With limited selection of active adult communities in the Mercer County area Pulte Homes offers a price point starting in the low 300K that’s very attractive with the perfect square footage. If you don’t like multi-story condos or going over the 400K mark this is the right property for you. Near convenient shopping centers and 5 minute drive to Hamilton Train station. Keep in mind builders are giving away incentives such as free upgrades and other options to new home owners in today’s market.  Don’t let interest rates pass you by. For showings call 609.964.4494 ask for Ryan.

		Crosswick From: $304,490 1400 Square Feet 2 Bedrooms 2 Full Bathrooms 0 Half Bathrooms
		Abbott From: $305,490 1300 Square Feet 2 Bedrooms 2 Full Bathrooms 0 Half Bathrooms

In a slowing market, sellers can find it tempting to believe in magic solutions. With unsold inventories growing in most areas, some sellers resort to offering flashy incentives for buyers. Everything from big-screen TV’s to vacation packages are being tacked onto listings in the hope of luring in interested buyers.

In truth no amount of flash or gimmickry will change how buyers feel about your home’s core qualities, but incentives that appeal to a buyer’s wallet can be effective in certain situations. Below are some buyer’s incentives that may help set your home apart from the rest:

Paying Points - The current housing slump has placed mortgage concerns in the minds of many buyers. Sellers who offer to pay mortgage points for the buyer (sometimes referred to as “buying down the mortgage”) are more likely to attract buyers who are nervous about their monthly payments or interest rate. Each point you pay equals 1 percent of the loan amount, so mortgage buy downs lower both the interest rate and the monthly payment.

Down-Payment Aid - One of the biggest hurdles for many homebuyers, especially first-time homebuyers, is the down payment. Help with the down payment may in many cases be more important to the buyer than the actual asking price itself. This incentive works well for those selling “starter” homes that are more likely to draw first time homebuyers.

Closing Costs Help - Legal fees, title insurance, filing fees - closing costs can add up in a hurry for buyers, typically totaling somewhere between 2 and 7 percent of the total loan amount. Sellers who offer to assist with the closing costs will appeal to cash buyers short on cash

Home Warranty - Including a year (or two) of home warranty coverage serves as a peace of mind for the buyer that they won’t have to foot the bill for unexpected repairs in the first year or two of ownership. Most policies include service to the home’s HVAC, interior plumbing, appliances and major fixtures. The low cost of home warranties (typically a few hundred dollars) makes them a low risk-high reward incentive to offer.

Maintenance Fees - Some features of a home that you may consider “selling points” (pool, hot tub, sauna, gas fireplace, AC system, etc) can actually seem like detractions to buyers due to their related maintenance costs. You can assuage a buyer’s concerns by offering to pay for the first year’s worth of maintenance.

Landscaping - Offering to spring for a few additional landscape features can be a nice way to let buyers add personal touches to the property without taking on personal expense. Keep in mind that adding such touches on before putting the home on the market may have a greater impact (provided, of course that your landscaping choices aren’t woefully misguided).

Condo/Homeowner’s Association Fees - In a condominium complex or planned community, homeowner’s dues add to the monthly cost of ownership. If the first year’s worth of dues are taken care of by the seller, potential buyers have one less early-expense to worry about.

Price Reduction - Price reductions don’t usually come to mind when discussing incentive strategies, but really no single factor is more important than the asking price. A well-timed price reduction can indicate to buyers that you are flexible and serious about selling the home.

Upgrades - In most cases major home repairs and touch ups should be completed prior to putting the listing on the market. However, offering to finance certain aesthetic changes, such as new exterior or interior paint, can be marketed as a means for the buyer to add their own personal touch to the home.

Extras - If you’re going to offer a “throw-in” as an incentive, why not tailor the offer to the charms of your home? For example, the antique hutch that perfectly compliments your entryway might be included in the list price. If you’ve invested time and money in a prized back deck, including a premium gas grill could be a logical pairing. Buyers often view wild incentive offers with skepticism, but “thoughtful throw-ins” don’t carry the same air of desperation.

You want to know where people are migrating to this FALL/SPRING?

LOOK AT THE AT THE STAGGERING NUMBERS FOR RALEIGH NORTH CAROLINA! - A lot of Home For the $

I did a search for ‘real estate’ and noticed a spike in searches for North Carolina. I knew about this
but wanted to see how the current credit squeeze came into play. Looks as if people are selling
and moving down south. Word of mouth catches on like wildfire and its true North Carolina is very
cheap. Many people who live in New Jersey and New York are comfortable where they live.
Some want change and thats okay! Majority of us need to stay near or close to nyc to pay for our cost
of living.

If you want to buy this late fall/winter is your best bet!

• Least demand

• Adjustable mort’s most will refi into a fixed rate this ’08

• market looks to be steady in ‘09

Look for 8-12% off from the current asking another 2-5% in the winter if it hasn’t sold that’s my guestimate!

# of Searches Per Day on Google

raleigh north carolina real estate9,154.5/day ->>80,000 searches in August
orlando real estate6,237.0/day
charlotte north carolina real estate5,498.4/day
los angeles ca real estate4,866.5/day
atlanta georgia real estate4,426.6/day
houston texas real estate4,271.4/day
new york ny real estate3,962.7/day
real estate fort lauderdale fl3,745.2/day
jacksonville florida real estate3,734.7/day

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Click on pins to see Blue Ribbon Schools. Some developments are zoned for certain schools.

Have you ever thought about buying an active adult community home? There are many nice communities in mercer county however they’re selling like hot cakes! Many baby boomers are retiring and they are tired of mowing the lawn, going up and down the stairs, maintaining a big house, and the mucho dinero taxes. In active adult community homes your able to have everything accessible on the first floor. Usually the second floor will accommodate a 3rd bedroom loft or extra storage place. This extra loft can amount up to $30,000 more in options but I think is well worth it for those special guests and ofcourse resale value! For lawn care, garbage disposal, and usage of the club house comes a price but that will depend on the community. The homestead rebate checks on property taxes are even better. Since the market took a tumble the past few years builders are adding upgrades for free and slashing those prices for a quick turnaround. There is another option if you don’t mind square footage and that would be the condominium path. This could put extra dollars in your pocket and help with monthly expenses. Usually they will start in the upper 100’s to around 200 range. To name a few builders in the area is Sharbell, Robert Douglas, and Toll Brothers.  If you need assistance email me.

They are slowly but surely rebuilding this part of Trenton. This 29,000 Sq feet complex on Centre st. will be turned upside down into a luxury loft complex with corridors, gardens, driveways and wireless garage door openers. They will be preserving most of the building. The complex is 2 blocks from Sovereign Bank arena and the river. Some of the units are hidden within’ the complex so you won’t see them from the outside. All of them have unique floor plans and some will have balconies, vaulted/cathedral ceilings, skylights - it really depends which unit. Go to: http://www.TrentonFerry.com and check out the floorplans. Expected arrival of the complex is sept./oct ‘08. The preconstruction prices are really attractive because state is helping fund the project so it’s a win-win for everyone!

Sounds silly but when your home is on the MLS it’s being viewed by many buyers nationally. When your home is ready to be put on the market you need the right angle and the proper color combinations. See the difference?  Staging a home is vital in order to sell your home in today’s market.

BEFORE

AFTER

As you may already know with all the rah rah about sub prime loans defaulting and big banks losing billions - banks are tightening loan guidelines. If your going to borrow with a high loan to value 90%+ you must have solid credit 700+. You can check by going to 1 of the 3 credit agencies. To get an accurate score check all 3 and pick the middle score. The alt-a and sub prime loan (bad-okay credit) divisions of many big mortgage companies are shutting their doors down because of the greed the past few years and now they are paying a hefty price. I’m sure there are other companies out there who are willing to lend at high risk but beware of high interest rates and points that you pay at closing. If your going to do 100% financing make sure the property will appraise for that much or the loan won’t close.

***Make sure your loan officer is being compensated only on the loan being funded. Loan officer’s should not be making money on the ‘yield spread’ the percent they give you vs. the actual rate sheet percent or points given you have excellent credit. Always ask about the back end the points you don’t see until closing. 1 point is about 1 percent of the loan which can buy down the rate.

Let’s take the conventional 30 year fixed at 6.25% including real estate taxes excluding insurance & HOA.

Examples:

• 600,000 purchase price with 20% down w/$10K taxes/yr - 2955+834 = $3,789/month
  @ 100% financing = $4,528/month
• 300,000 purchase price with 20% down w/$5K taxes/yr - 1477+417 = $1,894/month
  @ 100% financing = $2,265/month

These beautiful sub divisions have been around since 1986. Some parts of Hampshire have been built since the late 80’s and for most in the early 90’s. Ashford in my opinion is the nicer of the three. Depending on what you are looking for they all offer unique floor plans. The icons you see are current homes on the market. Since many of you know Plainsboro is one of the best school districts in New Jersey being a Blue Ribbon. I have personally lived in Plainsboro for almost 20 years of my life and have attended WWPHS when there was just one. Since the demand for Real Estate and population grew it just made sense to build a north and south. There are two shopping centers off Plainsboro Rd. But you will see Sharbell is developing apart of the town for more stores and restaurants. There are many single family homes in the area but nowhere near the prices of 300-400K. These townhomes have a lot of character and since Ashford has only 1 property on the market this tells you how great these homes are in this development. If you don’t know Plainsboro is located in Middlesex county bordering Mercer. Accessibility to Route 1 and Turnpike are minutes away.

The home icons you see on the pic are from 400K-500K range 3+ bedroom. If you go to http://www.Walkscore.com the property locations in that area behind Palmer Square score an 86/100. The reason is because there is a huge concentration of shops & restaurants within’ close walking distance. You still can get away from driving living near njtransit bus line stops if your further away. There are no other friendly walkable areas in Mercer County than what Princeton offers.
The score indicates-

• 70 - 90 = Very Walkable: It’s possible to get by without owning a car.

Here are the benefits according to WalkScore:

Walkable neighborhoods offer surprising benefits to our health, the environment, and our communities.

Better health: A study in Washington State found that the average resident of a pedestrian-friendly neighborhood weighs 7 pounds less than someone who lives in a sprawling neighborhood¹. Residents of walkable neighborhoods drive less and suffer fewer car accidents, a leading cause of death between the ages of 15 - 45.

Reduction in greenhouse gas: Cars are a leading cause of global warming. Your feet are zero pollution transportation machines.

More transportation options: Compact neighborhoods tend to have higher population density, which leads to more public transportation options and bicycle infrastructure. Not only is taking the bus cheaper than driving, but riding a bus is ten times safer than driving a car²!

Increased social capital: Walking increases social capital by promoting face-to-face interaction with your neighbors. Studies have shown that for each 10 minutes a person spends in a daily car commute, time spent in community activities falls by 10 percent³.

Stronger local businesses: Dense, walkable neighborhoods provide local businesses with the foot traffic they need to thrive. It’s easier for pedestrians to shop at many stores on one trip, since they don’t need to drive between destinations.