Bergen County Realtor, Sal Poliandro, CDPE, SRES, ePRO, Short Sale Specialist

Too good to pass up. This home was listed for $2.825 million in 2007. It is now listed at around $1.9 million and the outstanding mortgage seems to be over $2 million. Here is your chance to get into a great neighborhood at rock bottom pricing. The short sale and foreclosures seem to be hitting the high end as well. Contact me if you are interested in knowing the address of this property. I just listed a foreclosure in Wyckoff. The good deals in the more expensive towns go quickly. Make sure that the person you are working with has access.

Get Educated. Get Empowered. For more information on this or any other topic, call Sal Poliandro, Realtor, Marketing Advisor, Short Sale Specialist ePRO, SRES at 201-259-2187, or visit our websites: www.SalAndDawn.com or www.shortsaleguy.org Sal can be reached by snail mail at RE/MAX Properties 73 East Allendale Road Saddle River, NJ 07458

I just began marketing this listing. It was originally listed for $955,000. It never did sell. It then went to foreclosure and was purchased by the first mortgage holder. Now that the bank has it as a REO listing I am marketing it for the bank. Judging by steep discount, this property would have been a perfect candidate for a short sale two years ago.

Here is today's listing report. Come and see the bargain. Please visit me tomorrow 1/4/09 for an open house from 12p-2pm. The property is listed at $537,900,

Now that I have your attention...

Carpe Diem; 2009 will belong to people who seize the day and the year.

2009 will prove to be a difficult year for The United States and for its people. There is plenty of bad news to bathe yourself in if you are looking for it. The economy is terrible, people are losing their jobs, foreclosures are at new heights. Fear is gripping our country. What will it take for us to return to normalcy? When will the public sentiment turn towards optimism? FDR said, “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself.” in the same inauguration speech in 1933 he said, “Only a foolish optimist can deny the dark realities of the moment.” Let’s dissect this with an eye on the Real Estate market.

Real Estate is still the best investment.

Everybody has to live somewhere. They aren’t making any more land. Prices have dropped considerably in our area. Homes that just two years ago may have been out of reach for the average homebuyer have now come back in play. In a typical Real Estate cycle home prices and mortgage rates move in the opposite direction of each other. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, home prices were low but mortgage rates were near 18%. Right now we are in the perfect storm for a homebuyer. Prices have come down drastically and mortgage rates are near all-time lows. What is happening right now will probably not happen again in our lifetime. So, why are we afraid? We are afraid to make a mistake! Nobody, I mean nobody wants to buy a house today and then see it lose value. Then the question becomes; should I wait until the market “bottoms” out before I buy? Do a quick google search on timing the Real Estate market and you will find many opinions. Fortunately most of these folks have some kind of “Real Estate System” or book to sell you. Many people who try to time the market miss out on building equity because the only way to tell the bottom is when prices start to rise again. The Real Estate cycle only becomes clear in retrospect. Buying a home is not like buying a stock. You should plan on living in your home because you like the neighborhood and the amenities of the home. Any equity that you build should be a bonus, not the reason you purchase. The longer you stay in your home; the more likely it is that you will make money. We all know people who bought their house 15 years ago or more. Very few of those people are complaining that they bought their house “at the peak”. They may have spent more than they wanted to at the time, but looking back it was a great investment.

What are our dark realities?

One of the realities that we face is that unemployment is rising and credit markets have tightened. There are a percentage of our neighbors who are “underwater” in their current homes. Their homes are mortgaged for more than they are worth. Some of our neighbors will lose their homes to foreclosure in 2009. Others will be proactive and decide to sell the home that they can’t afford before they lose it. A short sale may be the answer. When someone owes more than their house is worth they may still be able to sell it. In a short sale a homeowner can sell their home for less than what is owed on it and have the bank pay for all the closing costs; including the Realtors fee, transfer tax, attorney fee, back taxes and possibly more fees. A short sale is a complicated process, make sure that the person representing you has the experience necessary to navigate through the waters.

Final FDR thought.

“This great Nation will endure as it has endured, will revive and will prosper.” This quote reminds me that life is cyclical, the economy is cyclical and Real Estate is cyclical. We are citizens of the greatest country in the world. We will endure, revive and prosper once again. 2009 will belong to the proactive. Don’t be fearful; get off the sidelines, this year will bring us innovations that people would have never thought possible just a few short years ago. That is what adversity does to people. More small businesses will be created because people have lost their jobs. When times are good we have to be careful of complacency. I believe that we, as a nation, are ready for the challenge. Go and seize the day!

Get Educated. Get Empowered.

For more information on this or any other topic, call Sal Poliandro, Realtor, Marketing Advisor,

Short Sale Specialist ePRO, SRES at 201-259-2187, or visit our websites: www.SalAndDawn.com or www.shortsaleguy.org

Sal can be reached by snail mail at RE/MAX Properties 73 East Allendale Road Saddle River, NJ 07458

We are sitting in the airport waiting for our plane. This is probably the first time I have had to sit and relax. We had an excellent time at NAR 2008. Here are my top 10 reasons...

10 Orlando is way warmer than Ridgewood NJ and it rained there the whole time we were gone.

9 Rented a convertible and were like a couple without children (kids were at grandmas house).

8 People from our computer came to life. We met a bunch of active rainers. (I will post a blog with pictures later).

7 Free Stuff... Dawn heard about the flip camera and wanted me to purchase it. I told her to win one at the spinning wheel at HomeGain's booth. SHE DID!!!

6 Palm Trees as far as the eyes can see!

5 Parties every night (I mean social interactions in a networking kind of way).

4 We saw gas at $1.99 a gallon.

3 Did we mention that our children were not with us.

2. Being with 20,000+ like minded Realtors. The sky is not falling, we have more to do with our success than the economy. There are over 1.2 million Realtors in NAR; 20,000 Realtors makes up about 1.5% of all licensed Realtors.

And the number one reason why NAR 2008 rocked was...

1. Education without Application is worthless. We are always energized to take what we have learned and put it into practice!

I had one bummer and it was at the very end of our trip. We were on our way to return the rent a car and forgot to fill up. We pulled into the gas station across the street from the car return. I scanned my credit card and realized that Gas was $4.99 a gallon. That's right $4.99 a gallon!! Now I don't mind paying a little bit more but that is 150% over the going rate. I have to tell you, I'm a little bummed. I will get over it, but it is the principle that has me going. It may spawn a future blog. I'm sure that I am not the only one who got gouged. Bummer!

The annual tree lighting in Ridgewood is the highlight of our Christmas season. Here is a blog I wrote last year about how much fun we had. I was lucky enough to capture my daughter on video singing Jingle Bells at the local Starbucks. Here is the schedule:

Please notice that the day has changed.

This year it will be on Friday December 5th. Not the typical Saturday that we have become used to.

Ridgewood is beginning a wonderful new tradition by planting a live tree in Van Neste Memorial Square.

There will be no need to chop down a live tree, we will be able to decorate the same tree each year.

The new tree is projected to grow one foot per year and will be able to be admired all year long.

Tree Lighting Program will start at 7pm
The actual tree lighting will be at 7:30pm

The Ridgewood Chamber of Commerce had a great meeting of local business people who are interested in making this a great event for the Village of Ridgewood.

I was at the meeting, this will be a memorable event. Mark your calendars now.

For more information on Short Sales, New Jersey Homes for Sale, Bergen County Real Estate or any other topic,

call Sal Poliandro, Realtor, ePRO, SRES at 201-259-2187, or visit our website: http://www.salanddawn.com/

Sal can be reached by snail mail at RE/MAX Properties 73 East Allendale Road Saddle River, NJ 07458