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Cherry Hill, NJ Real Estate News

By Joseph Cacciapaglia
(BMC Capital)
I realize that this article is about California and not Camden County, New Jersey, but I think that this is great news.  As the article states, California is often a good barometer for the nation's real estate market.  Hopefully we'll begin to see a rise in prices as well. Regardless of which direction prices go, if you want to get the best price for your home quickly, give me a call.  Joseph Cacciapaglia, MLERERealtor Associate®R&I Realty15 Potter StreetHaddonfield, NJ 08033Office: 856.795.3111 x268Cell: 979.218.2286Jcacci1@gmail.com  
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By Chrissy Doremus ~ US Inspect ~, Residential Property Inspections
(US Inspect)
It's still raining here in northern New Jersey—and seeing as though things don't look they like they are going let up anytime soon—I was in the mood for a follow-up to Monday's Watch and Learn rain-related post. With rain still on the brain, I have created the following Home Maintenance list of 10 Things To Do Around the House When It's Raining, including my number one tip: Watch and Learn, which as I previously mentioned, was the subject of Monday's post. Enjoy! Watch and Learn—Check the state of your gutters by safely observing their function during a steady rain. Are the gutters properly connected and functioning? When water leaves the downspouts, where does it go? Check to see that the grade is directed away from the foundation, properly sending water away from the home...More abou...
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By Joseph Cacciapaglia
(BMC Capital)
I just received a comment on my previous blog entry regarding Rent to Own transactions.  The question that was asked was whether or not real estate agents are required to be educated about rent to own transactions.  I thought that this was a great question, and unfortunately most agents are not educated about these transactions.  Actually, most agents don't want anything to do with these types of transactions because they believe that they have to delay their commission check.  This really is too bad because as I had mentioned in my earlier post, often Rent to Own is a great way for someone who has a blip on their credit to get back into home ownership sooner rather than later. Because most agents won't handle these transactions, many-would be tenant/buyers end up working directly with ...
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By Stephen Wible, 609-221-0921
(Keller Williams Realty)
From household cleaning supplies to clothing, everything is going green. The same goes for the real estate market. Many potential home buyers want eco-friendly South Jersey real estate. Before you simply buy a home that's touted as green, consider these few tips for finding a truly green home. 1.  Work with an expertIt may be difficult for you to figure out what criteria designate a green home. That's why it's important to seek out a green real estate professional whose main focus is to help you sort through fact from fiction in the green housing industry. 2.  Buy in an eco-friendly neighborhoodPurchasing green South Jersey real estate doesn't necessarily mean the location will be environmentally friendly. Unfortunately, buyers may not factor in this detail. If your neighborhood is in t...
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By Joseph Cacciapaglia
(BMC Capital)
I was speaking with a homeowner this past weekend about selling their house, and I brought up the topic of seller assisted financing.  In today's market, sellers should do anything and everything to make their home more attractive to the potential buyers out there.  A lot of homeowners, especially those in foreclosure, are unaware of this option and how it works.  Basically, if you have equity in your home, you can lend this equity to a buyer when they buy your house.  At the closing table you get a note and mortgage instead of getting all of your cash.  This works very well for sellers who are not buying a new home immediately, or sellers who would prefer money on a monthly basis instead of in one lump sum.  For many of my clients who are selling their homes due to foreclosure, and hav...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
  Tax Credit Alert - $8,000 to $15,000?? Will the flood gates open for home sales?  Through some news reports such as Bloomberg and other media outlets, those lawmakers in Congress are looking to change up the current $8,000 first time homebuyers tax credit that ends on November 31st, 2009. The new bill was introduced on June 10th, 2009, but pending. This could be some good news for more than just first time homebuyers. But I have a different opinion on just the basics, from raising the tax credit from $8,000 to $15,000. But what are the changes that are being talked about?     New proposed Tax Credit changes .... The tax credit of $8,000 would be raised to $15,000 They would take away the income restrictions. The current income caps are :  Single - $75,000 and Joint return - $150,000....
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By Joseph Cacciapaglia
(BMC Capital)
After my post last week about rent to own opportunities, I received some interesting questions that made me realize how many misconceptions there are out there about how these types of transactions work.  The most common one that I've come across is that many people believe that when they are purchasing a rent to own that 100% of their monthly rental payment is going towards the purchase price.  This is almost never the case.  Usually only the premium rent, which is over the market rental rate, is counted towards the final purchase price.  This is very similar to a mortgage payment where only a small amount of the monthly payment goes towards principle and the remainder is interest expense. I would like to point out that sometimes it is possible to get a much larger percent of the renta...
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By Joseph Cacciapaglia
(BMC Capital)
Again today I was working with a client who is selling there home in a short sale.  When we first listed his home for sale, he had plans to move in with family, but unfortunately that plan has changed.  I have worked with several homeowners in similar situations, and it is usually a challenge.  It is typically difficult to find rentals for a client with poor credit, which includes most short sale sellers.  Often the properties that landlords will rent to people with poor credit are in less then desirable areas, but this is not always the case. Lately though I have noticed that more and more there are investors out there who are offering Rent to Own properties in Cherry Hill and the sourrounding areas.  These investors are specifically looking for tenant/buyers who had previously had goo...
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I was just having a conversation with an out of state investor today about selling her property.  This property has been listed previously, but did not sell.  After viewing the property and speaking with the tenants, it is clear why the property didn't sell.  This home is in a very nice, primarily owner occupied neighborhood, but the level of finishes in the property were clearly chosen with renting in mind.  There isn't anything wrong with the property, everything has just been done with economics, not aesthetics in mind.  Unfortunately the previous agent priced the property using the owner occupied properties in the area as comparables.  For the most part this is the right thing to do, but there was no consideration taken for the quality of the finishes, or the fact that the buyer wou...
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I recently was discussing the purchase of a home in Cherry Hill, NJ with an investor.  The seller was behind on their mortgage and owed slightly more than the property was worth.  In this situation I would only be representing the buyer, but the seller would also be represented by a licensed agent.  The offer that was made was to purchase the for the amount owed, subject to the existing debt.  In this scenario the buyer would only bring enough cash for the closing costs.  The seller would receive no cash, and their mortgage would not be paid off.  The investor would sign a document agreeing to bring the mortgage current, and make regular monthly payments until the mortgage was paid in full.  However, the seller would still be obligated to pay the mortgage in the event that the investor ...
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I was just discussing the sale of a home in Cherry Hill, NJ that has been for sale for over a year.  The seller has used two different real estate companies to market the home, and both listing contracts have expired without recieving any offers.  The home is a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath with a garage in a nice area.  The home needs a little work, but I believe that the asking price reflects this quite well.  At first, I was baffeled.  Why hadn't this home sold?  It does have tenants, but their lease is month to month so a potential buyer could move right in after settlement.  The real problem, in my opinion, is that the current tenants make the property extremely difficult to show.  It took my 5 days and several phone calls to finally see the inside, and while I was there, there were 6 or 7 te...
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
    BUYER BEWARE of Tax Credit   The first time homebuyers tax credit of $8,000 has been approved by HUD for all FHA loans. But don't get too excited too quickly. If you get a chance to read the mortgagee letter, ML 2009-15, it states that you can't use this tax credit for the required down payment of 3.5%. HUD originally put out mortgagee letter 2009-15 on May 12th, but was rescinded the next day. Please read about that here : $8,000 tax credit rescinded by HUD. For some reason, it was prematurely placed on HUD's web site, but apparently wasn't finalized. Now we have a new version and if not read correctly, you could be putting misinformation out there. So what does the new mortgagee letter state?       Here is the positive part about the tax credit. You can receive the first time hom...
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By Joseph Cacciapaglia
(BMC Capital)
I attended an interesting real estate investment seminar yesterday.  The speaker was discussing Lease Options and Subject To's, and mentioned that these are two ways to sell your home in a slow market.  I have been involved in some of these types of transactions, but to be honest, I probably haven't brought the idea up to enough of my Seller clients. I don't think that I would ever recommend a Subject To, because it would subject my seller to undue risk, but I am planning to start discussing lease optioning my listings when it is in my clients best interest.  For those of you who are not familiar with this type of transaction, a lease option is when a prospective buyer agrees to lease the property for a given period of time and in conjunction with the lease buys an option on the propert...
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By Leander McClain, Cecil & Harford County Realtor
!Now Here This! This post is not a commercial for any particular book.  Yes, I happen to work for Keller Williams Realty.  Yes, Gary Keller wrote the book I am using for an illustration. (I do however think Shift by Gary Keller is a great book that every Realtor should have in his/her briefcase)....but I digress. This morning, I stopped by my local Office Max and they were able to cut off the original binding and insert a spiral binding.  Now you may be saying to yourself, WHY WOULD I WANT TO DO THAT?? I can tell you why.....you want to hear it?  Here it Go. 1.  allows you to open the book and lay it flat on the table (see picture #2) 2.  Allows you to fold the book so that you are looking at one page (instead of 2 in a traditional book).  The mind is funny, when you are looking at one ...
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If you've read any of my blog, you already know that I spend a lot of time dealing with short sales and foreclosures in South Jersey, but you may not know that I also work with a lot of sellers who are not distressed, but who have been unable to sell their homes due to the declining market.  You see because there are so many foreclosures and short sales in this area, and homes in these situations typically sell for less than market value, home prices in general have fallen.  This is because when a home is being appraised, the appraiser has to look at the most recent comparable homes that have sold, which are typically refered to as 'comparables'.  In our area, close to half of all home sales last year were sold by distressed homeowners or banks.  So, many of the comparables have sold fo...
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I missed this article a few weeks back, so I thought I would pass it along today just in case some of you missed it as well.  It's truly unfortunate that our area is associated with a national loan modification scam.  Unfortunately, I've heard similar stories from many homeowners all over New Jersey. Joseph Cacciapaglia, MLERERealtor Associate®R&I Realty15 Potter StreetHaddonfield, NJ 08033Office: 856.795.3111 x268Cell: 979.218.2286Jcacci1@gmail.com
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By Jeff Belonger, The FHA Expert - FHA Loans - FHA mortgages - USDA loans - VA Loans
( Social Media - Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc)
  The $8,000 first time homebuyers TAX CREDIT - HUD has saved the day. Well, okay, it saved it for a day. It's gone now, recinded, at least for now. Everything that you have been reading about yesterday, about FHA/HUD putting out mortgagee letter 2009-15, it's no longer there. Tom Burris had noticed this yesterday and I just got off the phone this morning with the HUD office. For reasons unknown, this letter, ML 09-15, has been taken off the self. Besides, I have my reasons to this and also felt that many of the blogs posted yesterday were incorrect. Here is why....         In regards to FHA loans, a borrower can only obtain monies for their actual downpayment of 3.5% by the following : Their own funds up to 100% of a gift from a relative/family member From the Federal, state, and loca...
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Okay, I know I just posted something about short sales this morning, but I was speaking with a homeowner just now, and it made it really clear to me that people really don't understand what's in it for them. This gentleman had opted to file for bankruptcy and as part of the process was able to keep his home. Now he is paying his monthly mortgage payment along with a reduced payment for his consumer debt. He is still struggling and would like to sell his home, but at this point it is unlikely that he would be approved for a short sale. This is really too bad. He owed about $50k more than the home was worth, so he is stuck. If he had done a short sale he would have unloaded that $50k in negative equity, but now he is stuck with a home that he won't be able to sell for years unless he brin...
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By Stephen Wible, 609-221-0921
(Keller Williams Realty)
Sometimes the motive for selling your home isn't about upsizing, it's about downsizing. Downsizing isn't necessarily about spending less money.  Just as frequently, it's about increasing your home's amenities while decreasing the work and responsibilities involved in a larger home. There are a lot of excellent reasons for downsizing your South Jersey home.   The kids have grown up and moved awayYou want less work inside and/or outYou just want to enjoy your home without hassleYou want something smaller and greener to save energy and the environmentYou want community amenities such as golf and tennisYou want luxuries like a granite countertop, stainless steel appliances, whirlpool tub, pool and spaYou want less responsibility so you're free to travel Downsizing is all about knowing what...
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By Stephen Wible, 609-221-0921
(Keller Williams Realty)
10 Things You Need to Know Before You Hire an Agent  Not all real estate agents are the same. If you decide to seek the help of an agent when selling or buying your home, you need some good information before you make any moves. Picking an agent is one of those critical issues that can cost or save you thousands of dollars. There are very specific questions you should be asking to ensure that you get the best representation for your needs. Some agents may prefer that you don't ask these questions, because the knowledge you'll gain from their honest answers will give you a very good idea about what outcome you can expect from using their services.And let's face it - in real estate, as in life, not all things are created equal.Hiring a real estate agent is just like any hiring process - ...
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