You effectively consent to the possibility of surveillance every time you go outside your home, office, or anywhere with a "reasonable expectation of privacy".
Agree. I work in the area. Beyond universities, the amount of talent that goes through Newark, from NJ suburbs into NYC, every day is incredible. I would think many of those people would love to shave 20-40 minutes off their commute and stop paying city taxes.
Not sure which Bell Labs. Newark is ~30 min both by car and train during Rush from Murray Hill... which is in the Middle of some of the nicest suburbs in the state. The other you might be talking about is Holmdel. Thats at least an hour down the GSP and I think train would be at least that.
Might depend on the Judge. I have witnessed Judges ask "You understand what you are doing, this will never go away, etc". Genuine inquiry to make them comfortable that the defendant knows precisely what they are doing. But you are correct, there is also a scripted line of questioning.
Yes. In fact the Judge is very deliberate in asking that you want to plead guilty and were not coerced into doing so. At least in Federal Courts they have an entire, what appears to be prepared list of questions they ask just to make sure it is your will.
Sure. You buy a distressed house with leverage. Improve it, which if done in a smart way should raise the value more than what you spend on renovations. You can then go and refinance at the new appraised value, taking cash out. You take that cash and buy another property. Do this over and over and eventually you have a portfolio of properties and consistent cashflow from your rent roll. Granted this will likely take longer than a few months. You could probably do one flip in that timeframe, however.
Real estate. Buy a cheap house with leverage, fix it and either rent it out, or sell it. If you rent, cash out refi, rinse and repeat. Many fortunes built this way. High use of leverage means many shirts lost as well, however many of our laws (assuming US) are skewed to benefit real estate investment and speculation... with the current admin, I don't see that changing anytime soon. I don't think you can find better odds.
Be careful of private (aka public) adjusters. They take a cut of your settlement. They can help you get more from insurance sometimes.... but if your house burns down with everything in it, you are likely maxing out. They can't get you more than you are insured for... but they will still take a cut.
There will for sure be people be swooping in like vultures after something like this to try to profit... Not all are bad, but I would just say, be careful.
As others have said, I would walk through the house with a video camera and get every inch of it on tape. Both as evidence as well as a reminder to yourself of everything you owned.
I would also take a look at your policy and look for things that are not covered under traditional home owners. Things that come to mind are jewelry, art, and sometimes computers. Jewelry especially being high value and easy to evacuate with you.