Why would you, the buyer, want to go out with just a listing agent?

Reason 1: Do you think that you will get a better price if you go with the listing agent for every property you have an interest in?

Answer 1: The price is the price is the price whether you go through the listing agent or another agent of your choice. The seller will agree to your offer no matter which agent you use as long as the offer is within their acceptable range, with a good down payment, & a copy of a preapproval letter with a qualified lender.

Reason 2: Do you feel if you use one agent then he/she will try to pressure you to purchase a property ?

Answer 2: You should pick an agent that is knowledgeable in general real estate as well as knowledgeable of the areas of interest. You should also "click" with the agent in order to feel comfortable as well as trust him/her. As in any "line of business" you have people that you feel are more proficient than others. If you feel pressure from an individual(s) then that's not the person you want to work with but the majority of Realtors are professionals who will give you the pros and cons to any property and not pressure you to buy something just to make money. In our line of work we grow our business with referrals from former clients as well as other spheres of influence.

In speaking with various agents, these are the most popular excuses but if there are other more pressing reasons feel free to drop a note.

I wanted to ask this question as well as address some of the reasons because lately this has come up in conversation with various agents.

 

 

2009 Secaucus Concert Series

 

 

The Secaucus summer concert will be held on Thursday evenings, 7pm at the Amphitheatre in Buchmuller Park.

 

Performance schedule:

 

Thursday, August 6^th - Showstoppers

 

Thursday, August 13^th - The Cameos

 

Thursday, August 20^th-- Somers Dream Orchestra

 

Thursday, August 27^th - David Cedeno Orchestra

 

                                                                     

12th Annual Mini Fair/Used Book sale

Saturday, September 26th

Time: 10am-3pm

Save the date

Rain date: Sunday, September 27th, 11am-4pm

 

• Used books are sold -- as many as you can fit in a bag for $1 including hardcover books
• bake sale
• school supplies
• food
• free balloons for the kids
• Raffles
• loads of freebies (i.e pens, pads, frisbees, etc.)
• wide array of vendors

This event has a great turn out every year. Come and Join the fun as well as purchasing some great books for a "song".

  

                                                                                  

                                                                                    

   Block Party

Sunday, August 9th

Secaucus, NJ

1pm-5pm

  

The Secaucus Rotary and Secaucus businesses have coordinated this event.

It will be held at the Front Street parking lot in the center of town.

Fun for everyone

Food, Drinks, games & prizes

Most everything free! (love free)

During these hard economic times you wouldn't think that a deal could die over stupity but it's quite possible. The seller had no exclusions on the listing agreement or the seller's disclosure and signed the contract without exclusions but wanted to take the stove, dishwasher, dining room chandelier, & all a/c units. My client just won the bidding war and paid over list price for this property and was now being told to basically suck it up and take whatever they want to do without any credit back for these items. This buyer has a mortgage commitment with 20% down and willing to close within 30 days. A dream buyer for most sellers. I will now be on the hunt for a new property in Glen Ridge so if anyone has a new listing let me know.

To everyone

 

HAVE A HAPPY 4TH OF JULY WEEKEND!!!!!! ENJOY & BE SAFE!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most people know about the tax credit advantage for purchasing a primary residence between Jan. 1, 2009 and Dec. 1, 2009 but did you know that you can receive the credit of up to $8000 by the the time of your closing? If you obtain a FHA loan you can use the $8000 credit towards your closing costs or towards your downpayment. If you decide to use the credit towards down payment you will still need to have the minimum down payment requirement of 3.5% but you can add the $8000 to the down payment. This is a great way to get a little down payment assistance. Any assistance when purchasing a home is great news. Can you think of a better time to buy?

There are a few blogs about this additional assistance but there are many buyers still not familiar.

In this "buyers" market or these "rocky" times, we hear all the bad, doom & gloom on the news as well as from some of our colleagues but here are rays of sunshine. There are great deals & hot market areas.

In Union City (Hudson county) I found a great deal on a 2bdrm condo for a client and it wasn't a short sale or foreclosure. She loved the property. The deal was put together & here comes appraisal time. I knew in my heart that she got a good price (plus comparables to back it up) but you never know these days when it comes to appraisal time. The appraisal came in and it was HIGHER than the sales price and HIGHER than the list price. Hooray!!! Lately many appraisals have come in at value but I know of others that have come in below the sales price. Due to the many new constructions and the light rail, Union City has done well in retaining it's value. Many of the new constructions within Union City have received FHA approval or the approval is pending. Union City has much to offer the young professional with a variety of styles, reasonable pricing, & commuting options. Is Union City hot or not? In my opinion, Union City is HOT!

Hudson View in Union City                           Altessa in Union City

 

Another hot area is Glen Ridge. Glen Ridge is a lovely town with really good schools and a midtown direct train. How can you ask for anything more? Except of course that "perfect" property to call home. In Glen Ridge there are properties that are receiving multiple offers. Again, these are not short sales or foreclosures. Some of these properties have gone under contract within 15 days or less. The properties that are going are the ones that are priced right for the condition of the house. The other properties, that are not priced right, are sitting, expiring and relisted with another agent. Most buyers know when the house is priced right and when it's over priced. If they don't their Realtor will educate them. Is Glen Ridge hot or not? You must know my answer to that, HOT!

 A quiet street in Glen Ridge

 

A town can be "hot" for many reasons. Montclair at this time is "luke warm". There are too many properties in Montclair to choose from and not all are priced right. There have been a few that have been priced right on the money and those properties went under contract within a week but the majority are a "tad" high. At this time my opinion for Montclair is NOT (not quiet yet but the right pricing will get them there)!

These days some towns have been "hit" harder than others in this economic downturn. As a seller you should make sure to get a detailed market analysis from an experienced and knowlegeable agent so that you don't end up making the mistake to over price. Listen to your Real Estate Experts and price the home for this market not several years back. Buyers make sure to get a market analysis as well and listen to your Realtor in regards to the price because not everything is $50k-$70k below asking pricing.

If you have a city/town that you feel is "hot" please feel free to add it to the comments and share your experience or opinion. Explain why "hot" or not.

 

 

 

Major League Baseball now has their headquarters in Secaucus. They were planning on leasing for only 1 or 2yrs in Secaucus while they were having construction done in Harlem but the delays, construction costs, and economy made them rethink that decision. They installed HD lines throughout the old MSNBC bldg and are now going to stay in Secaucus. It didn't make sense to spend millions on the rewiring to have to spend the same money and more on the bldg in Harlem. Secaucus is a "hop, skip & jump" from NYC so it seemed to make sense from what I understand.

Hartz Mountain owns numerous properties throughout Secaucus and the MSNBC bldg is one of the many. Hartz has worked previously with several companies within t.v and radio. We've had the spanish t.v station at one time, Z100, MSNBC, and still have WWOR TV. You never know but we may get others within the town due to the economic changes. We'll just have to watch and see who else will want to pay less per sqft but still have the benefit of easy access to NYC.

 

 

Secaucus has been and continues to be a great town to live in but as with anything there are pros and cons. The cons are the lack of a supermarket within the town and political chaos.

We went from 2 supermarkets to none. How is that possible? There are supermarkets that are close but that still isn't the same as right in the center of town, which was convenient. We have movie theatres galore and now Xanadu opening (sometime in 2009- may postpone August 2009 opening with only 70% leased) wants to bring in another movie theatre as well as bowling, indoor snow dome, etc. I am not sure but I don't think we need another movie theatre. Secaucus is still ranked #11 in NJ Monthly as one of the best places to live in NJ and I still agree but people can we get a supermarket in the town?!

Our second dilemma in this wonderful town is in our political arena. The mayor of our fair town is not liked by many and on a weekly basis our town paper is filled with letters of disapproval of the mayor's job. It also doesn't help him that he's trying to get rid of a council man that many people actually like. I really wish they would get back to the more important issues like a supermarket.

I am really being light hearted about these situations. These things came to mind while reading our local news and it made me laugh. The circumstances may change but the news is pretty much the same in the articles, some for and some against. Next time I write I will be on all the positives of Secaucus because I do like the town. It's small, quaint (with some new developments), and quiet with a good school district for my daughter. Of course, low crime rate a big plus too.

 

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