Took a look at the Netmovers.net site. It is an internet service in the UK that allows potential buyers to look for homes on their own without the use of a realtor. In fact, the blog talking about this service claims there are “NetMovers are the UK ’s number one commission free estate agents, with no hidden costs to worry about.” So for $99 dollars (something I offer for free here) you get access to the mls and you can get information about the area. While I agree having a first look at the area through the web is a wonderful feature, it certainly help decrease the hours looking at places that just don’t fit. It does not replace having somebody drive you around a few selected areas explaining where things are, merits vs minuses of one neighborhood over another, not to mention about quality of schools from a parent point of view, or about the little nuances that just don’t show up on a map or website.
While I do understand that Brits do things differently just seems to me trying to take the agent out of the real estate transaction leaves buyers and sellers in the position of not having access to a wealth of knowledge that the full-time real estate profession has just from doing his or her job. Knowing how much to offer on a house, getting together the information on what other properties have sold for in the area, and knowing what to expect after one makes an offer are a few things most people look to a realtor for assistance.
Buyers will learn little about a neighborhood until they ride though it. A tool like Netmovers, gives you cold information while the realtor can give you that information in the setting and offer tidbits of information that does not appear on websites. Viewing pictures even high quality images does not take the place of a drive by with someone whose job it is to know the area.
I find it interesting when people get a new tool and think that tool can replace human knowledge and ingenuity. The realtor has been around assisting buyers and sellers for more than 200 years. It is unlikely a website can replace what a human real estate professional brings to the buying and selling arena.
In catching up on my reading last weekend, I finally got around to the Harper’s Magazine article that was referenced in the Frank Pasquale Concurring Opinion’s article. While I agree that America carries too much debt and states like New Jersey are on the brink of financial ruin because of its indebtedness, it is kind of galling that when the average Joe runs into debt problems the first thing he does is cut spending and decrease living costs. Joe Average has to prioritize his debts, talk to creditors, basically change his spending habits to keep the cash flowing with more than his mouth above creditor infested waters.
Joe Average does not think about how he got into trouble; in reality, he doesn’t have time for reflection he is too busy trying to stay afloat. But it is at that precise moment that Joe must reflect and plan. He has to plan to feed the sharks and manage to keep himself afloat. But Joe does not want to just stay afloat. Ideally, Joe wants the water level comfortably around his ankles. To get there Joe has to plan.
So when I hear stories as I did this morning of state fiscal crises and the like, I wonder if the Govenor or the folks in the state house have any plans to get Jersey Joe into comfortable waters. We all heard about Gov. Corzine’s plan for the toll roads, and most of us don’t like the plan. Don’t imagine Joe Average likes what he has to do either. But while Joe Average will learn to live within his means, Jersey Joe will incur more debt to temporarily relieve his situation. Jersey Joe is looking to get a boat while Joe Average wants to swim to Debtfreeland. The question is once Jersey Joe is in his boat, will he be sufficiently motivated to head to Debtfreeland or will he dry himself off and head for Deeperdebtville? I am inclined think he will head out to financial ruin in Deeperdebtville.
It is always thought-provoking to see what other bloggers write. I read the JD Roth article, Mortgage Prepayment Made Easy: Own Your Home in Half the Time, while I agree that paying off the mortgage sooner rather than later has emotional advantages (Who doesn’t want to own their home outright?) , the goal like the name of the blog was to get rich slowly. So while his method of paying off his mortgage was to pay the mortgage company principle only payments, I find a different method more to my liking (#6 below). The thing each of us on the road to wealth must bring with us is discipline. It will require quite a lot of discipline to reduce spending and eliminate debt. It will also require a lot to make payments, be they mortgage, utility, or cable, on-time, every time.
Reducing spending frees money to help eliminate debt. As the amount of indebtedness decreases, wealth building opportunities increase. With the increase in foreclosures and people just walking away from their homes and mortgages, here are a few tips that might help homeowners and buyers before they find themselves on the road to foreclosure.
- Pay your monthly bills on time for at least six months before beginning to shop for a mortgage.
- Primarily this is for buyers but if you are behind in your mortgage don’t exacerbate things by not keeping your other monthly bills current. Paying bills on-time will effect your FICO score.
- Where possible pay off all other debt.
- Ideally it is much better to pay off credit cards and bank the payments to “rainy day” account that is equal to the credit card limit. Homeowners need about $4000-$6000 cushion against repair/replacement costs.
- Reduce food, gasoline, and entertainment expenses.
- Dining out and movies are treats. In our fast food society it is often convenient to just grab a burger meal for dinner. Discipline is knowing when the budget will allow for a treat and when it will not.
- Get a copy of your credit report and make sure it is correct.
- While there is usually some lag between paying off a debts and the updating of the credit report, it is your responsibility to correct any errors in the report
- Begin saving enough to cover all your bills for 4-6 months. Do this as you are paying off the credit cards and any other debts. The amount of this account will of course vary from family to family but in the event of some unforeseen catastrophe, it will mean the difference between frantic desperate measure and just desperate measures.
- Know up front with banks you are either current in your account or you are delinquent. They do not recognize that you prepaid two month ago. It is better to put your extra mortgage payments in a prepayment bank account and let it earn interest. Pay the mortgage regularly until the prepayment account is equal to the mortgage balance then write the one check for the mortgage. Watch the monthly balance in the account grow closer to the amount owed feels just as good as getting that monthly statement from the mortgage company. By banking the money yourself, should something happen and you cannot pay the mortgage from your regular earnings you can pay it from the prepayment account. Having that cushion against hard times could be the difference between keeping your home and losing it.
- Pay the maximum retirement account payments.
- As you payoff credit cards increase the amount of money you pay into your retirement account until you reach the maximum allowed.
- Yes, I know I said earlier to use the money to build a cushion for repair and replacement costs but the retirement account needs to be increased as soon as possible.
- Begin to invest in things that will produce passive income. That means something like bonds or even stock.
- As money becomes available through the achieving of eliminating debt, hitting target saving goals, maximum retirement savings, etc. the money should be invested into income increasing ventures.
- Stay the course. In order to be in a position to build wealth one has to have the discipline to resist the temptation to spend unwisely, accumulate debt, or decrease investment dollars. One also must be able to forgive past mistakes, recognize the lesson each has to teach and keep working toward your goal.
- Treat yourself once a month. If you have done everything else as you should, then remember to treat yourself once a month. Rent a movie, take in a show, or have a nice dinner out. Whether it is date out night or snuggle together in night, make it special for a job well done.
Now, I make no guarantee this will work for everyone, but I know it works. Don’t jump in expecting to get it right the first time. You are a babe, and babies crawl and fall down before they are steady on their feet. Discipline is learned and mastering saving rather than spending takes time. Just know you are not the first to step on this road and certainly not the last. Remember number 9 when you make the mistakes that are part of growing wealthy.
Read Trevor Smith’s article yesterday about a new property listing service called Roost. Trevor’s article got me thinking about the items in my Prudential, Fox and Roach toolbelt. The things I use to help buyers and sellers.
Here is a list of a few that came to mind off the top of my head:
- Home Pilot (allows visitors to search for homes and save their searches etc.)
- Trident Group (One-stop service to take care of all your home buying needs)
- Major Website Listing (houses listed show up high on many major websites, including Yahoo, Wall Street Journal, etc)
- HSA Warranty Service (home warranty protection for the seller and the buyer)
While those are the some of the things available through my company, on my website visitors have access to free information that deal with the many facets of buying and selling houses.
Making the real estate process as easy and stress-free as possible for my buyers and sellers is my number one goal and I have many tools to assist me.
Well it looks like some folks in Washington Township do not want low to moderate income housing in their neighborhood. At least that is what protesters at the Planning Board meeting last night.
Homeless Solutions Inc. wants to build 10 rental units in Washington Township near the border with Mount Olive. While Homeless Solutions Inc. does work with the homeless the affordable housing unit is separate from its sheltering services.
“They’re renters just like any of us who ever rented an apartment,” said Dan McGuire McGuire, Homeless Solutions Inc. “The only difference is that the apartments are income- restricted.”
It seems the problem for the protesters is not the building of the housing units themselves but Homeless Solutions Inc. plan to offer the units to people it is servicing who are not already residents of Washington Township.
Read the Article here.
The government defines a home as “crowded” if it is occupied by one more person than there are rooms in the house. If a house has more than 1.5 persons than rooms, it’s considered serverely crowded.
Obviously, a crowded home doesn’t mean wall-to-wall people. Often it just means a home enjoyably filled with a large family. Still, relatively few U.S. homes — less than five percent – are considered crowded now. And only 2.1 percent of them are severely crowded.
Our homes haven’t always been as spacious as they are now. Sixty years ago the national crowding rate was about 20 percent – Alabama was the most crowded state, with 40 percent of the homes having more people than rooms. At that time California was well below the national average at just 13 percent. Nowadays, however, Alabama is below the national average, with just 3.5 percent of homes crowded — while California is a 12 percent, only little less crowded that it was in 1940.
The most crowded state at the beginning of the decade was Hawaii — with almost 16 percent of homes considered crowded. the least crowded was Iowa where only 1.5 percent of its homes were crowded.
No matter what your personal ratio of persons to rooms, if you’re feeling a little crowded in your own home, maybe it’s time to purchase something more spacious. Call me at 609-799-2204 ext: 173 today for information about homes that are a better fit for your needs.