Fire at Short Hills Hilton - 300 Evacuated

Latest news about Short Hills from http://www.nj.com/ ....

"About 300 guests and employees were evacuated from the Hilton Hotel in Short Hills for more than two hours today after clothes inside a commercial dryer caught fire, sending smoke and an odor into several floors, authorities said.
No one was injured, but the 10-story hotel on JFK Parkway was emptied at about 4:15 p.m., said Battalion Chief Robert Echavarria of the Millburn fire department. Everyone was allowed to return shortly after 6:30 p.m.
The fire was confined to the dryer on the ground floor, but smoke spread through the ground floor and mezzanine. An odor was detectable up to the seventh floor, the battalion chief said.
Two hotel employees were directed to emergency crews, but the workers refused medical attention."

Hiring A Real Estate Lawyer in NJ: Your Advocate or Your Deal Killer?

Hiring A Real Estate Lawyer in NJ: Your advocate or Your deal killer?

In New Jersey, when a contract to purchase a home is signed, it is not binding, until it's out of "attorney review". What this means to a buyer is that another buyer can come along and outbid you during this period. And to sellers, it means that your neighbor's house with the new gourmet kitchen can come on the market and lure away your buyer. This is why its in the best interest of all parties to hire competent REAL ESTATE attorneys who will protect their interests with protective clauses, and at the same time get them out of attorney review quickly.

Sounds simple, right? Well, if you follow this advice, you will be protected, and also have a much smoother transaction.

1. Hire a recommended LOCAL REAL ESTATE attorney, Notice I didn't just say attorney. They should ONLY be practicing real estate law. A local lawyer will know what's customary. If you're purchasing in Short Hills, Summit, Chatham, Maplewood and other towns in our area, they will know when to add a clause in about an oil tank sweep. They'll know which areas have had flooding issues. They've dealt with zoning,permits in Millburn, Summit or Maplewood town halls and are familiar with the local home inspectors and their reports. They know who to call for asbestos removal, and they know reputation of different builders, etc.... I have 4 real estate attorneys who I work with on a regular basis who really know their stuff. Email me & I'll pass along those names. Its not a bad idea to interview a few attorneys before choosing one to see who's style works best for you.

2. Before hiring the attorney, find out if he/she will be going on vacation any time during the next few weeks or if he/she has anything going on which will affect availability. NOT Returning phone calls & not responding to attorney review letters in a timely manner is one of my biggest pet peeves. I know that the lawyers I work with on a regular basis will NOT put my files under the pile on their desk. You need to feel confident that the attorney you choose will be available to you.

3. Inspection "Requests" or Inspection "Demands".... Make sure you approve the attorney's letters before they go out. I have found that when I'm trying to get through inspection issues with my buyer, sometimes the attorney "inspection demand" letters (which I would prefer to call "inspection requests") are worded so strongly, that it immediately puts the seller's in a defensive mode. When I bought my house in New Jersey ( after having sold real estate for many years in Philly, where we handled everything ourselves and rarely used attorneys), I used the attorney recommended by a friend, instead of one recommended by my realtor. Big mistake. She shot off letters without my approval, and when I read the harsh sounding "inspection demands" letter, I found myself calling the sellers and apologizing for the threatening tone of the letter. Afterall, didn't our parents teach us that you catch more flies with honey?

Over the years I have categorized real estate attorneys into 4 types:

First: "My way or we kill the deal",

Second: " I'll fight for whatever my client wants no matter how unreasonable the request may be, and NOT advise him. I'm my client's puppet."

Third: "I don't have the time to be bothered with returning calls. I'm too busy.
Oh, closing is tomorrow? Oops, I forgot to order the mortgage payoff. "

Fourth:" I am my client's advocate, and at the same time, it is my job to advise my client on what is reasonable. If I can't get anywhere with the other lawyer ( who is type 1,2 or 3), I'll have my clients work it out through the realtors. The smoothest transactions are when we are all working together to resolve the issues in a timely manner.

Which type of attorney would you like to represent you?

Sue Adler is the #1 Keller Williams agent in New Jersey, specializing in towns with 20-50 minutes from NYC. Visit www.SueAdler.com , the ONLY real estate site you need for New Jersey real estate.

Work in NYC? 10 Reasons why you should commute from New Jersey.

10 Reasons why you should move from Manhattan to our awesome New Jersey towns....

1. NJ Transit- Midtown Direct Train gets you into New York Penn Station in 20-40 minutes from South Orange, Maplewood, Millburn, Short Hills, Summit, Chatham & Madison, in that order on the line, and 45 minutes to an hour if you head out towards Morristown, or Basking Ridge. If you click on link above, you will see parking options whether you live in one of these towns or one of the surrounding towns. Need to commute to downtown to the financial district? Just take the train to Hoboken, and then the path or ferry.

Oh, did I mention that there is valet parking at the Millburn train station, and that there is a jitney bus to get you to and from the Maplewood & South Orange train stations during morning and evening rush hours?

2. We have great public schools! 2007 New Jersey School Report Card

3. Our towns are absolutely charming and beautiful. They are SO not like the New Jersey stereotype. Each town has its own personality(and different sections within each town do as well), and you'll find that living here you will frequent all of the surrounding towns for different things from shops to restaurants to theatre to fitness centers to art, piano or karate lessons.

Virtual Tour of Millburn & Short Hills

Virtual Town Tour of Maplewood & South Orange

Virtual Town Tour of Summit

Virtual Town Tour of Chatham

4. There are very active Newcomers Clubs in each of our towns. A great way to meet other newcomers & put the "bourbon back in suburban" is to attend the Octoberfest or Spring Formal. My husband and I STILL go to the monthly wine tastings at the Millburn/Short Hills Newcomers Club because we've made so many new friends at this event. Newcomers Club Sample Activities, Activities with Children

5. We have lots of Golf Courses in New Jersey . Prefer tennis instead? There is the Racquet's Club in Short Hills or the Orange Lawn Tennis Club in South Orange. You can join for tennis or just get the social membership. There are always tons of activities going on. But the cherry on the top is- each of our towns has its own town pool, a relatively inexpensive and popular option.

6. Contrary to Manhattan real estate, in New Jersey, we have a Multiple Listing Service (MLS), so ONE realtor can show you all of the listings in the Garden State MLS. http://www.garden-state-listings.com/

7. Cars today have navigation systems, so you can wander around our beautiful winding tree-lined streets and not get lost if you move here.

8. We have beautiful parks, arboretums, the South Mountain & Watchung Reservations, and local dog parks in Millburn and Livingston. You can go to Millburn Deli and stroll through their parking lot into Taylor park to eat, and relax to a concert or movie in the park as well during the summer.

9. We have a variety of great restaurants!

Scalini Fedeli in Chatham, La Focaccia or Fiorino in Summit and Bascilico in Millburn are my favorites for Italian. For Asian/Thai food, I recommend Toro or Thai Chef in Montclair, Khun Thai in Millburn or Monster Sushi in Summit. The new Roots Steak house in Summit is really great ( reserve early!), and for Happy Hour, join us at Winberries in Summit every Thursday night. Or head over to Toro Loco in South Orange. If you would like to add your favorite restaurants to this post, please comment!

10. You are not, I repeat... ARE NOT... allowed to pump your own gas in New Jersey. Is that great or what?!?

2nd Annual Client Appreciation Party

Thank you to my clients-turned-friends who made it out to my second annual client appreciation party last week!

This years bash was at Restaurant MC in Millburn and we had a great turn out and lots of fun. I got to introduce neighbors to each other ( yes, Levys & Greenbergs who live 3 doors away and hadn't met!), and I loved catching up with everyone I hadn't seen in a while. Whenever I take a buyer out, I always say " Oh, you should meet so and so who just moved here. I know you'd be friends!" So, to show my appreciation for my clients, once a year, I throw a party to introduce them to other clients who also just moved to the area. I kind of have my own newcomers club, I guess. Anyway, it was fun. Can't wait til next year's party!