David Width's Jersey Shore Blog

Little Egg Harbor & Tuckerton Market Home Sales Statistics (Jan-Jun 1st 1/2 of yr.)

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 13:42:56 -0500

The following statistics were pulled from the Jersey Shore MLS system (www.jerseyshoremls.net) on home sales statistics from January 1st, 2009 through July 1st, 2009. The statistics come from closed sales on single family homes, townhomes, and adult community homes in the Little Egg Harbor & Tuckerton market areas.

UPLAND

There were 79 upland homes to sell with an average days on market of 127 days (roughly 4 months)

Average list price of an upland home was $215,800.

Average selling price of an upland home was $204,500

The highest sold upland home listed for $449,900 and sold for $410,000.

The lowest sold upland home listed for $72,500 and sold for $60,000.

WATERFRONT

There were 32 waterfront homes to sell with an average days on market of 172 days (roughly 6 months)

Average list price of a waterfront home was $286,000.

Average sell price of a waterfront home was $260,000.

The highest sold waterfront home listed for $619,000 and sold for $595,000.

The lowest sold waterfront home listed for $161,900 and sold for $142,000.

**THERE ARE CURRENTLY 60 HOMES UNDER CONTRACT AND AWAITING TO CLOSE**

** Please keep in mind these numbers are AVERAGES only. Your home may be worth considerably more, or less, than the averages stated above. When trying to determine individual value, please consult with a LOCAL real estate professional.**

Little Egg Harbor & Tuckerton Market Home Sales Statistics (Jan 1 - June 2, 09)

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 08:49:29 -0500

The following statistics represent the Little Egg Harbor/ Tuckerton Market home sales statistics, and were taken directly from the Jersey Shore MLS. The time periods represented in this market analysis run from January 1st, 2009 - June 2nd, 2009.

UPLAND

There were 62homes that sold and their days on market averaged to @ 129.

Average list price - $214,000

Average sell price- $204,800

The highest sold property listed for $399,900 and sold for $408,000.

The lowest sold property listed for $72,500 and sold for $75,000.

WATERFRONT

There were 20 homes that sold and their days on market averaged to @ 202.

Average list price - $305,900

Average sell price - $277,200

The highest sold property listed for $619,000 and sold for $595,000.

The lowest sold property listed for $199,000 and sold for $142,000.

*There are currently 49 homes under contract and awaiting to close*

First Time Home Buyer Smart Start & Pre-fund Program (NJ)

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 12:36:56 -0500

About two years ago, I was involved in a couple of sales with first time home buyers in which they choose to use the state first time home buyer lending program with a smart start grant. This program was a very useful and appropriate program for many first time buyers, with the rates around 6 1/8, nearly a full percent lower than conventional rates at that time, plus they could obtain up to a 4% grant from the state towards closing costs, that would be completely forgiven if they stayed in the home for 7 or more years. However since then, rates have dropped down into the 5% range, but the first time home buyer program rates are still up around 6%. However, if you choose to not take the smart start assistance money, you can obtain a rate of 5.5%, but what is the point with normal rates at 5%. If the buyer decided to take advantage of the full 4% smart start assistance, they would obtain a rate of 6.25%. My opinion, this program used to be fantastic considering the rates were low compared to normal rates back then, plus 4% of the purchase price in a grant from the state in smart start assistance.
Now however, it seems like going with the pre-fund program through the tax credit makes more sense.

I am sure all of us are familiar with the $8,000.00 tax credit that will be available for first time buyers purchasing a home PRIOR to December 1^st, 2009. Now New Jersey, only 1 of 3 states to offer the program, is introducing the "Pre-Fund" program. This program allows the home buyer to be able to receive up to $5000 of the tax credit PRIOR to purchasing their home that can be used toward down payment and/or closing costs. The qualifications for this program are similar to the qualifications for the tax credit. In order to qualify you must meet both sets of requirements and reasonably expect to receive the tax credit. This is a loan which must be repaid upon receiving the tax credit from the government. This can be used with either conventional or FHA financing and is offered at a competitive interest rate. There is also grant money (the program talked about above) that may be available in addition to the "Pre-Fund" Program that can also be applied to the down payment and/or closing costs. These programs can provide the opportunity to take advantage of the current real estate market, as home prices have decreased and interest rates are low.

Wells Fargo's Short Sale Realtor Guide

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Thu, 28 May 2009 08:34:54 -0500

I am currently involved on the listing side of a short sale with Wells Fargo. I had received their "Realtor Short Sale Guide" and decided it would be helpful to others to share. This document was mailed directly from them and provides a list of everything they require to getting a short sale successfully approved in the quickest amount of time. Below are these steps;

How to get started?

* Homeowner is required to call the Short Sale Phone team at 1-866-903-1053. Financial Information is reviewed and pre-foreclosure sale counseling is completed.

* The Realtor faxes the complete short sale package to 1-866-359-1975

Documents Required to Begin a Short Sale Application From the Realtor

From The Realtor

* Fully executed listing agreement
* Net sheet/ HUD (our payoff is not necessary)
* Fully executed purchase contract with all pages initialed by buyer(s) and seller(s)
* Buyer pre-qualification letter or proof of funds if cash offer

From the Homeowner

* Signed and dated financial worksheet listing all monthly expenses
* Signed and dated hardship letter (why they are unable to pay their mortgage)
* Letter authorizing the Realtor access to information on the account. It must be dated and include the last 4 digits of the borrower(s) Social Security Number, their signature, the full account number, and the property address.

** Another important fact to note with Wells Fargo, along with many other companies as well, is that the short sale approval is good for 30 days. If closing does not occur within 30 days the entire short sale package may need to be resubmitted with updated information, or the approval process may need to start over.**

Short sale approval in 4 days! They do exist.

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:13:34 -0500

With all the negative exposure short sales get, I felt it was my duty to disclose the comforting information. That is right folks, just like the title reads. I just received an approval on a short sale I was working on in 4 days. Both my buyer and I are ecstatic. And to answer your next question, the bank that was holding the mortgage was Columbia Home Loans.

On another note, what is proving to be true that I am informing my buyers and sellers about short sales is that there is nothing basic or standard about a short sale. The process and the swiftness doesn't vary on the bank or lender that holds the mortgage.

The difficulty in getting a short sale approved quickly in lies that the bank or lender needs to review every deal on a case by case basis to determine if the homeowner can truly no longer afford the mortgage, or if the homeowner is simply trying to get out of something they no longer want to be in. So the lender/ bank must decipher between these two sets of homeowners.
You must look at every single short sale on a case by case basis.

Don't ever quote your buyer on a time frame the short sale will b expected to be approved by, you are only setting yourself up for future blame. Just let your buyer know right off the get go that you have seen short sale approvals take from 1 week through 12 weeks, so if they are considering a short sale they should be able to handle the worst case of 12 weeks, even if it may only take 2.

The end result of this blog is, don't always be discouraged when you face a short sale in the face. You can't run away and hide from them, because most of business going on today involves them. At the current time 3 of my five deals under contract are short sales. Become friendly with them, learn everything you can about them, and be patient when your involved in them.

Buyers, beware off the online mortgage ads!

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Thu, 14 May 2009 15:46:18 -0500

Again today I hear another horror story of the "online mortgage" borrower. Came time for closing at the closing table and the lender wasn't funding. Needless to say while going over the HUD statement, the buyer was being charged nearly 5 points, oh wait not points, "deductions."

Buyers, I can not stress enough to try and steer clear of those advertisements online that state
"rates as low as 1.25% or "bad credit, no problem." Please understand the difference between these advertisements and when a loan officer you have met or spoken with asks you to go onto there website to fill in information. If you have a Real Estate agent confer with them and I am sure they have more than one loan officer that they consider reputable and would be happy to refer you to them.

Please do yourself a favor as a buyer and find a local lender that you can personally meet with and go over your information with. Like I state above, be sure to aks your agent for names of loan officers, being that we work closely and often with them. Generally names that an agent is going to give you are of reputable professionals, otherwise the agent probably wouldn't refer them.

BUT WHATEVER YOU DO, STEER CLEAR OF THE ONLINE MORTGAGE ADVERTISERS.

To all you moms out there, Happy Mothers Day!

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Sun, 10 May 2009 08:28:28 -0500

I found this little poem that I thouhgt just perfectly fit the occasion. To all you moms out there today, wholeheartedly, have a wonderful Mother's Day, you all deserve it so very much.

Without You

Mom, without you, there would be no me.
Your love, your attention, your guidance,
have made me who I am.
Without you, I would be lost,
wandering aimlessly,
without direction or purpose.
You showed me the way
to serve, to accomplish, to persevere.
Without you, there would be an empty space
I could never fill, no matter how I tried.
Instead, because of you,
I have joy, contentment, satisfaction and peace.
Thank you, mom.
I have always loved you
and I always will.

By Joanna Fuchs

Little Egg Harbor & Tuckerton Market Home Sales Statistics (April 2009)

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Fri, 01 May 2009 08:48:51 -0500

The following information is provided from the Jersey Shore MLS system and is as follows for the properties sold between April 1st, 2009 and April 30th, 2009:

There were 10 upland homes to sell and had an average of 141 days on the market.

The highest sold property listed for 319,000 and sold for 317,000.

The lowest sold property listed for 72,500 and sold for 75,000.

The average list price for the month of April was 183,285 and the average selling price for the month of April was 178,690.

There were 3 waterfront homes to sell and had an average of 287 days on the market.

The highest sold property listed for 429,000 and sold for 395,000.

The lowest sold property listed for 249,000 and sold for 213,000.

The average list price for the month of April was 325,000 and the average selling price for the month of April was 296,000.

** Please keep in mind that these selling and listing prices are AVERAGES, and individual properties will variously differ from these averages. Also keep in mind that these statistics were pulled only from the month of April of 2009. For the best idea of the value of your home, or if you are considering buying a home, my best adice would be to consult with a real estate professional in your area. **

What grade are you giving the President?

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 15:17:55 -0500

With all this hype about the 100 days in office, the big question is what grade is Barrack Obama going to receive for his works in the first 100 days in office. I can see this blog getting heated already, but I am going to ask the big question....

You are the teacher and you get to fill out the report card, what grade are you giving our President for his first 100 days, A,B,C,D, or F, and why?

Location, Location, Location...... is out the window!

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 14:48:03 -0500

With times a changing and the economy the way it is, I am starting to see more and more buyers compromising there location for other aspects of the property.

First and foremost, buyers are compromising location over PRICING. Pricing is what sells a home right now, it doesn't matter in what country, state, city, or town you are in, it is pricing that is going to be the #1 determining factor on a buyer's purchase decision. It is like the American way of bargain shopping has hit the housing market and the buyers are only concerned about the deals. "Well I don't really know how much I want to spend, I am really looking more for a deal than anything." That is one of the key phrases I am hearing right now. If I have a buyer qualified for $250,000.00, they might look anywhere from $200,000 to $280,000, and it is the "value factor" that makes all the difference.

The second biggest thing, literally that buyers are compromising location for is SIZE. When it comes to home buying SIZE matters. 3 bedroom seems to be the most popular "minimum" request right now for buyers, generally they have at least one child or would always like that extra space for a computer room/ office.

There are many other little things that I see coming into play when it comes to compromising location, but those are the two biggest aspects I keep encountering My advice to buyers is just make sure that you are considering the re-sale of the property when purchasing, no matter the location or size, or price. Try to foresee if you think when buying this home it will be a positive invest for you in the future.

Little Egg Harbor & Tuckerton Quarterly Market Home Sales Statistics

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 16:22:30 -0500

The following statistics were pulled from the Jersey Shore MLS for the first quarter of the year, January 1st, 2009 through March 31st, 2009, relative to home sales statistics in the Little Egg Harbor &Tuckerton area.

# Units Closed Avg. DOM* Avg. List $ Avg. Sales $ Highest Sale Lowest Sale

UPLAND HOMES	28	133	$222,000	$211,000	$408,000	$90,000
WATERFRONT HOMES	6	184	$298,000	$275,000	$392,000	$205,000

** Please note that these are average listing and selling prices. Pricing and value regarding listing and selling prices will vary from home to home. For the most realistic clarification for the value of your home, please contact a Real Estate Professional. **

THERE ARE ALSO 48 HOMES UNDER CONTRACT AWAITING CLOSING IN THE LITTLE EGG HARBOR/ TUCKERTON AREA.

Welcome to the neighborhood of; Little Egg Harbor/Tuckerton, NJ

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:14:37 -0500

Tuckerton/ Little Egg Harbor NJ. These two communitites are basically intertwined (Tuckerton sits in the middle of Little Egg Harbor). Here is some history of the area.

History

Originally part of Burlington County (now Ocean county) Little Egg Harbor took its name from the portion of a bay called Egg harbor (known now as Little Egg Harbor) by Dutch sailors because of the eggs found in nearby gull nests. The first account of Little Egg Harbor was made in 1614.

The first man to settle the township was Hanry Jacobs Falkinburg Sr. He arrived a little before 1698 and would trade with the local Native Americans, giving him farmland and plots of land known now as Wills Island and Osborn Island. Later, as Falkinburg could speak fluent Lenni Lenape, he acted as an interpreter between the Indians and settlers.

One of the first recorded ships of the township was a sloop belonging to Thomas Ridgway Sr. John Mathis Sr. also had a ship which his son, Daniel, sailed the West Indian routes. They made a profit from selling clams and oysters.

Today

Little Egg Harbor is growing rapidly, adding 2,500 more residents since the 2000 Census. Kleiner Group and Kara Homes are the main developers of the community, with Kleiner building three separate developments since 2001: Holly Lake, Sunrise Bay, and Cranberry Creek. Sunrise Bay and Cranberry Creek are both adult communities and Holly Lake is single family; and Kara Homes building three developments: Winding Run, Hartley Estates, and Waters Edge.

Major developments in Little Egg Harbor Township include Tall Timbers (Townhomes, Radio Road and Center Street), Atlantis (Single Family Homes, Radio Road and Great Bay Boulevard, also home to Ocean County Golf Course at Atlantis), Holly Lake (Single Family Homes, Radio Road), Holly Lake Park (Single Family Homes and Condos, Oak Lane), Harbourtown Villas & Estates (Townhomes and Single Family Homes, Radio Road), Tavistock (Townhomes, Radio Road and Mathistown Road), Cross Creek (Single Family Homes, Center Street), and many more.

Mystic Island is a master-planned community built in the 1960s with lagoon-front homes. Most of the homes have either been expanded on or torn down then replaced with larger homes, usually set on pilings. The Tuckerton Wireless tower was located here.

Most of this information was received through Wikipedia. For more on the area
click http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Egg_Harbor_Township,_New_Jersey

Here are some additional photos of the area.

Atlantic City Skyline from Great Bay

Tuckerton Seaport, located in the Heart of Tuckerton. A great Attraction and feel for the town.

From the Osbourn Island Bridge, a beautiful view of the wetlands and homes in the area.

Little Egg Harbor Administrative complex.

Hope you have enjoyed the neighborhood. I will be sure to post more about upcoming events, and history regarding other pieces throughout the town.

Tax Deductions & Benefits regarding Homeownership

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:25:46 -0500

Being that April is "tax month," we have decided to show you another benefit of home ownership from an angle of items you can write off against your income. I am sure some of you are already aware that property taxes, mortgage interest, points paid to lower the interest of your loan and in some cases moving expenses are tax deductible. All of this, plus for the first time homebuyer (first time home buyer, meaning you haven't owned a home in the last 3 years) you benefit from the $8000 tax credit we had talked about in our last issue. So below we have included a very simple example of the benefits.

Current Rent:                                $1,200
Mortgage Payment goal:                $1,500
Actual Mortgage Payment:             $1,800

Mortgage Amount:                         $225,000
Interest Rate:                               5.5%
Yearly Property taxes:                   $3,500

Tax Deduction Calculation:

Multiply mortgage amount by interest rate to get interest deduction
(i.e. $225,000 x 5.5% = $12,375)
Then add interest and taxes to determine total deduction:

                Interest:                        $12,375
                Taxes:                          $3,500
                Total Deduction:             $15,875

Take the total deduction times the standard tax bracket (30%) to get you annual savings:

                                                                $15,875
                                                                X 30% (tax bracket)
                                                                $4,762.50 Annual Savings

$396.88 Monthly Savings

Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty nor any of its employees are a tax advisor. The above information is for illustration purposes only. Each individual should consult with their own tax advisor to determine the amount of tax savings that can be expected from home ownership tax deductions.

The "Joneses" are gone, now what?

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 10:59:24 -0500

With the American society based around the concept of keeping up the the "Joneses", does anyone know what to do now that they are gone. The "Joneses" just got foreclosed on last week, is that something you really want to keep up with.

When it comes to home buying, please be very conscious in your choice of what you can afford. Don't always base your purchase price around how much you qualify for. You should sit down with your family and go over your expenses each month, and after you have calculated your total expenses (car payments, car insurance, food costs, gas costs, etc. etc.) then determine what you would be able to comfortably afford. It would be best to sacrifice a little bit of house then to be strapped each month and working to live.

It is also our job and professionals in the mortgage and real estate business to really help our buyers understand what they can afford comfortably. Personally, when my buyer decides on a home and wants to put an offer in, I get in touch with the loan officer, give him an idea of the mortgaged amount and the taxes and then he calculates the homeowners and mortgage insurance amounts, and then I give me buyer and idea of what they are looking at for a monthly payment including the Principal& interest, taxes, mort. insurance, & homeowners insurance. Then I remind them to consider the cost of electric, gas, cable, phone, water & sewer etc.

I am not concerned with how much my buyers are going to spend, I am just concerned that they are going to be able to afford what they are goig to spend. I am not just concerned with the sale, I am concerned with making sure my buyers will be able to lead a happy and healthy life with their family and to make sure they can plan on staying in this home until they are ready to leave, not forced to leave.

So before you go out and start thinking about buying one more toy, or purchasing that really big house without looking over your finances and knowing you will be able to comfortably afford it, take a look next door to that vacant, unkempt house, and remember what happened to the "Joneses."

Main point- BE COST CONSCIOUS.

Common terminology in a Real Estate Transaction:

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 11:40:17 -0500

As buyers and sellers, I feel these are some of the most common terms used during a real estate transaction. I have provided and overview of these terms with their definitions below. I hope these help you in some way or another.

Agency - The legal relationship resulting from an agreement that the agent is authorized by a principal to perform certain acts on behalf of another person.

Agent - A person who is authorized to act on behalf of another person, called the "principal."

Appraisal - An estimate of value on a specific piece of real estate.

Attorney-in-fact - One who is authorized to perform certain acts for another under a power of attorney.

Breach of Contract - Violation of any of the terms or conditions of a contract; default.

Buyer's Agent - A person who represents a buyer in a real estate transaction.

Certificate of Occupancy (C.O.) - A document issued by local government indicating that the building is in compliance with the public health and building codes and may be legally occupied.

Closing - The time when a transactions is consummated, or the actual signing over the documents and delivery of the deed.

Contingency - A condition in a contract, which could void it, or change its terms, if not met.

Contingent- Dependent upon an uncertain future event.

Dual Agent- A person who represents both the buyer and seller in the same transaction.

HUD-1 Uniform Settlement Statement- Standard settlement form required by RESPA

Mortgage - An instrument in writing in which, when recorded, creates a lien upon a property pledged as security for the repayment of a debt or obligation.

Negotiate - To transact business; to arrange terms of a contract.

Offer - A promise by one party to act in a certain manner provided the other party would act in the manner requested.

Survey - Process by which a parcel of land is measured and its area ascertained.

Valid Contract- Contract that is binding, is legally sufficient, and authorized by the law.

Short Sale Preparations for you and your buyer.

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:11:07 -0500

With more and more of these short sales flooding the market, we as agent's have to prepared to handle them when our buyer stumbles across one of them in which they would like to place an offer. Some of these tips will help to make the sale go somewhat smoother and help to protect and possibly save your buyer some money.

Inform buyer it may be timely: Let me say that again; Inform your buyer these transactions are likely to be timely. This is something you want to let them know right up front, and inform them that if the need to be in a property by a certain date, buying a short sale may not be a route they want to take.

Pre-approved: Make sure your buyer is pre-approved when placing an offer or writing a contract on a short sale before you send the offer or contract over. Also If your buyer is cash, have them get a recent bank statement from their bank (cross out the account number and important information) and submit this statement with the offer or contract. Some of the banks may require your buyer be pre-approved through their bank. Understand this does not mean your buyer must use this bank for the mortgage, but that bank wants to make sure right off the bat that your buyer will be able to qualify for a mortgage to purchase the short sale.

Build in a time frame: I would suggest when writing a contract on a short sale that you build in a date in which the bank has to respond to your buyer by. If they do not give you a response by that day, this allows your buyer to cancel the contract and proceed with something else.

Delay Inspection periods: I would also suggest you build into your contract that you want all inspection periods delayed until you receive approval from the bank, and at this time inspection periods would begin, rather than the normal inspection period beginning conclusion of Attorney review.

Prepare a "net sheet": With sending along your contract, get a title company you work closely with to prepare a settlement sheet so the bank can get a rough idea after all closing costs what they will be "netting."

Expect Commissions negotiations: When the bank is cutting its losses, the first thing they are going to try to negotiate is going to be the agent's commission. This is why when listing a short sale; I always suggest trying to list it originally at the highest commission allowed.

Townhouse developements breakdown for LEH/ Tuckerton NJ!

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 10:42:26 -0500

I just got finished putting this together for a customer of mine who requested it. So since I put all the work in, I figured I may as well share it with any other buyers considerign a townhome purchase in the Little Egg Harbor / Tuckerton NJ area. Also if townhomes aren't what your looking for, I would be more than happy to assist you in finding what you are looking for. I hope this is helpful for anyone trying to decide on what townhome developement fits their specifics a little better.

Local Townhome Development Breakdown for LEH / Tuckerton NJ

•1. Tall Timbers - This development has a mix of units; it has economy condo living, 2 bedroom units ranging from 1000 - 1200 sqft. , and 3 bedroom units ranging from 1500 - 2000 sqft. This development has an association fee in the amount of @ $100. Features a club house, pool, & tennis courts. This development offers some ranch style units.

•2. Walnut Estates- This development has 2 bedrooms units approx 1300 sqft. All of these units feature a basement. This development has an association fee in the amount of $158/mo. This development has a club house, pool, playground, & basketball court.

•3. Tuckerton Meadows - This development has only 2 bedroom units. These are 3 story units; the third story is a fully "livable" loft, although legally it does not qualify as a bedroom because of egress reasons. All the 2^nd and 3^rd floors are the same; however the first floor plans differs in about 4 different varieties. This development has an associate fee in the amount of @ $100.

•4. Tavistock- Probably the oldest of all the four developments. This development also has a mix of condos, 2 & 3 bedroom units ranging about 1100 - 1350 sqft. This development has a pool. The condo unit's association fee is @ $153, the 2 and 3 bedroom units association fee runs @ $100. This development offers some ranch style units.

Development Highest sale Lowest sale Avg. $ price Avg. D.O.M. Units sold

Tall Timbers	$260,000	$160,000	$185,000	77	5
Walnut Estates	$180,000	$165,000	$175,500	89	4
Tuckerton Meadows	$178,000	$130,000	$153,750	86	10
Tavistock	$150,000	$98,000	$119,000	95	6

Statistics are based off of the sales that occurred from January 1^st, 2008 - December 31^st, 2008
An overall average idea of the size & unit sold is @ 2bd. / 1.5 baths in the range of 1200 sqft.

St. Patrick's Day

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 09:13:01 -0500

About St. Patrick

St. Patrick was born to a rather wealthy family in Britian near the end of the fourth century. At about the age of sixteen, St. Patrick was taken prisoner by Irish raiders that were attacking his family's estate. The raiders took him back to Ireland where he worked as a shepherd, and was held in captivity for @ 6 years. He felt very lonely and scared and it was at this point that he turned to religion and became a Christian. About six years later, St. Patrick claims he had a voice come to him in a dream telling him to escape Ireland, he believed this was God. Once returning back to Britian he claimed to have another revelation, an angel telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Once he bacame ordained as a Priest, he made a journey back to Ireland with a dual purpose, to Minister to already existing Christians, and to convert the other Irish people.

About the Holiday

St Patricks's Day is celebrated every March 17th and has been for 1000's of years. The holiday marks the anniversary of the death of St. Patrick and is observed through a religious feast. Although March being the season of Lent, prohibiting the consumption of meat, this prhibition was waived for St. Patrick's Day. The first parade actually took place in NYC on March 17th, 1762, not in Ireland. It was formed by Irish soliders serving in the English military. Today, this parade is the world's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the U.S. with over 150,000 participants. The parade generally lasts about 5 hours. Don't forget about Chicago either, where there pour in about 40 pounds of green vegetable dye to turn their river green in celebration of this Holiday.

Another neat fact is up until the 1970's Irish law prohibited pubs being opened on March 17th, to celebrate the more religious angle of this Holiday. However in 1995 that law was removed and the government saught to promote tourism and interest in the country through this day.

Knowing what you are looking for, before you start looking! (buyers)

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 15:24:10 -0500

I met with a couple last week at a listing of mine they had called on. I went over there to meet them, very nice people by the way, and show them the house. As an agent you should be able to tell when your buyers aren't feeling the "vibe" from a house, and I knew they weren't. So I started into asking questions about what kind of style of home, size, bedrooms, ammenities, etc. and they really weren't able to answer my questions because they weren't sure. So I took the time to take them back to my office and to "analyze" what they were looking for.

My point here is, to not waste your own time as a buyer or the time of your agent, you will need to identify what type of property you could see yourself buying to turn into your home. Below I have listed some ideas as far as identifying your type of home. Before I continue, to make this easy, I will assume you as the buyer have been pre-qualified and know what your price range is. If you have not done this yet, this would be your first step.

IDENTIFIERS:

Locations; Determine where you would like to be located. Do you need to be close to shopping, transportation, where you are employed, near a school, as far from a school as possible, on the water, off the water, etc. etc. This is probably your most important step in choosing where you would like live.

Style of living; Determine what kind of style of living you would like to have. Would you like to be in a condo, towhouse developement, single family neighborhood, adult community (if app.), gated community, a community either dictated by an association or not. After you select your location, then narrow down neighborhoods that fit the style of living you want.

Style of home; Pretty self explanatory here. Would you prefer a ranch, a two story home, bi-level, split level, victorian, cape cod, bungalow, contemporary, log cabin, attached townhouse.

Size of home; After you have determined the style of the home you want, now determine how much space that you are going to need in terms of your famliy, you have company a lot, do you need room for an in home office etc. This is where bedrooms, bathrooms, and square footage need to be determined.

Ammenties/Extras; After you have determined some of the more important factors then determine whether you would like to have, or not have, any of the following; pool, basment, garage, guest house, island kitchen, preferably hardwood floors etc. etc.

Now please understand, all of these things may sometimes be very difficult to match up with each other, or may not be feasible in your price range, and you may have to compromise certain things along the way. However, if you can give your agent your specifics, and what things are WANTS (would like to have) & which things are NEEDS (have to have) it will make the home search process much smoother, quicker, & most satisfying in the end.

I hope this article will help some of you in determining which type of home is best fit for you.

Democrat or Republican, does it really matter?

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 14:34:19 -0500

I just wanted to write this blog to get some opinions from my fellow users and visitors here on AR. I have an employee in my office who continuously bashes the "democrats" for everything that goes wrong in this country. I have also met folks who continuously bash the "republicans" for everything that goes wrong in this country also. I am not here to claim my party, because I am not for the party, but rather the individual. I just don't understand how people can be so narrow minded to try and blame everything bad in the United States on one side of the political party or the other. It just seems absurd to me that you would be able to categorize a thing like that. Don't these people understand that a politician is a politician, whether they are republican, democrat, independent, white, black, green, yellow, or whatever else you want to categorize them as. Eventually they are looking out for what benefits them and their friends and have no concern for the American people. Greed is what got our country into the problems it is in today, both politically and non-politically.

So before you go to point fingers or blame either the "republicans" or the "democrats" for all your problems, think twice and know that a politician is a polictician is a politician.

"Politicians are like diapers. They both need changing regularly and for the same reason."

Larry L. Taylor

"We must be the change we want to see in the world."

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:34:58 -0500

"We must be the change we want to see in the world."
Mahatma Gandhi ~ Indian Activist

I saw this quote this morning on a daily quote e-mail I am signed up to received, and it just really hit me like a ton of bricks. This comment is so true, and can almost apply to any aspect of a humans life, whether it be relationships, occupations, parenting, etc. etc. The quote in a whole basically says, it has to start with you. So I challenge you today to take that step, and tweak yourself to live a better life in a way of leadership to encourage others to do the same. If we could all just change one "negative" thing in the way we live to influence one another, wouldn't that be a great thing.

Let me know how you feel about this comment.

The market is NJ has been like the weather in NJ.

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 12:56:44 -0600

So monday I wake up to about 14 inches of snow in my front yard. Now today I wake up and it was about 55, and right now it has probably hit about 65 degrees here, the sun is shining and all is beautiful. You would not have known it snowed Monday if it weren't for the plow piles.

I am seeing this in my market here also. One week it is very very busy and I can barely finish all my tasks in one day, and then the next week it is very slow. But the good news is, overall, we now have those "65 degree days" again. The phones are ringing, other agents are setting up appointments to show my listings, and I am currently in neogtiations on three deals.

I hope that I can start getting more "65 degree days" and less "snowy Mondays."

Let me know how your weather/market is in your town?

There is Dual responsibility when it comes to selling a home!

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 10:14:59 -0600

This post is kind of a play off of my post from yesterday.
http://activerain.com/blogsview/967515/Servicing-will-not-sell-an-unsaleable-home

I am just trying to get some of the agitated sellers in today's market to really sit back and look at some things that they could maybe be doing better to help sell their home, rather then just blaming their agent for the reason the house is still for sale. I just want to break it down a little bit when I say SELLING A HOME HOLDS DUAL RESPONSIBILITY.

Agent's Responsibilities:

- Market that the home is for sale via advertising, open houses, neighborhood postcards, for sale sign
- Set up showing appointments respectful of the seller' schedule
- Negotiate offers/contracts on the behalf of the seller

Seller's Responsibilities:

- Make small repairs that will help home show better i.e. (put up trim, patch up holes, fix leaky faucet)
- Make the home available to be shown and try not to be home when the house is getting shown
- Get any documents filled out or signed and back to me with a key for the house ASAP
- Remove any strong odors, smells, etc. from the house
- Keep house tidy when it is getting shown

I know as a seller you have daily responsibilities also such as working, children, making dinner, etc. and that is completely fine, but make your agent aware that you may need an hour's notice, a day's notice, or even that the house can only be shown between certian hours or on certain days. However, if you do that, also understand that if the house is trying to be shown during these "off times" that you can't show or the house isn't ready, you can not blame your agent for that. As agents we have no idea when a buyer could walk through the door and want to see a property, and you have to try your best to make the home available as much as possible. I had one listing where I had about 15 appointments made to show the home and the seller only approved 3 of them. As a seller you must always have the mind set that this next showing could be the buyer for my home. And it is realistic to think that because 1, they are most likely qualified to see homes in this price range, 2 your home fits their needs and wants, 3 they have probably seen photos of your house online and like what they have seen, and the BIG #4, they are setting up an appointment to see your house. Now I am not saying that every home that doesn't sell is the seller's fault, because there are some agents that don't do their job like they are supposed to, but my point is that selling a home requires compromise and teamwork between the listing agent and the seller.

MAIN POINT: SELLING A HOME HOLDS DUAL RESPONSIBLITY (let me know if you agree or disagree)

Servicing will not sell an unsaleable home!

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 11:07:07 -0600

LET ME REPEAT THAT:

SERVICING WILL NOT SELL AN UNSALEABLE HOME!

This is one of the biggest things we need to understand as both real estate agents and home sellers. We as agents and sellers have to snap back to reality and realize that home prices have fallen and probably will continue to do so throughtout this year. I am one of the most optimisitc and positive people that you will find, however this is a fact and we need to stop trying to tell ourselves different.

My main point here is, if you are overpriced by $20,000 or more, there is nothing a Realtor can do as far as advertising, open houses, etc. You could put a 20 X 20 billboard on the AC expressway advertising your home and it would not sell. Then is only one solution to this problem, and that is to pull our a price reduction form and get the price adjusted to where it SHOULD be. You will be surprise as to the increase in activity once the home is priced right, and you will be sure when the price is right because you will be getting buyers in their looking at least once a week.

Realtors you need to understand this also. You are doing your clients a disservice by not being honest with them in fear of angering them. If you let the property sit on the market six months overpriced by $20,000 or more, at the end of the agreement you look like you didn't know what you were doing. Do not set yourself up for failure by taking an overpriced listing, you are only hurting yourself, and your client.

Sellers, if you can not afford to lower your price into the price bracket it should be in, then you are better off waiting till the market gets better. Please understand however that we as Realtors can only do our job with your help. We need the cooperation and for you to trust our opinion, we are professionals and we "do" real estate everyday.

Keep in mind in addition to SERVICING WILL NOT SELL AN UNSALEABLE HOME, that THERE IS NOTHING THAT THE RIGHT PRICE AND TERMS WON'T CURE.

Meet with your real estate professional today to discuss whether your price is right, and if it isn't make that price reduction and help yourself.

Wordless Wednesdays! Is this an icicle or a sword?

David Width Jr. (Coldwell Banker Red Top Realty) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 10:19:50 -0600

I took this photo of this icicle that was hanging from a house that isn't too far from my office this morning. As I'm sure most of you know, here in NJ we just had a pretty good snow storm on Sunday night that left alot of the white stuff all over the place, about 10-12 inches of it to be exact. The picture doesn't do it much justice, but try and use your imagination. I would say this specific icicle is about 3 to 3 1/2 feet long. Take a look for yourself.