Selling unused areas as Home Office Space:

https://www.realtor.com/advice/sell/how-to-use-your-home-office-to-sell-your-house/

 https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/pandemic-related-home-trends-arent-going-anywhere/ 

Working with your agent to sell your home while working from home: 

12/29/2020---Latest Report from CoreLogic on Home Equity--Great news for Homeowners especially those wanting to sell in 2020 and 2021:

 https://www.corelogic.com/insights-download/homeowner-equity-report.aspx 

A brief read on understanding how to find and finance the perfect home:

Buying a house requires a lot of time and effort, but these 10 steps can help make the home buying process manageable and help you make the best decisions possible.

Step 1: Start Your Research Early (Approx. 6 months before expected move date)

As soon as you can, start reading Web sites, newspapers, and magazines that have real estate listings. Make a note of particular homes you are interested in and see how long they stay on the market. Also, note any changes in asking prices. This will give you a sense of the housing trends in specific areas.

Step 2: Determine How Much House You Can Afford (Start 4-6 months before your search will allow time to save/improve credit)

Lenders generally recommend that people look for homes that cost no more than three to five times their annual household income if the home buyers plan to make a 20% down payment and have a moderate amount of other debt.

But you should make this determination based on your own financial situation. Ask me about using an Affordability Calculator to see how much house you can afford. In addition to the deposit you will need to anticipate closing costs, see below. 

Step 3: Get Prequalified and Preapproved for credit for Your Mortgage (4-6 months prior to offer)

Before you start looking for a home, you will need to know how much you can actually spend. The best way to do that is to get prequalified for a mortgage. To get prequalified, you just need to provide some financial information to your mortgage banker, such as your income and the amount of savings (for your deposit and closing costs) and investments you have acquired. Your lender will review this information and tell you how much you can borrow. This will tell you the price range of the homes you should be looking at. Later, you can get preapproved for credit, which involves providing your financial documents (W-2 statements, paycheck stubs, bank account statements, etc.) so your lender can verify your financial status and credit. (Use the Loan & Credit Services link above to connect to a lender or email Nick  D'Addezio: nickd@1st2ndmortgage.com )

Step 4: Find the Right Real Estate Agent (3 months-6 months prior to expected move date)

Real estate agents are important partners when you’re buying or selling a home. Real estate agents can provide you with helpful information on homes and neighborhoods that isn’t easily accessible to the public. Their knowledge of the home buying process, negotiating skills, and familiarity with the area you want to live in can be extremely valuable. Best of all, it doesn’t cost you anything to use an agent – they’re compensated from the commission paid by the seller of the house.  

Step 5: Shop for Your Home and Make an Offer (3-4 months)

Start touring homes in your price range. It might be helpful to take notes on all the homes you visit.  Ask me for a checklist. It can be hard to remember everything about them, so you might also want to take pictures or video to help you remember each home.

Work with your real estate agent  to negotiate a fair offer based on the value of comparable homes in the same neighborhood. Once you and the seller have reached agreement on a price, the house will go into escrow, which is the period of time it takes to complete all of the remaining steps in the home buying process.

Step 6: Get a Home Inspection (Within 7-10 days of accepted offer)

Typically, purchase offers are contingent on a home inspection of the property to check for signs of structural damage or things that may need fixing. Your real estate agent usually will help you arrange to have this inspection conducted within a few days of your offer being accepted by the seller. This contingency protects you by giving you a chance to renegotiate your offer or withdraw it without penalty if the inspection reveals significant material damage.

Step 7: Work with a Mortgage Banker to Select Your Loan/Getting a Commitment Letter (within 2-4 weeks after accepted offer)

!!This is a follow up to the prequalification or preapproval in Step 3!! 

Once you submit an offer to purchase you must get a Mortgage Commitment within a pre specified amount of time. Lenders have a wide range of competitively priced loans.  You will have many questions when you are purchasing a home, and having a mortgage banker or loan specialist assist you can make the process much easier.

Step 8: Have the Home Appraised (within 7-10 days of offer accepted)

Appraisers provide an independent estimate of the value of the house you are buying. The appraiser is a member of a third party company and is not directly associated with the lender. The appraisal will let all the parties involved know that you are paying a fair price for the home.

Step 9: Coordinate the Paperwork 

As you can imagine, there is a lot of paperwork involved in buying a house. Your lender will arrange for a title company to handle all of the paperwork and make sure that the seller is the rightful owner of the house you are buying.

Step 10: Closing (aim to close within 45-60 days of accepted offer or sooner depending on circumstances)

Work with your real estate agent to bring your 'soon to be home' to closing. Leading up to closing you will review a number of documents. At closing you will sign all of the paperwork required to complete the purchase. Once the closing process is completed, you are ready to move into your new home. Congratulations. 

I look forward to assisting you with each of the steps above and answering all of your questions along the way---be sure to utilize the resources below as these can be quite informative when deciding on a neighborhood or specific home. 

VALUABLE RESOURCES FOR HOME BUYERS

Thoughts about buying a home:

 https://www.bbc.com/reel/playlist/the-life-project?

Making the leap from being a renter to becoming a homeowner is a process that includes taking stock of your financial situation and determining whether you're ready for such a massive responsibility. For most people, the primary question is affordability. Do you have enough cash in the bank to fund a down payment, or do you have a credit score high enough to qualify you for a home loan? But there are other considerations, too—and plenty of misconceptions and myths that could keep you from making that first step.

Below, our experts weigh in on why some situations that may seem like roadblocks are actually not as daunting as they appear.

Some may argue that continuing to rent can spare you from taking on heavy debt. But owning a house offers advantages.“

Buying a home and using a typical loan would be spread out over 20 to 30 years. But if you can make one extra payment a year or make bimonthly payments instead, you can shed up to seven years from that long-term loan,” says Jesse McManus, a real estate agent for Big Block Realty in San Diego, CA.

Plus, as you pay your mortgage, you gain equity in the home and create an asset that can be used when needed, such as paying off debt or even buying a second home.

“Currently, mortgage interests rates are at their lowest point in history, so it's a great time to borrow money,” McManus says.

“Contrary to popular belief, a 20% down payment is not required, but makes your offer stand out. There are several low down payment options available to all types of buyers. These are as low as 0% down for Veterans Affairs loans to 5% for conventional loans.

One of the main reasons buyers assume they must put down 20% is that without a 20% down payment, buyers typically face private mortgage insurance premiums; payments that add to the monthly loan payment.

“The good news is once 20% equity is reached in a home, the buyer can eliminate PMI. This is usually accomplished by refinancing their loan, ultimately lowering their original payment that included PMI,” says Klinefelter. “Selecting the right loan type for a buyer’s needs and the property condition is essential before purchasing a home.”

Having a credit score at or above 660 looks great to mortgage lenders, but if yours is lagging, there’s still hope.

“Credit score and history play a significant role in a buyer’s ability to obtain a home loan, but it doesn't mean a buyer needs squeaky-clean credit. There are many loan solutions for buyers who have a lower than the ideal credit score,” says Klinefelter.

She says government-backed loans insured by the FHA have lower credit and income requirements than most conventional loans.

“A lower down payment is also a benefit of FHA loans. Lenders often work with home buyers upfront to discuss how to improve their credit to obtain a loan most suitable for their needs and financial situation,” says Klinefelter.

McManus says buyers building credit can also use a home loan to bolster their scores and create a foundation for future borrowing and creditworthiness.

Buying a home at the right time—during a buyer's market or when interest rates are low—is considered a smart money move. But don't let the fear of buying at the "wrong time" stop you from moving forward. If you feel like you've found a good deal, experts say there is truly no bad time to buy a home.

“The famous saying in real estate is 'I don’t have a crystal ball,' meaning no one can predict exactly where the market will be at a given time. If a buyer stays within their means and has a financial contingency plan in place if the market adjusts over time, it is the right time to buy,” says Klinefelter.

Some people may be hesitant to buy because it means staying put in the same location.

“I always advise my clients that they should plan to stay in a newly purchased home for a minimum of three years," says McManus. "You can ride out most market swings if they happen, and it also gives you a sense of connection to your new space."

In a healthy market, McManus says homeowners will likely be able to sell the home within a year or two if they need to move, or they can consider renting out the property.

“There is always a way out of a real estate asset; knowing how and when to exit is the key,” says Klinefelter.

MORE RESOURCES: 

Flood Map: FEMA Flood Map Service Center | Welcome! ;  Microsoft Word - fema-flood-zone-definitions.docx (snco.us) 

Search FHA Approved condos in NJ:  Condominiums (hud.gov) 

Environmental Resources: NJDEP | New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection ;

 NJDEP SRP - Known Contaminated Sites in NJ (KCS-NJ) (state.nj.us) 

Crime search:   Home | SpotCrime 

Schools:  What School District Are You In? District Boundary Map | GreatSchools 

Montclair and NJ school resources:  Montclair Public Schools - Wikipedia 

 District Factor Groups (DFG) for School Districts (state.nj.us) 

The data relating to real estate for sale or rent on this web site comes in part from the IDX program. Real estate listings held by brokerage firms other than C21 Gemini are marked and include the name of the listing broker. The information provided by this website is for the personal, non-commercial use of consumers and may not be used for any purpose other than to identify prospective properties consumers may be interested in purchasing or renting.

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