Selling your home quickly and at the price you are asking is every homeowner’s dream. While the real estate market may seem like it is complicated and ever-changing, there are several constants to keep in mind when embarking on the home selling process.

Be certain to consider the following rules of thumb when your home is on the market:

Tidy Up. Be sure that your home is neat and tidy before potential buyers arrive. Give your home a once over and make sure that nothing is getting in the way of buyers being able to see how well loved and cared for your home is. Dirty or cluttered homes typically turn buyers off quickly, and the extra time you put into cleaning up will be well worth it.

Hit the Road. Never remain at home during showings or Open Houses. Your goal is to get buyers to explore your home, perhaps lingering to imagine the possibility of living there themselves. You being there could make them uncomfortable, leading to a shorter visit. For sure, you will be curious, but it’s easy enough to get any feedback from your real estate agent right after the showing.

Price to Sell. Often the key to how quickly a home sells is directly related to its price. It is extremely important to set a realistic, competitive price that will attract buyer attention. Your real estate agent can provide you with pricing recommendations based on local market conditions and sales of comparable properties.

For recent home sales in Bedminster, go to Bedminster-Real-Estate.com.  If you are thinking about the possibility of listing your home for sale, and would like a FREE Market Analysis, please contact us and we would be happy to set up a time to meet with you.

$363,500 – three bedrooms, two and half baths, garage.  

New furnace and central air!

Search for your Bedminster Townhouse and call Jennifer for an appointment; let us make it easy for you too!

According to Remodeling magazine’s 2011-2012 “Cost vs. Value Report,” replacement projects perform better in resale value than other types of remodeling projects. In fact, seven out of the top 10 projects were siding-, window- and door- replacement projects.

The good news for cost-conscious homeowners is that

investing in your home in a way that pays off at resale doesn’t have to cost a lot. The high value of most replacements can be

contributed to the relatively low cost of these projects. What’s more, the majority of replacement projects immediately improve curb appeal, making the home more attractive to buyers.

Based on interviews with real estate professionals throughout the country, the Remodeling report found that the top project is fiber-cement siding, which typically recoups 78 percent of costs. Fiber-cement siding has been in the No.1 spot for six of the seven years since it was added to the report.

Moving up two spots in the rankings is the minor kitchen remodel, now coming in at fourth place at 72 percent. Considered an “interior replacement” project, this is the least expensive way to give an existing kitchen a complete facelift. It is typically done by adding new cabinet door and drawer fronts and hardware, new countertops and new appliances.

The right remodeling project, when done well, also has the potential to make for a quicker sale and reduce negotiations with buyers over perceived shortcomings.

If you are thinking of perhaps putting your house on the market, please feel free to give us a call, and we would be happy to meet with you and answer any questions you might have about getting your house or townhouse ready to sell.  Also, feel free to go to www.Bedminster-Real-Estate.com  for more valuable information about buying and selling in Bedminster.

The beginning of a new year is always a time to reflect and consider goals and opportunities for the year ahead. As we begin 2012, there are many reasons for encouragement when it comes to the economy and real estate. If recent economic and real estate trends are any indication, 2012 will be a year when good things can happen not only for potential homebuyers and sellers, but for the country as a whole. For example:

• Existing-home sales rose again in November, and remain at levels above those of a year ago. What’s more, pending home sales also continued to gain in November, reaching the highest level in 19 months, an indication that there will be more future sales.
• In November, sales of new single-family houses rose 1.6 percent from October and were 9.8 percent above November 2010. Additionally, housing starts surged to a one-and-a-half year high in November, and permits for future construction were the highest since March 2010.
• In a sign that the overall economy is strengthening, U.S. employment has grown solidly for the past six months, generating 100,000 jobs or more in each month for the first time since April 2006.
• The Conference Board’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators showed two months of solid gains, signaling that the economy was gaining momentum and the risks of a recession were receding, and its Consumer Confidence Index improved to levels seen in April 2011.

Bedminster Market Activity

Two recent closed sales:

• 25 Stevens Court in Signal Point listed for $290,000 and sold for $260,000
• 2030 Larger Cross Road listed for $3,875,000 and sold for $2,500,000

Both of these transactions were disclosed dual agency – the listing agent represented both the buyer and the seller.

There have been nine new listings – seven townhouses and two single family homes.  And there has been one contract sale since the beginning of the year.

Here’s how it goes: you make an offer, accompanied by a $1000 good faith initial deposit.  Your Realtor will likely hold this check until the offer is negotiated and you will get it back if the deal doesn’t get agreed on. Your Realtor cannot hold a check for more than five days – so if it takes longer than that to negotiate, it might be deposited into the escrow account and will be returned to you if the purchase agreement is not executed.

Negotiate the contract, sign the contract.

Congratulations!

You have three days to get the executed contract to an attorney in order to start attorney review.  The duration of attorney review varies based on the availability of all parties to discuss the contract, make and agree to changes.

Once attorney review is completed you will schedule the inspection and apply for your mortgage.  These two things happen concurrently.  This is an important point to make – you cannot wait for the inspection contingency to be satisfied before you apply for your loan.  This means that you can’t hold off on ordering the appraisal either. If you wait too long to order the appraisal because you don’t want to spend the money you run the risk of missing your mortgage commitment date because you can’t predict what sort of issues might come up and you need to leave time to resolve them.  Losing the money you spent on the appraisal is a risk you have to take in order to continue the process in good faith.

Your second deposit will also likely be due before the inspection contingency is cleared – you can’t wait to write that check; you have to write it when it’s due; you will receive your deposit monies back if the deal falls apart over inspection items (as long as your contract allows for that).

It bears repeating — Ordering the appraisal and submitting the  second deposit are NOT intended to be contingent upon successful negotiation of the inspection items. Doing so may derail your purchase…..

I have had two deals in the last two months that almost fell apart because the buyers held off on making their deposit and ordering their appraisal until they were confident that inspection issues were resolved.  In one case we were having issues with repair requests – tempers were flaring and both parties were upset with the way things were going…having held back on the deposit led the sellers to believe that the buyers were not serious about the transaction and in turn that made them not want to work on the repairs…  In the other scenario, the buyers didn’t want to spend the money on the appraisal until they had resolution on some of the inspection issues (which, by the way, ended up being non-issues, but that’s for another post). Unfortunately, their appraisal came back with a glitch that in ten years neither I nor the buyers agent had ever encountered before!  More than likely this glitch will be resolved but as a result it is holding the sellers up from making their next purchase.  If the appraisal had been ordered when it was supposed to be, there would have been plenty of time to resolve this issue.

Keep your deal on track…. it’s the right thing to do.

• Bedminster: Stone Run and Edgewood up to about $500,000
• Bedminster: Autumn Ridge up to about $700,000
• Basking Ridge: any four bedroom single family home in the Hills specifically including the Carlisle and Liberty Ridge sections up to about $750,000

It really is a good time to buy a house.  The signs are there: record-low interest rates and reasonably priced homes. This week, the Wall Street Journal presents two factors that make now “an excellent time to buy a house.” First, the ratio of home prices to yearly rents is close to its pre-bubble average. Second, when mortgage rates are considered, houses are the most affordable they have been in decades.

The article goes on to explain that whether or not buying is a better deal than renting depends on the relationship between prices and rents, the cost of financing and other factors. The good news is that the numbers all seem to be heading in the right direction.

According to Moody’s Analytics, the nationwide ratio of home prices to yearly rents is 11.3, down from 18.5 at the peak of the bubble. With all things being equal, a lower ratio means buying is preferable to renting. Even though the price/rent ratio is not as low as it has been, house payments are more affordable than they have been in decades because mortgage interest rates are so low.

And, despite public opinions otherwise, mortgage money is available according to information in the article attributed to Stan Humphries, chief economist at Zillow, a home and real estate consumer website.

The article closes with this advice: “When prices are low, loans are cheap and plump investment yields are scarce, buyers should jump.”

There were two contract sales last week – a two bedroom townhouse in the Fieldstone section featuring a one car garage and Brazilian cherry floors and a two bedroom townhouse in the Four Oaks section featuring a two car garage and an updated kitchen.  Both are scheduled to close before the end of the year.  I’m happy also to report that market absorption is under 8 months in Bedminster.

There are less than six weeks left in the fall market – things typically start to slow down after Thanksgiving.  If you are considering a move into Bedminster or the surrouding areas we can help!  Click here for information on what is currently available in Bedminster.

Bedminster Real Estate, Basking Ridge Real Estate