Contrary to reports and newspaper articles circulating widely on the Internet, there is not a 4 percent sales tax or transfer tax on the sale of a home included in the recently signed health care reform bill.

This myth has been invalidated by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and other experts who are knowledgeable about what is included in the heath care reform bill.

NAR is working to spread the word that there is no truth to this rumor. To read their statement, please click here.

When I first decided to get into the business, the agent who sold me my home said, “don’t even tell me you want to be an agent because ‘you love to look at houses’, because that gets old real fast!” She was right, it does – but luckily that’s not why I decided to become a Realtor.  I love the challenges the business presents – from winning the business to solving the problems, to strategically negotiating the best deals for both my seller and buyer clients.  It is definitely fun to be involved in a really big part of someone’s world – buying and selling homes often goes hand in hand with many of life’s big changes: retirement, marriage, new babies – it’s all very exciting!                                      

And it can be very Stressful!

Over the last few months, I have been part of several. very. stressful. transactions.  If you are in the middle of a dicey sale or a stressful purchase remember that you are not alone.  Really – all the agents, attorneys and home inspectors are talking about it – every deal has had some sort of hiccup along the way.  If you are reading this and feeling lucky that your deal went smoothly, then hats off to you and your agent and all the other parties involved because the easy deals have been few and far between.

This isn’t a post to moan or complain about my job – I really do love it – I just want to remind you to keep your eye on the ball…at the end of the day you will be in your new home starting a new chapter in your life.  Just remember the sellers don’t come with the house and you will be gone before the buyers move in!

Contact me if you have questions about the transaction process, I can help!

72 Birchwood Rd, Birchwood/$248,800/$252,000
21 Knollcrest Rd, Knollcrest/$459,000/$430,000
234 Long Meadow Rd, Long Meadow/$369,900/$352,000
72 Dogwood Ln, Edgewood/$529,900/$517,500
403 Cardinal Ln, Long Meadow/$333,000/$315,000
49 Encampment Dr, Crestmont/$259,000/$220,500
53 Bentley Ct, Crestmont/$339,000/$331,750
9 Danbury Ct, Crestmont/$350,000/$335,000
705 Timberbrooke Dr, Timberbooke/$510,000/$512,000
72 Academy Ct, Crestmont/$299,900/$295,000
5 Pheasant Brook Ct, Wood Duck Pond/$325,000/$316,500
24 Stevens Court, Signal Point/$286,900/$280,000
40 High Pond Ln, Wood Duck Pond/$298,888/$295,000
7 Heatherwood Ln, Four Oaks/$400,000/$390,000
111 Autumn Ridge Road, Autumn Ridge $619,000/$575,000

Are you considering a move into or out of the area?  Search for available Bedminster homes and mark your calendars for our next home buyer/seller seminar which will be held at the Weichert office in Basking Ridge on Saturday, May 22nd.

Please visit the following open houses today:

57 Dogwood Terrace, Millington – $839,900

50 Church Street, Liberty Corner – $499,000

1502 Bayley Court, Bridgewater - $409,000

If your attorney is quick, you can make an offer today or tomorrow and still be under contract by Friday – in time to qualify for the First Time or Repeat Buyer tax credit!

Are you thinking about making a move into or out of Basking Ridge, Bedminster or Bernardsville?  I’m happy to help. Contact me today for information about properties available in any of these towns or the surrounding areas.  I’m also happy to help you understand the value of your home in today’s market.  Feel free to follow any of these links for more information.

Have a great Sunday!

I received this information this morning in my sales associate newsletter.  Given that I am working with several people short sale or foreclosure issues, I thought it was improtant to share it.  The Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) program will go into effect on April 5, 2010. Part of the government’s Home Affordability Modification Program (HAMP), HAFA was designed to help stabilize the residential real estate market by allowing the short sale process to move forward more easily.

Under HAFA, borrowers will be allowed to receive pre-approved short sale terms before listing the property, as well as $1,500 in relocation assistance, and they will be fully released from any future liability for the first mortgage debt. In addition, HAFA prohibits servicers from requiring a reduction in the real estate commission agreed upon in the listing agreement, up to 6 percent.

In order to be eligible, the property must be used as a principal residence, the first lien must have been originated before 2009, the unpaid balance must not exceed $729,750, and the borrower’s total monthly payment must be more than 31 percent of their gross income.

This new, streamlined process makes short sales a better option for mortgage servicers, who are expected to now choose short sales over foreclosures in many cases. The decrease in foreclosures should help to stabilize the housing market. In addition, real estate sales professionals will be able to close more short sales and keep more of their commissions.

For more information on this program, please contact me directly.  Once we have the Frequently Asked Questions document completed, I will be happy to share it.

As you know, Governor Christie announced his budget message last week.  This included massive changes to school budgets throughout the state.  Bernards Township is losing $4 million for next year and an additional $1.6 million this spring.

The new budget will be reviewed tonight Monday, March 22, at 8:00PM in the Community Room at Bernards High School.  The Board of Ed Vote on the Budget is scheduled for Wednesday, March 24 at 7:30PM in the Community Room at Bernards High School.

Please come out and support the vote! 

I spent an inordinate amount of time this past week on a potential deal for one of my listings.  We had seven offers on the table – yes, SEVEN, in this supposedly dead real estate market (more on that later as this market is certainly not dead!).  The subject of my commission came up several times – my seller and more than one of the bidders asked us to reduce our commission in order to pull the deal together.  I can’t let that go without some sort of comment … I have two messages:

1. To the Buyers, commission is between the seller and the listing agent, you cannot change that and if your agent wants to reduce his or her commission to make your offer stronger, he or she needs to present a letter from their managing broker agreeing to that fact before I will let my seller sign the contract. 
2. To the Sellers, you signed a listing agreement giving me and Weichert Realtors the exclusive right to sell your property and you agreed upon a commission rate at the time that you signed that contract – please don’t ask me to address my commission again when we are negotiating a contract. 

Take a look at my current article over at the Basking Ridge Patch, it addresses real estate relationships in the state of New Jersey.  It is important to understand the difference between Buyer’s Agents, Seller’s agents and Disclosued Dual Agents.  You won’t necessarily get a better deal as a buyer if you work with directly with the listing agent; and as a seller, if your agent brings the buyer,  he or she immediately becomes a disclosed dual agent and you will not have the upper hand in the transaction.

If you have any questions about agency relationships please don’t hesitate to contact me directly.

Considering a move into or out of Bedminster, NJ?  It’s a great time to make a move – buyers and sellers alike.  The market is moving in Bedminster, showing activity is up on most of my listings and as I said earlier, I am even entertaining multiple offers in some instances.  I can set you up for listing alerts in Bedminster or you can search Bedminster homes, luxury homes or townhomes yourself.

I must apologize for being away for so long – it’s been very busy in my little real estate world!  I’ve ben dealing with mulitple offers on several of my listings (something we hadn’t anticipated), an appraisal issue for a property which is the subject of a contingency on one of my deals that was under contract, and working with a couple who needed to make a decision about a competing offer on a property that they were hoping to purchase.  I am happy to report that the buyers with the appraisal issue selected another lender and were able to close their deal, two of the sellers looking at multiple offers selected one – one is under contract and the other will be signed today, and the buyers faced with competition for the home of their dreams made a decision and have already completed their home inspection!  I will admit that after all that hard work, it feels good to have a few closings on the horizon!

So, how are things going in Bedminster?  Market Absorption is at a healthy 6.9 months; a somewhat balanced market that is still favoring buyers to some degree.  I am anticipating a bit of a jump in contract sales due to the impending expiration of the tax credit on April 30th.  If you are considering a move – whether you are a buyer or a seller – now is the time to do it!  Stay one step ahead of the game by registering for listing alerts – be notified of new Bedminster listings within 24 hours of availability.  I can also provide you with a current market analysis for your Bedminster home.  If you just want to browse the inventory – you can do that too: Luxury homes, Single Family Homes, Townshouses and Condos.

Take a quick look at what has sold since I last reported (2/22/10):

30 Tansy Court List: $240,000  Sale: $235,000 Mayfield Condo
64 Foxwood Court  List: $279,999  Sale: $277,500  Fieldstone Condo
41 Pine Court  List: $289,900  Sale: $270,000  Pinevale Condo
102 Stone Run Road  List: $415,000  Sale: $414,000 Stone Run Townhouse

Have a great day!

This three to five bedroom cape has had so many updates over the last six years – it’s perfect!  It offers three bedrooms upstairs with a full bath.  There are two rooms downstairs that are currently used as a family room and a play room; they can be bedrooms or not – depending upon your needs.  The front room – currently a dining room – features a wood burning fire place and could easily be a formal living room.  A large fenced yard is hard to find in this part of town.  Contact me for all the details.

It is a great time to buy!  If you are looking at your first home purchase or to move up from a condo, this might be the perfect house.  Not interested in Bernardsville?  That’s okay, there are lots of homes for sale in Bedminster too!

There has been some decent activity in Bedminster over the last ten days. There were 13 new listings and four contract sales, and the following properties closed:

17 Cedar Court, listed at $268,500, closed for $250,000
138 Autumn Ridge Road, listed at $652,000 closed for $640,000

There are 79 properties available in Bedminster, four of them are working through attorney review.  Market absorption is 6 months.   I have seen such a huge increase in market activity over the last few weeks – if you are considering a move, it might be the best time to put your home on the market.  Interest rates are supposed to go up at the end of March, possibly by a point or more and the tax credit is only available through the end of April. While you might not qualify for the credit, your potential buyer might.  If you can try to leverage this window of opportunity!

Contact me for more information on the market in general or any of these properties in particular.

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