Potential Bargain Alert…. Looks like the Cohen Realty Group, based in Elizabeth, New Jersey, will be auctioning off 20 one and two bedroom condominiums in Atlantic Highlands on May 18th. The Navesink Cove condominiums were originally priced to $250,000 but suggested opening bids are from $80,000 and a certified or cashier’s check from as low as $8000 is required.
Prospective buyers can inspect the properties at their leisure April 26, 27, May 3, 4, 10, and 17 from 11a.m. to 2p.m. and also May 8 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Looks like there may be opportunity to purchase a condominum at a reasonable price for the right buyer. Ten of the condos will be sold regardless of price, so if you are looking a condo in Monmouth County these are certainly worth a look.
Came across Property Crossroads last week. Dan Rafter wrote a blog entry about the people he came across that felt the government should not bail out the homeowners affected by the mortgage debacle that has many homeowners facing foreclosure or talking to their banker about short sales.
In my business, I hear from people who are in danger of losing their home. They have worked hard to keep up on their mortgage payments, but usually they took some bad advice and now have a mortgage payments that have ratched up to a point beyond what they can afford to pay. I would compare a mortgage professional to any other professional that one might go to for help — a doctor, lawyer, contractor, etc… Just as in these fields there are those who would take advantage of people so too did some mortgage brokers take advantage of home buyers.
Should the government step in and help homeowners who were paying their mortgages prior to the balloning of payments so that they can keep their homes? Well yes. Here’s why:
- The housing market is already in a slump… the inventory on the market is already beyond what can sell in a six month period and sellers are continuing to place more houses on the market.
- Buyers are leery of jumping into the market and face what they see other buyers going through. Even though reputable lenders are making an effort to ensure that borrowers get a mortgage that is within his/her means.
- More houses coming onto the market through short sale or in an effort to prevent a foreclosure will just add to the already over-burdened market.
- With a little help from the government, through encouraging the extending the loan period or other measures that will keep mortgage payments within the range of payments these homeowners could afford makes sense.
If homeownership is the American dream then helping prevent that dream from becoming a nightmare is American too.
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.
We went to a movie last weekend and went to the Shop Rite Supermarket near the movie theater on the way home rather than make a single trip to the supermarket the next day. It was about conserving some to that $2.83 per galloon gasoline. Seems like more Americans did the same thing, conserved feul. Makes sense really to combine outings rather than make a special trips especially when gas prices are so high. That gasoline stock are increasing mean consumers are doing more thing right.
“Something dramatic is occurring with consumer driving habits,” Geoff Sundstrom, a spokesman for AAA motor club, said in a telephone interview. “These numbers, if sustained over next couple of weeks, should set the stage for a reversal of price forecasts.”
While the idea of conserving gas is one on many American minds, the idea of conservation and spending quality time with the family while conserving a natural resource and creating less greenhouse gases is a rather pleasant feeling. Perhaps we can continue this practice of going to the supermarket after the movie even after gas prices come down.
Well it is the new year and Apple is moving right along with working to keep pace with the other smartphone companies. The new Apple iPhone has increased the amount of memory users have available from 8GB to 16 GB. The idea is to allow users to carry more in their iPhone. With Apple- iTunes joining the movie rental race it makes sense to increase the capacity of the iPhone. The design of the phone itself has not changed noticably but the design and features the phone offers has made it #3 in the less than a year in the market statistical race.
Frankly, the iPhone like any other smartphone device has one that cannot be stated strongly enough: when one part of it needs repair whether it is the phone or the iPod all that stuff being in one place creates a bigger problem then keeping track of individual devices. And until they can increase the battery use time I will play dinosaur and keep my cellphone, Palm, and MP3 player separate.