Jaffray.
    [...]
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    Posted: August 27, 2009, 11:52pm EDT

  • Open House in Little Falls


    A great day for showing Tulip Garden Condo, Hot muggy weather to weed out the time A great day for showing Tulip Garden Condo, Hot muggy weather to weed out the time wasters. Loud stereo next door to show off the sound proof walls. Great turnout [...]
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    Posted: August 24, 2009, 12:34am EDT

  • Lights On! No More Excuses


    The phase-out of incandescent bulbs in the European Union begins next month, so it’s time to get prepared for a new round of excuses about the "inconvenience" of using more efficient lights. Lane Burt of the Natural Resources Defense Council answers the most [...]
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    Posted: August 21, 2009, 2:53am EDT

  • Bouncing off the Bottom


    August's Dog Days have been full of encouraging news from a variety of sources. From BankRate.com and USA Today:
    Home prices rose across a large swath of the country during the second quarter, adding to the growing list of signs that the housing market' [...]
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    Posted: August 13, 2009, 4:19pm EDT

  • Housing Prices Rise 5% in 2nd Quarter


    From housingwire.com: All regions saw quarterly gains as of July, with the Midwest soaring 11.2%, the South rising 5.3%, the Northeast posting a 2.4% increase and the West gaining 1.1%, according to Clear Capital.

    “As with any housing recovery,” he added, “small pockets of [...]
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    Posted: August 06, 2009, 10:47pm EDT

  • NJ Environmental Groups Call for DEP Investigation Following Corruption Arrests


    "New Jersey's air, land and water are major victims of political corruption in this state. If we want our state to be green, we need to make politics clean," stated Dena Mottola Jaborska, the Executive Director of Environment New Jersey. "These reforms will help to ensure'" [...]
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    Posted: August 03, 2009, 10:37pm EDT

  • The State of Volunteerism in NJ


    (photo: Bloomfield volunteers showed up in force for Third River cleanup near Clarks Pond)
    A new report shows that more Americans are getting involved in their communities in multiple ways. In 2008 volunteering held steady while working with neighbors to solve community problems significantly [...]
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    Posted: July 30, 2009, 11:25am EDT

  • Sharp Rise in New Home Sales


    (photo: Newest section of Four Seasons at Great Notch in Woodland Park and Clifton)

    New home sales rose last month at the fastest clip in more than eight years as buyers eagerly took advantage of bargain prices — a clear sign, economists said, that the [...]
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    Posted: July 28, 2009, 6:24am EDT

  • One Stop Shopping for Homes?


    Google released their real estate search engine about a year ago but this month they took a huge leap toward becoming one of the web's most trafficked real estate search engines.
    Many enhancementa have been to dramatically improve the entire site. They have added more markers [...]
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    Posted: July 27, 2009, 11:21am EDT

  • Dream Home for 2015?


    They call it the Net-Zero Energy home. It has ground source heat pumps (promising a 30% reduction in energy use), photovoltaic arrays, supplementary wind power, high efficiency appliances and battery storage, all talking to each other through a Home Energy Manager.
    The folks at [...]
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    Posted: July 19, 2009, 2:56am EDT

  • Property Tax Appeals Increase Pressures on Local Governments


    I'd like to think that my post last fall clarifying the tax appeal process helped one or two EcoRealty readers along the road to getting back a few tax dollars. In any case, the financial pressures faced by many of us are resulting in a' [...]
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    Posted: July 06, 2009, 4:12pm EDT

  • Prologue to Our Revolution


    This is a day for reflecting on our country's roots in the human need for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." For my extended family, I can't help reflecting on my ancestors' little known contribution to the revolutionary fervor that culminated in the events of [...]
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    Posted: July 04, 2009, 10:38am EDT

  • Pendings Continue to Push Markets Higher


    According to the National Association of Realtors®, pending home sales show a sustained uptrend, rising for four consecutive months with very favorable housing affordability and a first-time buyer tax credit boosting activity.

    The Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast rose 3.1 percent [...]
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    Posted: July 03, 2009, 10:05am EDT

  • Qualify Your Lender!


    Whether your a 1st time buyer, or a homeowner looking to refinance or modify your existing mortgage, it's more important than ever to "qualify" your lender -- just as they're qualifying you. The lowest interest rate isn't always the best deal. Closing costs and prepayment penalties,' [...]
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    Posted: June 30, 2009, 2:26pm EDT

  • Getting Our Green


    NAR has introduced a new GREEN designation for REALTORS®, which will help home buyers and sellers who care about energy efficiency and environmentally sound building practices identify REALTORS® who can help them meet their green home goals.

    I've gone back to school to learn the' [...]
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    Posted: June 21, 2009, 2:50am EDT

  • Residents Rally Council to Defeat Open Space Cuts


    By a 4 to 3 vote, Bloomfield's town council voted down a contoversial proposal to reduce open space funding in the towns 2009 budget. We arrived too late to hear all the heartfelt appeals that residents made at the opening of the meeting, But I' [...]
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    Posted: June 15, 2009, 9:28pm EDT

  • Mortgage Rates Reach 25 Week High


    Mortgage rates jumped across the board this week, with 30 year fixed mortgages reaching their highest point so far this year.

    Freddie Mac reports a jump in the rate for the most popular conventional mortgages to a 25-week high of 5.29 percent during the week [...]
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    Posted: June 09, 2009, 12:24am EDT

  • Brookdale Update

    EcoRealty tries its best to dig up items of local or regional interest that deserve greater exposure. Every once in a while, however, we're able to scoop our colleagues in the local media. Such was the case with the previous story. While we were privileged to be in a position' [...]
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    Posted: June 06, 2009, 2:47am EDT

  • Paving Paradise



    (click on pix to enlarge)
    First it was too many trees on Montclair's Myrtle street. Now an even bigger pushback is underway by residents in the Brookdale Park area for Essex County's widely publicized plans to pave new paths [...]
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    Posted: June 02, 2009, 1:03am EDT

  • Welcoming Weeds









    If you've gone lackadaisically green, then you might find that regular gardening is too much work. You have to keep those plants alive, find non-chemical ways of dealing with weeds and insects, save water and generally care about things.[...]
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    Posted: May 31, 2009, 2:54am EDT

  • A Home for the Ages


    Our latest whirlwind trip to DC left us only a couple of hours to wander the Smithsonian National History museum,so serendipity would have to rule. We wound up spending the most time at a longstanding exhibit displaying the the largest single object in the museum. [...]
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    Posted: May 27, 2009, 11:16pm EDT

  • President Obama Signs Two Important Acts Affecting Homeowners


    President Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA), on May 20. The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act is aimed at helping homeowners by making mortgages more affordable and preventing "avoidable" foreclosures. As many [...]
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    Posted: May 24, 2009, 3:01am EDT

  • Affordable Housing in Montclair


    HOMECorp has recorded a number of successes in its mission: to provide safe, permanently affordable homes in Montclair and to promote neighborhood development. As an organization, HOMECorp seeks to strengthen the community fabric by assisting families who are largely disenfranchised from the booming housing market [...]
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    Posted: May 20, 2009, 11:12am EDT

  • FHA to Allow 8K Tax Credit As Down Payment


    Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development(HUD) has announced that the Federal Housing Administration is going to permit its lenders to allow homeowners to use the $8,000 tax credit as a down payment.

    Donovan’s remarks came in an address to [...]
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    Posted: May 18, 2009, 1:17am EDT

  • A New Model for Downtowns



    New Jersey Future was founded to achieve smart growth statewide: growth that protects New Jersey’s open lands and natural resources, strengthens our communities, makes it easier to get around, and increases our housing choices.
    NJF has just named Bloomfield [...]
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    Posted: May 15, 2009, 1:10am EDT

  • A Model Downtown?



    New Jersey Future was founded to achieve smart growth statewide: growth that protects New Jersey’s open lands and natural resources, strengthens our communities, makes it easier to get around, and increases our housing choices.
    NJF has just named Bloomfield Center as [...]
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    Posted: May 13, 2009, 10:24pm EDT

  • Over a Fifth of Homeowners now Under Water


    Home values in the United States fell again in the first quarter, posting a year-over-year decline of 14.2% to a Zillow Home Value Index of $182,378, according to the first quarter Zillow Real Estate Market Reports, which encompass 161 metropolitan areas and cover the value changes [...]
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    Posted: May 12, 2009, 2:56am EDT

  • Eco-friendly Solar Bench wit WiFi

    photo courtesy of Coroflot
    Treehugger.com is breaking news of The Solar Inside, a collectively designed concept bench, is so much more than just a park bench.

    Imagined by designers Seon-Keun Park, Byung-Min Woo, and Owen Song, the Solar Inside's made with thin-film solar which works' [...]
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    Posted: May 09, 2009, 2:58am EDT

  • Pendings Push Markets Higher


    The Dow Jones rose over 214 points today driven mainly by good news in Real Estate markets. The Pending Home Sales Index from the National Association of Realtors rose in March for the second consecutive month and is up 1.6% higher than a year ago, with [...]
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    Posted: May 05, 2009, 2:52am EDT

  • MayDay for GreenFest


    A few May showers shouldn't drown out today's biggest outdoor environmental festival.
    Celebrate and learn about sustainable living, working, and community at the Bloomfield Green Fest on Saturday, May 2, 2009, from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at Brookside Park. RAIN or SHINE

    [...]
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    Posted: May 02, 2009, 2:57am EDT

  • Our Busy Season


    Homebuyers are returning to the market in growing numbers according to CNBC. U.S. home prices fell a record 8.2 percent in 2008 as the recession and the surge of foreclosures caused the worst devaluation of real estate since the Great Depression, according to the Federal [...]
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    Posted: April 26, 2009, 2:41am EDT

  • Does Earth Day Still Matter?


    This year marks the 40th celebration of Earth Day. But with green exploding everywhere and a progressive administration in the White House, do we still need it? Grist asked writers, activists, and business types from around the country to weigh in: [...]
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    Posted: April 22, 2009, 11:17pm EDT

  • Out of This World


    Today is the start of "Earth Week" with a long list of global events centering around Earth Day on Wednesday. For the last 10 years NASA has been featuring it's Image of the Day selected from the thousands of photographs snapped from its satellites and astronaut' [...]
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    Posted: April 20, 2009, 2:01am EDT

  • The Way to FHA


    “Without FHA financing, families would be unable to purchase homes and communities would suffer from continued foreclosures and blight,” said Lennox Scott, a member of National Association of Realtors® Real Estate Advisory Board.

    Over the past 18 months, FHA has handled an increase in volume [...]
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    Posted: April 17, 2009, 2:50am EDT

  • Happy Easter!



    Our official White House eggs, dog, and wonderful news of rescued ship captain. [...]
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    Posted: April 12, 2009, 3:42pm EDT

  • Banking on the Recession


    The current national (and even global) financial melt-down is likely to grow worse before getting better. Yes, the Federal Reserve was put into place to prevent a major banking crisis from wrecking havoc on the nation in a 1929 style run but keep in mind, despite [...]
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    Posted: April 07, 2009, 2:55am EDT

  • Your Neighborhood Commodities Market


    Veggie Trader is a free resource for
    bringing good food and good people together. Wish you could turn your excess plums into lemons, or maybe even a little cash? Use this site to find neighbors to swap with
    or sell your excess produce to. Or [...]
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    Posted: April 02, 2009, 4:48pm EDT

  • New Developments for NJ Solar


    Gov. Jon S. Corzine today signed into law three Assembly Democratic measures designed to
    improve energy efficiency, expand solar and wind energy production and promote solar energy usage in new homes.
    The first bill (A-1558) sponsored promotes the installation of solar energy panels [...]
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    Posted: March 31, 2009, 10:13pm EDT

  • The Ups and Downs of Today's Mortgage Market

    Mortgage Applications Jump
    U.S. mortgage applications jumped last week as record low interest rates spurred a surge in demand for home refinancing loans, data from the Mortgage Bankers Association showed on Wednesday. The MBA said its seasonally adjusted index of mortgage applications, which includes both purchase and [...]
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    Posted: March 27, 2009, 6:08pm EDT

  • New Home Sales Spring Forward


    The U.S. Census Bureau reported that new home sales rose 4.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 337,000 in February from a revised 322,000 in January. It was the first increase since July. Economists were expecting a sales rate of 300,000, according to consensus estimates [...]
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    Posted: March 27, 2009, 2:07am EDT

  • A Yale of Two Towns' Fire Departments


    This month marked two major developments in the Fire Departments of the adjacent towns of Clifton and Bloomfield. The doors finally closed on Clifton's Fire Dept #2, laying off several of its firefighters, as part of the city council's plan to save more than $4 [...]
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    Posted: March 23, 2009, 11:59pm EDT

  • Veggie Garden Vctory at the White House



    Click on map to enlarge. Garden Map courtesy of The White House

    Details in today's NY Times' [...]
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    Posted: March 20, 2009, 4:29am EDT

  • Eco-Cash for Home Owners


    So you didn't qualify for home buyer tax breaks or home owner loan modifications from the stimulus bill? Cheer up! You can now get up to $19,000 in upgrades to your house. Expanded tax incentives in 2009 and 2010 for energy-efficient and renewable-energy home' [...]
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    Posted: March 19, 2009, 12:56pm EDT

  • It's Heating Up


    I get asked all the time if buyers are coming back into the market. If the past few weeks are any indication, I'd have to say YES. Clifton for example has been one of the slower markets with literally 100's of 3 and 4 bedroom homes [...]
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    Posted: March 14, 2009, 11:49pm EDT

  • Cutting Edge Compost


    On Tuesday, March 10, at 7:00 p.m. at the Bloomfield Civic Center, Nicholas Smith-Sebasto, associate professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Studies at Montclair State University will present a seminar on large-scale aerobic composting as used at MSU since 2007, sponsored by the Bloomfield [...]
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    Posted: March 09, 2009, 10:58pm EDT

  • Making Home Affordable


    On March 4, 2009, The Obama Administration announced new U.S. Department of the Treasury guidelines to enable servicers to begin modifications of eligible mortgages under the Administration's Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan – announced by President Barack Obama on February 28, 2009. The National Association of' [...]
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    Posted: March 06, 2009, 1:26am EST

  • Liongate Developer Bailing Out of Flood Plain Project



    The latest development in our neighborhood's two-decade long effort to prevent a massive townhouse development on Liongate's flood prone Scientific Glass site is: No Development.

    The site’s current owner, Arthur Fefferman, reportedly purchased the property in 2003 for 3M. The 104 town [...]
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    Posted: February 28, 2009, 7:21pm EST

  • $8,000 Tax Credit Finalized

    The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has launched a newly-designed web site that provides detailed information about the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers that is a key measure in the sweeping economic stimulus legislation just signed into law by President Obama. Homebuyers can find other helpful [...]
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    Posted: February 23, 2009, 2:33am EST

  • Our Greenest Gov?

    Brendan Byrne, the cover model of this month's Inside Jersey's Green Edition, has one of the best environmentalist records of any Jersey governor. He recently reflected on his legacy. (Video by Jennifer Weiss)
    The Green Govs: Brendan Byrne [...]
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    Posted: February 21, 2009, 2:37am EST

  • Building Solutions That LEED the Way


    Green Depot is this country's leading supplier of environmentally friendly and sustainable building products, services and solutions. Founded in 2005, Its primary goal is to facilitate green living and LEED friendly building in communities so that it is accessible(you can even find them' [...]
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    Posted: February 19, 2009, 10:49pm EST

  • First Time Buyer Segment Now Nearly Half of NE Market


    source: NAR 2008 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
    In the years of rising prices and quick sales, first-time home buyers made up a smaller share of the market. As affordability improves but sales slow, it is more difficult for current homeowners to sell their [...]
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    Posted: February 16, 2009, 2:14am EST

  • Solar is Coming to a Corner Near You


    Public Service Electric and Gas Company today asked state regulators to approve a $773-million proposal to bring 120 megawatts of solar power directly to communities and customers throughout its service territory.

    PSE&G proposed a comprehensive program that includes the largest pole-attached solar installation [...]
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    Posted: February 10, 2009, 2:14pm EST

  • How They're Recalculating Your FICO Score


    This might be a good time to update your credit reports. Fair Isaac, the developer of FICO scores, has made the biggest change to its mathematical credit score model since it was introduced in 1989. Scores will still be on a 300- to 850-point scale. [...]
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    Posted: February 09, 2009, 11:04am EST

  • The Tax Break to Brake Housing Crunch?


    The US Senate on Wednesday unanimously approved a proposal that would give a significant tax break to anybody who buys a house by the end of the year. (The Stimulus Plan is expected to pass within a few days.)

    Assuming the tax break is [...]
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    Posted: February 05, 2009, 10:16pm EST

  • Ground Hog Free Zone


    It's gotta be tough being a ground hog in NYC. Aside from Staten Island Chuck, you just can't dig anywhere without hitting something hard. New Yorkers go about unaware of what is happening just beneath their feet: Power pulses, information flies, and steam flows. The [...]
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    Posted: January 31, 2009, 4:49pm EST

  • Existing-Home Sales Show Surprising Gains


    Existing-home sales rose unexpectedly in December while inventory declined, led by a surge of sales in the West, according to the National Association of Realtors®.

    Existing-home sales – including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops – jumped 6.5 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of [...]
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    Posted: January 30, 2009, 7:01pm EST

  • Border Wars


    From The Clifton Journal:

    A real estate developer is still eyeing a residential road atop Garret Mountain for service to a Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson) housing project, despite a City zoning board's unanimous decision to reject the proposal.

    Since October of' [...]
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    Posted: January 28, 2009, 2:55am EST

  • Big Belly


    Convincing cities throughout the U.S. to go green is not as easy as it appears. There will always be resistance from skeptics who don’t believe in green house gases, as well as from those who fear change. Take for example DEC Green Corp., a Bronx based [...]
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    Posted: January 26, 2009, 8:48am EST

  • Tale of Two Towns

    We've discussed Sperling's Best Places web site in regards to other towns in our area. Besides their top 10 lists, the site provides many other resources for comparing communities. Clifton & Little Falls are next door neighbors of very different sizes, but similar demographics(click on graphic to enlarge).[...]
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    Posted: January 25, 2009, 2:01pm EST

  • Day One



    Our challenges may be new. The instruments with which we meet them may be new. But those values upon which our success depends - hard work and honesty, courage and fair play, tolerance and curiosity, loyalty and patriotism - these things are old. These things [...]
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    Posted: January 20, 2009, 5:46pm EST

  • A Time For Service


    Our incoming President has helped transform this Martin Luther King day into a day of service. It signals the beginning of a new era of community service that is energizing our nation. A good place to start is by getting involved with charities such as the [...]
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    Posted: January 19, 2009, 6:16pm EST

  • 30 Year Rates Continue to Dip Below 5%


    Freddie Mac's latest surveys are showing the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.89 % with an average 0.7 point drop for the week ending January 15. Last year at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 5.69 percent. The 30-year FRM has not been lower since Freddie Mac' [...]
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    Posted: January 18, 2009, 10:42pm EST

  • 3 Into 1 -- Wow!

    (click on graphic to enlarge)
    It's taken 3 years of flogging this blog, but we've finally reached a pinnacle of NJ eco/real blogdom. We've tried to focus on the positive and timely aspects of real estate, land/use and environmental innovation with a mix of optimimism and realism.' [...]
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    Posted: January 16, 2009, 9:36pm EST

  • Green House Gets A Mood Ring


    The BrightBuilt Barn is an attempt to push the envelope of sustainable design. It is the practical outcome of an in-depth collaboration by a Who's-Who team of Maine's green engineers and professionals, and a visionary client to create a super green, offsite fabricated [...]
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    Posted: January 15, 2009, 5:45pm EST

  • Perception vs Reality


    Although home values in the Northeast have declined an a slower rate than most of the country, home ownerrs are still in denial about their local market. (click to enlarge) [...]
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    Posted: January 14, 2009, 12:33am EST

  • Essex Goes EBay


    In the bad old days, it took serious political connections -- or an eagle eye for those small print classifieds -- for a vendor to find out about government contracts in time to submit a serious bid. Essex County Executive Joe DiVincenzo has just unveiled [...]
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    Posted: January 07, 2009, 12:04pm EST

  • Resolving to Green Up Your Home


    Why not make some resolutions now that will help you lower your carbon footprint and increase the energy-efficiency of your home throughout the winter and for years to come. You don't have to wait for an act of congress. Planet Green will ease you into the' [...]
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    Posted: January 07, 2009, 1:39am EST

  • Not everything that can be ...

    Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. - Albert Einstein [...]
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    Posted: January 04, 2009, 2:59am EST

  • First Aid for Homeowners


    The number one resolution for many this year will be getting our financial house in order. If making your mortgage payments is becoming problematic, the place to look in New Jersey for help is the
    Homeownership Preservation Refinance Program. HPRP is an affordable financing alternative [...]
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    Posted: January 03, 2009, 12:44am EST

  • Happy 2009!

    [...]
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    Posted: January 02, 2009, 12:50am EST

  • NY, NJ Counties Rank Highest in Property Tax on Homeowners


    No surprise that NJ still has more of the highest taxed counties than any other state. or even that Bergen, Essex and Passaic are all on national the top 10. What's interesting in the latest breakdown from The Tax Foundation is that there's nowhere to [...]
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    Posted: December 27, 2008, 2:39am EST

  • Christmas Wishes With Hope...


    ...for a New Year of Peace and real Change.

    Geoff

    http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/k6lJ0Szi85WJlRrJNygf
    (seems to run better on cable than DSL)

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrmUipa1kc4 [...]
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    Posted: December 25, 2008, 2:00pm EST

  • Climate Change in Washington


    One of the President-elect's last announced appointments to his "Green Team" is his official science advisor: the renowned physicist John Holdren. Holdren advised the Obama campaign on climate and energy earlier this year and at one point was designated as a surrogate spokesman on [...]
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    Posted: December 22, 2008, 2:11am EST

  • Is THIS as Low as it Gets?


    At 4.74%, Zillow's update yesterday reached the lowest level for 30 year mortgages anyone around here can remember. We suspect the stampede to refinance had something to do with the bump up to 4.94 today. With the Fed rate virtually ZERO, we may have just about [...]
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    Posted: December 18, 2008, 5:11pm EST

  • Biggest Losers $$$ Edition


    Can't believe how much money you've lost in the past couple of months? Neither can we. But we're pleased to say that our misery has some serious company.

    Here's The Silicon Alley's Insider's unofficial list of The Biggest Losers: 20 global moguls who have gotten [...]
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    Posted: December 16, 2008, 3:17pm EST

  • Timing the Housing Market? The Times Says It's Time


    Realtors have been forecasting a perfect storm in recent months, and it looks like the waves are beginning to swell out there. We've seen a trifecta of record home inventories, declining prices, and interest rates hitting record lows.
    Now, The NY Times has suggested [...]
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    Posted: December 07, 2008, 8:35am EST

  • Top 10 Priorities for That Dream House


    So what's lasting value? Here's a list of homebuyers' most sought-after features, according to the National Association of Realtors.

    1. Central Air Conditioning
    2. Garage with two or more spaces
    3. Walk-in closet in master bedroom
    4. Backyard/play area
    5. Cable/Satellite TV-ready

    6. High-speed [...]
     | Rate | Archive
    Posted: December 04, 2008, 11:25pm EST
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