David Width Jr.

With the American society based around the concept of keeping up the the "Joneses", does anyone know what to do now that they are gone. The "Joneses" just got foreclosed on last week, is that something you really want to keep up with.

When it comes to home buying, please be very conscious in your choice of what you can afford. Don't always base your purchase price around how much you qualify for. You should sit down with your family and go over your expenses each month, and after you have calculated your total expenses (car payments, car insurance, food costs, gas costs, etc. etc.) then determine what you would be able to comfortably afford. It would be best to sacrifice a little bit of house then to be strapped each month and working to live.

It is also our job and professionals in the mortgage and real estate business to really help our buyers understand what they can afford comfortably. Personally, when my buyer decides on a home and wants to put an offer in, I get in touch with the loan officer, give him an idea of the mortgaged amount and the taxes and then he calculates the homeowners and mortgage insurance amounts, and then I give me buyer and idea of what they are looking at for a monthly payment including the Principal& interest, taxes, mort. insurance, & homeowners insurance. Then I remind them to consider the cost of electric, gas, cable, phone, water & sewer etc.

I am not concerned with how much my buyers are going to spend, I am just concerned that they are going to be able to afford what they are goig to spend. I am not just concerned with the sale, I am concerned with making sure my buyers will be able to lead a happy and healthy life with their family and to make sure they can plan on staying in this home until they are ready to leave, not forced to leave.

So before you go out and start thinking about buying one more toy, or purchasing that really big house without looking over your finances and knowing you will be able to comfortably afford it, take a look next door to that vacant, unkempt house, and remember what happened to the "Joneses."

Main point- BE COST CONSCIOUS.

As buyers and sellers, I feel these are some of the most common terms used during a real estate transaction. I have provided and overview of these terms with their definitions below. I hope these help you in some way or another.

Agency - The legal relationship resulting from an agreement that the agent is authorized by a principal to perform certain acts on behalf of another person.

Agent - A person who is authorized to act on behalf of another person, called the "principal."

Appraisal - An estimate of value on a specific piece of real estate.

Attorney-in-fact - One who is authorized to perform certain acts for another under a power of attorney.

Breach of Contract - Violation of any of the terms or conditions of a contract; default.

Buyer's Agent - A person who represents a buyer in a real estate transaction.

Certificate of Occupancy (C.O.) - A document issued by local government indicating that the building is in compliance with the public health and building codes and may be legally occupied.

Closing - The time when a transactions is consummated, or the actual signing over the documents and delivery of the deed.

Contingency - A condition in a contract, which could void it, or change its terms, if not met.

Contingent- Dependent upon an uncertain future event.

Dual Agent- A person who represents both the buyer and seller in the same transaction.

HUD-1 Uniform Settlement Statement- Standard settlement form required by RESPA

Mortgage - An instrument in writing in which, when recorded, creates a lien upon a property pledged as security for the repayment of a debt or obligation.

Negotiate - To transact business; to arrange terms of a contract.

Offer - A promise by one party to act in a certain manner provided the other party would act in the manner requested.

Survey - Process by which a parcel of land is measured and its area ascertained.

Valid Contract- Contract that is binding, is legally sufficient, and authorized by the law.

With more and more of these short sales flooding the market, we as agent's have to prepared to handle them when our buyer stumbles across one of them in which they would like to place an offer. Some of these tips will help to make the sale go somewhat smoother and help to protect and possibly save your buyer some money.

Inform buyer it may be timely: Let me say that again; Inform your buyer these transactions are likely to be timely. This is something you want to let them know right up front, and inform them that if the need to be in a property by a certain date, buying a short sale may not be a route they want to take.

Pre-approved: Make sure your buyer is pre-approved when placing an offer or writing a contract on a short sale before you send the offer or contract over. Also If your buyer is cash, have them get a recent bank statement from their bank (cross out the account number and important information) and submit this statement with the offer or contract. Some of the banks may require your buyer be pre-approved through their bank. Understand this does not mean your buyer must use this bank for the mortgage, but that bank wants to make sure right off the bat that your buyer will be able to qualify for a mortgage to purchase the short sale.

Build in a time frame: I would suggest when writing a contract on a short sale that you build in a date in which the bank has to respond to your buyer by. If they do not give you a response by that day, this allows your buyer to cancel the contract and proceed with something else.

Delay Inspection periods: I would also suggest you build into your contract that you want all inspection periods delayed until you receive approval from the bank, and at this time inspection periods would begin, rather than the normal inspection period beginning conclusion of Attorney review.

Prepare a "net sheet": With sending along your contract, get a title company you work closely with to prepare a settlement sheet so the bank can get a rough idea after all closing costs what they will be "netting."

Expect Commissions negotiations: When the bank is cutting its losses, the first thing they are going to try to negotiate is going to be the agent's commission. This is why when listing a short sale; I always suggest trying to list it originally at the highest commission allowed.

I just got finished putting this together for a customer of mine who requested it. So since I put all the work in, I figured I may as well share it with any other buyers considerign a townhome purchase in the Little Egg Harbor / Tuckerton NJ area. Also if townhomes aren't what your looking for, I would be more than happy to assist you in finding what you are looking for. I hope this is helpful for anyone trying to decide on what townhome developement fits their specifics a little better.

Local Townhome Development Breakdown for LEH / Tuckerton NJ

•1. Tall Timbers - This development has a mix of units; it has economy condo living, 2 bedroom units ranging from 1000 - 1200 sqft. , and 3 bedroom units ranging from 1500 - 2000 sqft. This development has an association fee in the amount of @ $100. Features a club house, pool, & tennis courts. This development offers some ranch style units.

•2. Walnut Estates- This development has 2 bedrooms units approx 1300 sqft. All of these units feature a basement. This development has an association fee in the amount of $158/mo. This development has a club house, pool, playground, & basketball court.

•3. Tuckerton Meadows - This development has only 2 bedroom units. These are 3 story units; the third story is a fully "livable" loft, although legally it does not qualify as a bedroom because of egress reasons. All the 2^nd and 3^rd floors are the same; however the first floor plans differs in about 4 different varieties. This development has an associate fee in the amount of @ $100.

•4. Tavistock- Probably the oldest of all the four developments. This development also has a mix of condos, 2 & 3 bedroom units ranging about 1100 - 1350 sqft. This development has a pool. The condo unit's association fee is @ $153, the 2 and 3 bedroom units association fee runs @ $100. This development offers some ranch style units.

Development Highest sale Lowest sale Avg. $ price Avg. D.O.M. Units sold

Statistics are based off of the sales that occurred from January 1^st, 2008 - December 31^st, 2008
An overall average idea of the size & unit sold is @ 2bd. / 1.5 baths in the range of 1200 sqft.

About St. Patrick

St. Patrick was born to a rather wealthy family in Britian near the end of the fourth century. At about the age of sixteen, St. Patrick was taken prisoner by Irish raiders that were attacking his family's estate. The raiders took him back to Ireland where he worked as a shepherd, and was held in captivity for @ 6 years. He felt very lonely and scared and it was at this point that he turned to religion and became a Christian. About six years later, St. Patrick claims he had a voice come to him in a dream telling him to escape Ireland, he believed this was God. Once returning back to Britian he claimed to have another revelation, an angel telling him to return to Ireland as a missionary. Once he bacame ordained as a Priest, he made a journey back to Ireland with a dual purpose, to Minister to already existing Christians, and to convert the other Irish people.

About the Holiday

St Patricks's Day is celebrated every March 17th and has been for 1000's of years. The holiday marks the anniversary of the death of St. Patrick and is observed through a religious feast. Although March being the season of Lent, prohibiting the consumption of meat, this prhibition was waived for St. Patrick's Day. The first parade actually took place in NYC on March 17th, 1762, not in Ireland. It was formed by Irish soliders serving in the English military. Today, this parade is the world's oldest civilian parade and the largest in the U.S. with over 150,000 participants. The parade generally lasts about 5 hours. Don't forget about Chicago either, where there pour in about 40 pounds of green vegetable dye to turn their river green in celebration of this Holiday.

Another neat fact is up until the 1970's Irish law prohibited pubs being opened on March 17th, to celebrate the more religious angle of this Holiday. However in 1995 that law was removed and the government saught to promote tourism and interest in the country through this day.