Naasa Sherbeini

Getting It Sold

September 13, 2011 By Naasa Sherbeini Leave a Comment

You are selling your home. Maybe you are transferring to a new location due to employment, or you are retiring. Maybe you decided to sell your home in order to get a larger and more suitable one. You choose your Real Estate Agent and become your agent’s partner. By working hand in hand with your Real Estate Agent you can insure a buyer chooses your home over the one for sale a short distance from you.

Your price must be realistically. Your agent can supply comparable listings for homes currently on the market and recently sold. This will help you determine a reasonable selling price. This will attract possible buyers, but not assure a sale.
Clean up. Start with the outside. Good impressions last. The first things that the possible buyer will see are the sheds, fencing, yard, garage and garden. Maybe the lawn needs mowing or tools needs to be picked up. Make sure the pool is clean. Tidy up the pet area.
Inside your home make sure the walls, ceilings, windows, doors and flooring are clean. Gleaming windows look good. Move and clean under and behind large appliances. Clean out under the sinks. Attend to the carpets, drapes and throw rugs. Remove and store large items not being sold with the home such as safes and outdoor grills. Empty trash cans daily.
Make it easy for buyers to picture their family living in the home. Since you will most likely be moving soon, remove family photos, awards and diplomas, religious symbols and the children’s art work. Keep your home simple. Turn of the television and loud music when buyers are present.
Encourage your spouse and children to help get your home ready to sell. It will be easy to keep the clean on a daily basis. Ask your Real Estate Agent to notify you 30 minutes before coming with the possible buyers in order to do a last minute clean up.

Be casual, welcoming, and charming to the potential buyers. This will have a positive impact and something that will cause your property to remain in the buyers mind.

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Filed Under: Buying Real Estate, Cranford, Featured, Home Maintenance, Real Estate, Real Estate Market Tagged With: buying a home, family fun, home maintenance, selling a home, Westfield, westfield nj

Buy Your First Home in A Year

June 8, 2011 By Naasa Sherbeini Leave a Comment

Thinking of buying your first home? Well it will help to have a game plan and that is exactly what Liz Puliam Weston, of MSN Money, has put together for making your dream come true in one year.

Check this video out, provided by MSN Real Estate.

Buy Your First Home in A Year

Naasa

Naasa Sherbeini

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Filed Under: Buying Real Estate, Cranford, Fanwood, Homes for Sale, Mountainside, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Scotch Plains, Westfield Tagged With: buying a home, first time home owner, Westfield, westfield nj

Should You Rent or Buy in This Market?

June 2, 2011 By Naasa Sherbeini Leave a Comment

To buy, or to rent; that is the burning question. Here is a great post by the KCM Crew on what three professionals, outside of the real estate sales, have to say on whether now is the time to buy, or the time to rent.

Families are trying to determine whether or not now is the time to buy a home. Some are advising these families to sit out the current real estate market and instead rent for the next year or two. We do not agree with this advice. Homeownership means a lot to a family. We also realize that the financial aspects of purchasing a home today can be a concern. The challenge is any advice given by someone in the real estate community is immediately dismissed as self-serving.

For this reason, we want to give you the advice of three entities not involved in real estate sales:

Citigroup

“When we examine the relationships between mortgage payments and income and mortgage payments and rent, we see that these relationships have also reverted back to or below equilibrium points. In some cases, particularly when mortgage payments are compared to the cost of renting, home prices actually appear cheap.”

JP Morgan

“JPMorgan analysts said ‘the continuation of falling rental vacancies and rising rental demand will make home buying increasingly attractive’, especially as rental prices increase.”

Business School professors Eli Beracha and Ken H. Johnson

“Fundamental drivers now appear to be in place that favor homeownership over renting in the near term future…

The second finding might seem unwise to many given the recent crash in the real estate markets around the country. However, rent-to-price ratios now seem to be in place along with other fundamental drivers that favor ownership over renting…

Conditions (historically low mortgage rates and relatively low rent-to-price ratios) now seem in place to favor future purchases.”

What do you think?

Naasa

Naasa Sherbeini

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Filed Under: Buying Real Estate, Cranford, Fanwood, Featured, Homes for Sale, Mountainside, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Real Estate Market, Scotch Plains, Westfield Tagged With: buying a home, pricing, renting, Westfield, westfield nj, Westfield real estate

Ways to Cash In On Your Home for Retirement

May 24, 2011 By Naasa Sherbeini Leave a Comment

According to research done by the Society of Actuaries, only about 20% of homeowners plan to use their home equity to help finance retirement. Of those who do, few have thought about ways to tap their home’s value and simply plan to sell it to generate retirement money.

Here are 4 tips from MSN Real Estate on ways to cash in on your home:

Reverse mortgage. This allows you to tap the equity in your home and stay there as long as you want, if you can continue paying property taxes, home insurance premiums and maintenance expenses.
Downsize housing expenses. That smart housing move for retirees is simply that – a move to a smaller home and perhaps in a different state or country that offers sharply lower living costs.
Mortgage-interest tax break. Interest payments on your home are still tax-deductible. You can deduct interest paid on home-equity loans as well.
Nontaxable home-sale gains. For a couple, up to $500,000 in gains on the sale of your current home are tax-free. Although there are some stipulations; you must have lived in the home for two of the past five years.

As you can see, there are many ways to cash in on your home, other than the simple sale of it. Retirement is suppose to be an enjoyable time, so why not gather all the money you can so you can relax.

Naasa

Naasa Sherbeini

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Filed Under: Capital Gains, Cranford, Fanwood, Featured, Mountainside, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Scotch Plains, Taxes, Westfield Tagged With: retirement, selling a home, Westfield, westfield nj

Spring Garden Guide – Get Working Now!

May 17, 2011 By Naasa Sherbeini Leave a Comment

Now is the time to do some spring clean up, and that includes in the yard and garden. Here are some handy spring garden tips to get you started, provided by Chiff.com:

Re-seed bare or damaged patches of lawn. Scratch up the soil with a rake first, mix a shovel of soil with a couple scoops of grass seed and spread in the patch you’re fixing. Rake level and keep well-watered until seeds germinate and the new grass establishes.
Transplant any existing shrubs you want to move before they begin to leaf out.
Weeds start growing vigorously early, so when you spot them, go to it. Getting on top of weeding now means a lot less work later.
Get your lawn mower checked and its blades sharpened if you didn’t get the job done in late winter. Sharp blades cut better and leave your lawn healthier.
Replant any perennials that the frost has heaved out of the ground as soon as you can.
Cut back any remaining dead perennial foliage from last season.
Cut back ornamental grasses to about 10 inches from the ground.
Grass growth is vigorous in the early spring garden, so edge your flower beds with a sharp trench between them and the grass to keep it in bounds. Repeat this a couple of times through the season, or installing permanent edging goes a long way towards having a lower maintenance flower garden.

Naasa

Naasa Sherbeini

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Filed Under: Cranford, Fanwood, Home Maintenance, Mountainside, Scotch Plains, Westfield Tagged With: gardening, home maintenance, spring gardening tips

5 Reasons You Should Consider Selling NOW

May 12, 2011 By Naasa Sherbeini Leave a Comment

The KCM Crew has compiled a list of 5 reasons you should consider selling now rather than later if you plan to move in 2011. Here they are:

1.) This is when your house will get the most exposure

The spring, and particularly the month of May, is when most buyers enter the real estate market. This surge of buyers dramatically increases the exposure for your house . The best chance of getting quality offers (perhaps even multiple offers) is RIGHT NOW!

2.) Foreclosures and short sales will increase in about 90 days

The good news is that the number of people paying their mortgage on time is increasing. This will lead to less distressed property sales later this year and throughout 2012. The not-so-good news is that there is still a large inventory of existing foreclosures and short sales that will still be coming to market.

As an example, LPS reported in their latest Mortgage Monitor that:

There are still twice as many loans going 90+ days delinquent as are starting foreclosure
There are almost three times the number of foreclosure starts as there are foreclosure sales
Distressed property inventory levels are almost 45 times the rate of monthly foreclosure sales

This means that there is a backlog of properties which will start coming to the market in about 90 days as banks clear up their paperwork challenges. These properties sell at dramatic discounts. They will be your competition. Both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have recently discussed the magnitude of this challenge.

3.) Interest rates have risen over the last six months

Interest rates have stabilized recently. However, in the last six months, interest rates have climbed over 1/2%. Every time the rates increase 1/4%, approximately 250,000 buyers are eliminated from qualifying for a mortgage. In an environment of volatile rates, waiting could mean that there will be fewer buyers eligible to purchase your house. It also could mean that you will pay a higher rate on the next home you buy.

4.) Qualifying for a mortgage is about to get even more difficult

Besides increasing rates, there are other factors that will hinder a buyer’s ability to qualify for a mortgage as we move forward. Lending standards have been getting tighter over the last year. And as the government debates the new proposed guidelines (QRM), banks are gearing up for even more stringent standards.

Morgan Stanley recently stated:

“Recent developments in issues such as GSE reform, Dodd-Frank securitization rules, and foreclosure settlement issues suggest a tighter and more expensive environment for mortgage credit.”

This may impact any potential purchaser for your property and may also impact your next purchase.

5.) It’s time to get on with your life

Probably the most important reason to sell is so you can get on with your life. You placed your home on the market for a reason. Do not allow a less-than-stellar housing market prevent you from reaching your goals as an individual or as a family. Think about the reasons you decided to move in the first place. Are these reasons still important to you? If you have to take less than you were originally hoping to get for your house, your family has a question to ask each other: Is the dollar difference in sales price worth putting off our plans? Only you and your family know the answer to that question.

Ultimately it is up to you if you feel it is the right time to sell or not. But consider these 5 reasons when you begin to make your decision!

Naasa

Naasa Sherbeini

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Filed Under: Buying Real Estate, Cranford, Fanwood, Featured, Homes for Sale, Mountainside, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Scotch Plains, Westfield Tagged With: reasons to sell, selling a home, Westfield, westfield nj, Westfield real estate

8 Reasons to Invest in Your Home

May 10, 2011 By Naasa Sherbeini Leave a Comment

If you’re planning on staying in your home for at least the next five years, improving your home now is a smart move.

Here are 8 reasons why now would be the time to remodel, provided by the editors of Money Magazine on Money.CNN.com.

Funding is cheap. Today’s historically low interest rates mean that most home-equity lines of credit are charging their floor rates. And with the typical bank account and money fund paying far less than 1%, taking money from your savings barely costs you anything in lost income. But be sure not to jeopardize your safety cushion.
Eager contractors are discounting. Although the construction industry has rebounded somewhat over the past year, the best pros in town will happily bid on your job, and even offer you prices 10% to 20% below what you would have paid when the real estate market was at a high.
Materials have come down. The cost of building supplies has also tumbled; plywood is down 23% since its peak in the mid-2000s. Drywall is off 29% and framing lumber 35%. Although not all supply prices have fallen significantly, overall construction supplies are bargains right now.
You’ll cut your energy costs. You will see energy savings from a renovation, even if you don’t hire a green builder. For example, a standard kitchen remodel could cut your utility expenses by $400 a year thanks to new insulation, windows and appliance. Even though such savings each year will not come close to the money invested in the remodel, you can think of your lower electric and heating bills as an annual dividend.
Fixing up costs less than trading up.With home prices down it’s easy to think that now is an opportune time to trade up for the new master bathroom or other modern feature you may want. After all, isn’t is easier to buy somebody else’s remodeling at a discount? Not so much. You can’t assume you will automatically sell your own home in a tough market, nor can you assume that you will find the home with every feature you are looking for.
You can keep that sub-5% mortgage. As long as your credit is still afloat, you’ve probably been able to take advantage of recent rock-bottom interest rates to lock in a fixed-rate mortgage at a low percentage. If you can remodel your way into staying put long term, you’ll be able to hold on to that “once-in-a-lifetime rate.”
Smart projects still add value. The rule of thumb for gauging the potential payback from a home improvement is simple: If you’re bringing your house in line with similar homes in the area, you’ll most likely earn back the lion’s share of the cost when you sell. If you’re surpassing the neighborhood, you probably won’t.
You get to enjoy the results. Sadly when it comes time to sell your home, you will probably have to make an upgrade or two somewhere. This will add a huge amount of stress to the process of putting a house on the market and you will still end up spending the money. But if you remodel/upgrade while you plan to stay for a while, you will get to enjoy the benefits of these new upgrades.

Home improvements should be made as investment decisions, not in hopes of making a profit. If you plan to stay a while, and can afford the costs, remodeling will be money well spent.

Naasa

Naasa Sherbeini

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Filed Under: Cranford, Fanwood, Featured, Home Maintenance, Mountainside, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Scotch Plains, Westfield Tagged With: home improvement, home investing, Westfield

10 Biggest Real Estate Mistakes

May 3, 2011 By Naasa Sherbeini Leave a Comment

HGTV brough together some of the top real estate experts to compile a list of some of the biggest mistakes people make while buying and selling a home. Here are 10 of them:

Buying a house for its decor. Keep in mind that you are buying the house, not the things that are inside it. Look beyond the decorations and at thebones of the home; focus on the floor plan and the square footage. Think of how your belongings are going to fit into the space and go from there.
Not researching the neighborhood. It’s critical that you research the neighborhood before you buy. Check the area out, its surroundings, amenities and school system to be sure that your address corresponds with the correct school district. Remember, you’re not just buying a house, you are buying a piece of that real estate and the land around it.
Treating real estate like the stock market. When the real estate market is hot and is appreciating really fast, people tend to look at it like it’s the stock market. But in reality, real estate is nothing like the stock market; when you invest in real estate, you really need to take a long-term approach.
Not thinking real estate. When you begin to renovate or redecorate your home, you need to be causious of what is going to appeal to a broad section of buyers for when it comes time to sell. Think of being in the real estate market like a game of chess: You always want to look two or three steps ahead in the game before making your move.
Not hiring an agent. Wouldn’t it be easy if all there was to selling real estate was putting a sign in your front lawn? Unfortunately that is not the case. If you don’t have an agent, you will not get on the multiple-listing service (MLS). That means other agents are not going to know that your property is for sale. An agent will be there to guide you through the process and make sure all the loose ends are tied up.
Not setting a realistic budget. Just because the bank pre-qualifies you for a loan amount of $400,000 doesn’t mean that’s what you have to spend or what you can afford. Before beginning your house hunt, you should sit down and make a monthly budget of what you spend every month. From that, come up with a number you are comfortable spending on your mortgage payment.
Visiting the house only once. When you find a house you like, it is important to visit it more than once and at different times during the day. A neighborhood may be different during the day than it is at night.
Skipping the loan pre-approval. When a bank pre-approves you, the bank is saying “we will give you a mortgage of up to this amount, so now all you have to do is find your home.” Skipping this process may prevent you from being able to view a home because some sellers only allow real estate agents to show their house if that person has a pre-approved letter. This indicates that the buyer is actually serious about buying a home.
Buying a home without a professional inspection. Home inspections can reveal alot of things about a property that are not visible to the naked eye. Hire someone who comes iwth a good referral basis, who’s been in the business a while and knows what to look for.
Buying what you want, not what you need. Take a good look at the space you are already living in. It will help you realize what you have been missing and what you need in your next home. Make a list of your needs, not just your wants, and then ask your agent to start shopping based specifically on those needs.

More mistakes…

Naasa

Naasa Sherbeini

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Filed Under: Buying Real Estate, Cranford, Fanwood, Home Maintenance, Mountainside, Real Estate, Real Estate Market, Scotch Plains, Westfield Tagged With: buying a home, real estate mistakes, selling a home, Westfield, westfield nj

7 Ways to Increase Your Curb Appeal

April 28, 2011 By Naasa Sherbeini Leave a Comment

Has your home been on the market for a while now? Are you starting to feel some dispair? Well have no fear! Here are 7 great tips to increase your home’s curb appeal, provided by MSN Real Estate:

Start the power washer. Winter is finally over and your home has probably taken quite the beating from it. Rent or borrow a power washer and give the exterior of your home a good cleaning.
Clean out flower beds. Although you may not have flowers coming up in your beds yet, still make sure that they are presentable. Trim dormant ornamental grasses and hostas to the ground, and clean out any leaves and sticks that piled up in the winter.
Trim branches. If you haven’t already done so, go out on the street and make sure that no shrubs or low hanging tree branches block the view of your house. You want potential buyers to get a clear look at the house as they drive by or approach it.
Prune flowering shrubs. Flowering shrubs should be pruned after they’ve flowered. It’s important to shape these shrubs for the best visual effect, but hold off until their flowers have faded; this will keep the plant healthy and give you – or hopefully the next homeowner – more buds next year.
Plant in containers. It may still be too cold in your part of the county to put annuals in the bed, but you can add life and color to your yard with container gardening. Buy some colorful pots and fill them with vibrant flowers. Place them on the front porch, going down your front steps or even in your flower beds.
Look at your gutters. Take a look upstairs. If you have leaves and sticks hanging out of your gutters from winter storms, drag out the ladder and clean them out. Dirty gutters are an eyesore to potential buyers.
Add mulch. Mulch always looks a bit sad after winter; it gets spread around and blown about. Adding a thick new layer of mulch can work wonders for your home’s curb appeal.

Naasa

Naasa Sherbeini

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Filed Under: Cranford, Fanwood, Home Maintenance, Homes for Sale, Mountainside, Real Estate, Scotch Plains, Westfield Tagged With: curb appeal, home maintenance, selling a home, Westfield, westfield nj

What Do Homeowners Have to Say About Homeownership?

April 26, 2011 By Naasa Sherbeini Leave a Comment

Here’s a great post from the KCM Group on what homeowners are saying about homeownership. There has been three major surveys done this year that will shed some light on how homeowners feel after the collapse of the residential market in the last five years:

The National Housing Survey

This survey conducted by Fannie Mae showed:

96% of all homeowners said homeownership has been a positive experience.
64% consider buying a home as a safe investment. Buying a home was considered safer than buying stocks by over three times the number of people (64% vs 17%).

The top four reasons to buy:

It means having a good place to raise children and provide a good education
You have a physical structure where you and your family feel safe
It allows you to have more space for your family
It gives you control over what you do with your living space (renovations & updates)

American Attitudes About Home Ownership

According to this survey conducted by Harris Interactive for the National Association of Realtors, home owners believe that home ownership benefits individuals and families and strengthens our communities.

The vast majority of home owners say that owning a home is a smart decision over the long term. Even in today’s challenging economy, 95% of owners believe that over a period of several years, it makes more sense to own a home.

Home owners are much more likely to be satisfied with the quality of their family and community life than renters. While more than half of owners (56%) are “very” or “extremely” satisfied with the overall quality of their family life, only about one-third (36%) of renters report the same levels of satisfaction. Also, 43% of home owners are “very” or “extremely” satisfied with their community life, compared with 30% of renters.

An overwhelming majority of home owners are happy with their decision to own a home. A full 93% of owners surveyed would buy again.

Pew Research Center Survey

This recent survey titled “Home Sweet Home. Still” delves into homeowners’ current belief in homeownership as a long term investment:

Homeowners whose home value has fallen only a little are equally enthusiastic about housing as a long-term investment: 85% say buying a home is the best long-term investment a person can make. Among those who say their home has maintained it value or increased in value, 88% agree…

Even those who have seen their home values plummet are still committed to the idea that buying a home is a solid, long-term investment. Among those who say their home has lost a lot of its value, 80% agree that buying a home is the best long-term investment (36% strongly agree, 44% agree somewhat).

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Filed Under: Buying Real Estate, Cranford, Fanwood, Featured, Mountainside, Real Estate, Real Estate Investing, Scotch Plains, Westfield Tagged With: homeowners, homeownership, Westfield, westfield nj

Getting It Sold

Buy Your First Home in A Year

Should You Rent or Buy in This Market?

Citigroup

JP Morgan

Business School professors Eli Beracha and Ken H. Johnson

Ways to Cash In On Your Home for Retirement

Spring Garden Guide – Get Working Now!

5 Reasons You Should Consider Selling NOW

2.) Foreclosures and short sales will increase in about 90 days

3.) Interest rates have risen over the last six months

4.) Qualifying for a mortgage is about to get even more difficult

5.) It’s time to get on with your life

8 Reasons to Invest in Your Home

10 Biggest Real Estate Mistakes

7 Ways to Increase Your Curb Appeal

What Do Homeowners Have to Say About Homeownership?

The National Housing Survey

American Attitudes About Home Ownership

Pew Research Center Survey

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2.) Foreclosures and short sales will increase in about 90 days

3.) Interest rates have risen over the last six months

4.) Qualifying for a mortgage is about to get even more difficult

5.) It’s time to get on with your life

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