Selling a Home in Northern New Jersey

Most of what determines how a sale goes is settled before the listing goes live: the price you set, the condition you present it in, and the week you choose. After that you are mostly reacting to what the market tells you.

So that is where the work belongs, and this page is about how I do it.

How I price a house

I start from what has actually sold near you in the last few months. Not an online estimate, which is a model working from public records and cannot see inside your house, and not your tax assessment, which is a different number calculated for a different purpose entirely.

Then I adjust for the differences between those houses and yours:

• Lot and position. Size, shape, what backs onto it, where it sits on the street.
• Layout. Two houses with the same square footage can live completely differently.
• Condition and updates. What has been done, when, and how well.
• Timing of the sale. A comparable from eight months ago is not a comparable from last month.

I will show you the comparables I used and the adjustments I made. You should be able to see the reasoning and disagree with it. A price you do not understand is a price you will second-guess in week three.

What is worth doing before you list, and what is not

Most sellers are told to fix everything. Usually a short list changes how the house shows and the rest does not return what it costs.

I will walk the house with you and tell you which is which, including the times when the answer is to do nothing and price accordingly. That is a legitimate strategy and it suits some houses better than a renovation would.

Where work is worth doing, I can point you to people I have worked with. You choose who you use.

Timing

Spring is the conventional answer. The more useful question is what else will be for sale in your town in the week you list, because a well-presented house in a thin market often sees more attention than the same house competing with fifteen others in April.

We look at the actual local inventory before choosing a week, rather than defaulting to the calendar.

What happens once it is live

1. Your listing goes out. NJMLS and GSMLS, the Sotheby's International Realty network, and the portals buyers actually use.
2. Showings begin. Activity concentrates heavily in the first two weeks, and that is an audience you only get once.
3. Offers and negotiation. Price is one term among several. Timing, deposit, contingencies and closing date all matter.
4. Attorney review. New Jersey gives each side's attorney three business days to review the signed contract. A real estate attorney handles that step for you.
5. The buyer's inspections. What comes back is often negotiated a second time.
6. The buyer's mortgage and appraisal. Dates have to be met, and this is where transactions quietly slip.
7. Closing. I keep the dates moving throughout and tell you when something needs a decision from you.
   
   

If you are buying as well as selling

Most sellers here are also buyers, and the sequencing is usually the hardest part. Whether you sell first, buy first, or try to line them up depends on your finances and your appetite for risk, and there is no single right answer.

It is worth talking through early, because it changes how we price and how we time the listing.

And if you are not certain you want to sell at all, that is a fair question too. Some owners are better off renting the property out, and it is worth putting both sets of numbers side by side before you commit to either.

Who I am

I am Reshmee Jugmohun, a licensed New Jersey real estate agent with Prominent Properties Sotheby's International Realty in Saddle River. My New Jersey Real Estate License number is 1909890. I am a REALTOR® and a member of NJMLS and GSMLS.

I work across Bergen, Passaic, Essex, Morris, Hudson and Union counties, 171 municipalities in total. I have received the New Jersey Realtors Circle of Excellence Sales Award at the Bronze level in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2025, and I am a member of the Million Dollar Club.

Where to start

• Want a number first. Start with an online valuation to get a range. Get a property valuation. It is a starting point built from public records, not a valuation of your actual house, and I will tell you where it is likely to be wrong.
• Want to see what is happening in your town. What is active, what is under contract and what has recently sold near you. Create a market report for your area.
• Want the real answer. I will prepare a proper comparable analysis for your house and walk you through it in person. No obligation, and no pressure to list. Ask for a valuation.
  
  
• Not sure you want to sell at all. If renting it out is on the table, I can show you what the property would rent for alongside what it would sell for. How that decision breaks down.

Common questions

What does it cost to sell a house in New Jersey?

The main items are the realty transfer fee, your attorney, agreed compensation to the agents involved, and any payoff and adjustments at closing. Compensation is negotiable and is not set by law, by any association, or by any standard rate. I will put the actual numbers for your house in writing before you list, so nothing at closing is a surprise.

Who pays the realty transfer fee?

In a typical New Jersey sale the seller pays it, and it is calculated on the sale price. There are partial exemptions in some circumstances, including for certain senior and disabled sellers. Your attorney will confirm what applies to your sale, and the current schedule is published at nj.gov.

What is the New Jersey exit tax?

It is not a separate tax, which is the part that causes most of the worry. When a seller is not a New Jersey resident, an estimated amount is withheld at closing against the income tax that may be due on the sale, and it is reconciled when the return is filed. If you are staying in New Jersey it generally does not apply. Your attorney and your accountant will tell you how it works in your case.

Will I owe tax on the profit from selling my home?

There is a federal exclusion on the gain from selling a primary residence, subject to conditions about how long you owned it and lived in it. Whether you qualify, and what happens if the property was a rental or a second home, is a question for your accountant. It is worth asking before you list, not after you close.

What do I have to tell a buyer about the house?

New Jersey sellers have real disclosure obligations, particularly about known defects that a buyer would not readily discover. What must be disclosed and how is a legal question, and your attorney handles it. My practical advice is that disclosing early costs far less than a problem surfacing during attorney review or after closing.

Should I accept the first offer?

Sometimes yes. An early offer is often the buyer who has been waiting for a house like yours and moved quickly, not someone trying it on. The useful questions are how the offer is financed, what contingencies it carries and how firm the buyer is, rather than how many days the listing has been live. I will tell you what I think the offer is actually worth, and the decision is yours.

What happens after the buyer's inspection?

The buyer usually comes back asking for repairs, a credit, or a price adjustment. That is a second negotiation and it is normal. You are not obliged to agree to everything, and what you are contractually required to do depends on how the contract was written, which is a question for your attorney.

Do I need to leave the house during showings?

Yes, and it matters more than people expect. Buyers talk openly to their agent when the owner is not there, and they linger. When the seller is home they tend to move through quickly and say nothing, which costs you both the feedback and the emotional attachment that leads to offers.

What happens if my house does not sell?

We look at what the market is telling us. Plenty of showings and no offers usually points at price or condition. Few showings at all usually points at price, presentation or how the listing is being seen. There is no single fix, and I would rather revisit the strategy with you than simply wait longer.

Can I sell my house without an agent?

You can, and some people do it successfully. What you take on is pricing, marketing, fielding enquiries, negotiating, and coordinating the transaction through attorney review, inspections and the buyer's mortgage. If you are considering it, I am happy to tell you honestly what I think it would involve for your particular house.