b'Finding HomeWorking with Susan BlodgettBY ELLEN DONKERE rin McCall and Lau- Lauren Ljubicich and Erin McCall have worked with Susan Blodgett several times overwerecontemplatinghavingathird child. Imagining a family of five shar-renLjubicichgottoing one full bathroom, Ljubicich stat-Maplewoodthewayed she could only have a third if they so many others have.found a bigger house.In early 2008 they vis- McCallsays,SowecalledSusan ited a friend here, felland said, Hey, we want to look for a in love with the townsnew house. And we want it to be be-charmanddecidedtomovefromtween Collinwood and Mountain, Wy-Brooklyn to put down some roots.oming and Walton. Ideally, the house TheirfriendrecommendedSusanthe past ten years to find their growing family a home. would have four bedrooms on the second Blodgett of Coldwell Banker and be- floor,amasterbath,amudroomanda fore they knew it the couple was tak- basement that could be easily finished.ing the train to Maplewood to look ata new roof. Strangely enough, this wasBy April they had found a house on Hemlock Court that met all their re-homes on the weekends.one of several instances when weatherquirements. Having been built in the 40s, though, McCall thought it was ugly ByJuly,afterviewingjustaboutintervened at key moments. because it lacked the beautiful details found in earlier construction. She agreed everyColonialonthemarket,theyWhen a sweep of the property re- to it only if she could have a budget for interior design. found a house they liked. It was largevealed an oil tank that the owner re- Just before they were to submit a bid, a rain storm flooded the basement. The andslightlyabovetheirpricerangefusedtoremove,Blodgettadvisedbuyer took the house off the market to make repairs and put it up for sale in July. but they bid on it anyway, figuring thisthem to walk away rather than take onMcCall and Ljubicich bought the house in August 2014, started the interior was a home theyd be in for a while.an unknown liability. Ljubicich says,work and moved in the week before Halloween when Ljubicich was 36 weeks I always give that example aboutpregnant with their third child.how shes [Blodgetts] just honest.As far as selling their Collinwood Road home, their financial advisor sug-I mean she probably showed us 70gested that they keep it to rent out instead of contributing to their 529 college houses.Andshetoldustowalksavings plans. This way when their children were ready for college they would away. have paid off the house and have an asset to cover tuition. But by 2018 with a During this time, they sold theirlucrative housing market they became anxious to end their role as landlord.apartment in Brooklyn and lived inBlodgett stepped in for a third time with spot-on advice for timing and pric-a rental in South Orange while theying. Everything went smoothly despite a noreaster that took out power and continued their hunt. Circling backtrees the day the broker open house was to occur. It made it that much harder to toahouseonCollinwoodRoadcomplete tasks on time. McCall comments, Susan is just even. Shes like yeah, that Blodgett had shown them be- well get it done. Thankfully, a beautiful, sunny day dawned on the open house fore, they tried to imagine its curbfor the public and the home sold immediately above asking price.appeal without the white vinyl sid- "From the purchase of their first home, Erin and Lauren have been wonder-Susan Blodgett was tireless in her efforts toing. Since the housing market hadful clients. I consider them friends," Blodgett says. "They\'ve always had a clear find Lauren Ljubicich and Erin McCall their first home. The second home came easier! recently crashed the price was reducedunderstanding of what they are looking for."by $100,000 and taxes had been low- Reflecting on Blodgetts influence through the many transactions and hours It was during the inspection that theered giving them the budget to reno- they spent together, Ljubicich says, She never feels rushed. You have some peo-heavens opened up and rain startingvate. They moved in in January 2009. ple who always seem like they have some place better to be. I always felt like pouring into a first floor room. ThatsTheirfamilyeventuallyexpandedwhen she was with us, we were her only focus. McCall continues, Susan really how they found out the house neededto include two boys and by 2014 theyworks no matter what side youre on. Shes just chill and even. finding home /27'