Delran Township, NJ

A "Diamond in the Rough"! This home actually features an indoor inground pool, sunken hot tub and cedar sauna. Home also has 3 full baths, large master suite on 2nd floor, and attractive living room with stone fireplace. Located in a private setting close to shopping, major highways, the Riverline Light Rail and Philadelphia. Home is in need of TLC and is being sold in "as-is" condition. However, this home could truly be a gem!

What is in a name? - Honesty? Integrity? Knowledge? Trustworthy? Creativity? Being reliable?

What is in a name designation? - In most cases, the same that would be attached with any name?

Some of you might be asking yourself, "what am I talking about." How about those names that come with such designations as :

Certified planner - Certified Technician

Mortgage Specialist - Real Estate Specialist

In the mortgage and real estate world, many realtors and loan officers have special designations attached to their names. You will usually find these designations on their business cards or on their web site.

Realtor -

CRS - Certified Residential Specialist

ABR - Accredited Buyers Representative

CNS - Certified Neighborhood Specialist

SRS - Seller Representative Specialist

Loan Officers -

CMPS - Certified Mortgage Planner Specialist

UMB - Upfront Mortgage Broker

CLA - Certified Liability Advisor

My Example : Just last week, I wrote this post about basic information on FHA loans and what you should be careful of. FHA loans 101- The basics of FHA mortgages & mortgage shopping - I truly pride myself on numbers, giving out very accurate figures, and not just my opinions based on assumptions. But to prove them with real numbers, not numbers that can be manipulated to make me look right.

I had a loan officer disagree with my opinion and my figures. Hey, I have no problem with people disagreeing. I might actually learn something. Yet he told me that I wasn't correctly comparing apples to apples and that the upfront mortgage insurance was still a cost to the borrower. That part is true, but he didn't read my whole post and review my comparison examples, which detailed this. And if you know how to compare FHA loans vs conventional loans, you understand the whole mortgage insurance issues. You don't have a specific designation for this.

I mentioned several types of designations, which many of them give that realtor or loan officer more knowledge and education. But there is one type of designation that sells costs and that is an upfront mortgage broker. If you read many sites by upfront mortgage brokers, they sell their costs, telling you that they will negotiate your costs, making them usually sound very affordable. This is great for the average consumer. But what is not mentioned is the service or advice that one might receive or in this case, the lack of. Meaning, my comparisons were sound and flawless. But if you deal with someone that sells costs, but might give you the wrong advice, do you think a cheap loan will still be cheap if they gave you the wrong advice?

Conclusion :

My whole point to this post? To make the average consumer understand that not everyone is as knowledgeable or ethical as they may sound just because they have one of these designations. Yes, many of these designations mentioned require for that person to take classes and a test in order to receive that designation.

How many of you remember going to school and passing a test to a class that you didn't fully pay attention to? How many of you were good at winging things? How many have a photogenic mind, are able to remember what they read or hear, yet might not comprehend what was said?

So, who are you really? Just because you say that you a CMPS, certified mortgage planner, does it mean that you have my best interest at hand? Do you know exactly what you are doing?

In regards to the loan officer in my example. This person advertises lowest cost loans. I have an old saying..."the cheapest loan on paper might cost you more in the long run." If this person doesn't know how to compare specific loans, how can this be the cheapest for you? The best? What happens if that person's choices aren't accurate? Wrong? Misleading? Many loan officers sell costs, but can't give you accurate or reliable comparisons when it comes to specific programs. Just keep this in mind when shopping for a mortgage.

PS... don't get me wrong. In many cases, designations are good. One of the mortgage designations, CMPS, and many real estate designations are great educational tools. But if someone preaches it or slams it don't your throat, that might be their only selling feature to you. A desgination should not be verification for that person to be credible. Just be careful...

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Experience & Knowledge at its BEST !!!

_________________________________________________________________________________________

For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert

For more information about the 2009 Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers : 2009 Tax Credit

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags!

Copyright © 2009 by Jeff Belonger of Infinity Home Mortgage Company, Inc

Here’s the Delran Real Estate market update for September 2008. Pended units for September were up 6 and Sold units were down 5 compared to September 2007; listed units were down by 18 units versus 2007. This has led to a current inventory of 121 units. Delran has been averaging 11 units sold per month which means there is currently 11 months worth of inventory in Delran. This outperforms the overall Burlington County market, which has 12 months worth of inventory. Year to date listed units are down 17 (a 6% increase), pended units are down 10 (a 9% decrease) and sold units are down 2 (a 20% decrease). See how this compares to the Burlington County Market.

The last 3 years the average number of units pended and sold in September was approximately 14 & 15 respectively. This September there was 15 units pended and 6 sold. The average Days on Market for the year is 88.

What does all this mean? If you are thinking of buying or selling right now it’s important that you seek the advice of a full time professional realtor who can best advise you as to how to take advantage of this market.

The chart below provides you with the 9/2007-9/2008 numbers for listed, pended and sold units.

Below is a chart that shows the average list price and average sold price for Burlington County from 9/2007-9/2008. The average sold price is down 7% from September 2007 ($286,250) to September 2008 ($267,054).

If you are thinking of selling or buying in the near future, please don't hesitate to contact me directly at 856-222-5829. Or you may always visit me on line for tons of useful tips and ideas at no cost or obligation to you. I look forward to helping you reach your Real Estate goals.

*Market Statistics as of 10/15/2008.

Here’s the Delran Real Estate market update for August 2008. Pended units for August were up 1 and Sold units were up 10 compared to August 2007; listed units were up by 3 units versus 2007. This has led to a current inventory of 124 units. Delran has been averaging 11 units sold per month which means there is currently 11 months worth of inventory in Delran. This outperforms the overall Burlington County market, which has 12 months worth of inventory. Year to date listed units are up 1 (a 0.4% increase), pended units are down 15 (a 15.2% decrease) and sold units are down 18 (a 17.8% decrease). See how this compares to the Burlington County Market.

The last 3 years the average number of units pended and sold in August was approximately 14 & 19 respectively. This August there was 9 units pended and 21 sold. The average Days on Market for the year is 88.

What does all this mean? If you are thinking of buying or selling right now it’s important that you seek the advice of a full time professional realtor who can best advise you as to how to take advantage of this market.

The chart below provides you with the 8/2007-8/2008 numbers for listed, pended and sold units.

Below is a chart that shows the average list price and average sold price for Burlington County from 8/2007-8/2008. The average sold price is up 1.4% from August 2007 ($276,636) to August 2008 ($280,642).

If you are thinking of selling or buying in the near future, please don't hesitate to contact me directly at 856-222-5829. Or you may always visit me on line for tons of useful tips and ideas at no cost or obligation to you. I look forward to helping you reach your Real Estate goals.

*Market Statistics as of 9/15/2008.

In Remembrance on Sept 11

This is the war memorial located in front of the Delran Municipal Center. The plaque on the left names local residents from World War II and the Korean Conflict. The one on the right are names from the first World War.

This photo is in my Delran NJ photo set on Flickr. All rights reserved