Wildwood beaches among the best in America.

The Travel Channel lists them among America’s Best Beaches and Conde Naste Traveler Magazine named one section the “Best Sports Beach”. The Wildwoods shore has even been listed by other publications as “Number One Family Beach”, “Best Beach In New Jersey”, and the ‘Top 10 Singles Beaches.” All this sun and fun comes at no cost, since unlike most other beaches along New Jersey’s 127-mile Atlantic Ocean shoreline, the Wildwoods Beaches are free.

Wildwood Beach and Boardwalk Experience.

Relax and enjoy the action as visitors pose in front of the giant Wildwoods sign. Visitors indulge themselves enjoying the ocean, playing on the 38-block boardwalk, dining elegantly or family style and taking in performances or dancing till morning at a dazzling array of night spots. After you take your children’s picture in front of the Wildwoods sign, the area offers, family fun with three giant water parks and exciting boardwalk amusement piers boasting more rides than Disneyland.

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Wildwood NJ Real Estate

Whether you’re buying or selling, there are a few key questions to ask an agent before saying, “You’re hired.” Before hiring a real estate agent, make sure to ask these questions:

1. How long have you been in the real estate business?
How long has this person been on the job (look for upward of a year), and were they full or part time? While experience is no guarantee of skill, real estate, like many other professions, is mostly learned on the job.

2. Are you a member of the National Association of Realtors?
This organization requires certain standards from its members, and you don’t want to worry about having a shady agent.

3. Are you a member of MLS?
This is the Multiple Listing Service, which gives agents access to houses represented by all agencies — not just their own. For sellers, this means your home will be posted on the list as well, which means more people will see it.

4. Do you work on weekends?
Since this is when most open houses take place, the answer to this should be yes.

5. Can you outline how you would represent us?
The answer should include your housing inspections, following through with your mortgage approval process, and being present at your closing.

6. Will you show me houses listed by other companies?
Double-check that the agent isn’t partial to his or her own realty group.

7. Are you familiar with our area?
You’ll want the agent to know the ins and outs of your community.

8. How many homes have you sold?
If you’re in the market to sell, find out how many homes they successfully sold last year. While those numbers may be low due to market activity over the past six months, it’s a good way to compare candidates.

9. What’s your business style?
Do you want a broker who calls you once a week or emails daily? Find out how the agent will keep you updated on prospects and inform them about your preferences

Cases
Guitar Rack

Question: How Can I Prepare My Home for Sale on a Budget?

A reader asks: “Our REALTOR® says we have enough equity in our home to make a small profit after selling (thank God), but he wants us to prepare the home for sale. He’s got some pretty grand ideas of what we should do to make it more attractive to buyers, but the truth is we don’t have enough money saved up to do everything he wants. He says the carpeting is dirty and should be replaced. Our kitchen counters have older tile, and he suggests we put in granite. Plus, he wants us to paint the entire house. My husband and I have about $3,000 to spend, and that’s it. How can I prepare my home for sale on a budget?”

Answer: All homes tend to sell for money after they are prepared properly for the market, and I would not let a small budget for home selling dissuade you. After all, in some areas such as the bathrooms, buyers spend about 2 seconds peeking into those rooms.
From the information you have given, I would suggest that you start on the outside. Ask a friend or neighbor to come over and give you objective advice. Because after you live in a home for a while, you might not see the things that will distract home buyers.

Home Selling on a Budget Starts With the Exterior

First impressions count. That’s why your yard needs to be inviting. Trim back the bushes and trees, especially if they block views from the windows and make your home difficult to see from the street. Here are a few other low-cost curb appeal improvements that you can do for less than $500:

•Keep the lawn mowed, preferably on the diagonal.
•Plant yellow flowers such as marigolds along the walk or by the front door. The color yellow sells.
•Wash the exterior windows.
•Paint or replace the front door and buy new hardware.
•Power spray the house to get rid of dirt and cobwebs.
•Buy a new welcome mat for the front steps.
•Paint or replace the mailbox.
•Paint your house number on the curb or buy a plaque displaying your house number and install near the entry.
•Wash or replace a front porch light fixture.

Remove Excess Clutter and Furniture

Many homes contain too much furniture. You may benefit from removing 2 to 3 pieces of furniture from each room. Less furniture will make the rooms appear bigger. You can pay about $100 a month to place the furniture into storage or simply stack it neatly in the garage for free.

•Remove all personal photographs from tables and walls. Patch holes in the walls or hang non-personalized artwork over the existing nails.
•Pack up your bookcases (you’re going to move anyway).
•Clean out the closets and store non-essential items.
•Rearrange your kitchen pantry, kitchen cabinets and bedroom closets in an orderly manner.

Thoroughly Clean the House Before Selling

You can hire a professional cleaning crew for about $300 or do it yourself for free. Be sure to wash the inside of the windows.

•Rent a carpet steamer and clean the carpets. You may find they do not need to be replaced.
•Dust the tops of your doorways and window frames.
•Polish all wood / ceramic flooring.
•Wash all light fixture coverings and ceiling fan blades.
•To give your home a more open feeling, consider removing a few doors that open into each other or otherwise block the flow of traffic.

Updating the Kitchen on a Budget

Kitchens are the most important room in the house. It’s the heart and soul of the home. Even if a buyer is not much of a cook, the kitchen is still where family and friends tend to gather.

•If new granite is out of your budget, consider either re-grouting the kitchen counter tiles, which is surprisingly cost effective, or covering them with granite tiles instead of granite slab.
•For wood cabinets, stripping the finish and re-staining or painting will save you more money than re-surfacing the cabinets.
•Buy new knobs and / or pulls for the cabinet doors. If you have 40 or so knobs on your kitchen cabinet, at a cost of about $5 per knob, your total outlay for new hardware will be about $200. New hardware will transform the appearance of your cabinets.
•Replace a worn kitchen faucet for about $100 to $200.
•Buy new kitchen sink basket strainers for less than $25 each.
•Consider installing kitchen pendant lights over the sink. Cost: About $500.

Painting the Interior

Professional painters will probably charge you anywhere from $300 to $500 to paint each room, but with a little patience, you can paint the rooms yourself. This is not the time to get creative.
•Choose a soft color in a light brown tone (never white), and paint every room the same color.
•The painting will go faster if you paint the ceilings the same color, but ceilings really pop if they are a lighter color than the color of the walls. Lighter colors also make the ceilings appear higher.
•For a 10 x 10 room, you will need 2 one-gallon cans of eggshell paint. Each one-gallon can of paint should cost no more than $25. For the amount of money a professional painter will charge you to paint one room, you can probably paint the entire house yourself.

Freshening Bathrooms on a Budget

If you have wallpaper in the bathroom, it’s most likely peeling and should be removed. You can rent a steamer to remove the wallpaper or strip it yourself.

•Consider replacing the toilet and vanity, especially if they are stained or particularly outdated. A new toilet and vanity will cost less than $500, and it’s easy to replace a toilet.
•Buy a two-light wall fixture or a light bar for over the sink. Cost: About $200.
•If the tub is stained, hire a professional to refinish it. Cost: About $200 to $300.
•Replace water-stained shower doors or clean them with a lime dissolving detergent.
•Buy a new shower curtain and tie it back with ribbons.
•Hang fresh towels and lay down a new bath rug.
•Place scented candles near a basket of tightly rolled wash cloths to create a spa-like environment.
•Stash all personal items under the bathroom sink

Packing up and moving to a brand new home can be exciting, terrifying and stressful all at once. Packing especially can be incredibly stressful and overwhelming. There are ways that you can reduce the stress of packing and make your packing more efficient.

The first obstacle you are going to encounter with packing is just how much time it takes. Because of the time commitment associated with packing, the best thing you can do is to try to pack one or two boxes every day. If you work during the day, one or two boxes in the evenings before bed will eventually pay off. On the weekends, unless you are equally busy, you can pack more. Have everyone in your home pack as well; giving them instruction if you need things packed in a certain way.

The best thing to do is to have everyone start with their own belongings first and then take time when you are together to pack the items that belong to everyone. Packing a little at a time and as a team will be less overwhelming and can even be fun; you can reminisce about past times in your life and bond with your family over times shared in your home. This process is not only efficient, it can be uplifting.

One of the most important things when you are packing is to stay as organized as possible. One thing that can help you do this is packing based on the rooms in your house. Packing room to room is especially good because you will be able to see the progress you are making. You will also be able to organize your new home with much more efficiency, especially if you label each box with the room its contents belong to and the general items that are in it. In the case of valuable, breakable, or damageable items, you want to be sure to wrap each item carefully and well. Old newspapers or clothes are especially good for this.

Wrapping your belongings will keep them from rubbing against each other and scratching it. This will reduce the chance of them breaking when dropped or handled roughly. Moving is an unpredictable process and you needed to do everything you can to protect your belongings. Finally, if you have anything especially valuable, like important documents or family heirlooms, you will want to pack these items yourself and personally transport them to your new home. This will protect them from being lost or stolen in the moving process.

Most lenders don’t want you to take out a loan that will overload your ability to repay.

As you think about applying for a home loan, you need to consider your personal finances. How much you earn versus how much you owe will likely determine how much a lender will allow you to borrow.
First, determine your gross monthly income. This will include any regular and recurring income that you can document. Unfortunately, if you can’t document the income or it doesn’t show up on your tax return, then you can’t use it to qualify for a loan. However, you can use unearned sources of income such as alimony or lottery payoffs. And if you own income-producing assets such as real estate or stocks, the income from those can be estimated and used in this calculation. If you have questions about your specific situation, any good loan officer can review the rules.
Next, calculate your monthly debt load. This includes all monthly debt obligations like credit cards, installment loans, car loans, personal debts or any other ongoing monthly obligation like alimony or child support. If it is revolving debt like a credit card, use the minimum monthlypayment for this calculation. If it is installment debt, use the current monthly payment to calculate your debt load. And you don’t have to consider a debt at all if it is scheduled to be paid off in less than six months. Add all this up and it is a figure we’ll call your monthly debt service.
In a nutshell, most lenders don’t want you to take out a loan that will overload your ability to repay everybody you owe. Although every lender has slightly different formulas, here is a rough idea of how they look at the numbers.
Typically, your monthly housing expense, including monthly payments for taxes and insurance, should not exceed about 28% of your gross monthly income. If you don’t know what your tax and insurance expense will be, you can estimate that about 15% of your payment will go toward this expense. The remainder can be used for principal and interest repayment.
In addition, your proposed monthly housing expense and your total monthly debt service combined cannot exceed about 36% of your gross monthly income. If it does, your application may exceed the lender’s underwriting guidelines and your loan may not be approved.
Depending on your individual situation, there may be more or less flexibility in the 28% and 36% guidelines. For example, if you are able to buy the home while borrowing less than 80% of the home’s value by making a large cash down payment, the qualifying ratios become less critical. Likewise, if Bill Gates or a rich uncle is willing to cosign on the loan with you, lenders will be much less focused on the guidelines discussed here.
Remember that there are hundreds of loan programs available in today’s lending market and every one of them has different guidelines. So don’t be discouraged if your dream home seems out of reach.
In addition, there are a number of factors within your control which affect your monthly payment. For example, you might choose to apply for an adjustable rate loan which has a initial payment than a fixed rate program. Likewise, a larger down payment has the effect of lowering your projected monthly payment.
Just plan on contacting and investigating a number of lenders to find a loan program that meets your needs.

Avoid getting stuck paying two mortgages when buying your next house.

If you plan to sell your home and buy another, which should you do first? If
you sell first, you’ll be under time pressure to find another house quickly –
and may end up settling for less than you wanted, overpaying, or stuffing
yourself and all your possessions into a hotel room until you can buy a new
place. But, if you buy first, you’ll have to scramble to sell your old house –
a particular problem if you need to get top dollar on your old house in order to
make the down payment on the new one. And owning two houses at once is no treat
either, even if it’s for a short time. You’ll have to worry about two mortgages
– in the unlikely event that a lender is even willing to offer you a mortgage
for a second house before you’ve sold the first — as well as twice the
maintenance, and the security issues around leaving one house empty.

Here are some ways to minimize the financial and psychological downsides of
selling one house while buying another.

Take the Housing Market’s Temperature

Before putting your house on the market or committing to buying a new one,
investigate the prices of houses in the areas where you’ll be both selling and
buying. In order to figure out how to sell high and buy low, you’ll need a
realistic idea of how much comparable houses are going for.

Also focus on whether the local real estate market is “hot” (favors sellers)
or “cold” (favors buyers). Since you’re both a buyer and a seller, you’ll need
to protect yourself in your weaker role while making the most of your stronger
role.

Strategies in a Buyer’s Market

When the market is cold, you’re in a stronger position as a buyer than as a
seller. You’ve got your pick of lots of houses for sale, at reasonable prices.
But you may have trouble selling yours. To protect yourself, you might start by
buying a second house, but ask the seller to make your purchase contract
contingent upon your selling your current home. A seller having a hard time
finding a buyer is likely to accept this contingency, even though it means
waiting for you to find a buyer. Be ready to give the seller plausible reasons
why your home will likely sell quickly.

In case no seller is willing to accept this contingency, however, at least
make sure you can arrange financing. Talk to a mortgage broker about what you’ll
qualify for. Then be ready to act quickly to put your first home on the market
after going ahead with buying a second one. There’s a lot you can do ahead of
time — taking care of maintenance issues, going through files for the appliance
manuals and other documents you’ll give the buyer, choosing a real estate agent
and possibly a home stager, and so forth.

Strategies in a Seller’s Market

In a hot market, selling your house will likely be easier than buying a new
one. To make sure you don’t end up house-less, you may want to start by looking
for a house to buy, then line up enough cash — using the strategies described
below — to tide you over during the presumably short period where you own two
houses at once.

If you can’t swing such an arrangement, however, you can negotiate with your
house’s buyer to have the sale contract include a provision making the closing
contingent on your finding and closing on a new house. Although few buyers will
agree to an open-ended period, some will be so eager to buy your house that
they’ll agree to delay the closing until you close on a new house or until a
certain number of days pass, whichever comes first. Also be sure to fully
research the market before you sell, so that you’ll be an efficient buyer, able
to offer the right price on attractive terms.

Bridge Financing: How to Own Two Houses Briefly

What if you’re unable to perfectly dovetail the sale of one house with the
purchase of another? You may own no houses for a time, in which case you’ll have
money in the bank and will need a temporary place to live. Or you may own two
houses at once. The following suggestions should help you deal with such
juggling acts:

Borrow down payment money for the second house from family or
friends. Point out that you need help for only a short period, and
offer a competitive interest rate. Give the person making the loan a promissory
note, secured by a second mortgage (deed of trust) on your new house. Try to
arrange it so that no monthly payments are due until your first house sells. Be
warned, however, that depending on your financial situation, institutional
mortgage lenders may refuse to approve a loan where the down payment doesn’t
come from your own resources.

Get a bridge loan from a financial institution. If you have
no other choice, it may be possible to borrow money from a bank or other lender
to bridge the period between when you close on your new house and when you get
your money from the sale of your old one. This idea is that you take out a
short-term loan on your existing house, using it toward the down payment and
closing costs on your new house, and repaying it when your first house
sells.

Bridge loans can, however, be far more expensive than regular mortgage or
home equity loans (higher upfront payments as well as interest rates), and
they’re not easy to qualify for — you have to have plenty of equity in your
current home and enough income to pay both mortgage payments indefinitely. The
requirements all-but negate the benefits of the loan!

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) — The downward cycle in home prices broke in April after eight consecutive months of decline, according to a survey released Tuesday.

According to the S&P/Case Shiller 20-city index, prices rose 0.7% compared with March, although they fell 0.1% when adjusted for the strong spring selling season. Prices were down 4% year-over-year.

“In a welcome shift from recent months, this month is better than last — April’s numbers beat March,” said David Blitzer, S&P’s spokesman, in a statement. “However, the seasonally adjusted numbers show that much of the improvement reflects the beginning of the spring-summer home buying season.”

“It is much too early to tell if this is a turning point or simply due to some warmer weather,” Blitzer added.

Any hint of good news in the troubled housing market will likely bring cheer to the industry, and there are some signs that market conditions are not quite as dire as some of the other statistics may indicate. Foreclosures, for example have been falling.

That has translated in a decline of 16% in the sales volume of distressed properties this year, while volume of non-distressed sales rose 11%, according to Joseph LaVorgna, chief economist for Deutsche Bank.

That’s good news because much of the price drop over the past year can be blamed on severe price slashing for homes in foreclosure, as Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke pointed out in a press conference last Wednesday. Prices for homes sold by regular sellers have held up much better.

Foreclosures down for seventh straight month

“That suggests,” said Bernanke, “if we can reduce the current number . . . maybe 40% of home sales, which are on a distressed basis, that would do a lot for stabilizing the market and helping give people confidence that they can buy and not be buying into a falling market.”

Still, the fact that prices perked up in April is not necessarily something to write home about, said Mike Larson, a housing market analyst for Weiss Research.

“It happens every spring,” he said “It’s very clear there’s a seasonal component. Even non-statisticians can see that. The report was, however, better news than what people were expecting.”

Metropolitan Washington continued to be the strongest of the 20 cities covered by the report. Prices rose 3% in April there and have been on the plus side  year-over-year, up 4%.

Foreclosures for sale: Big supply, low prices

The worst performing market for the month was Detroit, where prices fell 2.9%. The biggest year-over-year drop was recorded by Minneapolis, where prices have plunged 11.1% since last April.

The big picture is that a housing market recovery has yet to gain any steam, according to Larson.

“We’re not falling off a cliff anymore, but we’re only going sideways,” he said.

The year-over-year price comparisons could start to become more favorable, according to LaVorgna. For many months, price changes have looked worse than they might actually have been because they were being compared to months when the home buyer tax credit was in effect, which boosted prices.

“[W]ith the homebuyer tax credit having expired in June 2010, we will soon be getting “clean” housing data unencumbered by artificial distortion,” he said.

From Darwin to Dubbo, Brisbane to Broome, Australia has one of the highest levels of home ownership in the world. In spite of the recent surge in prices in every capital city, that great Aussie dream of owning your own patch of paradise is still what most of us aspire to. But if you’re smart and do some planning, there are clever ways to make buying your own home a little easier to do.
Here are seven good tips to help you get the front door key faster.

1. Don’t be swayed by fabulous furniture and fresh flowers.

Many home sellers now use professional stylists to ensure their property looks the best at open for inspections. But look beyond the designer cushions and fresh flowers. Be practical. Do a pest and building inspection and check for major structural damage or signs of rot. And, don’t forget to ask yourself all those mundane questions – such as is there enough cupboard space in the kitchen or will your sofa fit through the front door?

2. Location first, property second.

Your first property may not be your dream home, but it can be a vital springboard towards that long term goal. The trick is to buy in a location where property values are growing at the same rate as the location you ultimately want to live in. This means compromising on the size or style of property. Buying a town house or a unit instead of a house, or a one bedroom instead of a two bedroom place.The important thing is that you’ll have a foothold in your dream location. When you’ve accumulated more equity through capital growth, you’ll be able to trade up to your dream home, too.

3. Small apartment blocks versus large.

The glamour of a big modern apartment block with outdoor pool, gym and on-site caretaker can certainly win over buyers. But here comes the crunch. You pay expensive body corporate fees every quarter and ongoing maintenance charges. Smaller blocks are usually older with fewer (if any) facilities, cost less to run and are often better maintained because of a higher level of owners versus renters. If you’re in the market for an apartment and see several places for the sale in the same block, chances are the fees are the reason why. Beware.

4. Save valuable time. Search online for the best loan

When it comes to finding a loan, it pays to do your homework. There’s a minefield of possibilities, offers, types of loans, variable and fixed rates. Compare what’s on offer with different banks (not just the big 4), mortgage brokers and boutique lenders. Some places may offer only one or two loan types, but lenders such as HSBC Australia have no less than 9 different loans to suit everyone’s lifestyle. Well worth checking out.

5. Don’t forget about fees – keep funds aside

Okay. You’ve been saving hard for a deposit and your loan has been approved. When you take the plunge a sign a contract of sale, there are all sorts of little (and not-so-little extras) added on. These include stamp duty, legal costs, disbursements, mortgage insurance, pest inspection report, survey report, builder’s report, loan application fee, valuation fee, registration fee and so on.

6. Another secret. Ask about “professional package” discounts

Banks are a lot more competitive nowadays and actively reward customer loyalty. If you’re earning a reasonably good salary, say more than $50,000 a year, or $80,000 or more with a partner, ask about the “professional packages”. The home loan interest rate you are offered is usually discounted by 0.5 per cent, which can really help. If you have a strong relationship with one lender and consolidate all your business with them, you can qualify for more discounts, savings account fee waivers and credit card annual fee waivers.

7. Forget that daily latte. Extra payments can reduce your interest faster

If you gave up buying your morning latte on the way to work, you can save over $700 a year! Put it towards your loan. Making extra repayments is one of the best ways to reduce the total interest paid and term of your loan. Some people even try making payments every fortnight – great if it works for you and your budget.

As a rule of thumb, every $1 in extra repayments you make early in the life of your loan saves around $2 in interest over the term of the loan, depending on the level of interest rates.

If you have spare cash from selling your car or a garage sale, think about making a one-off lump sum payment. Check first that your loan allows you to make additional repayments without a penalty.

Happy house hunting!

Cathy Howley is Creative Manager and Copywriter at Options Strategy, Melbourne. The digital agency with the strategy edge. If you’re in the market for a home loan in Australia, make sure you visit HSBC Australia

Home Sales Pace

Existing U.S. home sales fell again in May, according to the National Association of Realtors.

Spiking gasoline prices along with widespread severe weather hurt house shopping in April, leading to soft figures for actual closings in May,?Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist said. There is some good news, though. Current housing market activity indicates a very slow pace of broader economic activity, but recent reversals in oil prices are likely to mitigate the impact going forward. The pace of sales activity in the second half of the year is expected to be stronger than the first half, and will be much stronger than the second half of last year.?

Sales in May dropped 3.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.81 million, from a downwardly revised 5 million pace in April. May’s numbers were down 15.3 percent from the previous year, although those sales were artificially inflated by home buyer tax credit.

The national median home price rose for the third month in a row to $166,500, up from $163,700 in April, although it is still down 4.6 percent from May 2010.

The NAR defines existing homes as all previously-owned single-family homes, townhouses, condominiums, and co-ops. The group Seasonally adjusts?the sales numbers to factor in things like inclement weather, school sessions, winter holidays, etc to smooth out the trends.

The NAR also describes its sales data based on an annual pace. The monthly figure represents the total number of housing units that would be sold in one year if the current rate were to continue unchanged.

Sales Pace by Region

Across the country, existing home sales fell everywhere but the West where there was no movement. In the Northeast, sales declined 2.5 percent to an annual level of 770,000 from 740,000 in April. The new pace is down 13.5 percent from the year before.

Sales in the Midwest were hardest hit because of the storms there. The sales pace sank 6.4 percent to 1.02 million homes, down from 1.12 million the previous month. Compared with May 2010, sales were down 22.7 percent.

The South also felt a bit of the crazy weather, and by extension, a slowing sales rate. Sales dropped 5.1 percent to 1.85 million homes, down from 1.95 million in April, and down 14.4 percent from one year earlier.

There was no change in sales for the West, as it held steady at an annual rate of 1.17 million in May, but that is a decrease of 10.0 percent from the previous year.

Home Prices

The median home price, the point at which half of all homes are sold for more and half are sold for less, rose in all regions but the West.

In the Northeast, the median price rose to $241,500 from $225,400 in April, and it was up 6.1 percent over May 2010.

The median price in the Midwest rose to $136,400 from $133,200. The new price is an increase of 8.5 percent from the year before.

In the South, the price rose to $149,200 in May from $142,800, and fell 3.1 percent in a year-over-year comparison.

The median price in the West dropped to $192,300 from $203,400 in April. It also fell 12.6 percent from the previous year.

Inventory

Total existing home inventory by the end of May had fallen 1.0 percent to 3.72 million homes. At the current sales pace, that represents a 9.3-month supply, up from a 9.0-month supply in April.