thanks everyone Sadly, I've been there in person twice now since I live down the street. They're very nice there but the procedures in place are completely inept. I'll write a letter to Fulop's office-hopefully that might do something. Or not...lol. Seems like you have to be on their backwards May scheduling to get a license which makes no sense.

Hi,

I'm having a real hard time getting a dog license for my 9-month old puppy. Anyone else have issues with the JC Dept. of Health & Human services?

Backstory: he is neutered and had his rabies vaccines in Sept 2016 (will need a new rabbies vaccine in a year: Sept 2017). When I went to get his year-long license in January, the elderly man who worked there said I could only get the permit until the end of May when the permits expire.

I thought "ok that's odd, thought I could get it a year from the time of vaccination" because that would make the most logical sense..." But I said ok I'll just come back in April to renew the license until Sept. 2017 when he'd be getting his updated vaccines. I sent them a check in the mail a few weeks ago, and they said "no it's not possible" and that I can only get the year-long licenses for the beginning of May. They can't issue me a year long permit since his vaccines expire within that year-long license window. WTF? Am I supposed to spend all the months from May until Sept. (when he gets his next shots) without a license? This makes no sense.

It doesn't help that I can't really understand what the guy is saying on the phone. Anyone gone through this? Any workarounds? thanks

Thank you!

Hi, I live near the Beacon (12 min walk to path). We have a house with an unused driveway-was previously renting the spot for $100/month. We thought the price was fair, someone was asking to rent it for $75/month. That seems a little low. Does anyone know what the going rates are? Thanks!

Ugh exactly. I wish they would tear that place down. I did a search for sex offenders in my neighborhood and that hotel had a couple hits...

We were in a similar situation as you: renting in downtown JC for 8 years, looking for a safe-ish house with a meager yard. Looking for property in downtown was Hell so we just gave up. After 8 months of searching, we moved our hunt to journal square and closed on a property that was a little over the price range you suggested. Though I do see properties in JSQ in the 350-375k price range from time to time. The area is a bit grimy & depressing but that will most likely change as all the high rises go up. McGinley Square might be a good option-there seem to be more things going on over there (small restaurants, mom & pop etc.)

Good luck to you. This was the most stressful process. Everyone bids over asking price and there are many bidding wars. If you like something, make sure you are pre-approved and are able to move fast.

Can anyone give me a little background on the Academy Hotel in journal square? I have to walk by this dump on my way home everyday and the people that come in and out of there totally sketch me out. Is this an extended stay type of place or a by the hour roach motel? I swear I saw a prostitute walking out of that place... Wish they would shut this place down.

A rescue is a rescue in my opinion. I have 2 mutt rescues but what I would love is a french bulldog puppy. I'll check out Snort, thanks for the rec but was wondering if there are any french bulldog owners out there. If you got one as a puppy, where did you get them from? thanks

Hi all, just wondering if any of you folks know of a reputable french bulldog breeder in the area (even anywhere in the East Coast). Please no preaching on why french bulldogs are bad yada, yada. I have 2 rescues so I get it but I love those little guys and have been wanting one ever since my family frenchie passed away. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! I'd love to get one as soon as possible.

thanks!

Hi! emergency over here. My gutter is either broken or clogged and I need a fast/reliable gutter cleaner to fix tomorrow. We were supposed to use this other place but they're losers and keep delaying the appt. In the meantime, my basement has now flooded 3 times. Please send recs and thanks!

K-Lo was your contractor Eugene Brajczewski? If so I will reach out to him. Thanks

Wooden sewer?!? That's insane. I'm pretty sure the city snaked the main line and it was pvc.

Thanks for the recommendantion. Mind if I ask how much the whole job cost including the hand digging? And were your pipes about 7 feet down? Thanks

Ugh that sucks! Seems like my issue might be a little different because the line is in the backyard so no street has to be torn up. What does stink is that no big equipment can get back there so it has to be dug by hand. Who knows how much that will cost.

Hi folks,

Please help. I bought a row house in the Heights 2 months ago. The day before I was supposed to move in there was a huge rainstorm and the basement flooded with 3 inches of water.

First we discovered cracks in our clay pipes after we jackhammered the basement floor. After lengthy investigations , our plumber discovered that there was another crack and a crappy patch job 7 feet underground right at the back of the house underneath the shared downspout with our neighbor. I should also mention that we had the city come over to assess the main sewer line that runs in our backyard (20 feet from the house) and it was fine...

Because there is no access point to the backyard from the road, the 7-foot hole had to be dug manually. It was a huge job to dig and run a new pipe from the inside of our house to the back. And that was only 25% of the line-it cost 8k!! Now we've discovered that there may be another crack about 16 feet out. We dropped a camera down and they hit something past that who knows if there are additional cracks plus no one really knows where the main line is exactly. So we can't get an accurate estimate of what running a whole new line would be.

The plumbing is working fine now. I'm just over it. Anyone have a similar sewer issue? If I'm not having any problems should I just leave well enough alone and call it a day. I'm at the end of my rope here. Thanks

Thanks for your post, very helpful. Late would probably be between 9-1030 at night. But she'd be walking directly up Kennedy Blvd. which seems like a big road and not super remote?

Hi,

My sister is looking into buying a one family house on Highland Avenue and Kennedy Blvd (near St. Peter's college). It's a 10-min walk down Kennedy Blvd. to Journal Square.

She's a single woman so I'm worried about her safety because she gets home from work late and will have to walk by herself most nights. I did a walk around the neighborhood and it seems fine, but can anyone who lives there chime in please?

What do you think of the neighborhood? I walked to McGinley Square and there weren't many great stores/restaurants over there. Do you think this area will be improving in the next 2 years and is a good area to invest in for real estate?

thanks!!

Hi, any of you nice folks have any recommendations from flood insurance for downtown (buying a house in the 100-yr flood plain). Any agent names/contact info would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Awesome, thank you for the tips. Good advice to first post on craigslist to test the water.

Hi,

We're in the process of buying our first home-it's a multifamily adjacent to the embankment. We'll be living on the top and we'll be renting the bottom 2BR duplex (with backyard access and parking spot) in late august. Our place is a 12-min brisk walk to path.

We're very nervous about being first time landlords. My biggest fear, though some say it's silly, is that no one will want to rent our 2nd unit and we'll be on our own to pay the mortgage without the extra rental income. I want to be fair and charge the average price for a 2br rental...I'm thinking 2200-2400. Does that seem reasonable and do you think it should be fairly quick to get a tennant?

Also, any advice from other landords out there? Like how hard is it to find a part time super/handyman to fix things on call? How much is a monthly service like that or do you pay per visit?

Thanks for the tips!

Hi,

I'm considering buying a house near the jersey city embankment. The property has a small backyard that juts up against the embankment wall. I like the privacy it gives the house, but is it a major gamble to buy over there (given that the future of the embankment is in question?)

It's nice and quiet there right now, but the idea of a busy/loud park overlooking my bedroom in say 10 years sounds pretty unsavory. Any thoughts or insights would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Hi, really appreciate all the helpful feedback here. It's a good point that the path trains will be totally full at grove st in a few years. We'll give journal square some thought-that might be the more practical way to go.

Thanks we will take a look at that!

Thanks, we have a pretty far commute to work so are really trying to live within walking distance to the path. That mercer loop area is under 20 minutes walking distance to grove street, so seems like a decent option. Just wanted to see how safe it was and if anyone has any thoughts on the neighborhood. thanks!

Looks like we've missed the boat on buying a home in downtown jersey city. We've been renting on 3rd St. for 5 years and was looking to buy a 2-bedroom downtown (anywhere within 15 minutes walking distance to Grove St, Exchange Place, or Newport). But, in the last 3 months there have only been a handful of available homes, all going for over 700k. The competition is brutal, so my husband and I may just give up. We did find a few places on the other side of 78 under the overpass (Mercer Loop area).
Does anyone live here and have any thoughts on the area? We don't own a car and plan on walking to the grove st. path train sometimes late at night. Is walking under that overpass sketchy for a woman alone at night? And do you think that more businesses will spring up on that side of jersey city anytime soon? Thanks for your help.