b'Finding HomeWorking with the Robert Northfield TeamBY ELLEN DONKERW henyoureNick and Jackie Dyer have settled into their new home. So have Truman andDyers determine which issues to address. afirst-timeTo Nick and Jackies delight, the contrac-homebuy- tor completed the list of fixes they had re-er,some- quested. By December the Dyers closed timesyouon the house and moved in.dontknowIts been about ten months now and whatyoutheDyershavemadethehousetheir want until you see it. Thats how it wasown,addingbeautifultouchesinside with Jackie and Nick Dyer. Last fall whenand installing a patio in the back yard. the lease on their apartment in HobokenWinston. Since neighbors pitched in over the years was about to end, they took to visitingto help maintain the property during a open houses during the weekends, intentmodeled for an open floor plan, the Dyers deter- time when it was largely abandoned, the on quickly finding a home. But it had to be the rightmined that they wanted a more traditional homeDyers are intent on adding curb appeal to this reno-one and Andrea Northfield, the realtor they met atwith defined rooms. And thats what they found next.vated gem. Truman and Winston, their French bull-the first place they visited, helped them find it. It was a 4-bedroom home on the corner of Oaklanddogs, seem content with their new-found space, too, AlthoughtheDyerswerentinterestedinthatTerrace and Elmwood Avenue that had been beauti- happily chasing each other around the house.first house, Andrea took their name and followedfully renovated from a previous state of disrepair. ItJackie and Nick are now recommending Maple-up. We kind of hit it off with her, Jackie says. Shehad all the period details that the Dyers loved alongwood to their friends in the hopes that they, too, will continued to stay in touch with us [and] really soldwith a refreshed interior suited to their lifestyle, andbe as captivated by the town as they were on their first us on Maplewood. Andrea recommended the townroom for children when the time comes. visit with Andrea. Jackie says, I love the downtown for its proximity to the trainimportant for JackieLucky for the Dyers, they were the only ones toareathe community feeland weve gotten to know and Nick since they both work in New York City bid on the house. Andrea says, The timing reallyall of our neighbors. It wasnt a huge transition to go and to Jackies family in Warren. worked out. It was around the holidays and theirfrom the city to Maplewood. Theres still so much to We continued looking around with her for may- abilitytoclosequicklyhelpedthemgetabetterdo around here. be three or four weeks, Jackie says. We were prettydeal. It also helped that Robert Northfield had in-open to seeing a variety of inventory. We didnt havesight into how motivated the seller was in getting the too many requirements. I think that we were morehouse sold and in working towards a fair deal.about theKeeping in mind that the Dyers were first-time locationhomebuyers, Andrea helped them navigate the next v e r s u ssteps, preparing them at every turn along the way. the houseNick recalls, The process was pretty turnkey. An-itself.drea was super helpful and she took the lead on a lot Afterof stuff so we didnt have to deal with it. Still, the seeingadetails can get overwhelming. We had to coordi-numbernate very strategically, like when we would get things of housesdone and who would be here for it, Jackie says. So The Dyers moved in to this Oakland Ter- thathadit was nice to know ahead of time.Robert and Andrea Northfield helped the Dyers find race home in December 2018. beenre- Afterthehomeinspection,Andreahelpedthetheir first home.24/ matters magazine / holiday 2019'