With consumer confidence low and gas prices high, getting motivated to buy a Montclair home can be a challenge. This is especially true if you’re not sure about qualifying for a home mortgage. Just in case you haven’t heard, as a result of the sub-prime mortgage mess, qualifying for a new home loan in today’s Montclair real estate market is going to be a bit more challenging. All the more reason to connect with a trusted lending consultant and get pre-qualified. Provided your credit and finances are in order, now just might be the best time to buy Montclair real estate.

So When is the Perfect Time to Buy a Montclair Home?

If your finances are in order and current interest rates still attractive, the answer to your question is when you find the Montclair home you love that meets you needs.

1. How do you find the ideal Montclair area home? Fact find so you’re a smarter consumer,and locate a well-established Montclair real estate agent. Be sure to checkout the agent’s testimonials too!

2. Before you strikeout to start your Montclair house hunting venture, be sure you have listed your home buying wants and needs list. “Wants” are your desires in your next Montclair home. Needs are must-have features and amenities you can’t live without! Be sure to provide that list to your Montclair real estate agent.

3. Make sure you use MLS property search tools that are free of mandatory sign-ups demanding your name and email address. If the Montclair real estate agent’s website is demanding you provide your private information to search for Montclair homes for sale, leave the site and use a property search tool that is truly “free”.

4. When you have located your dream Montclair home, be aware that compromises are part of the negotiation process on the part of the buyer and the seller. When that occurs, you truly have a “win-win” scenario.

5. Even experienced buyers battle buyers’ remorse. Buying a Montclair home is an emotional event and everyone experiences some level of buyers’ remorse. You may linger in your remorse period for a couple of days but in time this too shall pass! If you have done your homework and secured a good value, no doubt you will be very happy with the decision you made.

What’s Your Feedback?

If you have recently purchase a Montclair home, leave a comment and let me know how your experience went.

Until my next post,

Your Montclair Real Estate Expert

Recognizing Our Troops and those who Serve and Protect!

It is most appropriate to recognize, remember and honor those members of the military who paid the ultimate price to protect our freedoms. In the same light, it is also important to show our appreciation to all members of all branches of the military and to those in public service who help provide the safety and security we enjoy in our community.

Buying Your First Montclair Home?

In case you were not aware, for members of the military who are looking to purchase a home in Montclair, you are offered special financing via the Veteran home loan program. In addition, members of NJ Police and Fire Departments are eligible for special Montclair home financing via the 4.67%, 30 year PBA fixed rate to all police officers and firefighters. Funds are limited for PBA loans and interest rates are due to reset in August. If you have questions about these types of special home financing products, be sure to leave a question or make a comment.

Helping you buy Montclair real estate easier and smarter,

Your Montclair Real Estate Expert

Montclair Home Features Buyers are Seeking

Below is list of standard features and amenities most wanted by Montclair home buyers.

• Separate shower enclosure in master/main bath and double sinks
• Walk-in closet in the master bedroom
• Garage (2 or more spaces)
• Cable/Satellite TV-ready
• High-speed Internet Access
• Backyard/play area
• Patio/deck
• Fenced in backyard
• Central Air Conditioning

Montclair Real Estate Luxury Buyers Want More!

Bare in mind, those who are classified as Montclair luxury home buyers will be seeking these features plus a few more exclusive touches in their next Essex County luxury home as well.

In my next post, I’ll share with you exactly what these finicky luxury buyers are looking in their next high-end Essex County luxury property.

Helping you buy and sell Montclair real estate smarter,

Your Montclair Real Estate Expert

• “Spa-like” master baths with heated tile floors and towel racks
• Multiple master suites
• Media room/home theater
• Private office(s) with built-in handcrafted cabinetry
• Mirrored work out area/ gym
• Solid-surface granite, marble or other unique countertops
• Custom built-in appliances including top of the line range and built-in refrigerator
• Custom carpets, hardwood floors, and/or stone floors
• HIgh quality lighting fixtures
• Superior quality hardwood cabinetry
• Multiple fireplaces throughout the home
• Outdoor living spaces including built-in wide screen TV, pool plus kitchen with high quality built-ins
• Mature landscaping with custom irrigation system
• Three car garage (minimum)
• Live-in quarters for maid/nanny

What features or other amenities were omitted that are a “must-have” for Montclair luxury home buyers?

Helping you buy and sell Montclair real estate smarter,

Your Montclair Real Estate Expert

The following story is from the Associated Press and was featured on Yahoo! News. We wanted to point out that despite our media’s portrayal of doom and gloom in the nation’s housing market, some light is shining on New Jersey.

Median home prices drop in many cities

By MARTIN CRUTSINGER

AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON – Median home prices fell in two-thirds of the cities surveyed during the first three months of this year while sales declined in 46 states compared to a year ago, according to the latest report highlighting the depth of the nation’s housing woes.

The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday that median prices for existing single-family homes dropped in 100 of 149 metropolitan areas in the January-March period, while 48 metropolitan areas saw price increases and one reported no change.

The 67 percent of cities reporting price declines was the largest percentage of cities reporting price drops in the history of the survey, which goes back to 1979. In the fourth quarter, prices had fallen in 36 percent of the cities surveyed.

Nationally, the median home price – the point where half the homes sold for more and half for less – fell to $196,300 in the first quarter, down by 7.7 percent from the same period a year ago.

The biggest percentage price decline by metro area was a 29.2 percent drop in the Sacramento, Calif., metro area.

Sales of existing homes were down in 46 states for the first three months of this year, compared to the same period a year ago. The largest percentage plunge was a 38.6 percent drop in Maryland during the first three months of this year compared with the same period in 2007. Only Alaska, Indiana and New Jersey reported sales increases during the survey period.

Nationally, sales fell by 22.2 percent in the first quarter compared with the same period a year ago.

The steep declines in prices and sales were the latest indication of the problems facing the housing market, which is in a prolonged slump that has contributed to pushing the country to the edge of a recession.

Analysts blamed much of the problem in the first quarter on soaring mortgage foreclosures which are dumping more homes on an already glutted market and the credit squeeze, which has made it hard to obtain so-called jumbo loans to purchase higher-priced properties.

“These are highly unusual results because there were very few jumbo loan originations in the latest quarter, so sales are much slower in high-cost areas, and at the same time foreclosures related to subprime mortgages rose,” said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the Realtors.

While subprime loans, which were made to borrowers with weak credit histories, account for 10 percent of all homeowners, they make up more than half of all foreclosures, Yun said. “Sharp price declines are principally in neighborhoods where subprime lending has been widely prevalent,” he said.

Many analysts believe that prices will continue to fall for the rest of this year until the inventory of unsold homes gets worked down to a more manageable level.

“The bottom line is that construction spending and house prices seem likely to continue to decline well into 2009,” Janet Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said in a speech Tuesday.

Of the 48 metropolitan areas reporting price increases, the largest percentage price gain occurred in the Binghamton, N.Y., area where the median price rose by 11.8 percent from a year ago to $109,700. Peoria, Ill., was next with a 10.4 percent price increase followed by Spartanburg, S.C., with a 10.1 percent increase.

By region of the country, prices were up 3.2 percent in the Northeast from a year ago but down in all other regions of the country. The region with the biggest price drop was the West, down 12.3 percent, followed by declines of 7.9 percent in the Midwest and 7.5 percent in the South.

1. If your credit scores are not pristine, go to work on repairing them. As a result of the recent mortgage mess, mortgage qualification rules by lenders are stricter. Therefore, it is important you “polish” up your credit rating
2. I recommend you pay off your bills. Possessing many high interest rate credit cards will make the challenge of buying a Montclair home even more difficult
3. Reduce your spending and save for your down payment and closing cost
4. Take the bus or the train and save on gas (and save the environment too)
5. Instead of going out to eat, stay at home to eat your meals (home cooked meals are actually better for you)
6. When you have enough money put away, get pre-qualified for your mortgage before searching for Montclair real estate
7. Become familiar with the Montclair real estate process
8. Be a smarter Essex County home buyer by getting to know the lay of the land in the Montclair area

Select the Right Montclair Real Estate Agent!

Because buying a Montclair home requires the resources and skills of an experienced Montclair real estate agent, who you choose to be your agent is very important. Leave a comment or contact me, Chris Lane if your ready to begin your Montclair home buying journey.

Until my next post,

Chris

1. Essex County homes take longer to sell on the mls
2. There are more Montclair homes on the market now than last year this time
3. More homes have to make a price adjustment (lower) than in the past
4. Essex County new home builders have reduced their inventory due to the current market conditions

Montclair Real Estate Sellers- Here’s What you Can Do

I get asked that question all the time. Here are the top factors to keep in mind before you list your Montclair home:

• Do your homework first. Become an educated Montclair home seller and checkout what is going on in your neighborhood. Use the market tools on my website to be an informed Montclair area home seller.
• Select the right Montclair real estate agent and make sure you fit with that person.
• To maximize the sale of your Montclair home, clean-clean-clean. Make all repairs before you list. Stage your home.
• Last but certainly not least – Price your home correctly! Most Montclair homes priced accurately normally sale within 2%-5% of list price.

Montclair Home Seller’s Aren’t the Only Ones

A good dose of reality is needed by Montclair home buyers too! If you have thoughts of coming in and “stealing” an Essex County property, you too will be disappointed. Our market is not in a desperation mode, so get those ideas out of your head that you can “clean-up” here in Montclair, NJ.

Be the first to comment,

Chris

1. Create impeccable curb appeal. You must get them to stop – look and enter – your front door! Mow the lawn, trim the shrubs, weed the flower beds and add new mulch.
2. Haul away any adult play toys including boats, RVs, motorcycles, PWCs, anything that takes up space in your driveway and makes your home’s curb appeal less than inviting. Park them at a storage facility.
3. Clean – clean – clean. Power wash the drive, the exterior and the gutters.
4. Make the entrance to your home magnetic. If you have a porch or stoop, de-cluttered and add a splashof color with a potted plant.
5. Inside your Montclair home, make sure it is “white-glove” clean. Every nook and cranny must shine! Cabinets, walls (touch up paint applied where needed), and the floors/carpet all must sparkle.
6. Target your bathrooms and the kitchen! Organize and de-cluttered these rooms. Remember this – great kitchens sell homes. Updated appliances, cabinets with ample storage and solid surface counter-tops all help sale your Montclair home.
7. Remove all vestiges of your personal items and collectibles. It is imperative your buyers be able to visualize their belongings in your space.
8. Create islands of comfort with your furniture. Furniture groupings are the best way to create character and room flow in your Montclair home!

Have a Question About Montclair Home Staging?

Like to know more about preparing your Montclair home for the Essex County real estate market and setting the right stage? Make a comment or leave your email address and we will answer all of your Montclair home staging questions. If you have any concerns about leaving your email address, your right to privacy is our primary concern. We promise we will never sale, rent or share your contact information with any third party.

Until my next post,

Chris

The Big Question – When Should You File a Claim?

There is no hard and fast rule when to submit a claim against your Montclair homeowners’ insurance. The most accurate answer I can provide is “it depends“. Most Montclair homeowners haven’t a “C.L.U.E.^®” when is the appropriate time to file a claim. Most instinctively file a claim for the most mundane issues without thought for the consequences. Yes, filing multiple claims can have a consequence and each incident is captured by a clearing house called Choice Trust (the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange) much in the same way CarFax assimilates the reasons why you car was repaired after a claim was filed.

Information Gathered by the Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange Clearing House

Because each situation is based on your unique set of circumstances, items that impact if you should file a claim can be pertain to things like; when was the last time you filed a claim. How many claims you have filed for your home? What was the reason for filing the claim? Different answers to those questions present a different answer as to whether you are better off filing a claim, or handling the situation yourself and NOT filing the claim.

The Importance of the C.L.U.E. Database

Insurers increasingly are using this C.L.U.E. industry database to determine if they should drop or deny coverage based on your Montclair home’s history of claims or damage reports. Insurance companies are especially fearful of rising losses from water damage and mold infestation. It’s possible a single claim for a water-related problem in your Essex County home may be enough for insurers to refuse coverage for your home.

Water-related Claims – Be sure to Know When to Pay Out of Pocket

It is recommended you give serious consideration whether or not to make a water-related claim against your homeowner’s insurance policy, especially if you plan to sell your Montclair home in the next few years. It’s possible you would be better off paying to repair the problem yourself rather having your home be labeled as high risk.

Do You Have Questions About the CLUE Report?

If you have any questions about this important aspect of selling Montclair real estate, be the first to comment.

Until my next post,

Chris

For those thinking about relocating to Montclair and other prospective home buyers, you might be asking yourself, What is there to do in the greater Montclair area?  The best way to answer the question is to find out what you enjoy doing during your limited leisure time. Here in Essex County attending the theater and experiencing live performances rate high on the list of how our clients want to spend their precious time. Towns in Essex County not only provide easy access to Manhattan and NYC via the MidTown Direct Train, but offer a wealth of nearby theatrical, musical and cultural events to choose from.

Local Venues in Essex County

In Montclair on Bloomfield Avenue there’s Luna Stage. Entering its 15th season, this year’s offerings include Death of a Salesman and Treasure Island. The Paper Mill Playhouse, designated the Official State Theater of New Jersey, presents professional productions of classic musicals and plays and develops new musicals. Among the highlights of the 2007 08 season are Steel Magnolias, Little Shop of Horrors, The Miracle Workers and the holiday classic, The Nutcracker.

Entertainment for Every Taste!

NJPAC is celebrating its tenth anniversary. Located in Newark, the Center brings the best of Broadway close to home. This season’s offerings include performances by Kathy Griffin, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and many more not-to-be-missed talent. Montclair State University sponsors a Major Theater Series on campus. Local theater troupes abound.

More Entertainment Value in Essex County, NJ

The South Orange Performing Arts Center offers an eclectic program of comedy, classical, contemporary and jazz music and holiday and family performances. All time favorite Phoebe Snow performs this spring. With all this local entertainment value, there’s more than enough to keep you and your family in Essex County this spring!

Are You Considering a Move to Montclair, NJ?

Montclair real estate remains incredibly attractive and now is a terrific time to buy! If you are thinking about relocating to Essex County and one of our wonderful communities, we are here to answer your questions about life here in here in our piece of heaven here on earth.

Until my next post,

Chris