Catherine "Cathy" Chaudemanche Team - Central Jersey Homes

You've finally decided you want to buy a piece of Edison real estate. What do you do now? Here are a few tips for getting the best deal for your money:

Check Out Your Credit
The first thing you'll want to do is order a copy of your credit report from the three major credit bureaus: Experian, TransUnion, and Equifax. Look for inaccuracies in:

1. Name
2. Address
3. Creditors
4. Late payments
5. Delinquencies

After you've reviewed your credit report and know your credit score, you're ready to make improvements to your report. You can send a written "Notice of Correction" to the credit bureaus. It can be up to 200 words. If needed, you can explain why you fell behind on a particular debt, and every time a lender accesses the report, they'll see your explanation.

It can take several months for your credit score to go up. However, it's well worth the effort to get a better interest rate. It can save you thousands on your Edison real estate.

What's Next?
Before you start looking at properties, it's a good idea to get a pre-approval letter from a lender. The lender will take into consideration your income and credit history. Then they'll determine what loan amount you can be approved for.

Most pre-approval letters list the maximum amount that you are approved for, not necessarily the amount you can afford. Look carefully at your budget so that you don't get too excited about the number and get into more house than you can afford.


A pre-approval letter will give you and your agent an idea of what houses to look at, and no time is wasted seeing properties that you can't afford. Prospective sellers may also give your bid more weight if you have a pre-approval letter.

Are you a first-time buyer? You have just made a fabulous decision for your future. There are tons of great buys in Edison real estate market.

Need help understanding mortgage and real estate terms? Subscribe to my blog today! Or Bookmark my main Blog Here. You'll get money saving home maintenance tips and local real estate tips/info/statistics 3 to 4 times a week.

Cathy Chaudemanche
Realtor Associate/Keller Williams Realty
Metuchen, NJ
Servicing Home Buyers and Sellers in Middlesex County, NJ
http://www.YourHouseFast.com

So your New Year's Resolution is to get your Metuchen home clutter free; it can seem like a daunting process.  However, if you follow these few suggestions, you'll be on your way to keeping your New Year's Resolution.

Work in Small Bits of Time
It's best to break the project down into pieces.  You could work as little as fifteen minutes at a time or up to a few hours, if you prefer.  Just be sure to pick a time frame that doesn't overwhelm you.  Set a timer to make sure you quit when the time is up.  Here's a great online timer you can use.  



Pick a Room
Choose one room to start in. It doesn't have to be the messiest room, just one you think you can handle. Look for a shelf or closet that needs sorting, and don't forget to look under your bed. If the whole room is in need of de-cluttering, start in corner farthest from the door.

Gather Supplies
Wait!  Don't just dive in.  Before you're ready to start sorting through your Metuchen home, you'll need to find a couple of boxes and trash bags. Label the boxes with KEEP and GIVE AWAY.  You'll use the trash bags for stuff that isn't useful to anyone and needs to be thrown away.

1. KEEP: These items are useful or have sentimental value. Here's a good rule of thumb: If you can't remember why you kept it, it's time to let it go.
2. GIVE AWAY: Some of the stuff you've accumulated may be useful to someone else. If you loved it once, most likely someone else will too. Clothes that don't fit anymore go in here, and anything in good condition that you haven't used in six months. After all, one man's trash is another man's treasure.
3. TRASH: Anything that didn't make it into the first two boxes goes here. Clothes that are beyond repair, household items you don't use and out-of-date magazines that can take up a lot of space are all trash.  Remember to shred anything that has your social security number or other sensitive information on it.  If you have a lot of things to shred, there are services that will pick up the materials and shred them for you at amazingly reasonable rates.

Be honest with yourself about what you should keep.  Before you keep that favorite sweater that hasn't fit in years, check your "honesty" radar.  In no time at all, you'll have your Metuchen home de-cluttered. And, you'll have kept your New Year's Resolution this year!

If you've been thinking about investing in a foreclosure in Middlesex County make sure the home you buy doesn't have major problems. Before you spend the money on a home inspector, look at these common problem areas:

Ceilings
Usually, ceilings are made of plaster and plasterboard. While looking at the ceilings, keep an eye out for these issues:

1. Cracks, holes or uneven areas
2. Dampness or mold growth
3. Crumbling areas
4. Cracked or bulging areas

Walls
In general, walls are made of bonding plaster or plasterboard. You can look for the same problems as you would on ceilings, with the addition of a few more:

1. Loose skirting board
2. Soft, damp or rotten
3. Discolored decorations, blisters or other faults such as peeling wallpaper
4. Dangerous materials such as asbestos or gloss-painted polystyrene tiles. Asbestos can be hard to identify; if you think you have asbestos, get professional help.

Floors
No matter what material the floor is made of in Middlesex County foreclosures, the structural supports are generally made of the same types of materials as other homes. Here are a few things to look for:

1. Uneven flooring
2. Movement, cracking, lifting or dampness
3. Loose floor covering, such as raised boards or lifted tiles
4. Large gaps between floorboards
5. Cracked or missing tiles

Plumbing
The kitchen and the bathroom may hold most of the plumbing, but some will go through the rest of the house as well. Look at the plumbing for:

1. Rust or leaks
2. Hammering or knocking pipes
3. Lead pipes
4. Improperly supported water tanks

Wiring
Faulty or old wiring can be a major hazard in any potential home. Although some wiring issues aren't easy to spot, there are signs:

1. Rubber cables or single-flex wiring twisted together with exposed insulation
2. Blackened or failing power sockets
3. Brittle or bare wiring
4. Plugs that get hot when used

No inspection should be considered finished until a licensed home inspector has come to the Middlesex County foreclosures that you're interested in. However, by using this guide, you'll only have to call an inspector once - to get a clean bill of health on your new real estate.

If you're looking at hard times, and have fallen behind on your Edison townhouse mortgage payments, you may already think it's too late to save your home from foreclosure. But rest assured, you can take steps to keep your home and stop the process.

• One of the most important things to do is keep the lines of communication open with your lender. Most lenders would much rather avoid foreclosing on your Edison townhouse. If you call your lender as soon as you miss a payment, you may be able to qualify for a forbearance, which could cancel the payment that you are unable to make. You are unlikely to receive forbearance more than once, so make sure that you will be able to start making payments at the time the forbearance runs out.

• Of course, the simplest way to avoid foreclosure is to pay the total amount owed, including all the attorney's fees. But, you probably wouldn't be worried about foreclosure if you were able to do that.

• If you are not able to make payments to get caught up, you still have one final option to keep your home. In some cases, filing bankruptcy can stop the foreclosure process. If your townhouse doesn't have a lot of equity built up that could be used to pay off your debts, the courts may allow you to keep your home. The past due and current mortgage payments are included in a payment plan designed to get you out of debt in three to five years. The decision to file for bankruptcy protection should not be made without consulting with a lawyer

If the foreclosure process can't be stopped, you still have the opportunity to keep your home. You have until the actual day of the Trustee's Sale of your Edison townhouse to pay up what you're behind, or make arrangements to be caught up on your loan.
After the sale, you enter a redemption period, during which you can get your home back if you're able to satisfy the terms of your lender. You will likely have at least 180 days before the redemption period expires.

Need help understanding mortgage and real estate terms? Subscribe to my blog today! Or Bookmark my main Blog Here. You'll get money saving home maintenance tips and local real estate tips/info/statistics 3 to 4 times a week.

Cathy Chaudemanche
Realtor Associate/Keller Williams Realty
Metuchen, NJ
Servicing Home Buyers and Sellers in Middlesex County, NJ
http://www.YourHouseFast.com

If you are having trouble making the payments on your New Jersey real estate mortgage, you may be worried about foreclosure. You don't have to have foreclosure on your credit record for the next ten years. Your lender may accept a deed-in-lieu and protect your credit rating, or you may be able to get the lender's approval for a short sale of your property.

What Is A Short Sale?
A short sale refers to the lender accepting a discounted payoff amount, or accepting less money than due to satisfy the loan. Not all lenders will agree to a short sale for your home. Here are some tips on how to get approved for a short sale.

Call Your Lender
Explain to your lender why you are unable to make the payments and why you should be allowed to have a short sale for your New Jersey real estate. You may be asked to submit documentation of your financial difficulties, including bank statements and tax papers.

Send In Documentation
The lender may request that you send in proof of your income and assets. They'll want to know if you have any money in a savings account or a money market account. You'll have to tell them if you have any stocks, bonds or any other real estate that could be liquidated to pay off your debt.

Once you have approval to hold a short sale, you'll still need to submit more paperwork to the lender. You can ask your real estate agent to fill out the preliminary net sheet that the lender requires. This form will show what you expect to sell the house for and what the net profit will be after all loans are paid off.

After you find a buyer, mail in a form showing the offer and a copy of the listing agreement. The lender still has the option to refuse to approve the sale if the terms don't meet their requirements.

A short sale may be your ticket to avoid foreclosure on your New Jersey real estate.

Need help understanding mortgage and real estate terms? Subscribe to my blog today! Or Bookmark my main Blog Here. You'll get money saving home maintenance tips and local real estate tips/info/statistics 3 to 4 times a week.

Cathy Chaudemanche
Realtor Associate/Keller Williams Realty
Metuchen, NJ
Servicing Home Buyers and Sellers in Middlesex County, NJ
http://www.YourHouseFast.com