News

Kevin’s Kids Holiday Drive

smercer@DelphicSage.com () — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Crossroads Realty is proud to help Kevin Berger of Kevin's Kids Holiday drive for our 10th year!

It is that time of year again!!! Boxes have been placed in the Executive Office, West Dover Office, and Whiting Office for Kevins Kids. Linda Adamson is the contact person to collect the donated items of Toys, and new or Gently used clothing and any kindly written checks. They can be made out to "Kevins Kids." Just call and Linda (908-814-8278), or Officer Conklin will collect these items. Anyone writing checks can contact Linda direct and she will pick them up from any Crossroads Office. Thanks to everyone!

Through the generosity of the Manchester community and the volunteer efforts of the Manchester Township School District staff, the drive provides toys, clothing, and food to children in the Manchester/Lakehurst area that are not so fortunate. There is no gift to big or to small. Checks are also accepted and will directly be used to buy food, clothes, and toys.

This drive began rather innocently almost 30 years ago...
"Mrs. Kathy Magee, a first grade teacher, was talking to her excited students just before the Christmas holidays," said founder Kevin Burger. "Each of the children was responding to Mrs. Magee's question, ‘What is Santa Claus going to bring you for Christmas?' After listening to each child's wish list, one little boy responded that ‘Santa Claus never comes to my house.' As Mrs. Magee fought back her tears, a drive began to make sure Santa visited that boy as well as the home of every child."

"The innocent words of that young boy remind us all that there are so many people in need," said Burger. "This year's economic times appear to be even more difficult. Whether it's increased gasoline prices or a rise in winter heating costs, too many parents have already told me that there just won't be a Christmas this year. We hear so many sad stories of people in need that I just hope we can help them all. Last year one little girl only wanted a new pair of sneakers. Since she had never had her very own pair, only having hand me downs that didn't fit, her mother didn't know her shoe size. The teachers decided to play a game with her by tracing her feet on paper. They then took the cut out model to the store to match the exact size."

How to Donate

Crossroads Realty is proud to be an official drop off location for Kevin's Kids.

Donations can be new clothing, dry, or canned food, toys, books, games. All items, unwrapped, can be placed in the boxes that are located in our Executive Office, West Dover Office, and Whiting Office .

Executive Office

25 Route 37 East
Toms River, NJ

Toms River West Office

168 Route 37 West
Toms River, NJ

Whiting Office

480 Route 530
Whiting, NJ

Cash and check donations go directly to buy food, new toys and clothing for every child identified on the list.

Price Disconnect-Am I a Buyer or Seller??

smercer@DelphicSage.com () — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Published: Tuesday, 30 Nov 2010
By: Diana Olick CNBC Real Estate Reporter

Fact: Home prices lag home sales. It happens on the way up and on the way down.

Today's S&P Case Shiller home price report just confirmed what we've seen from umpteen other reports in the past few months, that home prices are taking a double dip. We knew it would happen. "I would guess that by the end of today I would hear lots of double-dip forecasts and a few I told you so's. Things are rotten," opines S&P's David Blitzer. Home sales fell off dramatically in July after the expiration of the home buyer tax credit. Then they came back a few months later, and then turned for the worse again in October. Prices are much harder to gauge because there is so much emotion involved in pricing a home, not to mention so much uncertainty surrounding foreclosure sales, which can affect the price reports dramatically. No question it is a buyer's market out there, but really only for the buyers who don't have to sell. Those who do have to sell, the move-up buyers, are stuck in this bizarre financial disconnect. It's all about math, that they apparently refuse to do. They expect a great discount on whatever house they're buying, but they are unwilling to take a loss on the home they're selling, even if it's a net gain in the end. "The move-up buyer is putting all his ideas about wealth based on the house he owns," notes DC area real estate agent Donna Evers. They simply refuse to do the math. "In other words, in 2005, say the peak of the market, a real estate agent told me I should be able to get $700k for my house, and now it looks like it might be worth 10 percent less - $630K so I can't sell because I've lost $70K. Well if you were going to buy a house for 950K it is now worth 855K which is a $95K differential,. plus you've got a tremendous saving on your monthly payments because interest rates are much lower compared to what they were in 2005." It all makes sense, but it somehow doesn't compute in the mind of the move-up buyer. Of course there's also the issue that banks are requiring larger down payments to get a mortgage, and some buyers don't have the equity cushion in their current home that would allow them to take a loss and still make a new down payment.

Pending Home Sales Surge Unexpectedly in October

smercer@DelphicSage.com () — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 12:00:00 GMT

Pending sales of existing U.S. homes unexpectedly surged in October, data from a real estate trade group showed on Thursday, despite concerns that problems in the foreclosure process might curtail activity. The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in October, jumped 10.4 percent to 89.3 from 80.9 in September.Economists polled by Reuters ahead of the report had expected a decline of 0.5 percent. The index remains 20.5 percent below a cyclical peak of 112.4 notched in October 2009, when a government tax credit lured first-time home buyers. "It is welcoming to see a solid double-digit percentage gain, but activity needs to improve further to reach healthy, sustainable levels," Lawrence Yun, the NAR's chief economist, said in a statement. Several major U.S. mortgage lenders temporarily halted foreclosures in October 2010 as attorneys general in all 50 states investigated whether banks had submitted faulty paperwork to back evictions.

Public Short Sale Seminar

smercer@DelphicSage.com () — Wed, 13 Oct 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Foreclosure? Short Sale? Need Help?

In these trying economic times, join us at PNC Bank's new Jackson Branch for this free Informational Community Seminar. A Panel of local Mortgage, Legal, Tax and Real Estate Professionals will be on hand with plenty of information, and ample time for Questions & Answers.

RSVP: No later than 10/11/10 to Christine at (732) 223-8925. Seating Is Limited, Reserve Early!

Date: Wednesday, 10/13/10 Time: 7:30pm

PNC Bank, Jackson Branch
331 N. County Line Road
Jackson, NJ 08527

Free Community Information Seminar:
What are my options?
What are the legal and tax ramifications?
How much will it cost?
How much is my house worth?
Is refinance an option?

Ocean & Monmouth County Food Drive

smercer@DelphicSage.com () — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Let's do our part and make a contribution to the community!

The Monmouth County Association of REALTORS® would like to have our assistance in a food drive to help provide food to Monmouth and Ocean County residents who experience food insecurity and are struggling to put food on the table for their families. This food drive will help Monmouth and Ocean Counties bolster their depleted inventories as the demand for food assistance continues to rise faster than donated food supplies.

The Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties

According to the Foodbank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties, in 2009 127,500 local people received emergency food through pantries, soup kitchens and shelters. This is an 84% increase over the 69,340 annual recipients in Monmouth and Ocean Counties in 2005.

We are welcoming all non-perishable items...

Our drop off office locations are as follows:

Berkeley - Holiday City Plaza 1, 730 Jamaica Boulevard, Toms River, NJ

Brick/Silverton - Yorktowne Plaze, 3000 Yorktowne Boulevard, Brick, NJ

Executive Office - 25 Route 37 East, Toms River, NJ

Manchester - 2002 Route 70, Manchester, NJ

Toms River West - 168 Route 37 West, Toms River, NJ

Thank you for all your donations!

Crossroads Realty Buyer's Seminar and Tax Credit information Review

smercer@DelphicSage.com () — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Please join us at the Crossroads Realty Buyer's Seminar (and Tax Credit information Review).

This event will be held weekly, every Saturday, from 12-2pm until further notice.

The seminar is designed to inform the public on "What All Buyers Must Know In Today's Market".

Take advantage of this timely information.

Location: 168 Route 37 West, Toms River, NJ.

Please call: 732-244-2200 to sign up.

Foreclosure Offer Deals But Beware!

smercer@DelphicSage.com (Tara Siegel Bernard) — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 12:00:00 GMT

Click Here to View a List of Short Sale Properties

So you’re looking to buy a new home, and you think a foreclosed house may be the best deal. You’ve probably noticed, then, that many of the big banks’ Web sites are beginning to look a bit like real estate brokerages, showcasing the many properties that they’ve repossessed.

The Gordons are happily living in the three-bedroom ranch in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., that they bought for $500,000 through a short sale in February. These houses often sell for about 15 to 20 percent less than comparable homes in the same neighborhood, according to the National Association of Realtors. And while the banks have been careful not to flood the market with all their properties at once, there are hundreds of thousands of listings now, and half a million more expected in the coming year.

Despite the seemingly high inventory, though, anyone considering buying a distressed property should heed the classic warning: Caveat emptor, or let the buyer beware.

Closing a deal in a desirable neighborhood can be hard to do. Many aspiring homeowners have lost out to all-cash bidders. Buyers also need to search more aggressively than usual, which means figuring out which brokers have the best foreclosure listings, religiously checking for new ones and visiting the properties shortly thereafter. Buyers also need to ensure that the home is truly a good deal and not a money pit — most of these homes are sold as is.

Still, as Rick Sharga, senior vice president of RealtyTrac, a foreclosure listing service, put it, “The best discounts have been on bank-owned property.”

If you are still interested in buying a distressed property, you have several options. You can buy it through a preforeclosure sale, at a public auction or through a bank or other entity that has taken ownership of the home — these properties are known as real estate owned, or R.E.O.’s.

Below is a more detailed description of the potential risks and benefits of buying R.E.O.’s and preforeclosure transactions known as short sales, where the bank agrees to sell a home for less than is owed on the mortgage. Through October, foreclosures and short sales accounted for nearly 37 percent of all home sales, on average, according to the Realtors’ association.

R.E.O.’s

Traditional homebuyers are generally discouraged from buying homes at auction because there are too many risks — you can’t tour the inside of the home, which increases your chances of buying a house that will drain your bank account. Equally important, the home won’t necessarily have a clear title, which means there may be tax liens or other debts against the property. And when you buy the home, you buy those issues, too.

One of the benefits of R.E.O.’s is that the bank typically clears any title issues before it puts the house on the market. “It’s easiest because there is a price already, there is access, you can do your estimate for repairs, and you can write your offer and go,” said Alexis McGee, president of Foreclosures.com, which lists foreclosures and offers classes for foreclosure investors.

But you need to do your share of preparatory work. Start by getting acquainted with the listings in your target area. All R.E.O.’s are sold through an agent. You can find their listings directly on the big banks’ Web sites, like Bank of America and Wells Fargo, as well as regional banks like SunTrust. Fannie Mae offers its listings through the HomePath Web site and Freddie Mac through HomeSteps.

You can also find free listings through independent brokerages like Redfin.com, which has a forum where you can compare notes with other buyers. If you pay a monthly fee, you can access sites that track distressed homes from the moment of default through foreclosure. These sites include RealtyTrac ($49.95 a month), Foreclosures.com ($49.95), and Foreclosure.com ($39.80), all of which provide a free weeklong trial.

One of your first steps would be getting preapproved by a mortgage lender so that once you find a property you are interested in, you can move quickly. Call the listing agent, or hire a buyer’s agent to do it for you. (You should hire a buyer’s agent with experience in these types of sales anyway. In some states, the listing agents may refer you to someone else in their office to represent your interests, said Frank Verna, an R.E.O. broker in Jupiter, Fla.). Arrange to see the home as soon as possible. The bank selling the property may want you to be preapproved with their own lending arm, though you can always use another lender in the end, experts said.

Most R.E.O.’s are sold as is, so buyers should make their offers contingent on a home inspection. It’s best to find inspectors who are also licensed contractors (with references), so they can estimate repair costs. Putting too many contingencies in your offer, however, is likely to derail your bid.

Buyers also need to be prepared to lose to buyers with all cash. That’s what happened to Jason and Elise Hope, who have been searching for a small starter home in San Diego County for six months. The couple has made more than two dozen offers on bank-owned properties, and a couple of short sales, priced from $300,000 to $400,000.

“For the most part, we never heard back from the listing agent,” said Mr. Hope, 28, who works as an equity research associate for a forensic accounting firm. “When we did hear back, we often heard the same story — that the listing had 10 to 20 offers on it, along with ours, within the first weekend of it being available for showing.”

As Mr. Verna, the broker, explained: “In the R.E.O. world, cash is still king because there is no appraisal, last-minute quality checks or potential problems to kill the deal.”

You may be able to increase your chances by making your best offer from the start. But to ensure you don’t overpay, research comparable sales on sites like Zillow.com or have your agent prepare a “comparative market analysis” for you. “You are negotiating with a calculator, and if the numbers don’t work for the seller, they just say no and move on,” Mr. Verna said.

Fannie Mae does give prospective homebuyers a leg up. Last month, it introduced a program that shuts out investor buyers for the first 15 days a home is on the market. Moreover, Fannie also has a financing program, which allows buyers to put down as little as 3 percent and doesn’t require them to carry mortgage insurance. It also provides loans that allow borrowers to wrap in costs for home renovations.

Freddie is testing a program that also initially shuts out investor buyers, and it is currently offering consumers who buy one of its properties up to 3.5 percent of a home’s purchase price, which can be used for closing costs, moving or even furnishings. The program was recently extended to buyers who submit a purchase offer by Jan. 31 and close by March 26. Primary homebuyers are also eligible for a two-year warranty on certain home repairs.

Short Sales

Short sales tend to be more problematic than R.E.O.’s. If you make an offer on an R.E.O., you can expect to get a response within a few days. With a short sale, experts say, it can take months. You also can’t necessarily trust the listing price.

“It may easily be a teaser price just to get offers in,” said Carolyn Warren, author of a new book “Homebuyers Beware: Who’s Ripping You Off Now?” (FT Press). “It’s kind of like posting something on eBay. They are going to list it at a dollar, but they might only sell it for $1,000.”

There are other potential problems as well. While the seller may be motivated, the bank has to be convinced of two things: “One is that the homeowner in question deserves a hardship exception,” Mr. Sharga of RealtyTrac said. “The second thing is that you have to convince it that it is market value, even though it is below the mortgage amount.”

Complicating matters further, the homeowner may have more than one loan on the property, adding to the number of parties involved in the negotiations.

All this lengthens the time to close a deal.

You can get lucky, too. Michelle and Mark Gordon are happily living in a three-bedroom ranch that they bought through a short sale in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., in February. It took only three months to close — record time in the world of short sales. But Mrs. Gordon, a librarian who now stays home with her young daughter, did her homework and was aggressive in her search. She checked the listings religiously on Redfin.com, and saw the property the day after she found it.

The Gordons paid $500,000 for the home, and the bank paid the $12,000 in closing costs. The property was recently valued at $537,500 on Zillow.com. “We painted two rooms,” Mrs. Gordon said. “That was it.”

Pending Home Sales Up 6.7%, Biggest Gain in 7 Years

smercer@DelphicSage.com () — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

The number of U.S. homebuyers who agreed to purchase a previously occupied home in April posted the largest monthly jump in nearly eight years, a sign that sales are finally coming to life after a long and painful slump. The National Association of Realtors said Tuesday its seasonally adjusted index of sales contracts signed in April surged 6.7 percent to 90.3, far exceeding analysts' forecasts. It was the biggest monthly jump since October 2001, when pending sales rose 9.2 percent. "This is yet another positive indication that the bottoming process is forming," Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, wrote in a note to clients. "Now if only prices would stabilize." Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected the index would edge up to 85 from a reading of 84.6 in March. Typically there is a one- to two-month lag between a contract and a done deal, so the index is a barometer for future existing home sales. "The pronounced increase in April does indicate that actual existing home sales are poised to rise in the coming month or two," wrote Joshua Shapiro, chief U.S. economist with MFR.

Tax Credit Can Be Used for Down Payment

smercer@DelphicSage.com () — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 12:00:00 GMT

The Federal Housing Administration has issued formal guidelines allowing first-time homebuyers to apply a federal tax credit of up to $8,000 toward the purchase of a home with an FHA-backed mortgage. The bad news, for those hoping that the initiative would allow homebuyers to buy a home with nothing down, is that the tax credit can't be used to meet the FHA's 3.5 percent minimum down-payment requirement. But the tax credit can be used as an additional down payment and for other closing costs, which can help borrowers obtain a lower interest rate. For the average FHA-insured mortgage of $182,000, buyers must bring to the closing table or finance about $8,600 in costs on top of their down payment -- about $5,460 in closing costs (typically around 3 percent of the sales price) and $3,185 for FHA's initial 1.75 percent mortgage-insurance premium. In announcing the release of the guidelines, Secretary of Housing Shaun Donovan called them "another important step toward accelerating the recovery of the nation's housing market." The ability to "monetize" the tax credit and apply it to a home purchase will not only help families purchase their first home, Donovan said, but "present an enormous benefit for communities struggling to deal with an oversupply of housing." The National Association of Home Builders has estimated that the tax credit will generate 160,000 home sales -- 101,000 purchases by first-time buyers and 59,000 purchases by existing homeowners who will be able to sell their home and trade up. FHA's market share has grown from 1.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2006 to 23.7 percent in the last three months of 2008. The guidelines for monetizing the first-time homebuyer tax credit have been anxiously awaited for more than two weeks. After Donovan announced the initiative in a May 12 speech to members of the National Association of Realtors (see story), HUD released and abruptly withdrew a set of guidelines that were later described as a draft version. The final guidelines for lenders, spelled out in Mortgagee Letter 2009-15, explain the conditions under which FHA-approved lenders and nonprofits, and federal, state and local government agencies may purchase the tax credits anticipated by homebuyers. Those offering tax-credit advances with second liens can't charge more than 2.5 percent of the anticipated credit, which works out to $200 in fees and costs for the maximum $8,000 tax credit. The second lien can't exceed the total amount needed for the down payment, closing costs and prepaid expenses, and can't result in cash back from the borrower. The homebuyer's 3.5 percent minimum down payment can't come from the lender, the seller, or any other third party or person benefiting from the transaction. But FHA does allow parents, employers and other governmental entities to contribute towards the 3.5 percent minimum down payment. A number of state housing finance agencies offer down-payment assistance loans that can be used to meet FHA minimum down-payment requirements, some of which already incorporate the first-time homebuyer tax credit. "This guidance will enable more housing finance agencies to go forward with programs they've been waiting to launch until the guidance came out," said Garth Rieman, director of housing advocacy and strategic initiatives for the National Council of State Housing Agencies. Rieman said that the mortgagee letter appears to allow housing finance agencies to continue to offer second loans that incorporate the tax credit as one of many underwriting factors, and those loans can still be used to meet the FHA's 3.5 percent down-payment requirement. But the letter does appear to prohibit borrowers who obtain second loans based solely on their eligibility for the first-time homebuyer tax credit from using those funds to meet FHA's minimum down-payment requirement, Rieman said. "We think the guidelines are flexible enough to allow housing finance agencies that already have (down-payment assistance) programs to continue to use them, and to allow them to use them with FHA loans," Rieman said. The process described as "purchases" of tax credits in the FHA's letter to mortgagees is a new approach, Rieman said. "You want to make sure it's done responsibly," and HUD has done an "artful" job balancing the need to stimulate homebuying against risk to the FHA insurance fund, he said. "When you consider all the fees and costs homebuyers must come up with, this will be very valuable in helping them raise the funds to close." The first-time homebuyer tax credit is equal to 10 percent of the purchase price of the home, up to $8,000, for first-time homebuyers purchasing a home before Dec. 1. A first-time homebuyer is anyone who hasn't owned a primary residence in the last three years. Individuals making $95,000 or more and married couples earning $170,000 or more can't claim the credit. Lesser tax credits are available for individuals with a modified adjusted gross income of $75,000 or more but less than $95,000, and for married couples earning $150,000 or more but less than $170,000, and filing jointly. The IRS has created a landing page with links to a Q&A and Form 5405, the form used to claim the credit after closing on a home purchase.

Cyberhomes Feed Now Operational

smercer@DelphicSage.com () — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 12:00:00 GMT

Fidelity National's Cyberhomes.com has been working with the Monmouth MLS for some time now to get an automatic feed of our listings setup. Thanks to their continued devopment, we are happy to announce that the listing feed for Cyberhomes is now 100% operational!

One of the added benefits to partnering with Cyberhomes is that they are now the designated real estate search tool for all AOL users. Previously, the AOL real estate search was powered by Realtor.com until that agreement expired in September of 2007.

We have already started to receive visitors in the form of website traffic directly from Cyberhomes (as well as AOL Real Estate). As of a few weeks ago, Cyberhomes displays all of Crossroads Realty's property listings on a daily updated basis.