Brownstoner New Jersey: Classic Upper Montclair Residence
Editor’s note: This is our first column about New Jersey on Brownstoner. Let us know your thoughts about it in the comments. What do you think of the house? Would you like to see more New Jersey listings? And if so, what are you looking for in coverage of the N.J. market? This roomy, historic house on 102…
Editor’s note: This is our first column about New Jersey on Brownstoner. Let us know your thoughts about it in the comments. What do you think of the house? Would you like to see more New Jersey listings? And if so, what are you looking for in coverage of the N.J. market?
This roomy, historic house on 102 Lorraine Avenue in Upper Montclair was built as a country getaway long before Montclair became a suburban community, and now it’s on the market for the first time in over 90 years. The original details have been well maintained, and the home boasts 11 large rooms over three floors, as well as multiple fireplaces and three full and two half bathrooms. There are porches in the front and the back overlooking the half-acre grounds.
Montclair offers a convenient commute to New York City by train, bus or car. The house is blocks away from three different parks and the Upper Montclair train station. Click through for more stunning fall photos of this home.
102 Lorraine Avenue [FSBO] GMAP
Photos by 102 Lorraine Avenue
Photos of the yard and porches below.
The first floor.
The second floor.
The third floor.
Would like to see info on brownstones in Hoboken and Jersey City…suburban houses don’t seem to jive with “Brownstoner” focus.
Answers to some questions. 2014 property taxes on this property were $26,885. Property taxes calculated on 3,393 sf in tax records. Large room in third floor historically used for storage and not counted in s.f. calculation. Basements are also not included in s.f. for tax purposes. Draftman’s floor plan shows over 5,200 s.f. including basement and what was third floor storage room. When first built in 1902, it was used as weekend or seasonal home for wealthy NYC residents but likely within decade (1910) became a year round home. Local real estate attorneys have told me that half the Montclair homes they’re preparing closing documents for are being purchased by folks coming from Brooklyn — thus my experimenting with advertising in a Brooklyn real estate site. As you all correctly note, many folks come to NJ towns for the schools (averaging $20-25K in spending per pupil, notably higher for special ed kids mainstreamed in regular classes, and much much higher ~$90K for special ed kids sent to private schools by townships). Others come for significantly more space — half acre and 5,000+sf — and convenient train/bus/car to Manhattan – 25 minutes to Port Authority with no traffic (very rare of course) and usually less than double that – and Newark Int’l Airport. Posting might not interest most readers of this blog, but relative value between two locations clearly driving migration patterns and having significant regional pricing impact. Thank you for those interested. Apologies to the rest. Cheers.
A long-time mover circle… Manhattan to Park Slope and then to New Jersey. Retire in Boca or empty nest back in Manhattan….
Thanks jayfernald for these details, very interesting. Great house, one of the best we’ve seen on this site. I’ve only been to Montclair twice (for Wellmont Theatre shows), seems like a pretty cool place.
Cool! I live in Maplewood, NJ and thought it would be great to have a Brownstoner NJ spin-off called Maplewoody. The market is very hot right now. Houses are selling instantly (all the people priced out of Brooklyn). I never in a million years thought I would live in NJ…..but here I am. Life is easier here. I just filled out a couple papers and my kids go to the neighborhood school. A 5 minute drive and I’m at a spacious, uncrowded, well stocked grocery store. Commute time the same as our old Brooklyn neighborhood….but we always get a seat.
And, soon you will see the tagline change too so they can do what every self-respecting sell out does. Commercialize!
Speak of the devil:
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/10/realestate/flatbush-brooklyn-a-fit-for-many-tastes-and-budgets.html?_r=0
So what is the equivalent NYC house for a NJ $1.3m with 25k in property taxes? About $1.7m with 5k in taxes? not accounting for the extra commuting costs?
I don’t mind NJ listings. This one has nice pictures.
Maybe priority should be
1. outer BK neighborhoods – you should really feature Flatbush much more. This is one of the last affordable neighborhoods surrounding the park. How about an in-depth look at what the neighborhood has to offer?
2. queens/bronx/SI row houses or houses with historical interest
3. Jersey City or Newark row houses – it’s more interesting to me to see urban options there, along with cities that are diverse, dense, walkable, and have commuter rail to NYC.
The property taxes are absolutely insane in Upper Montclair.
I’m sure it’s more than 35k a year for this place.
That’s nearly 25 times what I pay for my 2 family in Bushwick.
Investment? No. All that money does not go into equity, it’s pure consumer spending.
Fine if you have a Wall Street income.
Fine if you want to drive everywhere, and never walk.