New Jersey Lemon Law: What’s Covered and What Isn’t

Here is a great article written by Sergei Lemberg, a lemon law attorney.


Chek out [link: http://www.lemonjustice.com/blog]. Here he discusses what you need to know about new car lemons.

"With all of the cars, SUVs, trucks, motorcycles, and RVs being manufactured in the U.S. and abroad, it’s reasonable to expect that some will have defects. After all, vehicles are incredibly complex pieces of machinery and a lot of things can go wrong. In the best-case scenario, any defects that weren’t caught by quality assurance are quickly repaired by the dealer. In the worst-case scenario, you have a vehicle with pronounced defects that make it run poorly, that constitute a safety hazard, or that reduces its value – and the dealer or manufacturer refuses to buy back or replace it.

When that happens, New Jersey lemon law can come to the rescue. New Jersey Lemon Law covers new or leased passenger vehicles, combination vehicles, SUVs, trucks, business vehicles, RVs, and motorcycles that are purchased, leased, or registered in New Jersey. It also covers used vehicles that experience defects within the first two years of the original owner’s delivery date or 18,000 miles on the odometer – whichever comes first.

Although it doesn’t cover minor defects (like a non-working stereo system), the lemon law does force the manufacturer to stand by its product. In order for the lemon law to apply to new vehicles, the defects have to occur during the first two years from the delivery date or the first 18,000 miles on the odometer – whichever comes first. In addition, the vehicle must have been taken in three times for the same problem or been out of service for 20 business days due to a series of unrelated problems. Plus, you have to notify the manufacturer of the problem and give them one last opportunity to fix it.

If you think you have a lemon, you basically have three choices: you can use the manufacturer’s dispute resolution process; you can use the Division of Consumer Affairs’ Automotive Dispute Resolution Program; or you can go to court. Before you begin, though, you should have a lemon law lawyer by your side. After all, you can be sure that the manufacturer’s team of legal eagles will be there to fight your claim every step of the way.

The good news is that, if your claim is successful, the manufacturer has to pay your attorney fees. Often, with the help of a lawyer, you can get a refund, replacement vehicle, or cash settlement without having to go through the entire lemon law process – and get your attorney’s fees covered in the process."

Very important information!

What to Look for in a Contractor

Have you ever had the experience of hiring a contractor, paying them and then helplessly wait for them to show up? If they fail to complete the job or perform less than good workmanlike quality, you may file a criminal complaint against them here in New Jersey.

Before the Honorable Thomas F. Kelaher became mayor of Toms River, he was the Prosecutor of Ocean County, New Jersey. His office enforced state regulations under a new initiative called "Operation One-Two Punch," that required all home improvement contractors to register with the state of New Jersey and comply with various regulations.

A contractor not registered with the State can be charged with an indictable offense.

As always,

-Request the Contractor's Registration number and liability insurance
-Confirm that they are bonded
-Contact the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs Website, http://www.njconsumeraffairs.com/ for the registration
-Contact the contractor's insurance agent to confirm insurance policy
-Contact the Ocean County Division of Consumer Affairs, 732-929-2105 to determine if a contractor has been the subject of any complaints
-If a problems exists, contact your local police

Common Mistakes When Buying a Home

Today’s housing market has been labeled a Buyers Market. This does not mean, however, to throw caution to the wind and let your guard down when shopping for a new home. As you peruse the Listings in the paper or cruise around neigborhoods, keep the following in mind:


1. Resist Living Beyond your means. Very often we see ourselves in the home of our dreams and forget that the dream home we bought could quickly turn into a nightmare. Although a home is an investment, it should be a home that you can afford even if you suffer a short layoff or gap in income for a few months. It is far less stressful to buy a smaller home and gain some financial freedom when it comes to decorating, adding features and unexpected expenses.

2. Do not buy the first home you see. In this market, it is important to take your time and make sure that you have given yourself a chance to see a fair number of homes with different prices, locations and sizes.

3. Waiting for the Perfect Home. On the other end of the spectrum is the attitude that the perfect home is out there, and it will be found one day. Just like in the Samuel Beckett play, Waiting for Godot, where two men find themselves waiting for someone named Godot who never arrives, the problem of searching endlessly for the perfect home results often with most of the homes whose features they seek are being purchased. Or, if they wait long enough, market prices might even go up, leaving a homebuyer spending even more! Understand that it’s important to look for a home that has all of the necessary features your family needs, but don’t expect a perfect home that meets all of your desires in your price range will suddenly appear.

4. Shop around for a Mortgage Lender. It is tempting use the first lender who offers you a reasonable interest rate, but resist this. There are many lenders with many different programs. Ask them frankly not only what interest rate they can offer, but a good faith estimate (GFE). The GFE will show you not only the proposed interest rate, but the lenders fees, such as application, review fees, etc. Also, at the proposed rate, ask what will the payments be? Does that include property taxes and homeowners insurance?? Can you easily afford that? If not, you are taking a risk that may not be justified.

If you keep these points in mind, you would have a great start of finding a new home.

The Tough Housing Market

"NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The number of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure continued to soar in June, according to a report released Thursday.
RealtyTrac, an online marketer of foreclosed properties, reported that lenders repossessed 71,563 homes in June. A year ago, just 26,369 homes were taken back.
During the first six months of 2008, 343,159 Americans lost their homes, up 136% from 145,696 recorded during the same period in 2007.
The report revealed that foreclosure filings of all types, including notices of default, notices of auction sales and bank repossessions, rose 53% from June 2007, to 252,363. For the first six months, total filings rose 56% to 1.4 million."

If you are faced with major issues such as these, it is important to focus on the solutions. If you have already tried negotiating with the bank, tried contacting a realtor to see if the home could be sold. Be realistic with your price. Make sure that it is priced according to the comparable homes in your area.

Fences and Neighbors

“Good Fences make Good neighbors” is so true. There may be a time where you question if whether your neighbor’s fence has gone over your property.

First of all, make certain by obtaining a survey. Once you obtain the survey and are certain that your neighbor has over stepped themselves, contact and notify your neighbor and confirm it in writing what you believe has happened. Removal may be a solution.

If a friendly solution can not be reached, an ejectment may be filed. The court, however, will weigh the costs involved if removal is the solution. If the cost for removing the fence is greater than the benefit of removal, the court may not order your neighbor to move it.

Can a Tenant hold back rent?

Often times there comes a point where Landlords do not hear the compaints of their Tenants. If that occurs, and it involves the "habitability" of the rental property, a Tenant may hold back rent.

A landlord warrants to the tenant that the leased property is habitable. This is known as the Implied Warrant of Habitability. If the tenant determines that there is a problem that amounts to a breach of the Implied Warranty of Habitability, the tenant should notify the landlord in writing of the problem and allow a reasonable period of time for the landlord to make the repairs. The breach must be so severe that the tenant cannot continue to live in the rental the and would have to leave unless the repairs were made.

A Tenant may : (i) declare that they have been constructively evicted and leave the premises;(ii) repair the defect on the premises after giving the landlord a reasonable opportunity to do so and deduct the costs for repair from their rent;(iii) withhold the rent until the landlord effects the repairs; or(iv) make the repairs and proceed with suit against the landlord to collect the costs of same.

Starting Over

One of my favorite movies is the 1993 film “Groundhog Day,"starring Bill Murray. I highly recommend it. Groundhog Day stars Bill Muray as an arrogant TV weather man who has been sent to Punxsutawney, PA to cover Groundhog Day.

After he completes the show, Bill Murray goes to bed and awakes to find the same day all over again. In fact, it happens several, if not hundreds of times- starting the day over. Murray little by little realizes that he can do some good while stuck in this "life loop."

Although that is in a movie, today we have an opportunity to make a fresh start. Most well meaning people make mistakes. Unfortunately, one minor mistake can follow you throughout your life as you prepare for school or a new job. Thankfully if you qualify, you can have a "do over" by way of an expungement.

Expungement allows a criminal conviction to be "sealed," or eliminated, after some time or completion of requirements, such as community service. If you obtain an expungement, you can honestly say "no" when asked if you have had any previous arrests or convictions. People with expungements of a criminal conviction and in some cases even an arrest ordinarily do not have to be disclosed by the person convicted. In fact, an arrest or conviction will not appear when a potential employer, for example, conducts a background search of an individual's public records.

With the exception of law enforcement persons, an expungement of an arrest or conviction record indicates that the records are sealed. The arrests or convictions are as if they had never happened.

Be mindful, however, that not all crimes are eligible for expungement. I know that in New Jersey, (since the rules for expungement vary from state to state) felony convictions or convictions involving sex offenses are not eligible. Usually, juvenile and misdemeanor convictions are most often subject to expungement.