b'Finding Home Shortly thereafter, they put an offer on another home. So did 30 other peo-ple. Thats when the duo decided they might need some help after all. Jaimie says, I was totally overwhelmed by not Working with Douglas Huebner having a realtor. She continues, Then BY ELLEN DONKER all of a sudden were looking at our list of, you know, 25 people who had of-fered to be our realtor at some point, and Doug really stood out. Meghan adds, He just seemed like hes going to have it under control. After viewing nine homes in one day, ThecouplelikedthefactthatJaimie and Meghan purchased this Huebner lived in South Orange andhome in South Orange. wasinvolvedinthetown.Healso brought expertise in design and reno- HavingJaimiesmothernearby vations with his company, The Habi- has been a bonus, especially since the tatilist Group. This proved particularlycouple is still living in the city. Meghan usefulwhenHuebnertookthemonsays,[Jaimies]motherhasactually a one-day tour of nine homes, all ofbeenourunofficialprojectmanager. which needed work. Jaimie says, HeShe goes to check on the house every did a really good job of marking thingsday for us after the workers leave and up for us and helping us see what itsends videos and pictures. could look like. Determined to move in by January Knowingthattheyhadtoact2021, Meghan and Jaimie are especial-quickly if they wanted any of the hous- ly looking forward to outfitting their es they saw, Meghan and Jaimie madekitchen with all of the gifts they had a successful bid on a charming three- received when they were married two bedroomDutchcolonialinSouthyears ago but couldnt shoehorn into OrangesTuxedoPark.Theyclosedtheir small galley kitchen. So not only in August but have not yet moved in.willwehaveabrandnewkitchen, Theyre in the midst of adding a firstMeghan says, but well have all brand floorhalfbathroomandremodelingnew stuff to go in and all new things. Jaimie and Meghan Puskar are first-time homebuyers. They landed in Souththekitchen.HuebnerandhiscrewSo all new appliances, I mean, just ev-Orange\'s Tuxedo Park.arehandlingthework.Henotonlyerything.provided all the initial drawings andAlthough Jaimie and Meghan didnt layout but took great care listening toimagine that theyd be among the wave J aimie and Meghan Puskar were planning to move out of Newtheir needs and wants to create a kitch- of people trading a city apartment for en specifically designed for them.a suburban home, Jaimie says, I think Thethreeofthemspentmanythe pandemic also changes your per-York City next year. They were ready for a change and saw them- hours shopping for finishes, cabinets,spective on starting anew somewhere selvessettlinginWashington,D.C.Oncethepandemichit,and countertops to get the look theytogether versus the importance of hav-though, they felt as though the walls of their apartment werewanted.Gratefulforhisguidance,ing supportive people near you. I think closing in on them, and started thinking about moving to NewMeghan says, "One of the things wethat we really realized in the pandemic Jersey instead.love about Doug was that he doesn\'thow nice it was to have family close Jaimie was already familiar with New Jerseys suburbs as shejustsellyouahouse,hehelpsyouby.Meghanadds,Evenwhenwe grew up in North Caldwell. (Meghan hails from Dallas.) Homing in on Westmake it a home." couldnt hug them. Orange, the couple decided to rent a carriage house via Airbnb for two monthsInthemeantime,Jaimieand as a trial.Meghan have gotten involved in the Just walking around the neighborhood, we really liked the feel of the area,neighborhood.TheyjoinedTuxedo says Jaimie. We liked the neighbors that we ran into. It was really kid-friendly,Parks Facebook group and have at-very inclusive and diverse. With a house for sale nearby, they considered hometendedthreevirtualorsocially-dis-ownership for the first time and submitted a bid without going through a buy- tanced events: a community meeting ers agent. Unfortunately, the home inspection revealed too many problems andwheretheygottointroducethem-they walked away from the deal. selves, a sip and stroll event, and or-Back on the hunt, Meghan saw one of Douglas Huebners listings onlineganized trick or treating. Jaimie says, and called him. Unfortunately, the house was under contract, but HuebnerTheneighborhoodisclearlyvery, suggested they look at other homes with him. When Meghan shared Jaimiesverytight-knitbutalsoverywel- Doug Huebner not only served as realtor for Meghan and Jaimie but also headed reticence about using a real estate agent, Huebner said, Your wife is going tocoming. And people have been superup the design and renovation of their love me. She was intrigued by his confidence. kind. kitchen and bathroom.34/ matters magazine / holiday 2020'