Paul S & Pat C ,
Luxury Custom New &
Pre-Owned Homes
E-mail: njestates@earthlink.net
Web: http://www.newjerseyestates.net
908-561-5492 (Paul S) 908-310-1358 (Cell)908-561-6499 (Pat C) 908-578-0890 (Cell)

Successful Browsing For Housing

It's no secret in the world of residential real estate that well-informed home buyers who are also quick on their feet get the best pole position.

And there's nothing like browsing for housing online to bring knowledge and speed to the home-buying contest.

"More informed buyers, improve the transaction process," says Douglas de Jager, co-founder of DotHomes.com, the latest home listing portal on the block.

"There is so much more information made available to us online, when you go to the actual home, it's just a validation process for what you've seen online," he added.

But transforming digital digs into a real home of your dreams isn't just about bandwidth and content.

DotHomes.com offers these little-reported tips to help you get the most out of your online home shopping experience.

Leverage the broker. Capitalize on the fact that brokers and real estate agents are the "matchmakers" in the residential real estate world. They use local expertise to connect buyers and sellers. Research, browse and focus your search online with tools they provide. They generally are tools that put you quickly in contact with all of the information and resources the listing agent or broker has to offer. Broker blogs, market reports, how-tos and other information can give you the foundation for an informed online home search.

Search in real-time. First come, first served takes on new meaning with property listings and other information electronically "fed" to you via RSS (really simple syndication) feeds, email alerts and Web updates. When fresh inventory is tough to find, alerts will keep you abreast of the newest listings and eliminate the need to manually check the Web again and again for updates. When you are on the go, you can tune into alerts via your Blackberry, iPhone or other device and stay up even as you drive from open house to open house.

"It's the difference between push and pull. You pull in information rather than going out a looking for the specific information you need to come to you," said de Jager.

Zero-in. With so many listings on the market, quickly navigating them all is a chore. Use online tools that allow you to refine your property search. If you are looking for a house on a particular street, search the street. If you need a pet friendly condo, ask. Whether you know exactly what you want or are just starting to figure it out, be specific with search terms like "new roof," "three-car garage," "established landscaping," "new kitchen appliances," etc. to find the property with the features you need.

"With so much inventory, rather than 20 to 30 pages of results, you can refine your search and get down to precisely those things you want," de Jager said.

Search "fresh." Avoid Web sites that don't update frequently and are far removed from the original online broker listing. If you don't, you'll miss out on listing changes and updates like new pricing information, new photos, open house dates and the like. Web sites that don't link to the original listing, lock you away from updates. Nothing is more frustrating than to find online what you consider your dream home only to soon discover that the listing was sold, removed from the market or otherwise changed beyond your requirements.

"It's much the same way when you put a listing in a monthly magazine. Don't expect that it's just come on the market. If there is no link between the advertisement and the original listing there could be a serious disconnect," de Jager said.

He also said local multiple listing services (MLS) that offer public access are among the best places to search on line because they use standard formatting and strict guidelines about adding and removing listings in a timely manner.

Screen home movies. Most MLS systems, however, can't hold a candle to professionally produced virtual staging jobs completed with interactive video tours.

"If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a million," de Jager says.

Videos can give a much better sense of the proportions and the feel of a property. They can also play the starring role -- as a sort of 24-hour open house -- on a Web site or blog dedicated to the listing.

"A good video can often be as good as an open house visit," de Jager said.

And, if you buy a home with its own Web site, you can ask the seller to gift the Web site or blog to you!

"Videos have really taken off with the big brokers and high-end niche brokers. When you can find them they are valuable," de Jager added.


Written by Broderick Perkins
May 8, 2008 

Paul S & Pat C ,
Luxury Custom New &
Pre-Owned Homes
E-mail: njestates@earthlink.net
Web: http://www.newjerseyestates.net/
908-561-5492 (Paul S) 908-310-1358 (Cell)908-561-6499 (Pat C) 908-578-0890 (Cell)

Moving on Up? Thinking About it?

.

Sometimes, making the decision to sell your house and buy a new home is relatively easy.

What will you gain by moving? What will you lose?

Get out a piece of paper. Draw a line almost halfway down to the middle, then put a circle about the size of a quarter at the bottom of that line. After that, continue the line down to the bottom of the page.

On the left side you are going to write down everything you expect to gain by moving. Do the kids fight over bathroom time? Do you run out of hot water? Do you need a better backyard atmosphere for barbecues? Better schools? Better neighborhood? More rooms? More living space? Bigger garage? Better kitchen? Get your family to help.

Can you fix it by improving your present house? Do you want to?

Write four things down at the top of the right column. Current mortgage. Sale of home. Moving. New home. If you have a second mortgage or home equity line of credit on your present home, write that down, too.

Before you do anything else, you have to know what it would take to pay off your existing mortgage. This will include your balance, any pay-off fees, approximately 30 days of interest, and (heaven forbid!) any prepayment penalties.. Most people forget to include the interest.

You get this from your mortgage company's loan service department. Often, you just have to punch buttons on your phone and they will fax it or mail it to you directly.

Write the total payoff figure on the right side of the page.

Repeat those steps for any second mortgage or home equity line.

Now you need to call your friendly neighborhood real estate agent so you can learn two things: how much your home is likely to >>>>

sell for and how much you will net from the sale. Your agent cannot determine your net without knowing your mortgage payoff, which is why you got that information first. Your agent won't make a big production out of it. You're dong research. They understand.

Write down how much you will net on the right side of the page. If it isn't a positive number, you probably shouldn't move unless you have to. If the number is positive, continue with your research.

The next step is to call a mortgage loan officer. Not to apply for a loan (though you can get pre-qualified or pre-approved if you want), but because you need to know how much cash you need to buy a new home. You need to know the down payment, closing costs, prepaid items like homeowners insurance and property taxes, and 30 days prepaid interest (everyone forgets the interest).

Remember, you're not shopping for a loan right now. You are deciding whether to move or not. You don't want the "best case" deal...you want the "worst case" possibility. The most it might cost you under different down payment scenarios. You want your lender to include inspections and stuff that might not normally be in a Good Faith Estimate.

Then you need to know how much it costs to move.

So the right side of the page is for calculations and reasons not to move, sort of like a right-brain vs. left-brain kind of thing. Or vice versa.

Oh. We forgot.

What about that circle you drew in the middle of the page?

(We didn't really forget).

By the time you get through this process, you'll know whether moving is a good idea or not. That circle is where you write your decision in big bold letters.

So Many Homes, So Few Buyers

If only it was easier to get a mortgage. It would be a buyer's paradise.

There are more empty homes than at any other time in U.S. history and a greater number of empty homes tends to create price breaks for buyers.

And don't forget, the greater number of empty homes is largely due to the glut of foreclosures, which themselves can be cheaper than homes that owners plan to sell.

The nation's supply of empty homes rose to a record 18.6 million in the first quarter this year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The vacancy rate, the share of unoccupied homes for sale, also hit a record of 2.3 million, up nearly 3 percent from a year ago.

The West was hit hardest with the biggest gain in vacancy rates, up 7 percent.

Vacancy rates fell in the Midwest and the South, but also rose in the Northeast.

Rising foreclosures have been caused in part by resetting rates on adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs), which, in turn, cause unaffordable higher monthly mortgage payments.

Some people walk away from homeownership because they purchased more than they could afford with little money down at the peak of the market. Now, falling home prices find them with an "upside down" mortgage -- that's a mortgage with a balance larger than the home's value.

Job creation has also been sluggish and that hasn't helped those who want more work or higher wages to pay for more expensive mortgages.

The first quarter 2008 rate of homeownership remained at 67.8 percent, where it was in the last quarter last year -- the lowest level since the first quarter of 2002.

But there's always a silver lining.

With these market conditions, home buyers with down payment cash and excellent credit can land the deal of a lifetime on a home.


Written by Broderick Perkins
May 6, 2008