> You think Essex, Passaic and Bergen county cant lose 11k people/families from moving and not simply have that replenished AND EXCEEDED by their birth rate?

I think you have a couple of dense, impoverished towns in essex and passaic, where you may have seen some migration due to increased wages. In Bergen you really only have hackensack & englewood. Englewood i could see, hackensack is on an upswing. Maybe decreased migration to Ft.Lee\palisades park or first generation moving on from there? hard to say.

Bergen maybe you have older folks moving out, but pretty much anything in any of the bergen towns is quickly gobbled up. My house has still gone up in value post-pandemic and interest rate hikes when i look at recent comps.

I've got to think essex, passaic, and bergen are driven by a handful of big places in that town.

I'm in bergen and if i put my house up for sale it probably wouldn't last a week until an open house before it was sold.

If anything, based on the 3 houses being gutted and expanded on my street at this very moment, people are putting down more permanent roots. Seems everyone who had a starter house has said "fuck it, lets make this our forever home".

Which sucks, because that was my plan, and they gobbled up all the tradespeople.

You are correct in you will best be set with a local landlord who will understand your situation. You will get bonus points for being a teacher, they are generally awesome tenants.

You MAY be able to find larger places in Rahway, Cranford, etc, who take bonding agreements. Basically you pay a 3rd party a fee (usually about a month's rent), who has an agreement with the property that they will cover your rent if something goes south. (note it doesn't get you off the hook for rent, the bonding company will now be the ones who chase you down), but it can help someone without a history, perfect credit, or with an unusual job situation at the time they need to sign a lease.

The student loan stuff is BS, nobody cares as long as your income is in line with the 30 or 40x gross annual income to rent rule and your debt to income ratio is healthy.

One thing you may want to do is reach out to your new school district, and see if they know places that have been cool with renting to teachers in the past. I wouldn't frame it as, "I'm having a hard time" i'd frame it more as "I'm looking at a few different places, do you guys have any recomendations about good spots for teachers to start out from?"

Some of us are on the Gaston diet, so it still stings.

Our ace, and another local hardware store are both open on sunday's for about half the day (and locally owned businesses despite the name). So i'm happy to support them.

What they are willing to sell you will depend on if they know you and what way the wind is blowing that day. If someone questions you just say "Emergency". There is a carve out in the county and town laws for that. Prices are meh compared to the big boxes, and you won't get everything you need there, but at the same time they stock well for what is in the area. So if you need some wacky plumbing fitting or whatever, because every house in your area was built between 1952 and 1954 and that was what people used for all of 3 years, they will be more likely to have it than the big orange or blue.

Their lumber, at least by me sucks and is limited in size. They are very brand specific on certain stuff so if you run certain tools, you may be SOL, and they also simply don't carry certain lines.

I've gotten into the habit of planning for doing the work on sunday, and gathering materials on saturday. Like i have to repain my staircase hallway this weekend, so today i ran out to lowes, the paint store, am in the middle of doing my prep now in case i missed anything, and tomorrow i can just roll paint.

My only real complaint starts next month, when we are getting the yard in order, and i realize i need a few bags of soil or plants or whatever on a sunday, and have to pay garden center prices, or drive out to patterson and lug dirt or whatever home in my car, vs a mile away and rent their truck for 20 bucks to make a mess with.

I got into a debate over a patio umbrella in shop rite of all places a couple of years ago on a Sunday.

"Sorry, we can't sell that as its technically furniture" "Well could you sell me an umbrella?" "Yes" "Could you sell me a BIG umbrella? I'm pretty tall..." "Sir, i don't make the rules"

Our local hardware store skirts around it by just having 14 year old kids run the register, and will occasionaly say something like, "that 2x4 is for an EMERGENCY repair....right?"

Also the "dollar" store by us flys in all face of reason that they are open and selling stuff, but nobody really cares as it isn't like they are creating traffic, etc.

years ago i worked for a major big box retailer in corporate. 1000+ stores.

Our number one and 2 stores, by both revenue and profit, by a longshot, were in Paramus, and not even a mile apart (not in the malls either).

Really opening on sunday would just have spread things out, and carry the burden of the cost of being open an extra day. Not to mention poach some business from neighboring counties where people who HAD to get something on sunday would go.

I go over to american dream on sundays a lot to ski, and that place is still hopping even then. A lot of stores are actually open and try and skate by on very vague exceptions to the law (the hat store was open, saying they counted as 'sporting goods'). It seems to be very loosely enforced there.

Edit: its also worth noting that individual towns have their own (paramus being the most restrictive) and the overall county law is relatively loose. Also enforcement is done at the local level, which is why some towns are a little more loosey goosey than paramus. I imagine the bergen county sheriff would step in if a town really went bonkers with it so the whole thing wasn't undermined, but they seem to be cool letting american dream do its own thing, and i suspect are more of the mind that the meadowlands and the football teams will keep it relatively in check and its in everyone's interest that the place is a success. I wouldn't be surprised down the road an exemption carved out for it, and would support it.

I worked in an office in Montvale, and every so often would have to run in on sunday for something for an emergency. It was always, "ok, can this wait until monday or do we just pay the couple hundred buck fine" I forget the details, but it was reasonable if you called the cops and explained it, if they drove by and saw a car there, and caught you entering\exiting, it was more severe.

More than once i sat in the parking lot until midnight with a cop parked next to me. We all agreed it was silly, but if they didn't enforce it, everyone would quickly start abusing it and it would defeat the point.

Bergen resident here.

While i wish they would make an exception for homedepot\lowes (technically they CAN open but only sell some stuff), i get by with going to ACE (who really bends the rules), or worse comes to worse, an extra 10 minute drive to patterson.

Its nice having a day that traffic isn't nuts if older relatives want to visit, we want to grab a bite to eat out, etc. Also makes you plan your weekends out a bit better.

Every 10 years or so someone makes noise about this, it eventually comes to a vote, and is always thoroughly defeated.

One of the biggest insulating factors in home prices are schools.

We do pretty well with them.

Stuff will stall, stuff will probably pull back a bit, but it won't crash. Even in 08, the only people who got really burned were the ones who bought in 06 or 07, and had to sell before 10.

read the policy, that is what matters.

Like all things, you get what you pay for. When you need your insurance, especially on a home, its not something you want to dick around with. If they are undercutting the real names by THAT much its more than just a lower marketing budget.

Also make sure they meet your lenders requirements or you can have stuff go tits up at the closing table, and find yourself on the hook for stuff.

I've had "discount" insurance when i was younger, and a claim was a giant headache, and then they told me to bend over and squeel like a pig when renewal time came up.

I have "good" insurance now (not the cheapest guy on the block, good company and agent), and had to do an auto claim last year, and it was the smoothest, easiest process ever. "Send us a few pictures, go get an estimate from someone you like, fire it on over, and a check will be in the mail"

Like, i'm pretty sure i came out ahead of the game despite my wife being 100% at fault backing into something, and my rates actually went down when we renewed, despite the claim.

Edit: also 3k seems high, unless your house is worth well over 7 figures, or it includes stuff like flood. I don't pay close to that and i'm in the north with a property value scratching 7 figures. I want to say we pay about 2k.

Its not about coverage for a passenger. Its about having another driver who has ready access to your vehicle.

Your insurance company gets you may loan your dumbass friend your car for a few hours. They don't want the guy with 2 DUI's and 3 accidents saying 'I don't have a car' riding on his wife's spotless insurance.

Its been a long time since i have had roommates, but i do have a spouse, and know people with driving age kids.

Your insurance company is within their right to say "these people have regular access to your car, they either need their own policy, or be under yours" Usually this comes up only with young or new drivers, or as i mentioned above, you are in your 20s living with rando roommates on a cheap policy.

There SHOULD be an option to have a rider that explicitly excludes them from coverage. The gotcha with that is, if you want to let them borrow your car for a day, you are now not covered, and also committed a crime, if something happened, unless you want to charge them with stealing your car. That could be as simple as they were doing you a favor and moving it from one side of the street to the other, and hit something.

I'm going to assume if everyone isn't really young, something one of the parties involved did was big enough to flag you with your insurance company on an address search, in which case, you should be very cautious about loaning them your car. Likewise if they got flagged in an address search, well, someone is using your address.

Edit: just re-read your post, and the reason you PROBABLY got flagged was your BF's parents own the home so came up in an address search. So don't want to accuse anyone of anything. You SHOULD be able to tell your insurance company they have their own policies, and be good to go (they may want proof). Again, i'm going to guess you are under a cheap policy that takes no chances, or are new to the insurance company or a new driver.

If your company still won't take that, i'd start shopping around, but ultimately its up to your insurance company if they want to insure you (outside some protected stuff) and are free to refuse your business.

TLDR; someone probably has something bad on their abstract.

The temporary license will get you through a traffic stop no problem. (source, happened to me).

If you plan on getting a drink with it, A place that is even remotely strict on id's will probably not accept it.

even if they give you the vertical one still, it shouldn't be a problem in 99% of places as they will double check your birthdate. The purpose of the vertical one is to make it obvious that it needs extra attention.

The one gotcha is if they allow you to renew a vertical one online. I could see that being one of the cases where you need to go in, as people's looks tend to change a fair amount between 17 and 21.

There was a great one in Milburn that was around forever, that i forget the name of. I recall hearing it closed maybe 5 years ago.

Also was one way back in the early 2000s in hoboken that was good, and had a crazy eclectical cast of characters in their revolving door of staff. i must have ate their weekly for a few years from when i first moved in, until when they closed down.

Check out howell. Lots of italian families.

Don't quote me on this, but i think that was the point of a provisional, assuming you have no passengers.

When I got my learners permit at 16, in the way back days, we weren't allowed to drive after dark. I get my license, and suddenly i was allowed to drive at dark, with no experience, with whomever in the car.

The graduated license was supposed to solve some of this stuff.

This TUESDAY at HUNKA BUNKAS in SAYREVILLLLLLLLLLE its Edit_Red's Wedding. Come for the MONEY DANCE......stay for the NERDS. Special Appearance by BON SPRINGSTEEEEEEN.

Edit: sorry, i didn't mean anything culturaly offensive, I get its part of some, and a fun time. I just assumed you were italian, so in which case, MADONE!.

Its reddit so its just the loudest voices.

As i said below, if someone pays their rent on time every month, for 12 months, i make EXACTLY 1 month in rent "profit" after paying our note, taxes, insurance, accountant, and putting aside money for capital repairs. My place sits vacant for 2 months, i'm out 2 years of that profit. One tenant trashes the place, and i'm out a multiple of that, and yeah, have fun trying to collect against a person like that.

The real money is in the equity, but even then, when you consider the liability and expense and time sink a small time landlord puts in, unless they are trying to time the market and play the long game, they are better off going to AC and playing blackjack. If they are playing the long game, there are honestly plenty of things i can expect to see the same return on by just setting and forgetting it over 20-30 years.

Real estate SHOULD be just a way of diversifying your investments. Its possible to be an honest and ethical landlord, and i like to think of myself as one, but more and more i'm finding most tenants aren't willing to return the favor. You don't think i know you have 2 cats when the lease said no and you couldn't have even bothered to ask me? That the person you are dating basically lives there when the lease says no? The oil stain on the drivway came from you trying to shadetree oil change your car?

So....despite what everyone tells you on reddit, you won't get rich doing it.

Best case scenario, you make a month's rent in profit after covering all your expenses, note, etc. And that is a smooth year, where you have a perfect tenant that doesn't cause issues for all 12 months, need nothing that falls outside your capital budget, and the one or two minor things that pop up you handle yourself.

Other years you may blead money when unplanned stuff goes bad well before it was supposed to, and always at the worst possible time. One bad tenant (can wipe out years of profit in just a couple of months). One mistep can get your ass sued off.

You have to constantly remind yourself that you are in it for the long haul, and that is the equity, and someone else fronting a bunch of the costs allowing you to acquire that property.

Our tenants were all awesome, and we made it through the pandemic unscathed, but i know a bunch of landlords who took a bath on it, and others who re-evaluated their risk and got out\are getting out of it. On its good days its a part time job of a few hours a week (and this is just with 3 properties and good tenants). On its bad days, its hell on earth and you will question as to if its really worth it constantly.

But the short of it is:

1. Don't not expect to make money year over year on it. You will most likely run in the red for a few years before you get to break even, and even then dip into the red (ignoring equity) from time to time. Make sure you have the capital to handle that. Its not just you losing a house or tanking your credit if you fuck up, there is real liability and potentially criminality on the line.
2. A bank isn't going to write you a loan and consider rental value if you aren't occupying at least a portion of the place, and even then, its only one factor. Most won't touch you at a good rate unless you have either demonstrated a cash flow as a landlord, or have other substantial assets.
3. If you aren't even basic handy, just don't do it. Tradesfolks know they have you by the balls even more so than if it was your own house on most stuff if you can't do it yourself. Being able to say, swap a hot water heater on your own on a holiday weekend is the difference of a grand or two and not having to put up your tenant in a hotel. That leaky faucet, noisy toilet, funny lightswitch? All a couple hundred bucks a pop if you have to turn to a pro. And if you are a landlord and not doing it yourself, you are turning to a pro for liability reasons, not "jim down the street".

i'm going to go with a bit over 4 inches.

I'm saying that because anything more than that, particularly overnight, is a pain in the ass to shovel once the plows have their way and swamp the end of my driveway and sidewalk, and not 10 minutes ago my wife asked me if i was going to get the snow blower ready, and i said, "No, i don't think its worth it"

This also means that if we do get over 5 or 6 inches, the rest of march will hinge on if i decide, "Fine, i'll get the snow blower ready" (in which case no more snow) or substantial dumps at every threat if i don't get it ready.

Yes, pretty much anyone who has rented has seen their rent go up the last 2 years. Landlord costs have gone up a ton since the pandemic, some took it in the teeth during it and are trying to recoup costs, and demand is still sky high.

1500 sounds like a steal in west ny.

Edit: curious as to why i am being downvoted as to pointing out everyone's rent has gone up.

well that and now you potentially have pre-existing conditions. So be very cautious when you shop around.

I'm not going to name drop, but there are basically 3 carriers you want to look at. Which one is right for you depends on a bunch of things. Anyone outside the 3 are a scam, or, as i mentioned earlier, akin to dental insurance (will chop down the bill a bit for something minor here and there, but not save you from a big unexpected expense).

Edit: failed to mention nobody will cover the current situation, so don't look at it as a way out.

Also i'm not a cat person, my experience with it is with dogs, and i know the numbers for cats are very different.

Everyone should, but just treat it like a normal sick day. Its the parent's call.

I don't have to explain why my kid isn't coming in today. "Noise Jr. Isn't feeling well and won't be in". "Ok, cool, think she will be in tomorrow or should we ask for work to be sent home?"

Hell i've called in and said she wasn't going in because we were going skiing or to a ballgame.

If your kid needs mental health days AND sick days enough that you are in danger of falling under attendance mandatories, someone should be looking into it.

I get it, sometimes you just need a day. Sometimes I do. No shame in that. I think classifying stuff as that does more harm than good.

Maybe the better approach here is not being as black and white with attendance when you relate it to how they are performing at grade level.

Out of curiosity has an actual vet told you he needs x-rays\bloodwork? Or are you just assuming?

I've had stuff in the past with pets where i go down the rabit hole of, "oh crap i'll need this" online, only for the vet to hand me a few pills and say "try this a couple of days and lets see how it goes".

/my stool firmed right up