FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP NAMED TREE CITY USA

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP NAMED TREE CITY USA

FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP, New Jersey—April 18, 2008—The National Arbor DayFoundation has named Franklin Township a Tree City USA for 2007 in recognition ofFranklin’s program to care for community trees. It is the seventh year Franklin Township has received this national recognition.
The National Arbor Day Foundation in cooperation with the National Association ofState Foresters and the USDA Forest Service sponsors the Tree City USA program.
Franklin Mayor Brian Levine said, “Franklin Township is proud to have again beendesignated Tree City USA, and we thank the members of Franklin’s Shade Tree Commission and volunteers for their work in our forestry program. We also want to thank The National Arbor Day Foundation for this recognition.”
To become a Tree City USA, a community must meet four standards: a tree board ordepartment, a tree care ordinance, a comprehensive community forestry program, and anArbor Day observance. For this year’s Arbor Day, the Shade Tree Commission planted 30 trees in Franklin’s Nassau Park. “In past years, we’ve planted trees inDunham Lebed, Middlebush and Delar Parks and street trees along DeMott Lane and New Brunswick Road. Every year we plant more trees in Franklin’s parks and open space,” said Michael Orsini, chair of the Township’s Shade Tree Commission. He added: “We strongly emphasize public education and as well, such as the dangers of over-mulching trees and how to control insects and diseases. Our annual tree sale has also raised public awareness of our mission and is proving increasingly popular.”
“Trees in our cities and towns help clean the air, conserve soil and water, moderatetemperature, and bring nature into our daily lives,” said John Rosenow, president of theNational Arbor Day Foundation. “Trees are a vital component of the infrastructure in ourtowns and cities, and provide many environmental and economical benefits. A community, and its citizens, that recognizes these benefits and provides needed care for its trees deserves recognition and thanks,” Rosenow added.

http://www.franklintwpnj.org/tree_city_0408.html

New Jersey has lower gasoline taxes

Motor Fuel Gasoline Taxes Reported by State as of July 2008 - Lowest to Highest State and Federal Taxes Combined (includes other state and local taxes and fees) Alaska 26.4 Virginia 38.0 Kentucky 40.09 Oregon 43.4 Hawaii 51.0 Wyoming 32.4 DC 38.4 Delaware 41.4 Nebraska 45.3 Nevada 51.0 New Jersey 32.9 Louisiana 38.4 No.Dakota 41.4 Montana 46.2 Wisconsin 51.3 So. Carolina 35.2 Texas 38.4 Maryland 41.9 Georgia 46.4 Florida 51.6 Oklahoma 35.4 Vermont 38.4 Mass. 41.9 Ohio 46.4 Indiana 56.9 Missouri 36.0 Alabama 39.6 Minnesota 42.4 Maine 48.3 Washington 55.9New Mexico 36.4 Tennessee 39.8 S. Dakota 42.4 No. Carolina 48.6 Michigan 60.7 Mississippi 37.2 Arkansas 40.2 Utah 43.4 Rhode Is. 49.4 New York 62.3 Arizona 37.4 Colorado 40.4 Idaho 43.4 W.Virginia 50.6 Illinois 66.6 New Hamp. 38.0 Iowa 40.4 Kansas 43.4 Pennsylvania 50.7 Connecticut 70.8 California 74.9

1 EMERSON ROAD SOMERSET $349,000

New kitchen, oversized garge, home features 8 off street parking spaces for your recreational vehicles or cars. Beautiful New Kitchen, new doors and windows. Huge full basement

New Jersey Association Of Realtors Provided this article

SEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT REAL ESTATE IN NEW JERSEY
New Jersey Association of REALTORS® Sees Opportunity in State's Real Estate Market
(Edison, NJ) New Jersey residents might be surprised to learn that there are many positive aspects about the state's real estate market. Currently, New Jersey real estate market offers many opportunities, evidenced by areas of positive growth including rising median sales prices in some areas of the state, increasing affordability rates and a high average of accumulated home equity, according to statistics presented by the New Jersey Association of REALTORS® (NJAR®).
"There is no doubt that some New Jersey residents are still undecided as to whether now is the right to buy a home," said NJAR® Executive Vice President Jarrod C. Grasso. "By highlighting statewide market information, we're arming the public with the knowledge they need in order to educate themselves and evaluate their housing choices."
Below are seven key facts about New Jersey real estate buyers and sellers should consider when thinking about a real estate transaction.
New Jersey homes have generally maintained their values. National news about tumbling residential real estate prices does not present an accurate picture of New Jersey's local markets. While the national seven year home appreciation rate is 37.8 percent, New Jersey's is more than double that amount at 80.4 percent. Some areas of the state, Bergen, Essex, Mercer, Cape May and Salem counties, saw median price increases in the first quarter of 2008.
The market favors first-time home buyers, who make up 40 percent of the New Jersey market. Buyers currently have many more homes to choose from and are benefitting from mortgage interest rates that are near historic lows. Without having to sell previously-owned property, first-time buyers can also take advantage of the increasing rate of affordability. According to the First Quarter 2008 New Jersey Home Sales Report, New Jersey's housing affordability composite index rose over 100, signifying that a family earning the state median income has the potential to qualify for a mortgage loan on a median-priced home, assuming a 20 percent down payment.
It's also a good time to trade up. Homeowners in need of a larger home might be hesitant about listing their current home in a buyer's market. However, while sellers may have to accept a more realistic price for their current home, the seller of the home they wish to purchase is in the same situation. Realistic pricing is key and REALTORS® familiar with a local market can be invaluable in pricing and marketing your home.
Owning a home builds long-term wealth. Over the last decade, the median prices of homes in almost every metropolitan statistical area that covers the state have more than doubled; illustrating that homeownership is a sound financial investment that historically outperforms the stock market in building long-term wealth. New Jersey home buyers who purchased their homes seven years ago have accumulated an average of $156,300 in home equity.
A home is much more than a nest egg. Despite the tax benefits and financial security which homeownership can provide, a recent survey of New Jersey homeowners revealed that the desire to establish a household and have a place to call their own was the number one reason for buying a home.
New Jersey has a lot going for it. There are many positive economic and market forces in the Garden State that support the long-term health of residential real estate. Reflecting a strong employment market, New Jersey's median income of $64,470 is the second highest in the country. Also, excellent school systems, proximity to New York and Philadelphia, a thriving tourism industry and an extensive transportation infrastructure all enhance the vitality of this area.
There are 53,000 REALTORS® in New Jersey that can provide you with localized information. Nine out of ten home buyers in New Jersey choose to work with a REALTOR® and 86 percent said they would probably work with the REALTOR® again. REALTORS® have a thorough understanding of the dynamics of their local markets and are ready to guide potential homeowners through the process.

Did you know?

RE/MAX is an official sponsor of Westwood One

NEW JERSEY

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/snapshots/CS3424900.html

When you hear the phrase “primeval old-growth forest,” chances are New Jersey doesn’t spring immediately to mind. But the state known for jokes about its mammoth turnpike does in fact boast such a pristine wilderness: a 65-acre one. In Franklin Township. This surprising 46-square-mile municipality, home to several different villages, also contains a towpath along a 19th-century canal beloved by bikers and runners, and bucolic back roads dotted with colonial houses and working farms. “The other day I saw a fox in my backyard,” says Angela Wen-Bianchi, 37, a full-time mother who moved here in 1998. Is this place really just an hour from Manhattan?
Residents can catch a train to New York City in neighboring New Brunswick, which also has good restaurants and theaters, but they need not head to the big city to find jobs. There are plenty of high-tech, pharmaceutical and research and development firms in the area, not to mention Princeton just to the south and Rutgers and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School to the north. What’s more, housing is a deal—for this part of the country, anyway. Starter homes go for less than $250,000 in Somerset (the neighborhood closest to Manhattan); a lovely Cape Cod on nearly an acre in the verdant historical village of Griggstown recently listed for $369,500. And the solid school system has a 95% graduation rate.
On the downside, New Jersey’s tax burden is notoriously high. The township’s property taxes run about $7,000 for the typical $385,000 three-bedrooom, two-bath house. Still, for overall affordability, convenience and natural beauty, as well as remarkable economic, religious and ethnic diversity, nowhere else in Jersey—and few places anywhere—can match it.

Article from

Money Magazine 2008

Thanks Money Magazine