DONE: Opportunity to Support Mission Trip
News Flash - Rachel has raised all the support she needs to go on this mission trip from family and friends. Thanks!!! You can still give for the kids who have not raised their support yet.
My daughter Rachel, age 18, is going on a mission trip to Northern Ireland to Minister to other teenagers there. She will be there from late June to Early July. If needs to raise another $1000 to go. If you would like to contribute either send a check with “N Ireland - Rachel Gibson” in the memo and made out to Lincroft Bible Church. Mail your check to Lincroft Bible Church, 790 Newman Springs Road, Lincroft, New Jersey 07738 or use this ChipIn Widget to make your donation. Even if you can’t give, please remember Rachel, all the teens, and the leaders going on this trip in prayer.
Video Real Estate Questions and Answers
I am inviting you to post your real estate questions in this thread and I will answer them. You can post your question in text or you can post it as a video. click the Comments link below to post your question. Then if you want to post it as a video, click the “Add Video comment with” link near the seesmic icon: 
Photography is Number One
If you look at homes online you will quickly see that there is a bit of a crisis amoung real estate agents. A crisis of ommission and of commission. Many listings either do not have any or enough photos for an online buyer to get a feel for the home or the photos are so bad that they repel, instead of attract, buyers.
When choosing a real estate agent, you need to ask them about photography and ask to see the photos from previous listings.
On almost all of my listings, I use a professional photographer and a great virtual tour viewer. You can see a sample at http://170ElyHarmony.com.
Here is a Mineapolis agent talking about the need for good photos on a listing:
Loving Monmouth County
Why I love living in Monmouth County:
- The Ocean -
When I was a little girl we went “down the shore” for vacation every year for a week. We went Seaside Heights, which is in Ocean County, but that is still not far away from my home in Matawan.
All through my childhood, I have great memories of those yearly stays “down the shore.” The beach, the ocean, the boardwalk, the pizza, the Kohr’s Ice Cream (Custard), the rides, the shopping, Lunch at Sinns and much more.
Every time I visit the Ocean (about a 20 min drive from my house), I re-live many of those memories. Unfortunately, I don’t visit as often as I should. But it is still there, never changing. Whether I visit Sandy Hook, Long Branch, or Ocean Grove, it is a wonderful feeling. My dream is to own a beach house someday.
- Shopping -
Wow where do I start. You can shop at Monmouth Mall, Freehold Raceway Mall, or Seaview Square Mall. In the mood for small town shopping there is Red Bank, Matawan, Freehold, Spring Lake, and more.
- Eats -
Here is a good place to start, the Asbury Park Press Best of the Shore Awards. Here are the 2007 winners for Best Eating and Drinking. Say no more.
Put Some Humor in My Virtual Tours?
For those of you that don’t know, there is a blogging community site where agents network REALTOR® to REALTOR®. Recently they had a video contest and I was roaring with laughter when I watched the winning video by Mike Lefebrve. So here it is for you to enjoy:
Did you see it? He snuck a virtual tour in there. Love it.
Why You Need to Buy a Home Now
In Monmouth County New Jersey, the prices of homes have dropped and may drop a bit more. The media would have you think that the real estate market is BAD. Well it in not bad, it is a great time to buy. Prices have become much more affordable and interest rates are still at historic lows. The predictions are that rates will start to rise soon. So, let’s look at buying now vs. waiting a year.
Let’s say you can buy the house you want today for $400,000, you have a 20% down payment ($80,000) and you can get a loan at 6%. Your mortgage amount would be $320,000 and your payment would be $1919.
You feel that the price of the houses will go down, so you wait. Say a year from now the price goes down by 4%, which brings our example house down to $384,000. You put the same $80,000 down and your mortgage will be $304,000. But rates have risen and you get 6.5%, your payment is now $1921. You will actually be paying a higher payment for the same house that you could have moved into a year ago.
Wait another year and it is even worse. A rise in interest rate always makes a bigger difference in your payment than price.
So don’t wait, buy now. Your new home is waiting for you.
Selling Girl Scout Cookies
I was out walking the neighborhood with daughter number four, Kelly (you knew I had five girls, right? And a son-in-law.) Kelly is a Cadette Girl Scout with troop #819 in Hazlet. The girls are raising money for their troop activities including a trip to a dude ranch this year.
I am not a good cookie seller, the return on time spent is not good enough for me. It takes a long time to walk door to door selling those cookies. We were met with dogs and no answers. One dog tried to bite our feet off. That was as high as she could reach, she is a tiny pug.
I like electronic cookie selling. I send friends and relatives an email with a link to the girl scout cookie website, they email me back their order and I stay safe and dry in front of my computer.
If it is cookie time in your area, please support the Girl Scounts and enrich your pantry, too. Our council uses
Little Brownie Bakers. My favorites are thin mints and samoas.
Thanks for putting up with my cookie rant, it is a great break from contracts, short sales, virtual tours, attorney’s and inspections.
Have a great weekend.
Converting to Wordpress
I am in the process of converting my blog over to Wordpress. Some images may not show for a bit and I have not decorated yet. Like a vacant house waiting for the occupants to fully move in.
Sorry for the inconvenience.
Tracy
More Training in Short Sales
Last week I took another class in short sales. This is when the homeowner asks the bank to accept less than what is owed on a property as payment in full. They do this for a variety of reasons including:
- Being forced to sell their house in a down market, either because of missing payments, facing foreclosure, or they have been transferred and have been unable to sell their house for what is owed on it.
- Their house that needs extensive repairs and cannot sell for enough to cover the leins on the property.
I have had much training in short sales from the perspective of an investor who is buying the property direct from the homeowner and helping negotiate with the bank for the short sale.
A homeowner will get a better price for their house (and ultimately have a better chance that the bank will accept.) if they list it with a real estate agent and get a retail buyer. Someone who is buying a home will always be able to pay more than an investor who must include his profit and expenses in his offer price.
So, I am endeavoring to get as much training in handling short sales as possible.
The class I took was mostly what I already knew but I did get a few valuable tips and the reassurance that I have the knowledge to handle these types of transactions for my clients as an agent.
This Tuesday, there will be a lender giving a short sale class at our real estate office. I will periodically post tips for homeowners facing a short sale here, so keep watch for them.
So, if you know anyone in this situation, please refer them to me.
Matawan Special Election
There was a tie in the Mayoral election in Matawan. They will have a new vote tomorrow. So, if you are a Matawan resident, like I am, don’t forget to get out and vote.
