b'A Family Trades theD I N G H OCity for the Suburbs N MIF EWorking with Anne ServittoBY ELLEN DONKERL - R: Jared Stanisci, son Liam, and Chad Newman enjoy their back-yard tree house.W h a e e a nents watchhad a night off as parents. got a sense of the C h dLiam.AsStanisci says Servitto quickly N w - theytooktype of house they were looking for. He jokes, It was man andinthejust like, if the kitchen is larger than the broom closet J r e dsightofthat I was currently working out of in the apartment, StaniscibeautifulI was thrilled. About their routine, he says, Every thoughtneighbor- time we came out, shed show us, I think, between about being parents, they didnt pic- h o o d s ,four and six houses, and she always knew which one ture themselves leaving the city untilwith hous- or two were going to be our favorites.their child was a few years old. Theydes featuring election signs and all man- The couple also appreciated Annes forthrightness. Stanisci says, Chad and I do the city dad thing and then con- ner of flags, they instantly felt a cul- agree a lot of the time, but sometimes we disagree. And she was quick and con-sider moving to the suburbs. But thentural fit. fident about saying who she agreed with. And it really was [helpful] because thepandemichitjustastheywel- Pondering the next step of finding awe trusted her opinion.comed their son, Liam, and Stanisci,realtor, Newman happened to respondAltogether, Newman and Stanisci placed bids on three homes. As first-time whoisapracticingattorney,beganto a Facebook post saying that he washomebuyers in a market that demanded a bid well over the asking price, they workingfromhomefull-timewhilethinkingofmovingtoMaplewood.depended on Servitto for advice on pricing. She helped them frame what the Newman assumed the role of stay-at- Somewhere, down the rabbit hole offinancial impact of a decision would be spread out over the span of a mortgage. home dad. Suddenly the walls of theirsocial media, realtor Anne Servitto sawAnd if a house wasnt worth an inflated price, shed tell them so.spacious apartment started to close intheexchangeandencouragedNew- The house that Newman and Stanisci scooped up is a four-bedroom Colonial as the second bedroom was co-optedmantoreachout,saying,Nothingwith a beautifully landscaped back yard on Edgewood Place. It had recently for triple duty as an office, playroommakes me happier than helping peoplebeen renovated by a couple with careers as an architect and an interior designer, and napping zone.find their new home. The best part isso the only work the new owners did was to paint two rooms. Newman says that Newman and Stanisci decided theywell have fun doing it. when they saw the house they thought, Okay, this house is ready for us and needed to speed up their timeline forThatfriendlymessagepersuadedready for us to grow in. moving.HavinggrownupinWestNewman to contact Servitto, and theirThe couple moved in in April and are thrilled with the location: Memorial Caldwell,house hunt commenced this past Janu- Park and the train station are just a few blocks away and Maplewood Village is St a n i s c iary. They made the most of it, bringingsteps from there. Since Newman brings Liam to the park on a daily basis, he has wasfamil- the baby to his grandparents house ongained favor with the nannies and is now iarwitha Saturday morning, spending the daypart of their circle. And Liam has fallen M a p l e - looking at houses, and returning to thein with a group of pals his very same age. wood,socity for the night. On Sunday, theydDuring the summer, the family couldnt thecouplereturn to Maplewood to see the housesget enough of the Maplewood Poolit touredthea second time and then pick up Liamwas an unexpected favorite activity.towninto go home. They did this for aboutNewmanandStaniscihavebecome thefalloffive weeks. Newman says, It actuallyfriends with families on their block, but Realtor Anne Servitto2020 whilestarted becoming like a really nice littlethey consider Servitto their first acquain-helped Newman andhavingthebreak for us because with the excep- tance. Says Newman, I felt like we movedThe family moved into this lovelyStanisci find a home for their family. grandpar- tion of maybe one night, we had nothere and already had a friend.Colonial in April.finding home /47'