Housing Market News • March 30, 2017

Consumer Confidence in Economy & Housing is Soaring

by Nicole McCormick

The success of the housing market is strongly tied to the consumer’s confidence in the overall economy. For that reason, we believe 2017 will be a great year for real estate. Here is just a touch of the news coverage on the subject.

HousingWire:

“Consumers’ faith in the housing market is stronger than it’s ever been before, according to a newly released survey from Fannie Mae.”

Bloomberg:

“Americans’ confidence continued to mount last week as the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index reached the highest point in a decade on more-upbeat assessments about the economy and buying climate.”

Yahoo Finance:

“Confidence continues to rise among America’s consumers…the latest consumer sentiment numbers from the University of Michigan showed that in March confidence rose again.”

MarketWatch:

“U.S. consumers are the most confident in the U.S. economy in 15 years, buoyed by the strongest job market since before the Great Recession. The survey of consumer confidence rose…according to the Conference Board, the private company that publishes the index. That’s the highest level since July 2001.”

Ivy Zelman, in her recent Z Report, probably best capsulized the reports:

“The results were incredibly strong and…offer one of the most positive consumer takes on housing since the recovery started.”

Buying a home • March 28, 2017

Millionaire to Millennials: Buy Now!

by Nicole McCormick

Self-made millionaire David Bach was quoted in a CNBC article explaining that “the single biggest mistake millennials are making” is not purchasing a home because buying real estate is “an escalator to wealth.”

Bach went on to explain:

“If millennials don’t buy a home, their chances of actually having any wealth in this country are little to none. The average homeowner to this day is 38 times wealthier than a renter.”

In his bestselling book, “The Automatic Millionaire,” Bach does the math:

“As a renter, you can easily spend half a million dollars or more on rent over the years ($1,500 a month for 30 years comes to $540,000), and in the end wind up just where you started — owning nothing. Or you can buy a house and spend the same amount paying down a mortgage, and in the end wind up owning your own home free and clear!”

Who is David Bach?

Bach is a self-made millionaire who has written nine consecutive New York Times bestsellers. His book, “The Automatic Millionaire,” spent 31 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. He is one of the only business authors in history to have four books simultaneously on the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek and USA Today bestseller lists.

He has been a contributor to NBC’s Today Show appearing more than 100 times, has been a regular on ABC, CBS, Fox, CNBC, CNN, Yahoo, The View, and PBS, and has been profiled in many major publications, including The New York Times, BusinessWeek, USA Today, People, Reader’s Digest, Time, Financial Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Working Woman, Glamour, Family Circle, Redbook, Huffington Post, Business Insider, Investors’ Business Daily, and Forbes.

Bottom Line

Whenever a well-respected millionaire gives investment advice, people usually clamor to hear it. This millionaire gave simple advice – if you don’t yet live in your own home, go buy one.

Agency News and Awards • March 15, 2017

Green Team New Jersey Welcomes Ted Van Laar

by Nicole McCormick

Please WELCOME our NEWEST Equity Partner and Agent; Theodore Van Laar to Green Team New Jersey Realty!

Ted Van Laar has over 31 years of real estate experience, specializing in resort properties. In 1979, the amenities and natural beauty first attracted Ted and his wife, Rosanne, to New Jersey’s premier four-season resort area. Through the years, they fell in love with the lifestyle and growth that has enhanced these resort communities – Mountain Creek, Crystal Springs Resort and Great Gorge Village. They have enjoyed and shared their appreciation for the surrounding area with their three children, family, and friends.

Ted is a seasoned professional with a record of achievement and reputation for his honesty and integrity. He is enthusiastic about sharing his love of the Resort lifestyle with his clients, whether they are looking for an investment property, second home or primary residence.

Buying a home • March 15, 2017

BUILDING YOUR DREAM HOME (ALMOST) STRESS FREE

by Nicole McCormick

When building your dream home, much of the stress involved comes from having to make a lot of decisions. Decisions about finding the right lot. Choosing the house plan that best suits your family’s lifestyle. Finding financing. Setting budgets. Making decisions on roofing, siding, windows. Selecting paint colors, flooring, cabinets. Counter tops, tile, lighting, plumbing fixtures. Understanding timelines. The list goes on. You want to get everything just right, so you start second guessing your selections. The result? Stress, stress, and more stress. It doesn’t have to be this way! An experienced realtor and builder can help guide you through the process of building your new home, making selections, and staying on schedule and budget.

Choose Your Team

Perhaps the most important steps are the ones you take in the beginning. When building a home, you are not alone. You are part of a team. Hence, your choice of teammates is very important. A realtor who is experienced in new builds is vital. Your realtor can direct you to a reputable builder, and to the lot that is perfect for you. In addition, your realtor should be able to walk you through the whole building process from financing to selecting your finishes. A good realtor will do his or her best to make sure that the whole process is as smooth as possible. Since you don’t want the experience of building your dream home to turn into a nightmare.

Get Your Financing Set

Getting preapproved for a new construction is the most important part of the transaction and should be done initially. In addition, be aware of any additional costs. It is important to understand the details of your builder’s specification sheet. Be aware of what is included and what is not included. Because, if there are upgrades you prefer, you may or may not decide to include them in your mortgage. If not included, these would need to be paid to the builder; part when the upgrade is ordered and the remainder when the upgrade is complete.

Locking in a mortgage rate is entirely up to your finished product. Therefore, you should be on a clear schedule with the builder, and your mortgage broker should keep abreast of the progress.

Your realtor can help you find a mortgage lender who can provide you with appropriate financing. Knowing what you have to spend, and knowing that you’ll be ready to go as you start the process will take a lot of stress off you!

Determine What is Important to You

Is a master suite with custom closets and spa-like bath your dream? Or is it an up-to-date kitchen with a huge center island and room for people to hang out while you cook? Get specific about that kitchen. What is your style? Modern? Country French? Farmhouse? Are you a gourmet cook, or can you get by without top-of-the-line appliances? Imagine your lifestyle and think ahead, too. Do you want that master suite on the first floor so that you can “age in place” in your dream home? If you have young children, you may want to consider a space that will be a great play room for them now but will also be a cool hang-out space when they’re teens.

Set a Budget

It’s easy to get carried away selecting options when building your dream home. However, overspending your budget can turn a dream house into a bad dream. Keep in mind those items that you determined were important to you. There are many selections and options to choose from, and the costs can add up quickly. You may have to compromise on some items in order to select other, more expensive items. Your builder and your realtor can help guide you through the maze of choices you’ll have to make, and advise you of reasonable alternatives that will give you the look you’d like without going over budget.

Make Selections on Schedule

You don’t have to make decisions all at once! Construction schedules will give you time to think about, research, and choose the finishes you want. However, you should keep in mind when your decisions are due. Tradespeople are scheduled to come in and work on your home at specific phases of construction, and your selections have to be made, ordered and delivered for installation at those times. A good realtor should be helping you keep track of these deadlines and make sure you make your selections on time.

With the right team, financing in place, a good idea of what you want, and discipline in keeping on budget and on schedule, building your dream home can be… a dream!

Buying a home • February 23, 2017

Warwick Real Estate … the Real Monopoly Game and How to Win

by Nicole McCormick

Warwick Real Estate … the Real Monopoly Game and How to Win. Our local real estate market has no doubt been challenging. There are limited properties available to buy. There are more buyers ready, willing and able to purchase residential real estate in our area. Strategic moves that rival the board game Monopoly are required. Just like the board game, there are only so many homes available. Furthermore, success often depends on the luck of the dice. Boardwalk and Park Place properties will always be prime real estate. Hence, savvy buyers will have their eye on the board, waiting for these properties to become available. Regardless of location and price, buyers are eagerly waiting to buy your St.Charles Place or Illinois and Atlantic Avenues Home buyers of all price ranges are circling the board, strategizing, ready to buy after exhausting the current inventory.

In Real Estate, The Game is the Same

Each time a buyer is out looking for that ideal home and doesn’t find it, they get a few more turns to pass GO and Collect $200 dollars. So, every time they do this they are saving additional money for their down payment just waiting to purchase “St James Place”, “Marvin Gardens” and “Pacific Ave” to come available. Builders and investors are also key players in seeking properties such properties as new construction is on the rise with a healthy return of buyer interest and activity with affordable prices as seen here in Warwick.

Regardless if you’re new to the housing market or a seasoned player, the game is the same. There are just different players and buyer interests. The bank will always have the money. Taxes and insurance are always owed. Buyers will continue to buy, and property owners will eventually sell. It’s all about timing the market to your personal needs and strategizing opportunities that present themselves, not overlooking possibilities in this limited market by not being prepared to make an offer before the next player bumps you.

Strike While the Iron is Hot

If you’re currently selling real estate or about to enter the market, strike while the IRON is hot, don’t easily dismiss the THIMBLE or kick the SHOE while waiting for the RACECAR or TOP HAT that are coming on the board that may not land on your property. Most of all, it shouldn’t take a BATTLESHIP to sell your property in today’s market if price matches condition and other market factors appropriately.

Buyers will take a CHANCE and are ready to pass GO with another roll of the dice to own real estate. A trusted advisor will be your Realtor. Experience is the advantage in buying/selling and knowing how to navigate and strategically work the board (market) to your advantage, working with the money the bank (lender) has approved you for and each roll of the dice.

Agency News and Awards • February 7, 2017

Lucyann Tinnirello 2016 Momentum Builder of the Year

by Nicole McCormick

When Geoff Green told me I was being awarded the 2016 Momentum Builder of the Year Award and that he would like me to speak at our Awards Ceremony, I was thrilled but didn’t know where to begin. My research revealed that momentum means force and speed of an object through circumstances, kinda like us going through the different times of our lives.

February 26th, 2012 life as I know it was forever changed, I stood devastated and alone, really alone, my husband Johnny, my childhood sweetheart, best friend, lover, right arm, confidant was gone. I thought to myself, this was not supposed to happen, not now, not yet. We had much more to do together. But God had a different plan for us. My husband was gone, you know that saying “We plan and God laughs”, well it became my reality. From that day on I was just going through the motions, I was totally numb, he was not coming back. I tried everything to move on I even went to a bereavement group. Once there a man stood up, who had just lost his wife, and he said to me, “take baby steps and remember there is no right or wrong way to grieve it’s what works for you”. His words stayed with me, although I could not use them right then, I kept them close.

I was miserable, hard to be around, I didn’t even like me. So can you imagine what I did to others especially my children who were in their own pain losing their father whom they adored, I was a mess and they were frustrated with me and I wouldn’t listen? In my heart, I knew that everyone cared, but I didn’t. Heading down the road to destruction, poor health, poor finances and getting worse.

One day my son said to me “Mom we need you to get a grip, we don’t want to lose you too. We need you to get healthy and come back to us, your grandchildren need you even more now. I love my children more than life but the magic word was grandchildren. Realizing they were the only ones that put a smile on my face. I started thinking my grandchildren complete the circle of love Johnny and I created. I realized that he is still with me every day, in their smiles, gestures, and the fun that we have together. Now instead of tears I think of all the wonderful memories Johnny and created with our children and grandchildren this is what pulled me through.

Today I am addressing my health, my finances, and my relationships, I still have more to do but again baby steps. I now choose happily! So don’t forget to take time out to create memories with your loved ones because memories are more important than the material things in life.

Real estate what can I say, I love it, I must, being in it for 33 years. For my momentum and what a few things that I have learned along the way:

WIN: What’s Important Now.
It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice.
Hoping and wishing are excuses for not doing
There is no one way to know before experiencing.

I am so happy to be part of this amazing team, The Green Team! Thank you for the wonderful support I receive on a daily basis from some very special people in our office; A special thank you to Geoff Green for all of his support especially through these difficult past five years. Thank you to Theresa Russo, Donna Roberts & Amy Green you are a delight to work with, your smiles are catching, and I so appreciate your patience with this BC (Before computer person ), Dylan Czubak thank you for not laughing at my endless computer questions and last but not least Linda VanDeWeert god took Johnny, then put you in my path. I cherish our friendship, your honesty and caring means a lot to me.

I humbly accept this award….I couldn’t help but realize I am not lucky I am blessed.

Agency News and Awards • January 31, 2017

The Green Team Home Selling System 2016 Awards Celebration

by Geoffrey Green

The Green Team Home Selling System 2016 Awards Celebration

Check out some of the images of this wonderful celebration…

Selling a Home • January 31, 2017

The best advice on how to sell your home is to think like a retailer …

by Nicole McCormick

The best advice on how to sell your home is to think like a retailer. First of all, what catches your eye about your favorite store? Is it the trendy clothing so artfully displayed in the window? Does that draw you in? Here is where you need to think curb appeal. I have had several buyers who have met me at a home and have refused to go in based on the “feeling’ they get from the outside.

Create Ambiance

Secondly, you need to create ambiance or a mood inside as well. What is the ambiance of your favorite cafe or store in town? How do they use lighting, color and furniture placement to create that ambiance (of course you don’t want your house looking like a coffee shop but you get the idea). You might not mind walking around the big oversize chair in the living room but it will give buyers the impression that the space is too small and cramped. Edit pieces of furniture to create better flow, leave the lights on if at all possible, and create a neutral color palette so buyers can see the details of your home and not your stuff.

Make It Beautiful

Lastly, retailers spend a good amount of time and money to draw you in and keep you there. They are trying to appeal to the masses and so should you. Most of us have a few unfinished projects like paint touch up, garden beds that need to be tended to and garages that need to be organized. I heard a statistic the other day when I was listen to Dave Ramsey and he said the return on investment of “fix-up dollars” is enormous when selling your home, especially when you spend $1000 or less. Think about how much paint (the best and most inexpensive way to update your home) and landscaping you could buy. Want some additional ideas of where else you could make improvements, see my previous post @ https://www.greenteamhq.com/get-ready-list-sell/

Community Support • January 25, 2017

Green Team Announces the Winners of the Light Up the Holidays Contest

by Geoffrey Green

Green Team Home Selling System Announces Light Up the Holidays Winners

WARWICK – Geoff Green, broker/principal of the Green Team Home Selling System, with offices at 7 Main St. in Warwick and 200 Route 94 in Vernon, N.J., recently announced the winners of the real estate firm’s first annual “Light up the Holidays” outdoor lighting fund-raising contest.

Homeowners, who pride themselves for creatively decorating their houses during the holiday season, were invited to submit an image of their decorated holiday home which was then displayed on the Green Team’s Facebook page. The three best-decorated homes were determined by a public vote and by the number of likes on Facebook.

The winners received three prizes of $200, $150 and $100 in Warwick Merchant Guild gift certificates and all proceeds from sponsorships went to benefit the Warwick Valley Humane Society and the Vernon Township Animal Shelter.

Winners:

First place went to Diane Nevarez of the Village of Florida, who donated her prize to the shelters.

Mikey Praino of Warwick took second place and David DiPietro of Vernon, N.J., was the third-place winner.

Sponsors:

Sponsorship donations for the Warwick Valley Humane Society totaled $2,300. The Vernon Animal Shelter received $150.

“We were both honored and excited to be chosen as the recipient of the Green Team’s first annual ‘Light Up the Holidays’ contest whose sponsors donated $2,300,” said Suzyn Barron, president of the Warwick Valley Humane Society. “It was such an opportune time as we were nearing completion of our garage renovation. Our new ‘Zen Den’ is now ready to offer a quiet, respite from the kennel stress that some of our dogs are experiencing, as well as be utilized as a training area.”

The Green Team Home Selling System is a member of the Warwick Valley Chamber of Commerce and has a history of helping support the community and local charitable organizations.

Article Written by Roger Gavan

Buying a home • January 6, 2017

Five Tips to an Accurate Credit Report

by Geoffrey Green

image by cafecredit.com

Five Tips to an Accurate Credit Report

The key to home buying obviously begins with a healthy credit report. But in this technological age, mistakes happen and in fact, it’s quite common. A minor blip on a credit report could mean the difference between getting a good interest rate and paying thousands more in interest over the life of a loan.

We at The Green Team Home Selling System always encourage homebuyers to get a copy of their credit report the moment they’ve decided to begin shopping for a home, in order to fix any problems that may not be of their own doing.

We suggest enrolling in freecreditscore.com, where subscribers receive unlimited access to their credit report and score, and the chance to get credit score alerts, identity protection alerts and fraud resolution support. Additionally, a mobile app allows users to monitor their credit on the go, and monthly reports and statements can help you stay on top of your credit and be aware of changes quickly.

Tips:

1. That’s Not Me
Make sure every listing actually belongs to you. Check name spelling, addresses, names you’ve never used, etc. You’d be surprised at how often something’s on your credit report that’s not yours – especially if you have somewhat of a common name. And identity fraud could also be the culprit.

2. These Aren’t My Accounts
An unrecognized account ALSO may be a sign of fraud that requires immediate action. Just another reason to be diligent in monitoring your credit report with regularity.

3. But I Paid That On Time
Late payments hurt credit scores more than anything else. If an account is reported as late but you made the payment on time, contact the credit reporting agency immediately to help get the information updated.

4. These Aren’t My Public Records
Like No. 1 above, others can show up on your credit report for civil judgments, tax liens, and bankruptcy public records. We’ve seen it happen many times, but fortunately, it can be easily corrected by contacting the credit reporting agency.

5. I Didn’t Make That Inquiry
Your credit report contains a list of creditors who have asked for it. Each entry on the list is called an inquiry. If you see inquiries you don’t recognize, it could be a sign of fraud.

It’s estimated that close to half of all credit reports have errors, Half! Be among the other half that does not have any errors by taking action. It’s not as hard or as stressful as you think. Fortunately, the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act requires credit reporting agencies to notify lenders when you believe something is being reported incorrectly.

So get on it, then start looking for that dream home with peace of mind!

HousingWire:

Bloomberg:

Yahoo Finance:

MarketWatch:

Ivy Zelman, in her recent Z Report, probably best capsulized the reports:

Who is David Bach?

Bottom Line

Please WELCOME our NEWEST Equity Partner and Agent; Theodore Van Laar to Green Team New Jersey Realty!

Choose Your Team

Get Your Financing Set

Determine What is Important to You

Set a Budget

Make Selections on Schedule

Strike While the Iron is Hot

WIN: What’s Important Now.

It’s nice to be important but it’s more important to be nice.

Hoping and wishing are excuses for not doing

There is no one way to know before experiencing.

The Green Team Home Selling System 2016 Awards Celebration

Check out some of the images of this wonderful celebration…

Create Ambiance

Make It Beautiful

Winners:

Sponsors:

Five Tips to an Accurate Credit Report

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