New Jersey

And I was told that there is another bid on the house. We do not know theamount of the other bid. So I told my agent that I will beat any bid By $2000 up to a certain amount. But I was told that i can not place a bid like that. Is that true? They do it all the time on t v. thanks

Although this seems like a great idea and it's done in commercial real estate all the time, in NJ it's not an accepted method of bidding on residential property. Some Boards have deemed it unethical as well so your agent is correct. Good luck with the house. Multiple bids seem to be happening a lot again. I'm dealing with two myself right now.

While there are many more interesting things to do around Sussex County, NJ, for the 4th of July weekend, I still want to give you the option to review the June market data for Sparta real estate transactions. Don't know about you but I prefer to be at Lake Mohawk this weekend...

GSMLS market data for Sparta shows that 19 homes were sold in June 2009, a significant drop given May's high of 29! The list to sale price ratio ticked up slightly - averaging 96% in June. Given the prices, however, this didn't have a major impact on either home sellers or buyers.

As you'll see, the number of listings are up - meaning great choices for buyers who have their eye on Sparta!

Start looking at homes for sale in Sparta, NJ.

Whether you're considering selling your home or purchasing a home in one of Sussex County's fine communities (Lake Mohawk, for example), this is a better time than many folks think. Statistics are a useful overview, but to really understand the outlook for your personal Sparta real estate goals - let's sit down and chat!

Copyright © 2009, Irene Kennedy, all rights reserved. This blog post from www.RealtorIrene.com represents Irene's personal musings.

Considering selling a home or looking to buy one around Sussex County, NJ? Benefit from creative marketing, top negotiating skills and vast real estate knowledge by contacting Irene via the data to the right or www.HomesIrene.com.

Irene Kennedy, who is a NJ real estate agent with Weichert, Realtors, lives in Sussex County & works from the Hamburg office. Her primary market includes: Augusta, Branchville, Crystal Springs, Frankford, Franklin, Hamburg, Hampton, Hardyston, Highland Lakes, Lake Mohawk, Newton, Ogdensburg, Scenic Lakes, Sparta, Sussex, Vernon, Wantage. With her vast network, however, Irene Kennedy also can help you find an equally talented real estate agent elsewhere.

I got this golden nugget from listening to Jason Crouch, Ken Cook and Mike Mueller on their Social Media Edgeshow on BlogTalkRadio.  If you've never listened, you should check it out!  I attached the episode this information appeared in to the bottom of this blog post.  It's about 52 minutes in, if you want to listen.  But since none of those guys have blogged about this, I figured I would give it a go.

With millions of people joining Twitter every day, I'm noticing that the site itself, and how people use it are both transforming.  To someone just getting started, navigating the different screens in the Twitter interface can be confusing...they all look so similar.

But whether you're a beginner or a veteran, this tip will probably come in handy at some point.  Have you ever been reading Tweets and wondered what comment inspired the comment you're reading?.  It could be a reply that you get and you're unsure which tweet the person is responding to.  Or you might be reading through a person's Twitter Stream to determine whether or not you want to follow that person.  Perhaps something catches your eye and you want to know more.

Sound familiar?

Up until recently my strategy was to click on the link that the tweet addressed in reply and then hunt through that Twitter user's Twitter Stream, using my powers of deduction to find the Tweet that inspired the response.  Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't (especially if someone tweets a lot).

I never realized that there's a smarter way to get that information.  The answer is actually built into the Twitter desktop.  I know a lot of people use Tweetdeck or other Twitter clients to post their tweets, but those applications won't do what I'm about to describe to you.

At the base of every tweet there is a tag line describing how long ago the tweet was published, where it was published from (web, txt, tweetdeck, etc.) and in the case of a reply who the tweet was replying to.  The section that describes the reply is actually hyperlinked to the the preceding tweet that inspired the response.

Example:

Let's say you're scrolling through Active Rain's own Melissa Breeland's Twitter Page (@melmaven).  You see the following Tweet:

Hmmm, interesting....I wonder what that was in response to? (Just click the Hyperlink that I circled at the bottom of the tweet.)

Clicking the hyperlink will open the following web page.  (Each 140 character Tweet on Twitter is stored and indexed as it's own web page)

How bizzare!  What is he talking about?!? (Just click the Hyperlink that I circled at the bottom of the tweet.)

Clicking the hyperlink will open the preceding message in it's own webpage:

Aaaaah!  How silly!

It's just that easy to follow the conversation!  It's just that easy!  I hope this helps on your Twitter adventures.

Jason Sanders @ValuePagesGroup
Business Networking Specialist

I often get calls and emails about rent to own opportunities. Today someone happened to ask me if I had a website that listed all of these homes, and unfortunately I had to say that I didn't. I get this question a lot, so I thought that I should address it in my blog. I do maintain 3 different websites for different aspects of my business, in addition to this blog, but I've found that the rent to own opportunities don't last long enough to warrant a site. What I typically do is get a application/search form from potential tenant/buyers and then contact them as soon as opportunities arise. It seems that there is never quite enough supply out there to handle all the demand for these properties. I have seen many companies that will list numerous rent to own opportunities, but I've found that many of these aren't the type of transactions that I would recommend to my clients. There are also other sites that promise to provide you a list once they gather all of your info, and once you've given it to them, you get a list of disappointing properties that you probably wouldn't want.

I've also found that when a tenant/buyer is looking for a rent to own home, I can often match them up with an investor. The tenant/buyer can then pick out anyhome that is for sale, and the investor will purchase the property and sell it to the tenant/buyer as a rent to own. This only works when we're able to purchase the property at a discount to market value, but today there are ample opportunities to do that.

If you'd like to learn more about rent to own transactions, please give me a call.

Joseph Cacciapaglia, MLERE
Realtor Associate®
R&I Realty
15 Potter Street
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Office: 856.795.3111 x268
Cell: 979.218.2286
Jcacci1@gmail.com

More good news in the national media. This article points out that rates have dipped again. I hope these rates last, but if you are thinking of buying, this is probably a good time to pull the trigger.

If you're thinking of buying a home in Cherry Hill or elsewhere in South Jersey, give me a call today.

Joseph Cacciapaglia, MLERE
Realtor Associate®
R&I Realty
15 Potter Street
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Office: 856.795.3111 x268
Cell: 979.218.2286
Jcacci1@gmail.com