Urgency makes people buy and sell Real Estate? Without urgency there is no market. Urgency is what had been missing for almost a year. Our government has been trying to stimulate the Real Estate market for years. The 2009 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit did just that. It stimulated the Real Estate market by creating a sense of urgency for First Time Home Buyers. An incentive would be given for getting off the fence and getting into their first home. The benefit of the tax credit (to the housing market) was that the home had to close title by November 30, 2009 to qualify.

Urgency was created! Not only do you have to purchase a home to receive the credit, you have a certain time frame. The last week of October, I received no less than a dozen phone calls from people who had never purchased a home, but now wanted to get in on this government program. Not everyone realizes that you can't purchase a home in the same timeframe that you can purchase a car. Cars and homes are not the same, this leads us to our next point.

Is it wrong to believe that all good things come to an end? Cash for Clunkers originally was originally a $1 billion dollar idea that became $3 billion. Has anyone else realized that Cash for Clunkers was a temporary way to prop up sales for the auto industry? The effects of that program will be seen in the coming months of January and February when car sales will be terrible. 

Real Estate has been missing urgency for the most part since September of 2008. The stock market took a beating because of the failure of large financial institutions that were leveraged in subprime loans and credit default swaps. The week beginning October 6, 2008 saw the Dow Jones Industrial Average drop over 1,874 points or 18%. People were starting to feel the pressure. If that wasn't enough, we had a Presidential election looming. More questions about who was going to lead our country, more uncertainty. Once the election was settled, there was the waiting until the inauguration and then the questions arose about the stimulus plan.

There was no urgency for anyone to buy and sell for almost six months. On February 17, 2009 President Obama signed the America Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. By March of 2009, people were not as fearful as they had been in October of the previous year. At that point the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit began to create urgency for people. First Time Home Buyers had the first eleven months of 2009 to close on a home. As November 30^th approaches, people should be feeling some anxiety about waiting until the last minute. Everyone who has been paying attention knows that November 30, 2009 is the deadline. People felt the need to do something so they wouldn't miss out.

Now, Urgency has been stolen! This past week Congress has been talking about extending the tax credit. People have been calling me, telling me that they extended the tax credit. Unfortunately, at press time for this article, there is nothing official, just rampant speculation. However, all this speculation is how urgency has been stolen. People in the marketplace are beginning to feel that all good things will last forever. Good things never expire and the house that they want to buy will be there three months from now. Buyers feel that they can pay less for the house in the future and still receive their tax credit. Buyers once again feel like they can have their cake and eat it too.

The ideal situation would have been to let this tax credit expire. In January of next year, Congress could have come in and saved the day. January is typically a slow month in Real Estate and the talk about a new tax credit would be welcome news. Instead, we are just prolonging the cycle that we are currently in.

I was just at a seminar this week and this exact topic came up.

It is always nice to see one of our local communities featured in the New York Times. However, this article pointed to a fight that is brewing in town. Whether to keep or get rid of Graydon Pool. Personally, I think it is a great piece of Ridgewood History. I would like them to clean it up and keep it. What is your opinion?

This post was featured and it caught my eye. Bob is really making it happen in Oregon.

RE/MAX of New Jersey has posted on their website the top 100 producing agents through July. Here is the list for individual agents by commission earned. There are a couple of Active Rain members on the list. Here are some rainers that I recognize. #51 Sheldon Neal and this other guy #81 Sal Poliandro. While 51 and 81 may not seem that great in a top 100 list, let's get some perspective on this.

Some perspective from the RE/MAX NJ website.

There are over 3,600 RE/MAX real estate associates in over 200 offices serving all communities throughout the state of New Jersey. Each RE/MAX agent is a specialist in his or her real estate market. RE/MAX associates average more sales per agents and hold more professional designations than any other sales people. Some quick math... if you make the top 100 list that puts you in the top 1.5% of all RE/MAX Agents in the state.

Kudos to my office... RE/MAX Properties in Saddle River, NJ - We placed 5 agents in the top 100. There are only 29 agents in the whole office. Congratulations to Frank and Julie Cleary the owners of RE/MAX Properties.

I don't want to leave out our teams (they are not counted as individuals) Here is the link to the team top producers. Active Rainers Teams - #6 Valerie Belardo and #10 Desiree Daniels,

If I left anyone out, please post a comment and I will add you in. I only looked at the first two pages of New Jersey Active Rain Pages.

While I enjoy Active Rain, Facebook, Twitter, etc. My main function is as a Real Estate Agent. Thanks to all the folks who have helped us achieve this level of success.  

YES! Well actually it depends on your situation.

Scenarios of people who have to sell and should sell now.

Estate situation: Someone passed away and now the estate is left with a property to sell. Waiting in this type of situation could be detrimental. First, the property should be gone through. There are personal items and family memories that should be passed from one generation to the next. After that, there will probably be other items. An estate or garage sale could be in order. Once that is done, my advice is to get the home cleaned out and ready for sale.

Divorce situation: Families are always going through situations. Divorce is all too common. During a divorce proceeding it is common for the judge to order that the home be sold and the proceeds split. Keeping the home in good showing condition and making it accessible will go a long way towards getting the highest possible price.

Financial situation 1: In this current economic climate, there are many people who are having difficulty paying their mortgages. Many people have taken advances on credit cards and personal loans to bridge the financial gap. Unfortunately, this can not last forever. If you notice this happening to you; it may be time to downsize to help reduce your overhead expenses. While you may feel that you'll get less for your home, you will also pay less for the next home that you buy.

Financial situation 2: You are behind on your mortgage payments. If you've missed payments and don't think you will be able to catch up; now is the time to put your home on the market. Depending on your situation, you can sell your home if it is worth less than the outstanding mortgage amount. The bank would then take care of paying all your fees including Brokerage fee, attorney fee, transfer tax and possibly some other fees. Don't make foreclosure an option, there are people who can help you in your current situation.

Job Transfer: Your company needs you in another location, outside of New Jersey. Perhaps you could keep your home here and rent it out. The reality is that it is very difficult being an absentee landlord. Transition is very difficult. If you have a family, being apart from them can cause its own set of challenges. Best scenario, put your home on the market, sell it and then move to your new location.

The Reality for Buyers and Sellers

People are always buying and selling Real Estate, regardless of market conditions. Some of you may remember 18% mortgage rates. People bought homes when the rates were extremely high. Home prices go up, home prices come down.

Meet some people who are going to buy, no matter what the conditions.

Renters: People who have been renting and up until now have been priced out of the market. With the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit, there is more incentive than ever.

People outgrowing their current home: People continue to have children and with children comes the need for more space. The thought process has always been... Should we renovate or move? With home prices at a much more reasonable level the move up buyer is alive and well.

Transferees: Northern New Jersey and New York City are hot beds for business, believe it or not, there are companies that are still hiring and expanding. Folks are being brought in from around the world to work in our area. Guess what? They need housing.

Married Children living with their In-Laws: In an effort to save money, some married couples have moved in with their In-Laws. While this may have seemed a good idea at the time, it can't last forever. If you are married, you know what I mean. These folks are out in droves looking to buy a home and be on their own, again. 

Here is the moral of this column. There are always people buying and selling Real Estate, regardless of what the "market" is doing. Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today.

I just received my September issue of Realtor Magazine. The cover of the magazine states... Connections Made. Now What? 6 Realities of Doing Business on the Social Web. On the front cover are Facebook, Linked In and Twitter. It caught my attention so I jumped to page 18. I briefly scanned over the article and then noticed this sidebar. Sites you need to know. Facebook, Twittter, Linked In - The usual suspects, then Active Rain. Here is a link to the online version of the sidebar. You can also view the complete article here. The article is well written, read it here.

Back to my original point!

From the article...

What's ActiveRain?  A free social network and marketing platform for real estate professionals.

What's it good for? Building relationships within the industry. Getting search-engine optimization through a profile and blogging platform.

What's it good for? For me, I have built some great relationships in the industry. When I'm looking to give an out of area referral, I look online. Ask Ken from Staten Island. I had a lead and needed someone in his area, I checked out his profile, watched his you tube video and called him. You should as well if you are looking for someone in his area.

Active Rain kept me up late at night in the beginning (it still does). I spent many, many hours reading other peoples blogs until finally I got the courage to right my first one. Read it here.

When I joined Active Rain in October of 2006, there were about 10,000 members. Many people in my area had never heard of it. I have enjoyed getting to know people without knowing them. In November of 2008, Dawn and I went to the National Association of Realtors in Orlando. We were walking by Nestor and Katerina Gassett, they were our first Active Rain contacts in person. They invited us to sit at their table and it was like we were old friends. I was having a challenge with one of my files and Nestor opened up his day planner and gave me the direct line of the supervisor of the person who was giving me a hard time. A stranger would never do that for you. I had been reading their blog for over a year and knew all about them.  We went to Active Rain parties and realized that we knew a whole bunch of people.

In June, we visited Las Vegas and of course I had to look up Renee Burrows. If you don't subscribe to her blog, you should. Here is a picture Dawn took when I met Renee.

Now that I have started to think about it, we really have connected with some great Realtors around the country. I can't forget my first two New Jersey Active Rainers Leander McClain and Jim Albano.

By the way... Did I mention that I have closed at least 15 transactions from the general public who has contacted me through Active Rain?!

Active Rain is more than just a place to network. Meeting fellow Realtors and new families who need our Real Estate help is priceless.