Sparta, NJ

Sparta, NJ Monthly Home Sales Report ~ January 2010 follows ... Sparta, located in Sussex County, NJ at this writing offers 278 homes available for purchase. Currently there are 41 listings Under Contract and scheduled to close. January 2010 saw 20 closed sales,

If you're looking for affordable homes in Sparta, Sparta has many great deals waiting for the savvy buyer!

Following are details on Sparta's closed sales for the month of January 2010.

No: Address List Price Style RM BR TBT Gar BSMT Sold Price DOM 1 18 S SHORE TRL* $119,900 Bungalow 4 2 1 0 Yes $105,000 151 2 89 CARRIAGE LN* $179,900 Ranch, Townhouse-Interior 4 1 1 0 Yes $162,500 90 3 33 INDIAN TRL* $180,000 Lakestyle 7 3 1 1 Yes $181,000 15 4 3 SUMMIT TRL $230,000 Ranch 6 2 1 1 Yes $220,000 84 5 24 DYLAN DR* $279,900 Townhouse-End Unit 6 2 2 1 No $265,000 137 6 52 CARRIAGE LN* $325,000 Townhouse-Interior 8 3 2.1 1 Yes $297,500 74 7 35 WATERS EDGE* $550,000 Colonial 12 4 3 3 Yes $515,000 60 8 12 FREDERICK PL* $569,900 Colonial 10 4 3 3 Yes $550,000 27 9 56 E SHORE TRL* $698,000 Cape Cod, Colonial 10 4 2.1 0 Yes $699,000 18 10 2 Van Kirk Place $699,900 Colonial 11 4 3.1 3 Yes $657,500 216 11 8 FOREST HILL DR* $763,500 Colonial 12 4 3.1 3 Yes $735,000 3 12 10 HEIGHWOOD TRL* $779,900 Custom Home, Lakestyle 9 4 3 2 Yes $737,000 92 13 36 BIRCH PKY* $895,999 Custom Home, Lakestyle, Expanded Ranch 9 3 3 2 Yes $815,000 515 14 34 CHEYENNE TRL* $1,200,000 Ranch 10 4 4.1 3 Yes $1,060,000 0 15 43 ISLAND TRAIL $2,950,000 Contemporary, Custom Home 12 4 4 2 Yes $2,500,000 179 16 27 Island Trail $3,950,000 Custom Home 11 4 5 3 Yes $3,350,000 286

Antoinette" Scognamiglio (licensed as Maria), Sales Associate, Re/Max Superior Homes, 333 Route 46W, Suite 104, Mountain Lakes, NJ 07046. Cell Phone: 201.240.8699. Email: AntoinetteS@remax.net

Are you considering purchasing or selling a home in Morris or Sussex County? As a relocation specialist, I take exceptional care in assisting my clients in finding their new home and community. Certified as an Accredited Staging Professional, I work with my home seller clients to ensure their home offers the highest level of appeal to the buyer market. My marketing plan offers items that work to secure a smooth transaction and are unique to what my competition offers. Please visit my website to learn more about my philosophy in conducting real estate business and to access the resources I offer to buyers and sellers. My credo is..."The title of REALTOR® should be held with great care or not held at all." Put your real estate transaction in careful hands.

For the first time, I just pulled together what I believe are a segment of Sussex County NJ's "Hot 10 homes for sale". There are so many great values and bargain prices right now, it was hard to narrow them down.

While a fair number of these are short sales and bank-owned foreclosures (REOs), not all are distressed properties in Sussex County NJ. A few require a lot of work because I have buyers seeking such, but many are in move-in condition. Some are new listings, others ones that recently hit my own value criteria.

My "hot 10 homes for sale in Sussex NJ" are the ones for which I'll suggest my buyers include in our upcoming house-hunting appointments. Given my current buyers' goals, many of these hot 10 are in Sussex County NJ lake communities, including Sparta's Lake Mohawk. All, however, I view as bargain priced for what is offered.

Not all meet each requirement of those to whom I'll be showing houses in the next week, but I think there is at least 1 each party will insist on adding to our roster! I'm betting some of my buyers will want make offers on these Hot 10 homes for sale Sussex County NJ - Bargain-priced houses!

Copyright © 2010, Irene Kennedy, all rights reserved. This blog post represents Irene's personal musings.

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, Stockholm, Sussex, Vernon, Wantage.

As Sparta may well be Sussex County NJ's most popular real estate, let's take a peek at some solid market data on home sales. While for this report I haven't broken out Lake Mohawk separately, I often do so when working with sellers and buyers in the area.

In fact, I'm trying very hard to find the right, well-priced Lake Mohawk homes for sale for a variety of potential buyers. As these folks are seeking Sussex County vacation properties, their needs are quite different from those looking for a residence! I'm very determined to help each of these buyers find that right lake home in Sparta. But I digress...

I've based the following Sparta NJ market report graphs on GSMLS data: "Info. deemed RELIABLE but not GUARANTEED."

Average price for home sold in Sparta in 2009 was $440,583.

Reinforcing what I said about Sparta's popularity, the 2009 average sale price for a Sussex County NJ home was $268,762. Now, there are umpteen reasons to explain the big difference. These are best covered face to face.

Copyright © 2010, Irene Kennedy, all rights reserved. This blog post represents Irene's personal musings.

Considering selling a home or looking to buy in Sparta or another Sussex County NJ area? Benefit from creative marketing, top negotiating skills and vast real estate knowledge by contacting Irene via the data to the right.

Earlier this year, I was contacted by a homeowner who was completely exasperated. He had endured a year of having his house on the market with little or no interest being expressed despite the fact that it was basically a lovely house, on a great horse property, and in a terrific town here in northern New Jersey. Yes, it was quite dated, and he finally conceded that he was never going to stand a chance of selling it unless he did some updating. Thankfully, he called me to work with him to update and ultimately stage his home. I say thankfully, because this ended up being one of the most labor-intensive, interesting and fulfilling projects I've ever worked on. Within a month of listing, the house had sold!

Here are a number of before and after photos of this property.

Entry Hall

In the entry hall, I recommended that the tile be replaced, the wallpaper be removed, the walls and trim be painted, and a new light fixture be installed in order to update this very important part of the house.

Living Room

The living room was painted and the existing furnishings were replaced with rental furniture. With the addition of the furniture, combined with the accessories, the room now has enhanced appeal to buyers.

Kitchen Eat-In Area

In order to open this area up, I recommended that the half wall be removed. As you can see, it made a dramatic difference. A new ceiling fixture replaced the dated stained glass fixture. Paint and new tile, along with a lovely kitchen table and chairs create an inviting space for prospective buyers

Kitchen

The kitchen required some pretty dramatic work...I recommended that the floor tile be replaced and that new cabinetry be installed. In order to give the kitchen a more spacious feel, I recommended that the kitchen counter (jutting out at the bottom right corner of the photo) be removed all together. We painted, replaced light fixtures and replaced the tile countertops with silestone. The ceramic sinks were replaced with stainless. A little more inviting than before, don't you think?

Family Room

Originally, the family room flooring was tile. I recommended that carpet be used in this room in order to warm the space up. By placing furniture in the room prospective buyers can imagine how this space can be lived in.

Dining Room

The dining room, with its heavy drapes and dark trim, badly needed a facelift. I removed the drapes, had the walls and trim painted and replaced the chandelier. Just these few changes make this a room that a family would be proud to entertain in!

Powder Room

The powder room underwent an overhaul. We removed the wallpaper, vanity, mirror, toilet and light fixture. What resulted after we replaced these items and painted the room is a spa-like room that is soothing instead of jarring.

"Staging Your Home For Its Best First Impression"

Sussex County Mortgage Loan Programs abound, as there are a variety of available loan options for first-time buyers, those "upsizing" or "downsizing", or those who simply wish to refinance their existing mortgage. Sussex County Mortgage Loan Programs include and are not limited to: FHA Mortgages, VA Loans, Fannie Mae Loans, Adjustable Rate Mortgages, USDA RD Loans, Jumbo Mortgage Loans, and Stated Income Loans. We will review briefly each type of loan listed above to go over the programs we offer as a New Jersey Mortgage Banker. We offer additional mortgage programs as a broker as well, giving us the ability to offer the best of both worlds. For a direct quote on any particular program, please contact me or feel free to call me directly at 908 531 6170. Here is a synopsis of several of our different loan programs:

FHA Mortgages are very popular among our Sussex County Mortgage Loan Programs, as a large portion of our loans is through FHA and we have FHA Approved underwriters on staff. We offer the traditional 203B, 3.5% down FHA Purchase Money loan as well as refinancing options. Here is a recent blog I wrote about the FHA Adjustable Rate Mortgage Program. The fixed rate program is super as well. FHA loans can be a benefit purchases and refinances.

Jumbo Mortgage Loans: We have Sussex County Mortgage Loan Programs with true Jumbo Mortgage programs on a brokered basis. Although many parts of NJ have benefitted from the "super-conforming" loan limits, some areas still have relatively low loan limits. Sussex County's loan limit is $729,000 currently. Here is a recent blog about our jumbo programs in NJ. Both fixed rate as well as ARM options are available.

USDA RD Loans: particularly in Sussex County, New Jersey, there are plenty of areas qualified for the moderate income rural development 100% financing program. As a New Jersey Mortgage Banker, we underwrite and fund these loans ourselves. Here is some info on the USDA program and eligible areas in NJ. The most important part to remember about the USDA program is you must qualify income-wise and the property location must fall within an approved area.

VA Mortgages: 100% financing for qualified veterans is a great loan program for veteran first-time homebuyers and seasoned homebuyers alike. With VA approved underwriters on staff, we offer in-house underwriting for VA Loans. Here is a recent blog I wrote with some basic information regarding the VA Mortgage Program.

Stated Income Mortgage Loans: We do not offer the traditional "liar's loan", but rather have on a brokered basis access to Stated Income Mortgage Loans for the self-employed borrowers for which this program was originally intended. This blog has more information about our stated income brokered product.

For more information on the Sussex County Mortgage Loan Programs we offer, use my contact form or call me at 908 531 6170.