Luxury Homes At The Jersey Shore Insider Insights
Can You Use a 1031 Exchange for a Vacation Home at the Jersey Shore?
Yes, if the home works as a rental property that you also use now and then, and no, if it's a vacation home you only use yourself. The IRS safe harbor in Revenue Procedure 2008-16 covers a home owned at least 24 months…
Buying a Second Home at the Jersey Shore: Second Home or Investment Property?
It depends on how you'll use the house. Under Fannie Mae's rules, which many lenders follow, a second home is a one-unit home you live in for part of the year, suitable for year-round use and under your sole control,…
Flood Zone AE, VE or X: What the Letters on a FEMA Map Mean
The letters are FEMA's labels for mapped flood areas. Zones that start with A or V are Special Flood Hazard Areas, the areas mapped for the 1%-annual-chance flood, and V zones add storm-driven waves along the coast.…
NJ Mansion Tax Exemptions: Which Transfers Don't Owe the Graduated Percent Fee?
New Jersey's law lists three exemptions from the Graduated Percent Fee, the fee most people still call the mansion tax: a buyer that's a 501(c)(3) organization, certain transfers incidental to a corporate merger or…
Do You Need a Permit for a Dock, Boat Lift or Bulkhead in New Jersey?
In most cases, yes. NJDEP says you need a permit before you build in New Jersey's coastal zone under most circumstances, and it names docks, boat lifts and jet ski lifts as common examples. A dock, lift or bulkhead…
Renting Out a Jersey Shore Second Home: NJ Taxes and Fees on Short-Term Rentals
A short-term rental of a New Jersey shore home owes 6.625% sales tax and the 5% State Occupancy Fee, plus any municipal occupancy tax, when the guest books and pays through a platform or when the owner offers three or…
What Is a Jumbo Loan in Monmouth and Ocean County?
A jumbo loan is a mortgage larger than the conforming loan limit, the most that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy. For 2026, the Federal Housing Finance Agency set that limit for a one-unit home at $1,209,750 in both…
What Is a Riparian Grant? Tidelands Grants, Licenses and Claims in New Jersey
A riparian grant is a deed from the State of New Jersey selling land the State owns as tidelands, land that is or was once flowed by the mean high tide. If part of a property was once tidal, the State may hold a claim…
Buying a Home in an LLC or Trust for Privacy: What Changes at Closing
Buying in an LLC or a trust changes whose name goes on the deed, but it doesn't make the purchase private. In New Jersey the deed, which recites the price, is recorded with the county clerk and searchable online, and…
Buying a Home That Has Been Raised: The Paperwork to Ask For
When you buy a home that has been raised, ask for four things: an elevation certificate completed after the lift, the town's permit file with the certificate that closed it out, the details on the flood openings under…
Can You Take Over the Seller's Flood Insurance Policy When You Buy a Home?
Often, yes. A National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policy with building coverage can be assigned from the seller to the buyer when the home sells, with the seller's written consent. The seller signs the assignment…
What Does It Cost to Sell a $1 Million-Plus Home in New Jersey?
When you sell a New Jersey home for more than $1 million, two State charges are yours as the seller: the realty transfer fee and the Graduated Percent Fee, which most people still call the mansion tax. On a $1.5…
Homeowners Insurance on a High-Value Shore Home: What to Ask Before You Buy
Get insurance quotes before you make an offer, or at the latest while the contract is in attorney review, and ask about five things: replacement cost, the hurricane and windstorm deductibles, flood coverage as a…
How Do You Market a Luxury Home in Monmouth and Ocean County?
You market a luxury home in Monmouth or Ocean County by getting the price and the plan right first, preparing the home before anyone photographs it, and then launching everything at once: professional photos, video and…
Inspections for a Luxury Home: Pool, Elevator, Generator and the Systems Buyers Forget
A licensed New Jersey home inspector covers the house's core systems, but the State's standards leave out much of what makes a luxury home a luxury home: the pool and spa, the standby generator, the bulkhead and dock,…
Your Right to the Appraisal, and What Happens When a Jumbo Appraisal Comes in Low
If you're getting a first mortgage, your lender has to give you a free copy of every appraisal and written valuation, promptly once it's complete or three business days before closing, whichever comes first. If a jumbo…
NJ Mansion Tax in 2026: Who Pays It and How Much Is It?
The seller pays New Jersey's mansion tax now. Since July 10, 2025, the fee on home sales over $1 million, officially called the Graduated Percent Fee, is legally imposed on the seller, at 1% to 3.5% of the entire sale…
Oceanfront, Bayfront, Riverfront or Lagoon: How Waterfront Homes Differ in Monmouth and Ocean County
All four put you on the water, but they differ in what sits at the water's edge, what you can build there and the paperwork that comes with it. On the ocean, the edge of the lot is about the beach and the dune; on a…
Renovating a Home in a Flood Zone: FEMA's Substantial Improvement Rule
Under FEMA's rules, a renovation whose cost equals or exceeds 50 percent of the market value of the building before the work starts is a "substantial improvement," and in a Special Flood Hazard Area, the A and V zones…
Selling a Waterfront Home in New Jersey: The Documents to Gather Before You List
Before you list a waterfront home in New Jersey, gather the paperwork a buyer's attorney and insurance agent will ask for: your answers to the State's flood disclosure questions, any FEMA elevation certificate, your…
What Is an Elevation Certificate, and How Do You Get One in New Jersey?
An elevation certificate is a FEMA form that shows how high a building sits compared with how high local floodwaters are expected to get. In New Jersey, a seller who has one must share it with the buyer, and the buyer…
What Is CAFRA, and Does Your Shore Project Need a Permit?
CAFRA is New Jersey's Coastal Area Facility Review Act, the law that requires a permit from the Department of Environmental Protection for certain development in the State's coastal area. Whether a home project needs…
What Should White-Glove Service Look Like When You Sell a Luxury Home?
White-glove service, when you sell a luxury home, means you never have to chase anyone. You get a written plan before you sign, someone who handles the details from repairs to closing, feedback after every showing, and…
How Do You Sell a Luxury Home Privately in New Jersey?
You sell a luxury home privately by deciding, before it goes live, what the marketing shows, who gets inside and how widely the listing is shared. Under the National Association of REALTORS® MLS policy, a seller can…