Sayreville & Piscataway NJ Real Estate Blog

Lots of people think about ways to save the environment in a physical manner such as changing light bulbs from incandescent to florescent and recycling, but many drop the ball when it comes to cleaning their Piscataway & Sayreville New Jersey home. Keeping your home clean in a way that is healthy to you, your family, and the environment just takes a little extra thought and soon becomes second nature.Danger, DangerGet rid of any products under your sink, in your bathroom, or your cleaning closet that have danger cautions.  If they are bad for you, they are probably bad for the environment too, and why have such hazardous materials in your Piscataway & Sayreville New Jersey home? Labels that have cautions such as poison, hazard, and danger on them are not only bad to have around small children, the toxins leak into the air when you use them causing health problems for your family. They also leech into the environment when you use them and are hazardous for the environment.Re-usable and NaturalBuy mop heads and sponges made from natural materials that are bio-degradable and replenishable. Check for recycled materials labels on paper towels, toilet paper, and other disposable objects so that you know those products are making the best use of production materials.ConserveUse as little water as possible when doing dishes by turning off the faucet while you are washing and only using running water when you are ready to rinse. Don’t just think about conservation when cleaning your home. Turn off the faucet while you are brushing your teeth as well for extra savings. Remove your shoes or put a rug by the entry doors of your home to help cut down the need to wash floors.Bring in the GreenBring nature into your Piscataway & Sayreville New Jersey home in the form of hanging and potted plants. Plants clean the air around you and take in harmful carbon dioxide in the air.Want top buy a clean, green home?  Let me help.  Contact me today at 732-247-1935 ext 182 or email me at freddie@freddiemoorer.com. LINKS:Keeping your home clean: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/278826/how_to_keep_your_house_clean_in_20.html?cat=7 Cleaning your home: http://www.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/homestyle/07/27/wlb.rs.clean.plan/index.htmlHanging and potted plants: http://www.ehow.com/how_16881_grow-hanging-plants.html

Few questions are more important this time of year than which Christmas tree you should buy for your Sayreville & Piscataway New Jersey home.  There are some things to keep in mind when looking for the perfect Christmas tree, here are just a few: 

Real Or Artificial Tree?Real Christmas trees require some care; if you’re planning to travel this holiday season, you may not want a live tree.  You must water the tree to make sure that it doesn’t lose its needles before Christmas day.  The live trees are not fire resistant, the dried out pine needles can get too hot from the lights and may burst into flame.  

On the other hand, there isn’t any up-keep with an artificial Christmas tree, and many look quite realistic.  The plastic Christmas trees have an added bonus of being flame retardant.  Then, there’s the convenience of not having to go out in the cold weather to pick the tree out. 

For those of you who can’t imagine Christmas without the pine needle smell, you can buy air fresheners that mimic the smell of fresh cut pine.  For some, an artificial tree is the best of both worlds. 

How Big Is Too Much Tree?Now that you’ve decided what kind of Christmas tree to buy, you have to find out how big a tree you can fit in your Sayreville & Piscataway New Jersey home.  It could be that the only thing limiting the size of your Christmas tree is your budget; in that case, your decision is easy.   

However, if you’re limited on space, you’ll need to decide the best place to put your tree first.Try to think of how the area will “frame” your Christmas tree.  Consider how much traffic goes by the area and whether there will be enough room for the presents to stay safe.   

Break out the measuring tape so you don’t have to guess when you’re on the Christmas tree lot; trees look deceptively small on the lot.  Or, if you opted for the fake Christmas tree, you’ll know exactly which box to pick out; just look for the right size. 

Want to buy a Sayreville & Piscataway New Jersey home that has space for a bigger tree?  I can help.  Give me a call today at 732-247-1935 ext 182 or email me at freddie@freddiemoorer.com. 

LINKS:Christmas treehttp://www.learn2grow.com/gardeningguides/trees/featuredplants/ChristmasTreeOptions.aspx 

Water the treehttp://www.ehow.com/how_2343113_care-christmas-tree.html 

Artificial Christmas treehttp://pre-litartificialchristmastree.info/ 

Most articles across the Net that focus on finding a real estate agent tell you what to look for to find a good one. What if you already have one, though? How can you tell if your Mercer & Middlesex County NJ real estate agent is the one that caused previous clients X, Y and Z to have never-ending nightmares? What if they’re related to the Wicked Witch of the West and, horror of horrors, you don’t know?

It’s enough to give a person the terrors, even though Halloween is already past. In the interest of helping you have a good experience (thus raising the reputation of agents everywhere), here are three things you can do if your Mercer & Middlesex County NJ real estate agent starts giving you the heebie jeebies:

1. Find out if they’ve had any training since real estate school. Although it depends on the state, most agents have to complete a three- to six-week period of schooling. If they pass the real estate licensing exam they find a broker, sign a form, sign up with some real estate associations and are immediately moved into the echelons of “real estate professional.” That’s it.

If your agent hasn’t had any more training than that, there’s a high probability they don’t know everything they need to know to give you the professional help you need. Real estate school can only teach so much, especially in three to six weeks.

2. Try to reach your agent by phone and email. If you get a voice mail, leave a message and see how fast they return the call. See how fast they return the email. Many agents leave comments on the listings such as “for questions, comments or to show, contact listing agent,” which means the only way potential buyers can get any extra information or see your home is by contacting your agent. If your agent never returns emails or phone calls, you may be missing out on potential buyers.

3. Consider if they’re willing to show you houses you want to look at, or if they’re too busy. Some agents have a strange rule that they’ll only show a certain number of houses. Other agents seem to be too busy to show you a few extra homes you’re interested in. If either of these are the case, don’t call another agent – get rid of the one you have, first.

If you find that your Mercer & Middlesex County NJ real estate agent is a genuine nightmare, take a step back and reassess whether you want to use them or not. If you decide you want to hire another one, first let your original agent know and officially cancel the contract.

If you’re looking for an experienced, well-educated real estate agent, I can help. Call me at 732-247-1935 ext 182 or email me at freddie@freddiemoorer.com for more information.

Links:

Find a good one

http://homebuying.about.com/od/realestateagents/How_to_Find_Interview_and_Hire_a_Real_Estate_Agent.htm

Real estate school

http://www.kaplanreschools.com/

Listing agent

http://homebuying.about.com/od/realestateagents/qt/0407ListingAgt.htm

If you’re looking at homes for sale Mercer & Middlesex County NJ, want to buy a home and are waiting around for better prices, you might want to rethink your strategy.

If you’re a market watcher, soaking up the information overload across news media and Internet websites, you’re probably overwhelmed with confusion by now. Is the housing market getting better? Is it getting worse? Was there really, when it gets down to it, a housing bubble collapse? And, if so, who popped it?

First, the quick answers. Yes, the housing bubble collapsed, and everybody had a hand in popping it: the government, the lenders, the investors and the general public. Now the hard answers: it’s getting better – and worse.

The truth is that market predictors are all on the fence. With the ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) giving first time homeowners some incentive to buy homes for sale Mercer & Middlesex County NJ and elsewhere, there has been a steady increase of sales. However, once the tax credit deadline hits at the end of this month, the numbers are once again expected to drop.

Again, though, it’s better and worse. While the housing market is still dropping in some areas, such as the southeast in

For instance,

Just because this is a buyer’s market, doesn’t mean you’ll get the exact price you’re looking for. If you want to buy a home and you’re waiting around for the prices of homes to plummet into a “sweet deal,” make sure you don’t wait yourself into an expensive mistake.

Instead of checking market forecasts, potential homebuyers need to look at things the way we always should have. Do I want to buy a house? Can I afford one of the homes for sale Mercer & Middlesex County NJ the way things are now? By researching, crunching numbers and answering the important questions, you’ll find the sweetest deal you could ever have: a wonderful house you can afford.

If you’re looking for a place to call your own, I can help. Call me at 732-247-1935 ext182 or email me at freddie@freddiemoorer.com for more information.

Links:

ARRA

http://www.recovery.gov/Pages/home.aspx

Strong markets

http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/08/0811_strongest_housing_markets/1.htm

Can I afford one of the homes

http://www.hsh.com/calc-howmuch.html

There are a lot of financing options to help you buy Mercer & Middlesex County NJ real estate, if you can meet the credit guidelines.   

Most lenders prefer to use 30-year mortgage loans.  With a longer loan term, the lender can collect more money in interest over the life of the loan.  For those who are credit-worthy, a 15-year mortgage term may be offered.  So, what is the difference between the two?  Here are a few guidelines: 

What About a 30-Year Mortgage?Thirty-year mortgages are becoming the normal term for Mercer & Middlesex County NJ real estate loans.  The payments are usually more affordable and lenders are quick to recommend them.  Lenders are more likely to offer you a higher loan amount with a 30-year loan, but the trade off is usually a higher interest rate.   

What Are The Benefits Of A 15-Year Mortgage?Signing up for a 15-year mortgage can save you a lot of money in interest payments.  True, your monthly payments will be higher than with a 30-year loan, but the impact on your long-term finances may be worth it. After just 16 years, you can start investing the money that you’re no longer spending on your mortgage into other real estate properties or investment opportunities.  You can build your investment portfolio with just the money you would’ve spent on your monthly mortgage payment.  

What about Prepayments?Even if you do decide to take out a 30-year loan, you can still have some of the same benefits of the 15-year loan.  By making prepayments, you can take years off a 30-year loan and still have the freedom of making smaller monthly payments, if you need to.  Before finalizing your decision, ask your lender if there are any penalties for making prepayments. 

A 15-year mortgage is usually the better financial decision, because you can save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan.  The interest on a loan may be halved by choosing a 15-year loan. 

No matter how you choose to finance your Mercer & Middlesex County NJ real estate, I can help you find the home that meets your needs and budget.  Call me today at 732-247-1935 ext 182 or email me at freddie@freddiemoorer.com for more information. 

LINKS:Benefits of a 15-year mortgage:  http://financialplan.about.com/lw/Business-Finance/Personal-finance/15-Year-Mortgage.htm  

Investing:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Investment 

Prepayments: http://www.mortgageqna.com/mortgage-terms-glossary/prepayment-definition.html  

You hold your seven pound miracle for the first time and fall completely in love. You bring that bundle home determined to shield her from all that might harm her. At some point you give your bundle of joy her first official at home bath. You may even commemorate the occasion on video. You reach for the bottle of shampoo to lather those downy locks and then massage in a liberal amount of lotion on her skin.  It is what nuturing parents do. Now there is a study that suggests what was a bonding moment might really be unintentionally causing harm.

The University of Washington study found that baby lotions, shampoos and powders are strongly associated with higher levels of chemical compounds, known as phthalates in the urine of babies. These phthalates are involved in the fragrances one associates with products. Since companies are not required to list components of fragrances the consumer does not have a way of knowing the amount of phthalates we are putting on our children. The reality is newborns do not need to bathe everyday. Nor do they need bubbles in their bath, plain water will work just fine. It is not like they are going to find the nearest mud hole and take a dip.

Limiting the number of fragrant products used on your little one is not that big a sacrifice, after all wouldn’t you do anything to keep them safe? You can always put the savings in unpurchased products into the little darling’s college fund until the experts sort this out.

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