Dec. 28, 2007 - Rear view mirrors and crystal balls

A look at 2007 Real Estate Predictions

As the year comes to a close, I thought it might be interesting to revisit some real estate predictions made for this past year.

Dec. 24, 2007 - It's Christmas Eve...

                Season's Greetings

                          May this holiday bring you Peace, Health and Joy

                         All the best in 2008

Dec. 20, 2007 - Survey says...

Home ownership tops with students

With the dramatic, repetitive and negative news reporting on the American housing market here comes some good news from RisMedia’s writer, Eugene L. Meyer.  Mr. Myers reports that a recent back-to-college survey of college students shows owning a home is a top priority among this group.  The survey was comprised of 34 questions, conducted August 2007 and included 1,000 students confirmed by their (.edu) e-mail addresses.

Myers writes, “The desire to become homeowners may be nurtured by their current living arrangements. Fifty-seven percent lived in an apartment during college, with or without roommates, while only 11% lived in a school dormitory room.”   

No doubt, TV programs such as Designed to Sell, Flip this House, Design on a Dime and other HGTV home shows spotlighting home ownership also have had a strong influence on this demographic sector.  What's surprising is that for 41% of the men and 49% of the women, home ownership outranked the desire for other material possessions such as a car or clothes.  These figures are up from 22.6 % reported in a 2005 survey.  Not surprising, more young women than young men want to own their own home.

Also, data for Generation X (those born between 1963 and 1978) shows they are purchasing and/or remodeling homes at an earlier stage in life than previous generations.  Further, there is a segment of these homeowners who've purchased more than one primary residence.

The survey also focused on the online social networking habits of this younger generation.  FaceBook is the top choice for both sexes; followed by MySpace for women and ESPN for men.  It was further determined that social networking is twice a popular for women than for men.

My challenge, now, is to better connect in a meaningful way to this group of potential home buyers and sellers.  I accept it with excitement and fervor.  Somerset has a very diverse housing stock.  Paraphrasing Century 21 President and CEO Tom Kunz, there are homes being sold in our immediate market and behind every transaction is a consumer success story. Game On!

Dec. 16, 2007 - Thinking outside the box gets your home noticed

What is a home seller to do in a slow market such as this?

Have you reassessed the pricing of your home?  Get an updated Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) from a licensed and local real estate agent.  This report is usually provided without charge or obligation.  Your agent will be able to tell you what price other homes similar to yours have sold for, which homes similar to yours are under contract, how many other homes similar to yours are on the market and suggest pricing for today’s marketplace using the available Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data.  The reality is a downward adjustment in pricing may be required to get your home sold.

Another fairly new marketing reality is that the classified newspaper ad is one of the least effective methods of marketing your home.  Your agent should not only be using the local MLS but also the internet to showcase your home.  Here in Franklin Township, your home should be placed in both Garden State MLS and Middlesex MLS. Your home should be placed on your agent’s website, Realtor.com and sites that don’t draw from MLS. At the very least, sites such as Craigslist and Zillow should be employed.   

Both your agent and you must think “outside the box” to get your home noticed.  Here’s one great example of  doing just that: A New York Times story reported that Dave Hruby, a Minnesota home seller, whose house languished on the market for so long that he felt it must have became a red flag to buyers.   He reasoned it must be the worst house in town.

Mr. Hruby created a website called WorstHouseInEdina.com.  Essentially, what this seller did was inject a little humor, flip the script and market the house as a bargain.  It still hasn’t sold, but the website generated 700,000 hits!  That’s pretty impressive.  It’s noted that the concept is not totally new, check out the ugliest house of the year. 

Finally, if there is no pressure to sell now it could be best for you to take your home off the market for a while.  The perception of buyers is that homes remaining on the market for long periods are either over priced or has something wrong with them. With so many other homes to choose from, it is easier for buyers to look elsewhere rather than deal with a "problem" home. 

An option for you might be to rent the property and wait for the market to turn around.

Dec. 8, 2007 - Town hall by telephone

Talk with US Representative Rush Holt

Congressman Holt writes, "I am always looking for new ways to hear from you. As I understand the many constraints on your time, on Monday, December 10 from 8 to 9 p.m. I will be holding a telephone town hall - a format much like a traditional public town hall, but more convenient and accessible from your home.

The telephone town hall operates like a large conference call among you, me, and other Central New Jersey residents. This first telephone town hall in our district provides an opportunity to tell me your ideas, ask me questions, and hear your neighbors' questions.

To guarantee entry to Monday's 8 p.m. telephone town hall, please call 1-866-447-5149 and enter the pin number 13372. If you are unable to participate, you will be able to hear a recording of the town hall on my website, and of course you can contact me any time with any concerns or questions."

Dec. 8, 2007 - November 2007 Residential Sales

Franklin Township Residential Sales

The month ended with 59 Franklin Township single family residences sold between November 1 - 30, 2007.

The month ended with 543 active listings on the market, including 105 new listings.

If you have a question about a specific property in town, or stats for surrounding areas, please don't hesitate to contact me.

Source: Garden State MLS, L.L.C. **Info. deemed RELIABLE but not GUARANTEED - ALL Room Sizes are Approx.**

Dec. 4, 2007 - Enjoy Your Holiday

Happy Chanuka

May the new year bring you joy and happiness.

Dec. 3, 2007 - Deal close to help stave foreclosures

The administration's plan won't help all

US Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson, said today that the Bush administration is very close to finding a way to help borrowers who can afford their mortgages at the lower initial 'teaser' rate, but who are unlikely to be able to afford their mortgages at the soon to be implemented higher rates.

According to Secretary Paulson, many borrowers that will not be able to meet higher rates after teaser rates expire still have 'steady incomes' and clean payment histories. Paulson wants lenders to freeze the "teaser" rates on large numbers of adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) loans, if the borrowers holding those loans would otherwise end up in foreclosure.

A Boston Fed research shows that 20% of borrowers with subprime ARMs nationwide should be able to refinance "relatively easily" into a prime mortgage or get into a loan-guarantee program. It was found that at the time they took out their original loans, this 20% of subprime borrowers had relatively good credit scores, held at least 10% equity in their homes, provided full documentation of their income and assets and said they planned to live in the home. This is the group that stands to gain most from any proposed government effort to keep people in their homes.

The plan envisions members of an administration backed HOPE NOW coalition -- including mortgage servicers, counselors and investors will work together to contact borrowers facing interest rate resets, and provide relief for many who are facing foreclosure. The media reported that executives with Countrywide Financial Corp., Washington Mutual Inc. and Fannie Mae attended the forum and expressed support for the plan.

Another part of Paulson's solution is to allow state and local governments to temporarily expand their tax-exempt bond programs to include mortgage refinancings. If enacted, it is projected that this will reduce the cost of innovative mortgage programs and allow these programs to reach more struggling homeowners,' Paulson said. Read Paulson's remarks

Source: US Treasury, Inman News, WSJ, Forbes

Dec. 1, 2007 - Prevent homeowner headaches

Don't get caught unaware

As the mortgage and real estate industries face unprecedented times, homeowners could very well be left to pay the bills, literally. Mortgage companies are going out of business or declaring bankruptcy every day. When that happens, their assets can be frozen, which means they cannot transfer any funds, including the funds they owe on behalf of homeowners for hazard insurance (and other types of insurance) and real estate taxes.

Most homeowners do not receive confirmation of payment of insurance or real estate property taxes. The assumption among them is that they pay the monthly escrow amount and never need to consider those items. However, recent examples have shown that might not always be the case. There are a few simple steps homeowners can and should take to verify payment of their escrowed items.

Below are some specific best practices I wish to share with you. To become more knowledgeable homeowners.

Insurance - While the primary purpose of insurance is to protect the interests of the lender, having a lapse in hazard, flood, wind and other types of insurance could have a significant impact on homeowners, especially if they have equity built up in the home. If an insurance payment lapses, carriers will immediately cancel the insurance policy.

Homeowners should proactively monitor their policies. Most insurance companies provide policy information online. If not, the insurance agent should be able to access the information. Either way, it is easiest if homeowners have their policy numbers, but if they do not, insurers have other methods of locating the policy information. Using the Internet or a phone call, in less than five minutes, a homeowner can confirm whether the insurance premium has been paid.

If a homeowner finds out that a premium has not been paid, there are two options. The homeowner can contact the mortgage company directly regarding the payment or can request the insurance agent do it on his/her behalf. It is important to remind your homeowners to keep their policies' expiration date in mind because once the policy expires, they will have no protection against losses.

If the insurance is not being paid and the mortgage company is not helpful, the individual can also contact the state Insurance Commissioner's Office or other agencies that govern insurance. Homeowners should contact the office in the state where the property is located, regardless of where the mortgage company is located.

If the deadline is approaching for the insurance to be paid, and you fear it will not be paid or not paid on time, is that they make the payment, document it and then seek reimbursement from the mortgage company. This prevents the insurance from being cancelled.

If a homeowner's insurance is cancelled, it will be even more difficult to get a new policy as that person will be moved to a higher risk category due to the lack of payment. This means that if they can get a new policy, they will be paying more for it. This is just one more reason why it is important to remind your homeowners to monitor their insurance payments.

Real Estate Taxes - Real estate taxes are not as critical as insurance from a payment perspective because there is no threat of cancellation; however, if taxes are not paid, the homeowner will be assessed penalty fees as a result of the delinquency. Eventually, a tax certificate can be held against the property, and, as a last resort, the property could be auctioned to cover the delinquent tax bill. While this is a lengthy process, legal fees are incurred throughout each step for which the homeowner could be responsible. This becomes very costly. Plus, the longer the process takes, the more difficult it becomes to unwind.

Most tax authorities provide information online, so a good recommendation to your homeowners is to go online to confirm payment of real estate taxes. However, if the particular taxing authority does not provide this information online, homeowners can contact them via telephone. Have your tax folio numbers, parcel numbers and/or legal descriptions available when calling.

Again, if a homeowner fears the taxes are not being paid, it is best to recommend that the individual pay the bill and keep record of the payment to seek reimbursement from the mortgage company. The reimbursement process is a common, well-established process with mortgage companies, and it should be rather painless as long as the homeowner has good documentation.

Principal Balances - It is common practice for mortgage companies to buy and sell loans. A typical 30-year mortgage could be owned by several different companies, and this is even more common today as many mortgage companies go out of business. When a loan is sold, the borrower will receive a letter with the change notification and new information on where to send the payment.

It is critical that the homeowner ensures the principal balance and escrow balance are correct when his/her loan is sold to another mortgage company. You should have received an amortization schedule with their closing documents. They should compare the outstanding principal balance that the mortgage company has to the principle balance on the amortization schedule to ensure its accuracy.

First-Time Buyers - It is beneficial to recommend to record the following information for your new home:

Tax folio number

Legal description

Homeowners insurance policy number

Keep copies of all this information. The originals should be kept in a safe spot; the copies should be kept in an easily accessible second location outside the home.

The good news is that due to the seriousness of delinquent payment for taxes and insurance, escrow accounts are governed by state and federal laws.

Source: RisMedia