bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville New Jersey is #8 in New Jersey Monthly Magazine's Top Twenty Towns - 08/25/11 10:52 AM
Bernardsville New Jersey is #8 in New Jersey Monthly Magazine's Top Twenty Towns
New Jersey Monthly has just published it's Top Towns in New Jersey list. Guess who ranked #8.

… (1 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville New Jersey Homes for Sale : Now You Must Sell Your Home Twice! - 05/25/11 05:13 AM
Bernardsville New Jersey Homes for Sale : Now You Must Sell Your Home Twice!
Banks have become very conservative when lending mortgage money today. With the current foreclosure challenges facing the country, can we really blame them? The requirements now necessary to qualify for mortgages have gotten much more stringent and it seems they will get even more stringent as we move forward. The banks want to make sure the prospective buyer has the ability to repay the loan. However, this does not just involve the borrower buying the property.
The second way a bank can protect their investment in the mortgage … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville New Jersey Homes For Sale : Moving Up? Doing It Now May Make Sense - 05/16/11 05:44 AM
Bernardsville New Jersey Homes For Sale : Moving Up? Doing It Now May Make Sense
An issue that may have a gigantic impact on the housing market later this year is the lowering of the conforming loan limits. Without an act of Congress, these limits will return to the lower limits that existed prior to 2008. Today, I'd like to shed a little light on this issue and what it means to someone thinking about buying either a first home or move-up home valued over $400,000 in certain markets in the country. 
What is the ‘Conforming Loan Limit'? 
The ‘conforming loan … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville Real Estate : Building Family Wealth - 05/11/11 05:06 AM
Bernardsville Real Estate : Building Family Wealth
The question facing many families making a move today is whether it makes more sense to rent or buy. I've been very upfront in presenting my unwavering belief in homeownership, and for that reason today I want to quote from a study issued by an institution with no ties to the real estate business or mortgaging.
The Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University just released a study, America's Rental Housing: Meeting Challenges, Building on Opportunities. The study discusses the need for a greater supply of quality rental units in America. I agree. However, there were a few nuggets of … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville New Jersey Home Sales & Real Estate : Almost 14,000 Homes Sold Yesterday! - 05/06/11 09:30 AM
Bernardsville New Jersey Home Sales & Real Estate : Almost 14,000 Homes Sold Yesterday!
One of the biggest misconceptions in today's housing market is that homes are not selling. That is simply not true. Last month's Existing Sales Report from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed that homes were selling at an "annual rate of 5.10 million". That's an average of 13,973 every day - 365 days a year!
And the monthly Pending Sales Report, which measures the number of houses going into contract each month, has showed increases in six of the last nine months prompting Lawrence Yun, NAR's … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville New Jersey Homes For Sale & Real Estate . . . Understanding the 4 C's of Mortgage Underwriting. - 05/06/11 09:13 AM
Bernardsville NJ Homes For Sale & Real Estate . . . Understanding the 4 C's of Mortgage Underwriting.
With Spring upon us, and new buyers out looking for houses, I thought today might be a good time to review the basics of what lenders look for as they decide to approve (or deny) mortgage applications. For at least 25 years, I have heard them called "The 4 C's of Underwriting"- Capacity, Credit, Cash, and Collateral.  Guidelines and risk tolerances change, but the core criteria do not.
CAPACITY
CAPACITY is the analysis of comparing a borrower's income to their proposed debt. It … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Buyers & Sellers: Don't Listen To Me About Bernardsville Homes For Sale - 05/01/11 12:28 AM
Buyers & Sellers: Don't Listen To Me About Bernardsville Homes For Sale
Each day I attempt to give truthful insight on the current housing market and wherever and whenever possible, relate it to Bernardsville real estate.  However, when I speak about how now is such a great time to buy, I don't want my readers to think that since I'm a real estate agent (I prefer to title myself as a "strategic real estate advisor") I'm just hyping for new business. Totally untrue! My mission is to provide current facts, data and logic about Bernardsville New Jersey real estate as it becomes available-regardless of whether it … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Homes For Sale in Bernardsville New Jersey - Buying and/or selling a home are major decisions for anyone. - 04/30/11 01:39 AM
Homes for Sale in Bernardsville New Jersey - Buying and/or selling a home are major decisions for anyone.
When thinking of buying or selling Bernardsville New Jersey homes for sale, most of us look for referrals from friends, family and co-workers who have gone through the process successfully. This is natural, but in addition to getting referrals we also need to consider a few other issues: “Are there geographical differences?” “Has the market changed since they did their transaction?” “How has the ever-changing technology impacted real estate since their closing?” “Are my personal circumstances (income, assets, and credit) the same … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Let’s not forget the important role homeownership has played in U.S. history. - 04/27/11 11:23 AM
Let’s not forget the important role homeownership has played in U.S. history.
Recently President Obama spoke about his vision for our country . . . 
"So this is our vision for America — this is my vision for America — a vision where we live within our means while still investing in our future; where everyone makes sacrifices but no one bears all the burden; where we provide a basic measure of security for our citizens and we provide rising opportunity for our children."
Regardless of a person's political leaning, I'd like to believe that those words in some way describe … (2 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville Property Owners . . . Is It Time to Diversify Your Investment Portfolio? - 04/26/11 09:07 AM
Bernardsville Property Owners . . . Is It Time to Diversify Your Investment Portfolio?
Studies now show that over 20% of the houses with mortgages in the country are underwater (where the loan amount exceeds the value of the property). Some bought their house at the top of the market and saw prices come tumbling down over the last few years. Losing this value has caused challenges for many in this category.
Other homeowners are underwater because they refinanced their homes at the height of the market and cashed out some of their equity. Some did this several times as values … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville New Jersey Property Owners: Don"t Believe Everything You Hear or Read in the Media. - 04/24/11 12:34 AM
Bernardsville New Jersey Property Owners: Don"t Believe Everything You Hear or Read in the Media.
Many headlines in the media right now are proclaiming the total collapse of the housing market. What makes it seem very believable is that the headlines are based on two reports from the National Association of Realtors (NAR): the Existing Home Sales Report and the Pending Home Sales Report. However, all is not what it seems.
Both reports look at two different sets of data:
A year-over-year comparison of transactions (Y-O-Y) A month-over-month comparison of transactions (M-O-M) The negative headlines you have been reading are based on … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville New Jersey Homes for Sale and QRM: The Other Side of the Argument - 04/23/11 05:06 AM
Bernardsville New Jersey Homes for Sale and QRM: The Other Side of the Argument
There is little doubt that the ease in which mortgage money was issued early in the last decade was one of the major reasons for the housing crash. And, I believe the consensus is that constitutes a ‘quality residential mortgage' (QRM) definitely should  be redefined. However, several organizations see the newly suggested guidelines going too far.
The newly proposed QRM definition offered by the government addresses four main issues:
Type of mortgages that would qualify The ratios between a purchaser's income and their payment/overall debt The amount of down payment which … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Consider the COST When Buying Bernardsville New Jersey Homes - 04/22/11 02:35 AM
Consider the COST When Buying Bernardsville New Jersey Homes
I have written about the proposed modifications to the mortgage process several times in this blog already, however, I want to make sure my readers understand the potential impact to the cost when buying Bernardsville New Jersey homes that these changes will have, i.e. the cost of buying a home may increase even if prices continue to soften.
The total cost of a home is determined by two factors:
the price of the property  the expense of financing the purchase (assuming you are not paying all cash) Even if prices soften with Bernardsville Homes (and … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Four Bedroom Colonial in Bernardsville New Jersey - 04/18/11 09:55 AM
Four Bedroom Colonial in Bernardsville New Jersey
Bernardsville New Jersey offers small town charm with convenient access to major shopping areas, highways and New Jersey art centers. Just 45 minutes from New York by train from the town's quaint and historic train station you have the best of all worlds.
This Four Bedroom Center Hall Colonial home features two and one-half baths, two fireplaces, a full-finished basement with walkout, and two car garage. Walk to town in just minutes, or stay at home on your tree-filled .56 acre property. Located on a double cul-de-sac this home is an ideal location for the … (1 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville New Jersey Homes For Sale - 04/18/11 08:39 AM
Bernardsville New Jersey Homes For Sale
Welcome to iOnBernardsville.com
Bernardsville Homes For Sale presents a concise list of the homes for sale in Bernardsville New Jersey, updated daily. Go there to see which properties are available today, addresses, asking price, and basic information about the property. It's the best way to keep a finger on the pulse of the market as it pertains to Bernardsville. There, you will also find a link to more detailed information and photos of all the active Bernardsville Properties For Sale. If you would like more info on a particular property or group of properties in … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Stories About Bernardsville New Jersey : The Two Bernardsvilles - 04/18/11 12:45 AM
Stories About Bernardsville New Jersey : The Two Bernardsvilles
I recently read a very interesting story about Bernardsville "back in the day." As the story goes, for close to 70 years following the Civil War, Bernardsville was unofficially split between the Mountain Colony and the Village. The Mountain Colony was the summer home of about 60 millionaires and their families; the Village comprised about 3000 year-round families of upper, middle and lower incomes, whose livelihood was fueled by serving the needs of the freely spending elite of the Mountain Colony.
Excerpted from "Among the Blue Hills. Bernardsville . . . A History"Compiled by … (0 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville NJ Real Estate : Home Mortgages . . . Is the Pendulum Swinging Back Too Hard? - 04/17/11 01:01 AM
Bernardsville NJ Real Estate : Home Mortgages . . . Is the Pendulum Swinging Back Too Hard?
Do you think we're maybe just a bit "over" overreacting with the new lending regulations that are currently being considered? I know I'm going to hear from a few of my readers who disagree with this post, but I have to lay it out there.
Certainly, there is no doubt that one of the main reasons for the housing collapse was that mortgage underwriting became too lenient. It seemed anyone who wanted to purchase a home found someone to give them a mortgage; whether … (3 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville New Jersey Real Estate & Home Sales : The Perfect Generational Storm - 04/17/11 12:47 AM
Bernardsville New Jersey Real Estate & Home Sales : The Perfect Generational Storm
It is my hope that this post and research provides some clarity as to the cause of the housing downturn and the current market. As homeowners, and particularily sellers, it's important to see that we are part of a much larger generational dynamic that is driving supply and demand. 
Each year, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) publishes its annual Profile of Home Buyers & Sellers. A wealth of information is included in the publication, statistics which are dissected by the media but largely overlooked by the average real … (1 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Bernardsville New Jersey Real Estate & Homes For Sale : Where have all the foreclosures gone? - 04/16/11 08:13 AM
Bernardsville New Jersey Real Estate & Homes For Sale : Where have all the foreclosures gone?
The inventory of foreclosed homes for sale has been dwindling for almost six months, and everyone is wondering if the worst of our challenges with distressed properties are behind us. I'm sorry to report that isn't the case. However, for us in Bernardsville foreclosures per se will not necessarily affect us directly since there are at this point in time only a few properties that are currently in the foreclosure process and/or in serious default.
The potential problem for us though is that when banks begin to release their … (1 comments)

bernardsville homes for sale: Real Estate is a Personal Thing in Bernardsville New Jersey 07924 - 04/16/11 07:25 AM
Real Estate is a Personal Thing in Bernardsville New Jersey 07924
Every day we're bombarded with statistics and data. Housing starts are up, housing starts are down; more job losses, unemployment is improving; interest rates are down, interest rates are rising, foreclosures are easing up, a foreclosure tsunami is headed our way, and much more.  It's enough to make your head spin. 
You know, there's an old saying: "All real estate is local." It implies that national numbers are good reference points, but that individual communities (or even pockets within communities) can have strikingly different realities. For example, while prices … (0 comments)