Sayreville & Piscataway NJ Real Estate Blog

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

Working to have a safe Mercer & Middlesex County NJ home environment is important to everyone.  We want our children to have safe water, clean air, fresh food and a healthy earth for their future.

One area where you might consider decreasing your impact on the environment is in your own home construction.  There are several ways you can have a safe and clean green home construction.

• Find a “green” builder to help with your Mercer & Middlesex County NJ home.  Search the Internet for professional green builders.  It takes a special contractor to coordinate the elements of home building to ensure maximum energy savings.  Buying green materials is just one step toward having a green home.  To achieve ultimate efficiency, the different structural parts of plumbing, electricity, gas lines, and framework need to be coordinated.
• Buy green materials from different vendors.  Shop around to ensure you are getting the best deal.  One vendor may sell stone at an exceptional price, but his timber may be overpriced.  Natural supplies can be in short availability in some areas.  Natural builders and vendors are working together to build a greener home construction industry, but it is still a business.  It is your responsibility as the homeowner to make sure that you are getting the best deal.
• Continue the “green” theme with your home decorations and furnishings.  The construction of your green home saves resources and energy.  You can reduce your impact on the environment even further by using energy saving appliances, eco-friendly interior paint, and sustainable wood flooring in your home.

Building your Mercer & Middlesex County NJ home using green construction is a great start to a cleaner, brighter future. 

I can help you learn more about green home construction options.  Call me at 732-247-1935 ext182 or email me at freddie@freddiemoorer.com for more information.

Links:

Professional green builders - http://www.builditgreen.org/

Green materials - http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/greenbuilding/Materials/

Furnishings - http://www.greenhome.com/

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  

Potential first time homebuyers are racing the clock to find the perfect Mercer & Middlesex County NJ homes for sale. Who’s going to reach the finish line first?  And… why are they racing?

Many of you have probably heard of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) by now. For those looking for Mercer & Middlesex County NJ homes for sale that haven’t heard of the ARRA, first time homebuyers can receive up to $8,000 back in tax credits from the

Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? With the tax credit, your taxes are matched dollar-for dollar. This means, if you owe $9,000 in taxes for 2009 and get the full $8,000 tax credit, you’ll only owe $1,000 in taxes. That’s quite a bit of money to save, especially now. Better yet, if you don’t owe anything, that tax credit may become a tax refund - $8,000 of refund, to be exact.

With all the homes available, why are first time buyers racing? Aren’t there enough homes to go around? Of course there are – in fact, millions of homes in the

You may think that’s still plenty of time, but it’s not, really. To qualify for the tax credit, you have to have the keys to your new house in hand and the sale finished by the ARRA ending date.

Should you be racing, too? Well, that depends. If you want to buy one of the Mercer & Middlesex County NJ homes for sale, can realistically afford it and have been waiting for the best time, that time is here and almost past. However, if you want to buy a home, but can’t afford it yet, don’t let the tax credit push you into a tight monetary situation you can’t get out of. Take the time to build up equity and savings until you can buy a home you can afford!

If you’re a first time buyer wanting to take advantage of the tax credits, I can help. Call me now at 732-247-1935 ext 182 or email me at freddie@freddiemoorer.com.

Links:

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=204335,00.html

Waiting for a buyer

http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=an17jgiccivM

Home you can afford

http://cgi.money.cnn.com/tools/houseafford/houseafford.html

Everybody wants to know how the housing market is doing, especially if they own Mercer & Middlesex County NJ real estate. I try to keep the newsy pieces to a minimum and spend most of my Internet space on helpful pointers, but a lot of readers have asked about the market. In response to high demand, here’s a peak at the current national foreclosure trends:

Foreclosure Trends

It’s a wonderful thing to own any kind of real estate (although I’m partial to Mercer & Middlesex County NJ real estate, of course). Unfortunately, many people have lost their homes due to foreclosure since the housing crisis started; there have been over 7.8 million since 2007.

HousingPredictor.com conducted a survey of homeowners that shows we may have as many as 25 million foreclosures before everything is said and done, mainly due to homeowners who are tired of watching housing prices fall. Such a glut of the market could cause some serious repercussions for the economy. However, again, there are some positive points.

For instance, current mortgage interest rates are ranging from as low as 4% to 5.5%, cut almost in half from the “housing boom” years. While housing prices may be dropping, the fall is slowing down. As well, lower prices mean more affordable homes. While this may not be a good thing for homeowners, it’s an excellent thing for home buyers.

As prices drop and homes become more affordable, the glutted housing market of foreclosed and for sale homes is slowly shrinking. As the reserve market (the number of houses per capita that are for sale) shrinks, consumer confidence will build up (something we desperately need). Housing demand will rise, surplus will shrink, and prices will stabilize.

Of course, in the meantime, while you’re waiting for things to stabilize, hold on to your Mercer & Middlesex County NJ real estate. Take advantages of the tax breaks available to upgrade your existing property, maybe get the renovations done you’ve always wanted. There are still opportunities in this market – you just have to find them!

If you’re a buyer looking for a great home, act now to find amazing bargains.  I can help. Call me at 732-247-1935 ext 182 or email me at freddie@freddiemoorer.com for more information.

Links:

Stem the deluge

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-foreclosures21-2009oct21,0,5605171.story

HousingPredictor.com

http://www.housingpredictor.com/epidemic.html

slowing down

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6f3TaKJxPAQ