New Jersey Real Estate Blog - NJ Homes Site

Whether you work out of a home office or not, you should consider additional steps to secure your home. Even small steps may save you from a break-in: Burglars usually leave if they can’t break in within ninety seconds. Anything that slows down a thief by even a minute or two can keep your house from being robbed. Here are just a few tips to take to safeguard your home and belongings:

• Your home should have deadbolts with full one-inch bolts on all entry doors. These should be installed in addition to existing locksets. If you have a door with glass panels within three feet of the lock, you should have a double-cylinder deadbolt, which requires a key on both sides so that a burglar cannot simply break the glass and reach through to unlock the door.


• If you must provide copies of your keys to housekeepers, contractors or other workers, be sure to give as few keys as possible—for example, just one key that opens one door. If you terminate a worker who has your key, consider changing the lock, even if you get your key back.


• Place a wooden rod in the track of a sliding glass door so it can’t be opened from outside. To prevent sliding doors from being lifted from their frames, install shims along the top frames; these fit in the tracks between the top of the door and frame and prevent the door from being raised high enough to be removed.


• Pay special attention to your basement windows. Bushes or trees may hide these windows, providing a place for criminals to work without being seen. Consider reinforcing the windows with security bars, wire mesh or Plexiglas®.


• Burglars prefer to work in the dark. Leave porch and garage lights on while you sleep. Also consider installing motion-detector lights if you live in a high-crime area or near a highway.


• Prune any shrubbery that hides doors or windows. Remove tree limbs that allow access to reach second story windows.


• The first thing a burglar looks for is a hidden key, and is well acquainted with the hiding places. If you insist on hiding a key, never hide it anywhere near the entrance. More important, never leave a revealing note on the door.


• Keep garage windows covered. If you have an attached garage, make sure the door that connects your house to the garage is a solid core exterior door with a deadbolt lock.


The Home Safety Council has a wealth of information on making your home safer. Visit their Web site at www.mysafehome.org and get a personalized checklist to meet your personal home safety needs.

On August 6, 2009, Governor Jon Corzine signed S-702 law. This new law, which NJAR® supported, authorizes the creation of a new energy efficiency construction code to establish enhanced energy-saving construction requirements, the added cost of which may reasonably be recovered through energy conservation over a period of not more than seven years. The legislation also authorizes the Board of Public utilities to offer down payment assistance to the buyers of new homes meeting the new energy code requirements.

In addition, the Governor also signed S-250 into law, which applies a statute of limitations to residential foreclosures. Under this new law, a residential foreclosure can not take place after:

• Six years from the last mortgage payment or the mortgage’s maturity date.
• Thirty-six years from when the mortgage was either recorded or executed.
• Twenty years from the date when the debtor defaulted on the mortgage.

A buyer should always be present on an inspection. Discussing notable defects as well as good craftsmanship and high end quality materials is time well spent between inspector and buyer. Keeping the buyer well informed, both verbally and in writing, will make for a happy client.

Labels: buyer

On June 25, 2009, the New Jersey Legislature approved the fiscal year (FY) 2010 budget. The upcoming year’s $29 billion spending plan includes more than $400 million in unexpected revenue from the tax amnesty program. The windfall was used to restore some property tax relief programs.

Due to NJAR®’s extremely successful advocacy efforts and our membership’s participation in the Call to Action, we were able to protect the ability for households earning as much as $250,000 to deduct their property taxes from their state income tax filings. Households earning less than $150,000 will be able to deduct as much as $10,000, while households earning between $150,000 and $250,000 annually will be able to deduct up to $5,000.

The windfall will also be used to provide property tax rebates for households earning up to $75,000. Despite the unexpected revenue from the tax amnesty program, to account for an $8 billion shortfall, the budget reduces government programs and increases a variety of taxes. Some of the tax increases in the budget include:

• An extension of the 4% corporate business tax that was set to expire July 1, 2009


• A 25% increase on alcohol, excluding beer


• An income tax surcharge on households earning more than $400,000


• A 1.35% increase on certain health care insurance premiums

NJAR® remains displeased about the passage of the budget because it reduces or eliminates the ability of certain households to deduct their property taxes from their income tax filings. However, the partial restoration of the deduction represents a major legislative victory for the Association in one of the most difficult budget sessions in recent history. NJAR® will redouble its effort to ensure the critical deduction is completely restored in next year’s budget. Visit NJAR® ’s FY 2010 budget webpage to read the full details of the budget.

Other legislation that was passed in the budget session includes the “New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009.” The bill, A4048, sponsored by Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D5) and Senator Raymond Lesniak (D20) suspends the 2.5% non-residential fee on commercial development. The legislation stipulates that the fee is suspended through July 1, 2010 as a way to promote economic development. In a case that a project is pending approval by a governing board before the July deadline, the fee will be suspended as long as the permits are issued by January 1, 2013.

DONOVAN ANNOUNCES RECOVERY ACT'S HOMEBUYER TAX CREDIT CAN IMMEDIATELY HELP THOUSANDS OF FIRST-TIME HOMEBUYERS TO BUY A HOME

FHA plan will stimulate new home sales and help stabilize housing market
WASHINGTON - Speaking to the National Association of Home Builders Spring Board of Directors Meeting, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan today announced that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) will allow homebuyers to apply the Obama Administration's new $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit toward the purchase costs of a FHA-insured home. Donovan said that today's action will help stabilize the nation's housing market by stimulating home sales across the country.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 offers homebuyers a tax credit of up to $8,000 for purchasing their first home. Families can only access this credit after filing their tax returns with the IRS. Today's announcement details FHA's rules allowing state Housing Finance Agencies and certain non-profits to "monetize" up to the full amount of the tax credit (depending on the amount of the mortgage) so that borrowers can immediately apply the funds toward their down payments. Home buyers using FHA-approved lenders can apply the tax credit to their down payment in excess of 3.5 percent of appraised value or their closing costs, which can help achieve a lower interest rate. To read the FHA's new mortgagee letter, visit HUD's website.

"We believe this is a real win for everyone," said Donovan. "Today, the Obama Administration is taking another important step toward accelerating the recovery of the nation's housing market. Families will now be able to apply their anticipated tax credit toward their home purchase right away. At the same time we are putting safeguards in place to ensure that consumers will be protected from unscrupulous lenders. What we're doing today will not only help these families to purchase their first home but will present an enormous benefit for communities struggling to deal with an oversupply of housing."

Currently, borrowers applying for an FHA-insured mortgage are required to make a minimum 3.5 percent downpayment on the purchase of their home. Current law does not permit approved lenders to monetize the tax credit to meet the required 3.5 percent minimum down payment, but, under the terms of today's announcement, lenders can now monetize the tax credit for use as additional down payment, or for other closing costs, which can help achieve a lower interest rate. Buyers financing through state Housing Finance Agencies and certain non-profits will be able to use the tax credit for their downpayments via secondary financing provided by the HFA or non-profit. In addition to the borrower's own cash investment, FHA allows parents, employers and other governmental entities to contribute towards the downpayment. Today's action permits the first-time homebuyer's anticipated tax credit under the Recovery Act to be applied toward the family's home purchase right away. Unlike seller-funded down-payment assistance, which was a vehicle for abuse, this program will allow homebuyers to shop for the best home price and services using their anticipated tax credit.

According to estimates by the National Association of Home Builders, the Administration's homebuyer tax credit will stimulate 160,000 home sales across the nation - 101,000 of which will be first-time buyers who will receive the credit. Another 59,000 existing homeowners will be able to buy another home because a first-time buyer purchased their home. Given FHA's current market share, it's estimated that thousands of families will be able to purchase a home by allowing the anticipated tax credit to be applied toward their purchase together with an FHA-insured mortgage.

Homebuyers should beware of mortgage scams and carefully compare benefits and costs when seeking out tax credit monetization services. Programs will vary from organization to organization and borrowers should consider whether the services make sense for them, as well as what company offers the most suitable and affordable option.

For every FHA borrower who is assisted through the tax credit program, FHA will collect the name and employer identification number of the organization providing the service as well as associated fees and charges. FHA will use this information to track the business closely and will refer any questionable practices to the appropriate regulatory agencies, as necessary.

Labels: buyer

From the NY Times:

THE rental market in New Jersey, which up to now has only grown stronger as the sales market declined, is finally showing its own signs of weakness.

And what that means, of course, is that renters are now in a stronger position to get deals.

Average monthly rents are dipping around the state, according to market analysts, as well as some of the more candid building owners.

Also, incentives — like a month or two of free rent — are more commonly available, even at some of the nicest and newest buildings, some of them originally designed to be high-priced condominiums.

In Edgewater, where Savanna Partners put $100 million into converting the Peninsula at City Place from rental to condo just two years ago, units are now being offered as rentals again — with two months free on a 14-month lease.
…
At a building in downtown Red Bank called the Metropolitan, which opened last year as a 37-unit condominium and switched to rental in late March after only seven sales, a month-free-rent deal quickly drew 15 tenants.
…
In more suburban Saddle Brook, a rental complex at 140 Mayhill opened in January and is doing well — 90 of 158 units leased (with a month-free-rent option) — but definitely not as well as it would have done even last year, according to the builder, the Value Companies.

“We’ve noticed ‘vacancy creep’ across northern New Jersey,” said Jonathan Moore, a vice president at the Value Companies, which owns 3,500 apartments in four states. “Where it used to always be 99 percent occupancy, now you see 96, 95, 94.”

Value is offering renter incentives at about half its properties, according to Mr. Moore.
…
Statewide, the average rent dipped 1.2 percent in the first three months of the year, according to the real estate investment firm Marcus & Millichap, which found that in 2008, the average rent was up 2.2 percent. The company predicted that for this year, the decline would be 3 percent, to $1,229 per month.

Other estimates of current rental trends vary — some say the average rent decline is more than 1.2 percent so far this year, and the Otteau Valuation Group says it is less — but the overall opinion is that the market is weakening.

Meanwhile, more new units will be added to the market this year than last, according to market analysts — about 2,250 in 2009, versus 1,950 in 2008.

Labels: renters

Strong buyer activity in the lower price ranges helped drive an increase in existing-home sales in April, according to the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR). Single-family, townhome, condominium, and co-op sales increased 2.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.68 million units. The national median existing-home price for all housing types was $170,200, a decrease of 15.4 percent below 2008.

Labels: buyer, seller