Princeton real estate for sale Archives - Page 4 of 4

Money Saving Tips for Buyers, Seller & Homeowners

December 2, 2011 by Josh Wilton

Tim McLaughlin, VP Weichert Financial Sercvices

As we enter 2012, here are some money saving tips specifically related to the housing sector to help you manage your financial budget and capitalize on savings.

Buying a home: What size is right? According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, home construction firms expect U.S. houses to average 2,152 square feet in 2015, down 10% from last year. This means that if you’re buying with the goal of selling it in the future, trends suggest that oversized homes may be a declining trend in the future. So an astute buyer needs to decide what size home is right for them.

Selling a home: What price is right? According to Joe Magdziarz, president of the Appraisal Institute, sellers and their agents should look at comparable sales data just within the past 90 days to find the right price. You don’t want to be one of the 75% of homeowners who believe their home is worth more than it is. Your knowledgeable Weichert Realtor can help you assess what price point the market will dictate to help sell your home.

Already a home owner: Shorten your loan Refinancing your mortgage to a shorter term can save you significantly. For instance, a $250,000 mortgage, going from a 30 year at 4.25% to a 15 year at a 3.50% would save you $12,000 in interest over the life of the loan (assuming full term duration). Don’t want to do a 15 or 30 year term loan? Terms of 10, 20, and 25 years are also available. Your educated Weichert Financial Gold Services Manager can help you custom fit the term that works best for you.

Already a home owner: Refinance, Refinance, Refinance Even if you don’t think you have enough equity (or any equity) in your existing property, there are new product offerings coming on the market each day, so where you may have gotten a “no” in the past, you may be able to get a “yes” today or in the near future. Additionally, there are options to do a cash-in refinance, where you bring some cash to closing. If disposable cash is an issue, there are also options to build closing costs into the structure to come to the table with little or no cash in many cases.

Princeton Open House Tour, November 19 & 20

November 19, 2011 by Josh Wilton

Looking for Open Houses to attend this weekend? Here is a list of some in the Princeton and greater Princeton markets. Just click the sign to plan your Princeton Open House Tour.

If I ‘refi’ I will ‘start my payment history over, right…? WRONG!

November 18, 2011 by Josh Wilton

No “Starting Over”, Tim McLaughlin, VP Weichert Financial Services

http://twitter.com/TimMc86

In speaking with a couple of associates last night, the topic of refinancing came up. When analyzing a specific situation, the comment was made, “I would consider refinancing my home at today’s lower rates, but I am already X years into the loan, and I’m not sure I want to start all over again” (meaning they had paid down X years of their 30 year mortgage, and they didn’t want to start over again with a new 30 year mortgage).

To which I commented “then why not refinance into a 20 year or 25 year term loan so you don’t have to start over again”. In unison, two knowledgeable associates responded, “you can do that”?

Sometimes, we are so close to a situation, or an answer appears so commonplace, that we assume everyone knows the answer, but perhaps, we haven’t done as great of a job as we should have getting the news out. So with a slow news week, this gives us a great opportunity to get the message out for those who didn’t know, and reiterate the message for those that did:

on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans (loans that are the vast majority of our refinance transactions), the following terms are available for Fixed Rate structures: 10 year, 15 year, 20 year, 25 year, and 30 years.
So there is no need to “start over”.

Everyone can take advantage of these historically rates and continue to maintain (or even reduce) the existing term of their loan without “starting over”. In fact, we have seen the majority of the refinance scenarios in 2011 be of the “trade-down” variety -> where an original 30 year term refinances into a new 15, 20 or 25 year term loan (at a lower price to reduce payment, a shorter term to reduce life of loan and future value interest paid, or both), or 15 year term loans refinance into 10 year term structures.

The prevailing thought is that interest rates will stay low for quite some time given the woes of the global financial markets and the economic climate, and that may be hard to debate. What is not hard to debate is with rates at this level, the downside (rates ticking back upwards) is significantly more likely than the upside (rates dropping down further), so why risk the chance of missing out on a great thing?

This is the weekend to capitalize…your trusted Weichert Financial Gold Services Manager can help you reduce your payment and/or your loan term this weekend in time for the coming holidays. We can help….ask us how!

First Greece, Now Italy: Why the US Cares

November 11, 2011 by Josh Wilton

Tim McLaughlin, VP Weichert Financial Services

http://twitter.com/TimMc86

It seems like each week, the markets have a new focus on a different country that drives volatility; this week the focus is on Italy. Take a look at the week that was: Global Equity markets all rose (and Fixed Income rates sold off) Tuesday when Silvio Berlusconi agreed to resign as Italy’s Prime Minister. That’s because a lot of people think Berlusconi is the reason Italy is teetering on the edge of financial disaster. Wednesday, Equity markets were down because those same people realized that they were wrong. Thursday, another rally as maybe they were right.

The idea was that without Berlusconi, the Italian government will get its fiscal house in order and be able to pay back all the money it has borrowed. Italy depends on borrowed money to service its debt, which is significant, but not huge like that of either Greece or the US. In fact, the nation’s fiscal deficits have actually been lower than what they were projected to be.

So with that said why is the US concerned with Italy? As the International Monetary Fund reports, the problem is a “mounting concern among investors about the two way relationship between sovereign and financial risks, and about prospects for policymakers to craft a convincing and durable crisis resolution framework in the euro area. Without significant progress, there is a risk that market worries could become self-fulfilling, with consequences that could prove difficult to contain”.

In simpler terms, the fear is that the government can’t deal with the deficit. More than anything else, that worry is driving up the cost of borrowing money to service the debt. Despite the news about Berlusconi, on midday Wednesday, Italy’s 10 year bonds were at 7.68% and 2 year notes were yielding 7.10%. The magic number here is 7%. When bond yields for Greece, Portugal and Ireland hit 7%, they all had to call on the European Central Bank and the IMF to bail them out.
But unlike the other three nations, Italy has a huge economy. It is Europe’s third largest, trailing only Germany and France. This has enabled it to borrow a lot of money from other people. As of March non-Italians held $1.1 trillion in Italian bonds. This is more than the combined total of foreign-held bonds for Ireland, Portugal, and Greece. So even with the help of the ECB and the IMF, they probably aren’t going to be able to save Italy by themselves.

So why is this concerning to the US? US banks increased sales of insurance against credit losses to holders of Greek, Portuguese, Irish, Spanish and Italian debt in the first half of 2011, boosting the risk of payouts in the event of defaults. According to the Bank for International Settlement, guarantees provided by US lenders on government, bank and corporate debt to those countries rose by $80.7 billion to $518 billion. Almost all of that was CDS. If Italy defaults, or even just looks like it is in danger of defaulting, institutions are going to want to make sure that the loan guarantors can pay off. The fear is what if the US banks can’t?

Eight Great Reasons to Buy That Princeton Home

October 14, 2011 by Josh Wilton

Tim McLaughlin, VP Weichert Financial Services

http://twitter.com/TimMc86

Rates are near historical lows. Housing prices haven’t been this affordable in years, So what are the top reasons supporting the fact that it is a great time to buy that home you have had your eye on (according to the WSJ)?

1. You can get a great deal = buyer’s market. Many of the summer 2011 buyers have purchased or are waiting for spring 2012. An excellent time to beat them to the punch and grab that house of your dreams..

2. Mortgages are cheap. You can get a 30 year loan in the high 3%/low 4% range. What’s not to like? These are the lowest rates on record. As recently as three years ago they were about 6.25%. That drop slashes your monthly repayment by a fifth. When the economy and employment do recover, it is a fair bet that you won’t see these mortgage rates again in your lifetime.

3. You’ll save on taxes. You can deduct the mortgage interest from your income taxes. You can deduct your real estate taxes. And you’ll get a tax break on capital gains down the line when you sell.

4. It’ll be yours. You can have the kitchen and bathrooms you want. You can move the walls, build an extension, or paint everything bright orange if you so desire.

5. You’ll get a better place to live. In many parts of the country right now, it can be really hard to find a good rental given the glut of renter in the marketplace.

6. It offers some inflation protection. No, it’s not perfect. But studies by Professor Karl “Chip” Case (of Case-Shiller), and others, suggest that over the long term housing has tended to beat inflation by a couple of percentage points a year. That’s valuable inflation insurance, especially if you’re young and raising a family and thinking about the next 30 or 40 years.

7. It is forced savings. If you can rent an apartment for say $2,000 month instead of buying one for say $2,400 a month, renting may make sense. But will you save that $400 for your future? A lot of people won’t. Most, I dare say. Thus where is the true value and the savings?

8. Weichert will help make the transaction seamless…ask us how! Call us at the office today to make an appointment to learn the buying process! 609-921-1900

Princeton Real Estate Licensing Class Starts 10/17

October 13, 2011 by Josh Wilton

The fall is back to school season for thousands of Princeton students…will it be for you? Weichert Real Estate School has a class forming in Princeton starting Monday October 17! Details as follows:

Dates: October 17- 11/4

Time: 9am – 2pm, daily

Location: 29 Emmons Drive, Princeton

Cost: $99 vs the regular price of $349.

All in all a great opportunity to get your real estate license! If you are interested in attending the class click here to contact Josh Wilton, Manager of the Weichert Princeton office or call 609-921-1900. Dont want to get into Real Estate full time? You can still make money and have fun as a ‘Referral Associate? What is a Referral Associate? Click here to watch a quick video that explains it.

NJAR® Reports Show Tax Caps and Consolidation Can Help Ease Property Tax Burden

October 12, 2011 by Josh Wilton

Are you a Princeton resident? Than you know the issue of whether Princeton Borough & Princeton Township should consolidate is a HUGE question this fall. Here is a recent press release from the New Jersey Association of Realtors regarding the consolidation question. Enjoy! – Josh W.

Edison, N.J. – ‘The New Jersey Association of REALTORS® (NJAR®) Governmental Research Foundation (GRF) today released a group of three reports on methods of controlling property taxes in New Jersey. The first two studies show the benefits associated with consolidating either services such as police, fire, municipalities or school districts. The third report details how property taxes can be controlled and ultimately lowered by the new 2.0 percent property tax cap that took effect at the beginning of this year. The reports listed below were conducted for NJAR® GRF by the Ball State University Center for Business and Economic Research:

Local Government Consolidation: Potential Savings Due to Economies of Scale & Efficiency Gains, Analysis of Public School Districts

An Examination of the Economic Impact of Property Tax Levy Caps on Economic Activity in New Jersey
According to NJAR® Chief Executive Officer Jarrod Grasso, “NJAR® GRF is proud to have commissioned these studies because we believe they can provide a road map of the next steps we must take to combat soaring property taxes. These three reports were prepared because REALTORS® are an integral part of the communities we serve and we understand the tremendous hardship high property taxes have on Garden State residents. Determining ways to control the property tax burden isn’t just a means of helping more people achieve homeownership, it’s also a common sense approach to keep families in New Jersey and in their homes.”

In the first two reports on consolidating municipal services and school districts, researchers studied consolidations using two types of procedures, the economies of scale model and the efficiency model. The economies of scale model examines how the cost to operate local government services and/or school districts can be decreased by spreading out the cost of those services among a larger group of taxpayers. The efficiency model examines how the costs for the same services can be decreased by lowering the number of government units within a county. In the consolidation reports for both local government services and school districts, it was found that while savings to property taxpayers were present in both models, savings were minimal in the economies of scale model but the efficiency model had the potential to be substantial.

According to Dr. Michael Hicks, Director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, “Our study found that inefficiencies associated with the proliferation of local governments increases the costs of government in the state (the average Garden State county has 57 local governments). Consolidating one school district, for example, so that there is one less school district in a county, could lead to $7 to $10 million in savings according to our estimates.”

“The two reports on consolidation concluded that, while the potential for lower property taxes is high by reducing the number of governmental units in a county, that cost savings for taxpayers would be subject to other fiscal decisions made by local governments facilitating the consolidation. These include contract decisions for employees in the jurisdictions where the consolidation occurs,” Grasso added.

The third report on the recently enacted 2.0 percent property tax cap shows that this reform put in place by Governor Christie and the State Legislature on a bipartisan basis will in the long-term, not only lead to lower property taxes for New Jersey residents, but also will be responsible for higher household incomes, and an increase in both employment and business sales in the Garden State.

According to Dr. Dagney Faulk, Director of Research for the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, “In New Jersey, the full effect of the levy caps that were implemented this past January will be economic growth of roughly 1.5 percent, 78,500 more jobs and effective growth in income of more than $1,100 per household.”

“The study detailing the positive effects of the 2.0 percent property tax cap clearly shows that New Jersey is positioning itself to be an incredible relocation option for families and businesses. It also indicates that we are making strides in our efforts to create more affordable conditions for our current residents,” said Grasso.

“The study showing the positive impact of the 2.0 percent property tax cap is proof that bipartisan cooperation can lead to sensible and effective policy solutions. While progress has been made in the fight to control property taxes, there are issues that still need to be addressed, including the consolidation of government services. New Jersey REALTORS® encourage lawmakers to continue working with municipalities and school districts to help implement consolidations that will lower property taxes without affecting the quality of services being provided. While there is no silver bullet to fix the Garden State’s property tax crisis, the consolidation of government entities is another tool that we should consider utilizing,” Grasso concluded.’

To view the reports in full, visit www.njar.com/about_njar/grf.

# # #

The New Jersey Association of REALTORS®, with approximately 45,000 REALTOR® and REALTOR-ASSOCIATE® members, is one of the largest trade organizations in the state. NJAR®’s membership is comprised of real estate professionals who subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are members of the national and local REALTOR® organizations. As the leading advocate for the real estate industry and private property rights in New Jersey, NJAR® is committed to protecting the dream of homeownership. For more information, please visit www.njar.com.

The NJAR® Governmental Research Foundation (GRF) was formed in 1999 to research issues; to promote knowledge of, conducted research, and assist in issue research in the field of real estate and related fields; and to inform and educate the public on subjects of the public interest and general concern pertaining to real estate, land use and related topics.

Princeton Real Estate Licensing Class: Starts Tomorrow Night!

October 10, 2011 by Josh Wilton

The upcoming evening real estate licensing class in Princeton starts tomorrow night!

If you are interested in getting your real estate license this is a great chance to do so.

Course Dates: 10/11 – 12/22/2011

Time: 6:30 – 10:15, Tues and Thurs evenings

Cost: Only $99 (vs the regular price of $350!)

Interested in enrolling? Click here to email direct or call the office and ask for Josh Wilton. 609-921-1900.

Historically Low Interest Rates and More

October 8, 2011 by Josh Wilton

Tim McLaughlin, VP Weichert Financial Services

http://twitter.com/TimMc86

The 30 year Fixed Rate mortgage, continuing to test new lows, dropped below 4% last week for the first time in modern history to 3.99% with .68 points during the week ending Oct. 6, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey. A spokesman confirmed that the 30 year’s average of 4.01% with .66 points last week was previously the lowest the weekly rate has been. Freddie has been following rates since its startup in 1970.

While the week to week drop below 4% is only a matter of two basis points, it marks a benchmark level that could have more of a psychological impact on borrowers who qualify for new loans and have a rate high enough to benefit enough from a refinance.

A year ago at this time, the average weekly 30 year rate was 4.27% and the average 15 year rate was 3.72%.

Pew Research Center out of Washington conducted a survey of over 2,100 adults, of which 57% were current homeowners, 30% were renters, and 13% were prospective buyers, with some interesting results:

64% of homeowners whose homes lost value said they expect to recoup the equity losses in the next 3 to 5 years.
81% of homeowners (more than 4 out of 5) believe purchasing a home is the best investment an adult can make. By comparison, the number was at 84% back in 1991.

Fact & Fiction Regarding Your Credit Score…Did you know?

Fiction: Credit scores can change only once per month or every 30 days.

Fact: On the contrary; each creditor reports information to each credit bureau at different times of the month. This will cause the information and potentially the credit scores to change on a daily basis. For example, American Express may report to Experian on the 1st of the month, Equifax on the 15th and Transunion on the 25th. Thorough review of the credit report is needed to determine what caused the score to change from report to report

Secondary Market Takeaways:

On the heels of potential solutions for the European financial crisis and surprisingly positive employment data this morning (Nonfarm payrolls up 103K vs. projected up 60K, and last month revised to up 57K from an initially reported number of 0K), we have seen mortgage rates slowly increase this week from the historically low levels reported last week in the upper right hand column. If the positive economic and employment news is sustainable, we could continue to see rates increase in October vs. where interest rates are now pegged.

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