Hello, and welcome to the West Windsor real estate blog. Here you’ll find the most up to date information on the real estate market here in West Windsor.

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This month’s newsletter features articles on:

Tax credit and Flood Insurance Bills Extended

There’s some good news for homebuyers who ratified their real estate contracts by April 30, 2010, but who were unable to close before the original June 30 tax credit deadline: Eligible homebuyers with properties closing anytime up to September 30, 2010 are now allowed the benefit of the homebuyer’s tax credit, worth up to $8,000.

Reduce, Reuse, Renovate

You may not have purchased a green home, but every time you undertake a remodeling project, you have the opportunity to make your living environment more environmentally friendly.  Here are some tips for turning your next renovation into a more eco-friendly one.

Good Graces

Naturally, homeowners want to net a good price for their property. But, also important, most homeowners want to sell to buyers they like. To get in sellers’ good graces, do the following.

The Trouble With Clutter

Often invisible to homeowners, clutter can be a deal breaker for buyers. To understand why it’s so important to rid your home of clutter before it goes on the market, it helps to know its effects on buyers.

Home Inspection Myths

A home inspection is a vital part of the home buying and selling process. Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions about inspections and inspectors, including the following.

Read this month’s newsletter here.

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Homebuyer Tax Credit Aftermath

If you didn’t manage to take advantage of the $8,000 first-time homebuyer or $6,500 homebuyer tax credits earlier this year, you may be thinking, “So, now what?”.  Some people may even be wondering whether buying a house is still worth it, or if renting makes more sense.

Room With A View

A good view can really add to the enjoyment of your home, not to mention to your property’s attractiveness in buyers’ eyes.  An unsightly view, on the other hand, can make you want to up and move, and pose a challenge to selling your property.  Here are some tips and tricks to help you accentuate the former and downplay the latter.

In Focus

As buyers tour prospective homes, there are certain aspects of the properties that stand out as key in swaying their decisions to buy–or not to buy.  Here are four areas of your home where you really need to impress.

Getting Over “The One”

Make the mistake of seeing a potential property as “the one” and you’re bound to overpay.  As well, you may miss out on the others you’d be better off buying.  Here are a few tips to help you avoid falling prey to thoughts of “the one”.

Trim Tips

Painting your home’s exterior trim is a great way to give it a facelift, be it for your own enjoyment or because you’re selling your home.  A laborious job, but key to ensuring a great first impression of your home, these tips will help ensure you’re satisfied with the results.

Read this month’s newsletter here.

For many homebuyers, figuring out the details of financing their purchase can be a daunting task. After all, a home is likely the largest purchase a person makes in their lifetime. One of the decisions to be made is whether to go with a standard or low down payment mortgage.

Tim McLaughlin, a senior vice president for Weichert Financial Services, offers these tips:

Amount of Cash On Hand and In Reserve. Standard mortgages require at least a 20 percent down payment, while with an FHA loan you can put down as little as 3.5 percent of the purchase price. If you go with a low down payment loan, you don’t have to invest as much of your money and can keep money in reserve to invest or to use for home improvements.

Private Mortgage Insurance. One of the drawbacks of a low down payment loan is that you will be required to obtain private mortgage insurance. This is a type of insurance that protects the lender against the possibility of you defaulting on the mortgage. It will add money to your monthly payment, but can be removed once the balance on your mortgage is less than 80 percent of the home’s purchase price.

Interest Rate. Many times, lenders offer a lower interest rate to borrowers who make larger down payments. Homebuyers need to weigh the cost of putting a small amount of money down, since monthly payments can be more if interest rates are higher.

Call me on my cell anytime at 609-462-3737 for more information or if you have any other real estate related need!

This month’s newsletter features articles on:

Smooth Selling

According to a Fannie Mae National Housing Survey conducted between December 2009 and January 2010, Americans are still optimistic about the benefits of home ownership. Despite a decrease in home values in many areas, a full 70 percent of survey participants still consider a home to be a strong investment, especially when compared to buying stocks, which only 17 percent of survey participants believe is a safe investment.

Green Wallpaper

Wallpaper is a great way to add color, pattern and teture to your walls.  Unfortunately, most wallpapers aren’t great for your home’s air quality or the environment.  zbut, with a growing number of eco-friendly alternatives available, wallpaper may be coming back in fashion.

FSBO UH-OH

If you’re thinking of selling your home yourself as a “FSBO”, think again, from a buyer’s perspective.  Buyers may be more hesitant to deal with sellers representing themselves than deal with those working with a professional real estate sales representative.

Two Perfect

You’ve narrowed the search for your next home down to two properties.  You like both equally in terms of price, teh properties themselves, and their locations.  So how do you choose one?

Enjoy a Summer “Staycation”!

Has the tough economy put a damper on your summer plans?  Not to worry.  With the following tips, you can transform your backyard into the perfect getaway destination.

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Navigating Choppy Real Estate Waters

Over the past couple of years, you may have heard of homeowners being “underwater” or “upside down” in their mortgages.  These terms refer to negative equity, when borrowers owe more on their mortgages than they are worth.

The Epicurean Center

What’s the recipe for a fabulous, functional kitchen?  This question is key whether you’re buying a new home, renovating your current one to make it more apealing to potential buyers, or enhancing it for your own enjoyment.

Avoiding Rejection

Few things are more heartbreaking than finding the perfect home for you, but then getting turned down for a mortgage.  By knowing some of the common reasons lenders reject otherwise qualified applicants, you can be proactive in avoiding them.

Buying or “Just Looking”?

Is your home on the market?  If so, it is important you know with whom you’re dealing as far as potential buyers are concerned.  Some types of buyers are less desirable than others….

Planting Perks

While the finished product is something to admire, the actual process of gardening offers may benefits to those willing to take the time to get down and dirty.

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Another great article by Tim McLaughlin, VP Weichert Financial Services

‘Q: On the market monitor you send out each week, you have a bunch of different economic releases on there. Which release is most important from a housing perspective and can give us a sense of which direction the market is going? Thank you.

A: We give a full sense of all the critical releases each week, as they all may impact Fixed Income directly and Mortgage Rates indirectly. In regards to your question, the index that is probably most relevant to the housing sector is the Case-Shiller Index.

The Case-Shiller Index was developed in the 1980s by three economists: Allan Weiss, Karl Case and Robert Shiller, and is distributed by Standard & Poor’s. (I guess Dr Weiss was out of the room when they were deciding on a name.)  The index includes foreclosures and is actually not one index, but a composite of 23 indices. The national home price index, which covers nine major census divisions, is calculated quarterly and published on the last Tuesday of February, May, August and November.

The 10 city composite index covers Boston, Chicago, Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Diego, San Francisco and Washington, DC. The 20 city composite index includes all of the above cities plus Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Dallas, Detroit, Minneapolis, Phoenix, Portland (Oregon), Seattle and Tampa. There are twenty individual metro area indexes for each of the cities listed above. The indices, aside from the national index, are published on the last Tuesday of each month at 9AM EST. There is a two month lag time in the data that is reported, so the report issued in May only covers home sales through March. Each index measures changes in the prices of single family, detached residences using a “repeat sales method”, which compares the arm length sale prices of the same properties over time (so there is no new construction). So it is a lagging indicator, but gives a good sense of where home prices are heading, directionally, nationwide.

Probably the second most import index is Pending Home Sales, which is slated for release next Tuesday. That gives us, on a lagging sense, which direction home sales are headed and also what type of ramp up percentage we are seeing in the industry nationally. There is also a New Home Sales index, but because of the ratio between Existing and New Homes, and because New Homes sales is that much more muted in the Northeast percentage wise, Existing Home Sales is more traditionally the focus for us.’

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Deal or No Deal?

The number of vacant properties in the US rose to 18.8 million last year.  With the range of properties available for immediate occupancy, many at reduced prices, good reason suggests that the purchase of a vacant property should be a ”good deal”.  But is it?

Clearing the Air

Your home is supposed to be a respite from the outside world.  But, surprisingly, when it comes to air quality, you’re often bettter off outside your home than in it.  To improve your home’s air quality, consider these tips.

Avoid Overpaying

Anyone who’s in the market for a new home is prepared to spend a lot of money.  But, of course, nobody wants to spend too much.  For tips to help you avoid overpaying for your next home, keep reading.

Your “Not To Do” List

Sometimes it’s a home’s condition or location that turns buyers away.  But, on occasion, it’s the very sellers themselves who put buyers off.  Don’t sabotage your own home sale:  Here’s a list of things NOT to do!

Top Priority

Spring is a popular time for making home improvements.  If you’re like many homeowners, you probably have a list of projects you need done.  But, with which do you start?

Read May’s Newsletter here

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Closing the Deal

A real estate transaction can be a complex process.  Closing costs alone can be a source of confusion for many homebuyers.  Luckily, the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act–the law that protects consumers by requiring lenders to give borrowers advance notice of all the costs involved in closing their property transaction–was revised at the beginning of 2010.

Buy Design

Maybe you don’t have the time or know-how to do it yourself.  Or perhaps you and your significant other simply can’t reconcile your disparate tastes.  Whatever your reason is for hiring a professional interior designer, here’s some advice to help make the experience a success.

Get The Edge

Spring is peak home-buying time.  You might be in the market for a new home this season–but so are a lot of other people.  To get a jump on your competition, here are a few things that you can do before beginning the home-hunting process.

Best Person for the Job

No one knows your home better than you, right?  But who’s the best person to determine what you should list your home for, to sell it in a reasonable time period?  A real estate sales representative, that’s who!

Water-Wise Plants

As time and water become every more precious, xeriscaping–landscaping that consumes fewer resources and requires less maintenance–is catching on.

Read April’s Newsletter here

This month’s newsletter features articles on:

Home Ownership: Just a Tax Credit Away!

As you may recall, Congress passed new legislation in the fall in an effort to stimulate the U.S. housing market.  The Extended Home Buyer Tax Credit can help both first time homebuyers and current homeowners in the following ways.

Make an Entrance

Your entryway is the first thing you and your guests — and potential buyers — see when entering your home.  To learn how to create a foyer that functions well and makes a great first impression, keep reading.

Get It In Writing

Spring is a popular time for home renovations.  To help minimize disputes with your contractor and ensure your project goes smoothly, your contract should include the following details.

Over Emotional

Buying a home is an emotional process — but sometimes our emotions get the better of us.  Below are four emotional mistakes homebuyers should be aware of.

New Light

Spring is almost here, and buyers will soon be out in full force, scouting prospective houses and neighborhoods — and not just during the day.  Here are some tips to boost your home’s nighttime curb appeal.

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Home Sweet…Investment Property?

The U.S. real estate market is changing faster than ever before.  Depending on your state, city and individual neighborhood, real estate prices may have dropped, increased or remained stable over the past few months.

Household Hazards

As we grow more conscientious about our health, our impact on the environment and how we spend our money, we become more choosy about the products we will — and will not — allow in our homes.  Here are five chemicals commonly found in household cleaning products that you are urged to avoid.

The Eyes Have It

Of all our five senses, sight has the greatest influence over a buyer’s decision to buy — or not to buy.  To make your home the apple of buyers’ eyes, appeal to their senses of sight.

Onward & Upward

Homeowners who are looking to move up have new considerations to make now, ones that they didn’t have as first-time buyers.  So for all move-up buyers, here’s some advice.

Read February’s newsletter here