On November 8th the Star Ledger printed a positive article regarding home buying, financing and programs to help buyers obtain financing in these troubled times:
http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2008/11/more_people_using_programs_to.html
Since we all could use a little good news and guidance, take a look and let me know what you think or if you have any questions on how to make your home buying dream a reality!
All my best,
Trish Giassa
201-960-2090
Friday, November 14, 2008
TOP 10 REASONS TO BUY A HOME BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR
Yes, it's scary out there ... but every cloud has a silver lining. The fact is that our communities are very viable and offer the timeless worthwhile features that everyone wants for their community. Good schools, charming towns, lots of parks, easy commute to the country's major employement center (NYC), wonderful neighbors, great shopping and health care. We've got it all. Now prices for our beautiful homes are even reasonable!
It is a very good time to be a buyer of a home. Below are some of the reasons why:
1. Sellers who list during the holidays are serious and are more likely to make a deal!
2. There are fewer buyers looking at this time of the year – competition for the best homes will be less than in the spring!
3. Sellers who have their homes on the market during the holiday season generally want to close by year end and so they are very motivated to consider your offer!
4. Interest rates are low now, and there are good loan programs available. A rise in interest rates and/or changes in lending guidelines can seriously erode your buying power!
5. You can buy now, and get the year end “deal”, but specify a delayed closing or extended occupancy - after the new year.
6. When you buy now you are positioning yourself to begin taking advantage of tax deductions for the entire next year.
7. The Fed has been lowering rates for the last year, and mortgage rates are close to historic lows. It is widely anticipated that they will need to start raising rates next year, making monthly payments more expensive.
8. The sooner you stop paying rent that increases your landlord’s equity, the sooner you start building your own equity.
9. It may be a good time to move your money out of a volatile stock and bond market and put it in the proven best investment, REAL PROPERTY.
10. Many sellers need to close before the end of the year for financial and tax reasons.
For listings that meet your criteria, send me an email to Trish@BestNJhomes.com with that criteria. Then you can see for yourself whether there is something to get excited about!
Looking forward to helping you achieve your homeownership dream!
Trish :)
It is a very good time to be a buyer of a home. Below are some of the reasons why:
1. Sellers who list during the holidays are serious and are more likely to make a deal!
2. There are fewer buyers looking at this time of the year – competition for the best homes will be less than in the spring!
3. Sellers who have their homes on the market during the holiday season generally want to close by year end and so they are very motivated to consider your offer!
4. Interest rates are low now, and there are good loan programs available. A rise in interest rates and/or changes in lending guidelines can seriously erode your buying power!
5. You can buy now, and get the year end “deal”, but specify a delayed closing or extended occupancy - after the new year.
6. When you buy now you are positioning yourself to begin taking advantage of tax deductions for the entire next year.
7. The Fed has been lowering rates for the last year, and mortgage rates are close to historic lows. It is widely anticipated that they will need to start raising rates next year, making monthly payments more expensive.
8. The sooner you stop paying rent that increases your landlord’s equity, the sooner you start building your own equity.
9. It may be a good time to move your money out of a volatile stock and bond market and put it in the proven best investment, REAL PROPERTY.
10. Many sellers need to close before the end of the year for financial and tax reasons.
For listings that meet your criteria, send me an email to Trish@BestNJhomes.com with that criteria. Then you can see for yourself whether there is something to get excited about!
Looking forward to helping you achieve your homeownership dream!
Trish :)
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Spotlight on Millburn and Short Hills, N.J.
The historical town of Millburn N.J. is a place with connections. Despite splitting from the town of Springfield in 1857, Millburn is intrinsically attached to many other neighboring communities in the region. Although Millburn’s inclusion in the Midtown Direct service of the NJ Transit train line bypasses Hoboken, the service allows commuters a short convenient trip to Jersey City or Manhattan as well as to the towns of Summit, Chatham, Madison, and Maplewood.
In reality, Millburn comes as part of a package deal: the Short Hills (which is not its own town but a beautiful section of Millburn) lie to the north with many luxury homes and mansions; to the south, the Millburn section possesses many affordable houses. The township, which supports a bustling population of 19,765 and 7,158 housing units, has 143 vacant housing units awaiting future residents.
The Short Hills area imparts its name to the acclaimed shopping center, the Mall at Short Hills. Besides housing stores for the retail giants Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue, the eponymous mall is known for many fine stores including the fashionable Anthropologie and the tasteful Williams and Sonoma.
The Millburn section offers a variety of reasonable houses in a refreshing range of styles: Victorian, Tudor, Cape Cod, colonials, and 1950s ranches. Additionally, Millburn's central business district blooms along Millburn Avenue and Main Street with many banks, boutiques, beauty salons, antique stores, and over 130 establishments that serve food including half a dozen ice cream parlors.
Both regions share town services as well as a well regarded school district. In 2008, New Jersey Monthly’s annual rankings of New Jersey high schools awarded the top spot to Millburn High School. With 22 advanced-placement courses in history, mathematics, the sciences, foreign languages, literature, English, and music available at Millburn high school, it is no surprise that 97% of graduating seniors will continue their education. In fact, 74% of the adult population in Millburn possesses a post-secondary school degree.
In short, Millburn is not only a place to make connections; it’s a great place in which to live.
In reality, Millburn comes as part of a package deal: the Short Hills (which is not its own town but a beautiful section of Millburn) lie to the north with many luxury homes and mansions; to the south, the Millburn section possesses many affordable houses. The township, which supports a bustling population of 19,765 and 7,158 housing units, has 143 vacant housing units awaiting future residents.
The Short Hills area imparts its name to the acclaimed shopping center, the Mall at Short Hills. Besides housing stores for the retail giants Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Macy’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue, the eponymous mall is known for many fine stores including the fashionable Anthropologie and the tasteful Williams and Sonoma.
The Millburn section offers a variety of reasonable houses in a refreshing range of styles: Victorian, Tudor, Cape Cod, colonials, and 1950s ranches. Additionally, Millburn's central business district blooms along Millburn Avenue and Main Street with many banks, boutiques, beauty salons, antique stores, and over 130 establishments that serve food including half a dozen ice cream parlors.
Both regions share town services as well as a well regarded school district. In 2008, New Jersey Monthly’s annual rankings of New Jersey high schools awarded the top spot to Millburn High School. With 22 advanced-placement courses in history, mathematics, the sciences, foreign languages, literature, English, and music available at Millburn high school, it is no surprise that 97% of graduating seniors will continue their education. In fact, 74% of the adult population in Millburn possesses a post-secondary school degree.
In short, Millburn is not only a place to make connections; it’s a great place in which to live.
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Spotlight on Madison, NJ
Madison is a ‘rose’ of a New Jersey town in bloom for all seasons. Madison is a town of history, culture, fantastic shopping, and fine dining.
Nicknamed “The Rose City,” Madison began as “Bottle Hill” in 1715 under colonial rule. In 1806, Chatham Township was formed to include the villages of the current Madison, Chatham, and Florham Park. The name of the village was changed to Madison in 1834 and eventually seceded from Chatham Township in 1889, adopting a borough form of government.
Located on the Morristown Line with trains heading to Hoboken and to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan, the Madison train station provides residents with the ability to make the daily commute to NYC easy or to visit the Big Apple for a show, dinner or weekend.
Besides the local movie theater, yoga studio, and newly renovated Madison YMCA, there are many places to go in Madison, quite a few of which are located at Drew University, a highly rated liberal arts college with notable graduate programs. Drew University (http://www.drew.edu/) , affectionately known as “The Forest” for its arboreal abundance, has many events open to the public throughout the year. Currently on the campus are several remarkable activities, including “Faces of Africa” Sculpture and Wall Hangings, a free art exhibit currently is being held at the Korn Gallery, a production of “Romeo and Juliet” at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey located on the campus, and don’t forget to make an appointment for the Florence and Robert Zuck Arboretum, which contains many local flora and fauna including turtles, goldfish, catfish, and muskrats, and regular stops for migrating Canadian geese, ducks, and herons.
Prospective patrons are quite at home at the many shops in town, including wonderful bookstores such as Chatham Bookseller (http://www.abebooks.com/home/chathambookseller/) , a gem of a store for rare, used, and out-of-print books. In addition, Madison also has an antiques shop, nail salons, jewelry stores, a Whole Foods grocery store, and is within twenty minutes of the Livingston Mall and the Mall at Short Hills.
In terms of dining, Madison boasts numerous restaurants representing many diverse cultures from Italian fair, to classy Cajun cooking, to refined Asian cuisine. The Garlic Rose, (http://www.garlicrose.com/) a mainstay of Madison, features Italian food with a penchant for developing the personality of the pungent bulb for which it’s named. Pop’s may sound like a hole-in-the-wall but it introduces an air of refinement and personality to modern Creole cooking. Last but certainly not least, Shanghai Jazz (http://www.shanghaijazz.com/) connects East to West by bringing the utter coolness of a jazz bar to an edgy eclectic blend of Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese food. Shanghai Jazz features live jazz 6 days a week and was rated by Downbeat magazine as one of the top 100 jazz clubs in the world.
Whatever you’re in the mood for, whether it is a nice place to raise a family or fine shopping and dining, by any name, “The Rose City” is sweet. Visit the town’s website at http://www.rosenet.org/.
Nicknamed “The Rose City,” Madison began as “Bottle Hill” in 1715 under colonial rule. In 1806, Chatham Township was formed to include the villages of the current Madison, Chatham, and Florham Park. The name of the village was changed to Madison in 1834 and eventually seceded from Chatham Township in 1889, adopting a borough form of government.
Located on the Morristown Line with trains heading to Hoboken and to Penn Station in Midtown Manhattan, the Madison train station provides residents with the ability to make the daily commute to NYC easy or to visit the Big Apple for a show, dinner or weekend.
Besides the local movie theater, yoga studio, and newly renovated Madison YMCA, there are many places to go in Madison, quite a few of which are located at Drew University, a highly rated liberal arts college with notable graduate programs. Drew University (http://www.drew.edu/) , affectionately known as “The Forest” for its arboreal abundance, has many events open to the public throughout the year. Currently on the campus are several remarkable activities, including “Faces of Africa” Sculpture and Wall Hangings, a free art exhibit currently is being held at the Korn Gallery, a production of “Romeo and Juliet” at the Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey located on the campus, and don’t forget to make an appointment for the Florence and Robert Zuck Arboretum, which contains many local flora and fauna including turtles, goldfish, catfish, and muskrats, and regular stops for migrating Canadian geese, ducks, and herons.
Prospective patrons are quite at home at the many shops in town, including wonderful bookstores such as Chatham Bookseller (http://www.abebooks.com/home/chathambookseller/) , a gem of a store for rare, used, and out-of-print books. In addition, Madison also has an antiques shop, nail salons, jewelry stores, a Whole Foods grocery store, and is within twenty minutes of the Livingston Mall and the Mall at Short Hills.
In terms of dining, Madison boasts numerous restaurants representing many diverse cultures from Italian fair, to classy Cajun cooking, to refined Asian cuisine. The Garlic Rose, (http://www.garlicrose.com/) a mainstay of Madison, features Italian food with a penchant for developing the personality of the pungent bulb for which it’s named. Pop’s may sound like a hole-in-the-wall but it introduces an air of refinement and personality to modern Creole cooking. Last but certainly not least, Shanghai Jazz (http://www.shanghaijazz.com/) connects East to West by bringing the utter coolness of a jazz bar to an edgy eclectic blend of Chinese, Japanese, Thai and Vietnamese food. Shanghai Jazz features live jazz 6 days a week and was rated by Downbeat magazine as one of the top 100 jazz clubs in the world.
Whatever you’re in the mood for, whether it is a nice place to raise a family or fine shopping and dining, by any name, “The Rose City” is sweet. Visit the town’s website at http://www.rosenet.org/.
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