Just Wondering

Hi. We looked at Trio very seriously in January, before the market got a little too uncomfortable for us to feel confident buying right now. Not sure what unit/floor you're looking at, but you should consider the penthouse if you're looking to pay 600k for a 2 bedroom - the penthouse 2 bedroom 2.5 bath 1600 sq ft is not too much more than that. The developer is extremely motivated - you can get $ towards closing costs (10k), as well as some flexibility in final finishes (we were going to have them change out countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms, pull the cheap washer/dryer for credit). Also penthouse units come with 2 deeded parking spaces (be sure to check which spots they assign you though - there are uncovered spots on the 1st level in the garage which they may try to give you so be sure to see where the spots are located). I wouldn't go by the NYTimes Real Estate section price - they can always go lower, especially if you're looking in the 1st building - they need to close it out. When we were thinking of purchasing the unit, we offered $675k for the penthouse that was listed on MLS for $723k; the unit is now listed on MLS for $680k.

The other issue to consider is location - Pal Park is not truly part of the Gold Coast, which is a well-defined area. There's not a lot of great businesses within walking distance either, and the immediate area is not really conducive to walking around or walking a dog if you have one.

If you look at a really great website njrereport.com, this will give you a huge insight into the NJ market and where it's likely to go. If you're here for the long-term, probably like 5 years or more, you'll be bound to make some money on the purchase in the long run - this was also an issue for us, since we may very well move in a year or 2, well before any recovery is predicted for the real estate market.

Hope that helps, and best of luck! - Sun Apr 13 2008, 19:20