Heads Up!

PASSWORDS: Everything you have now-a-days requires a password to be accessed, and most people's main concern when generating a password is to make it easy enough to remember. Well believe it or not, passwords can be hacked :o and "easy enough to remember" doesn't help much. Therefore, safety up! This is just a heads up for anyone out there to analyze all your passwords and make sure they are not too simple; because if someone gets a hold of, let's say your personal information, I would assume it might be of concern to most people. How do I know if my password is too simple? Well it just so happens that I have a list of the top 10 worst passwords to have!


1. Password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. abc123
5. qwerty
6. monkey
7. letmein
8. dragon
9. 111111
10. baseball

In addition to the top 10 list above there are other ways to learn how to create safer passwords. Search "how to create a safe password" on GOOGLE and you'll find endless links of information!

Sandy Recovery

Hey Everyone, I apologize for being MIA the last few weeks but Sandy hit us hard here in Central Jersey. My home as well as my office lost power for two weeks and I am just getting back into the swing of things. It was nothing short of a disaster scene around here since the storm and its nice to finally see things moving along smoothly again. I would like for everyone to please keep in mind all those who suffered greatly from this storm. I know many people who lost the place that they call home and sadly some even lost their lives. The Jersey Shore suffered the most from Sandy which I know hits a lot of people in a soft spot due to the endless amount of memories shared by so many over the years. It's time for everyone out there to help rebuild! Please donate or volunteer if you are able to, and let's make this a country wide effort. If we all work together, we will see amazing results.

BofA gets sued for the "Hustle"

     Bank of America has been hit with a $1 billion lawsuit from federal prosecutors in regards to their "Hustle" scheme. The "Hustle" refers to a period from 2007 to 2009 in which the bank allegedly had a program in place to push along the process of mortgage applications quicker than usual. This program allegedly disregarded checking for certain aspects in mortgage applications such as mortgage fraud, misstatements, and wrongdoings in the applications. The loan origination program was started under Countrywide Financial and Countrywide Home Loans which were acquired by BofA in 2008. According to the lawsuit many of the loans that originated in this program were sold to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and later defaulted upon which caused many foreclosures and a billion dollars in losses (Hence the billion dollar lawsuit.) One of the spokesman for BofA reported to USA Today that the bank has already repurchased some of these loans that have gone wrong, attempting to resolve this matter responsibly. The spokesman continued to say that the bank cannot “compensate every entity that claims losses that actually were caused by the economic downturn."

"Countrywide and Bank of America made disastrously bad loans and stuck taxpayers with the bill," said Preet Bharara, Manhattan U.S. attorney.

"Countrywide and Bank of America systematically removed every check in favor of its own balance — they cast aside underwriters, eliminated quality controls, incentivized unqualified personnel to cut corners and concealed the resulting defects. These toxic products were then sold to the government sponsored enterprises as good loans."

source: USAToday

More Buyers Less Homes

     Hey everyone, there seems to be a continuing issue out there in regards to Real Estate. Buyer demand continues to increase, but the amount of available homes does not match up, which indicates a shortage of homes in the market. The National Association of REALTORS® has credited the drop in home sales to a diminishing inventory in for sale homes. “Recent price increases are not deterring buyer interest,” notes Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief economist. “Rather, inventory shortages are limiting sales, notably in parts of the West.” The prices of homes have been consistently rising, and the buyers are ready and willing to pay these increasing prices, but the problem lies with the sellers. If people are not comfortable listing their property just yet, then these ready, willing, and able buyers will be left unsatisfied. CNBC has reported that current home owners are not putting their homes on the market fast enough to compensate for the decrease in distressed volume. In the past two years, distressed sales have been responsible for upwards of one third of home sales, as opposed to the recent numbers where distressed home sales are down to 24% of overall home sales. Sellers are still awaiting a more substantial recovery before they list their home in order to gain back more of the equity they had lost during the collapse.
     One possible way to overcome this unbalanced buyer/seller availability is the construction of new homes. We need more new home construction in this market in order to gain some equality or balance, and we have actually seen a 43% increase in new home construction compared to a year ago. Although this increase is definitely a positive sign, the overall number of new home construction is still approximately half of what it needs to be in order to be considered "normal" for this sector.



source: realtormag

ARMs Becoming More Popular Again with Luxury Home Buyers

• ARM - adjustable rate mortgage

An ARM is a mortgage loan on a note that is periodically adjusted based on an index that reflects the cost of the mortgage lender for borrowing on the credit markets. They can have a fixed mortgage rate for a number of years beginning the mortgage term, such as five or seven, before they begin to fluctuate with the market and the monthly payments start increasing. ARMs were once to blame for the inundation of foreclosures in the past few years, however they are becoming appealing once again, especially among luxury home buyers. ARMs are currently offering very low interest rates, at least for a  certain period, compared to fixed rate mortgages. ARMs make up 30-40% of the private jumbo market at Bank of America and almost half of all private jumbo loans by NASB financial.

“Lenders say high-net-worth buyers face relatively little risk because they can tap liquid assets to pay off a loan should a sudden spike in rates occur,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

Buyers at the higher end are putting a lot of thought into ARMs because of the potential savings on interest. For a jumbo 5/1 ARM the rate could be as low as 2.82% compared to the rate on a 30 year fixed rate jumbo loan of 4.06 according to the mortgage information website HSH.com. 

“Over the first five years, borrowers with the 5/1 ARM would save nearly $90,900 in interest on a $1.5 million mortgage compared with a fixed-rate jumbo,” according to The Wall Street Journal.

If you are in the market for high end homes it would be in your best interest to ask your mortgage lender about an ARM and if it would benefit you.

New Home Construction Hits 4 Year Highs

     The construction of new homes has surged in September to its fastest pace in four years according to the Commerce Department. Housing starts increased 15% from August levels into September, headed off by a 25.1% increase in the multifamily market. Single family housing starts went up by 11%, trumping their highest output since August of 2008. On top of all those good numbers there is also continued hope for increase in the future. One way to monitor or predict future new home construction is by analyzing the amount of building permits that are being applied for. In result of this analysis, the building permits have jumped 11.6% in September which means there is plenty of activity lined up for more new construction.

"One of the big headwinds for the economy has been the weak housing market, and this indicates that headwind has dissipated," Gary Thayer, an economic strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis, Mo., told Reuters.

"Things are lining up for housing," says John Canally, an economist at LPL Financial in Boston. "It's another step in the right direction, but you still have a long, long way to get back to 'normal' in housing."

Although all of this is definitely good news for the housing market, new home starts are still far from that of January 2006, which was the peak of the housing market before the collapse. If all of this growth continues, not only will the housing market benefit, but also the economy in general. As we all know, the housing market has a very big effect on the overall economy.

source: realtormag

Real Estate Investment Secret

     Are you interested in investing in Real Estate? If so, here is some information that will definitely help you find the right property to invest in. It has been stated by many professionals lately that investing in Real Estate right now is a very good idea considering the fact that the market is definitely in the recovery process. It seems that home prices have hit their low spot and are now on the upswing. Although the growth has been small, it has been very consistent which is the most important aspect to be considered. When it comes to Real Estate there is a phrase that trumps all others and that is, "Location, Location, Location"! Location is the most important feature when considering value.
    Therefore, if you were to invest in a property, WHERE would you want to begin searching? The secret I referred to in the title of this post is SMALL MARKETS. At first, you might be considering investing in an already established and well built up market; a place where there will be plenty of traffic and desire. However, during the ridiculous housing boom from '95 to '06 these well developed areas were actually overdeveloped because of the demand and the idea that anything and everything would sell quickly, which it did until the collapse. So where is the money now? The investment opportunities are greatest in the small markets, particularly small cities with populations in the range of 200 to 500 thousand. According to Local Market Monitor and HomeVestor the latest quarterly reports show that for single family homes rental properties, these smaller markets are ideal.

“Many of these markets not only have unemployment rates well below the national average, but they show strong job growth and housing prices have bottomed out,” says Ingo Winzer, president of LMM. The smaller markets are “great places to rent out single-family homes because strong economic growth can quickly use up the existing housing options.”

“We often see that the smaller markets are the best-kept secret of investing,” Hicks says. “Many of these smaller markets offer a consistent demand for rental properties. Investors can discover for themselves that the big city isn’t the only place with a great deal for investors.”

source: LMM

ANDROID Users Beware

If you have an Android smartphone this is definitely something you want to read. The internet crime complaint center has issued a warning to all Android users about malware attacks that are specifically targeting Android devices. That means if you have a phone manufactured by Samsung, HTC, Pantech, Motorola, and others you could be under malware attack. The names of the two suspected malware programs are Loozfon and FinFisher; the way they attack is as follows:

For Loozfon: They will implement a false advertisement explaining how you could make a sizable profit by sending emails from home. If you click on this link, you are sent to a website that will push Loozfon onto your device and the malware will then attempt to steal your address book contacts.

For FinFisher: This spyware is activated by clicking on a specific weblink, or by opening a text message that is disguised as a system update. The result of triggering this spyware, the ability for FinFisher to remotely control and monitor your communications.

Although these are very scary situations, there are ways of preventing these attacks on your device. If your going to add an application make sure you check out who the publishing developer or company is.  Try to obtain some type of malware protection for your device. Watch out for applications that as to use your Geo Location because they could be using that ability for evil. Make sure you use a password for your device and enable the screenlock ability after a few minutes of inactivity.

For more information regarding malware, spyware, or attacks on your devices please visit this link: http://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx



source: forbes

Appraisals Haunt Housing Recovery

     The conditions of the current housing market should be very appealing to buyers and sellers alike. However, we are noticing that a lot of people out there are very hesitant to make the move right now, whether that move is buying or selling. This post will focus mainly on the potential sellers who are being scared into staying off the market, and for good reason. First off we saw a fear in listing because of the major losses taken by anyone who owned a home throughout the housing collapse. Home prices dropped dramatically beginning in 2006/07, as we all know, which means that many people who would list now will begin the process at a loss in value from their original purchase. However, there is now light at the end of the tunnel which we have been seeing for quite some time now. We have seen consecutive months with increasing home prices, more and more homeowners who were underwater are getting out, the amount of foreclosures out there continue to set record lows since the collapse, and we are beginning to see a future in Real Estate again. There are even some projections saying that home prices could witness a full rebound to their prices back in late 2005 by the year 2015. The future is definitely bright for homeowners, however one big issue is causing hesitation for potential sellers in the present; that issue is appraisals. “It’s holding sellers off the market,” Jed Smith, NAR’s managing director of quantitative research, told The New York Times. “Sales volume could probably be an additional 10 to 15 percent higher if we had normal lending practices and if we had normal appraisal practices.” More than a third of real estate agents have claimed that appraisals have been responsable for cancellations, delays, or renegotiations to a lower price. The NAR has spoken about this topic, claiming that appraisals are holding back the housing recovery.

     Now that you can see what the effect is, let me elaborate more on the cause. Appraisals are haunting potential sellers in a few ways. An increasing amount of real estate agents have been including contingencies in their contracts stating the amount a buyer is willing to pay if the appraisal comes in lower than the agreed upon sales price. I have personally been subject to this particular contingency and I can tell you that my client was not happy when I explained the contingency to him. My client's reaction was simple, "your telling me that we all agreed upon a price, yet if the appraiser gives a lower estimate then we have to change our agreement?" My Client continued by asking me, "then what's the point of negotiating in the first place?" The reason for this contingency is because appraisals have been coming in on the low end, which benefits the buyers, but not the sellers. Appraisers have been criticized for using foreclosures as comparables as well as failing to take into account market conditions such as low inventory and bidding wars in a lot fo areas. Another reason, states NAR, is that banks have increased their appraisal requirements to 6 comparable homes, as opposed to the previous requirement of 3. At a time of low inventory, this increase to 6 comparables just does not have any benefit.

     Although this needs to change, the appraisers are not to blame. Increased regulation on banks and lenders has caused much concern in giving out mortgages. The banks and lenders have been told by the current administration that they can only give out "qualified" mortgages or loans or else they are subject to penalties. However, the administration has yet to come forth with a specific definition or guideline to describe the term "qualified". Therefore, lenders are hesitant and very critical when qualifying someone for a loan, hence the requirement increase to 6 comparable homes for the appraisals. There definitely needs to be some kind of regulation on lenders so that we do not borrow our way back to another recession, however the current policies are simply not cutting it. There needs to be more clarity for the lenders and less fear of doing something wrong. We want this housing market to move forward like it could be doing instead of remaining stagnant.

Fed Reserve: Real Estate A Bright Spot In Recovery

     This information is based off of the reporting in the "Beige Book", therefore I will quickly describe what the "Beige Book" is for those of you who are not sure. The "Beige Book" is an alternative term for the report more formally known as the Summary of Commentary on Economic Conditions issued by the Federal Reseve Board and is issued eight times throughout the year. How did this report become a standard for reviewing economic conditions? Well it just so happens that I got that information for you as well! The date was 1985, and former Dow Jones reporter Paul Cox requested to see the report. He was granted permission to see it, which in turn forced all competing reporters to request access the following month. Next thing you know, almost 30 years later, it is a staple for reviewing the current economic state.
     Now that you understand the credibility of the source at hand, we can discuss the findings of the most recent report in regards to real estate. Ten of the twelve reviewed districts posted moderate economic growth from August into September. However, the bright spot in this recovery, according to the Fed Reserve , is Real Estate. The report states that a few issues are restraining hiring which include the uncertainty of possible tax increases, a very sluggish job market, and most of all the upcoming Presidential election. The meaning of the statement "bright spot" when referring to Real Estate is because the housing market "showed widespread improvement". All twelve districts posted higher existing home sales and some areas even showed "substantial" growth. The Beige Book also declared a "robust" multifamily market particularly in the cities of Boston, New York, Atlanta, and Chicago.
   This is more good news for the housing market and the overall views on the market continue to show us nothing but positive feedback and growth.

Survey Shows Increasingly Positive Views On Housing

Fannie Mae's September national housing survey, which is conducted by interviewing 1,000 Americans, is continuing to portray a more positive public outlook on housing. According to this survey, the views have remained positive for eleven straight months now. Also, the amount of people who are expecting home prices to fall has reached 11%. That number of 11% is an all time low since the survey was initiated in 2010. The expectations of the respondents are for home prices to INCREASE 1.5 percent over the next year.

“Consumers are showing increasing faith in the nascent housing recovery,” says Doug Duncan, Fannie Mae’s chief economist.

Next question, is now a good time to sell? Buy? According to the survey, approximately 20% say yes, now is a good time to sell, which is a record high for the history of this survey. As for the question of is now a good time to buy, a much higher 69% say they believe now is a very good time to buy. On another note, not only is their an increasingly positive view for housing, but also for the economy overall. 33% said the economy was on the right track last month, but this month that number jumped to 41%. Although that is a good sign, there are still 53% saying the economy is on the wrong track. Obviously, something needs to be done in terms of fixing the economy, which has been a huge topic of discussion during the debates, and will continue to be on Tuesday with the second Presidential Debate.

Source: realtormag

VP Debate...Thoughts?

Good Morning! I hope everyone is staying warm. To all of those who watched the debate last night, I would love to know what you thought???? Please comment if you could and tell a little about your opinions and how you thought it went! I believed it was a good debate, but hampered with the seemingly condescending attitude of VP Biden. Personally, being one of the younger Americans out there, I was really turned off by VP Biden's attitude and body language towards VP candidate Ryan. Overall it was a very close debate, each side made some very significant points, but the question is, who was telling the truth and who was making up their own truth. My biggest concern right now is with the future economic state of this great country of ours because from what I can see, my generation (genY) is going to be left with an insurmountable debt unless some changes are made. Can one of these teams make the necessary changes?

Please stop by and leave your thoughts if you would like, I am really interested to hear some opinions!

Unemployment Rate: The Reality

     Alright so this has been bothering me ever since the Obama administration came out with their unfathomable "7.8%" unemployment rate. No president has ever been re-elected with an unemployment rate above 8% so the administration has done a very good job to crunch the numbers and make it come to something below the 8% threshold. HOWEVER!! lets take a look at the reality of this situation. Where the hell are all these new jobs that are making the unemployment rate decrease this much? Im not seeing any difference out there, and im sure most of you are not seeing it either, because it is not there. The BLS (Bereu of Labor Statistics) came out in August with an 8.1% unemployment rate, and now for September it dropped a drastic 0.3%?
     Quickly, let me explain how the BLS calculates the unemployment rate. First, you figure out the total number of unemployed people out there, then the total number of employed people out there. Then, divide the number of unemployed by the sum of all employed and unemployed. If it was written as a math problem it would look like this:
E= employed
UN=unemployed
UN/(UN+E)=?
     Now, lets look at some facts because, unless there was a very significant change (which there has not been) the country's past trends should be staying relatively on track. For the recent 0.3% drop from August to September we saw a drop of 456,000 in the number of unemployed persons in the workforce. This is the largest september one month drop in the history of the BLS data going all the way back to 1948. Not only that, but we also saw a dramatic increase in the number of employed persons by 873,000; another [record setting] largest increase for a September one month change in the history of BLS data going back to 1948....hmmm....last time I checked we are going through the worst recession recovery since the Great Depression, yet we are seeing numbers that have not even been seen during our strongest economy conditions.
     Now let's compare these numbers to the averages of the history of the BLS data. According to the facts, based on a non-seasonally adjusted basis a typical September sees a decrease in the number of employed due to the end of temporary summer seasonal hires. The BLS reports show a decrease anywhere from 100,000 to over a million depending on whether the country is going through a recession or not. There is VERY RARELY an increase in the number of employed going into September (an increase has only happened 6 times since 1948 and 4 of the 6 times the increase was under 100,000). HOWEVER, this September shows an increase of 775,000 employed persons. No, that is not a typo, the number is seven hundred and seventy five thousand. That number is nearly five times greater than the previous high. Again, according to the BLS data on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the number of unemployed dropped by the largest amount since 1948. Seem a little weird???? Well it gets even weirder! The non-seasonally adjusted part-time workers data from the BLS has only shown an increase in part-time workers a total of 3 times. Just like everything else we have seen so far, this number too has strayed far from the usual, seeing a tremendous increase.
     So, according to these numbers, we have seen the most incredibly dramatic positive swing in our workforce since 1948, yet the TRUE AND ACTUAL condition of our economy shows nothing to support these crazy numbers. Is our president fixing the numbers to get votes? There is no real proof to say that, but come on...it doesn't take a rocket scientist to see this.
     PLUS, the published unemployment rate does not even account for all of the Americans who stopped looking for jobs because their searches found no results. Realistically, the rate is more around 12%, but that would look bad to voters...  On top of all that, what about college grads? I myself am a recent college graduate, graduating from Seton Hall University's Stillman School of Business. I had a very hard time finding a job as well as most of my fellow students. I graduated in May 2011 and I still know plenty of classmates that cannot find any jobs. An astonishing 50% of last years college grads are currently out of work.
Put all the pieces together and what conclusion do you come to?




source:seekingalpha

Making Money With Your Home

Hey everyone, seems the nice weather is finally gone and now comes the cold.
     On a brighter note, however, if you are a home owner you have a lot to be happy about. The equity in your home is beginning to build up. Now let me explain what home equity means really quick for those of you who are unsure. Home equity is the value of the interest held on a piece of property. For example, if you paid $300,000 for a home, your interest or equity in that property is $300,000. Now if that property increases its value over the next year to $315,000 then your interest (equity) in the property is now $315,000. Simple enough, right? Well that is exactly what is happening now, home owners interest in their property is beginning to increase which means these home owners are gaining money. Home values are increasing steadily and its beginning to have a real effect. Home equity has reached its highest point since the burst of the housing bubble and it has increased by $860 billion since last year. Due to this increase, approximately 1.3 million families have been relieved from being "underwater" or owing more money for their mortgage than their house was actually worth. The actual amount of home owners underwater is now 10.8 million, which might get the reaction WHOA thats a lot, and your right, it definitely is. However, compared to last year's number of 12.1 million, we saw an 11% decrease from '11 to '12; it is obvious that we are making strides in the right direction. This really is great news for the housing market but also for the economy in general. More equity in the hands of the people is always a good thing. To continue with the facts, August put forth the highest amount of existing home sales in more than two years. “Our housing market is showing important signs of recovery—with home owner equity at a four-year high and summer sales of existing homes at the strongest pace in two years,” says Erika Poethig, acting assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Is Inventory a Problem?

     Answer to the title of the post: YES, it is a problem right now, so I think it's time to share some more information on where exactly we stand with the current market conditions. Are houses selling? Are people buying? Buy or Rent? All of these are good questions are deserve some answers so here we go! Home prices are definitely on the rise but the only question is how fast are they going to rise and how high will they go. I am not a fortune teller so I do not have those exact answers for you, however I can say that prices are moving up. The fact of rising home prices is causing a problem in many markets around the country. There was such a collapse in 2006 that mostly everyone lost value or equity with the dramatic drop in home prices. Therefore, a lot of people's mentality right now is to sit and wait it out and hope for prices to come back so they do not have to take a loss. These "would-be" sellers need to overcome their negative equity which statistics show is the main issue when deciding to list the home or not. Nearly 10.8 million home owners were underwater at the end of june. A lot of owners are even moving and buying a new home without selling their previous home, instead they are renting it in order to earn some income while waiting on the increase in home prices. "Many [would-be sellers] are waiting for prices to increase more before they can sell, and some sellers are keeping their current homes as a rental investment and buying without selling," Tom Avent, a broker-owner at Tom Avent Real Estate in Fresno, Calif., told Inman News.

     This is causing the inventory in many areas to be very low, especially QUALITY inventory. What I am seeing happen now with the market is unlike anything seen in a long time. Now you might say, well this guy is young, how much could he actually have seen happen in his career, and that is a valid point. However, I make it a point to do my research everyday, not only on current conditions, but past trends and analysis. Not only that, but I am privy to much more information due to the quality of agents that work here in the office with me. With that said, I want to share not only my thoughts, but the thoughts and opinions of seasoned agents as well. A crash like the one we went through is unlike anything seen in the housing market before. That is why we are experiencing new trends, statistics, reactions, feelings, etc. As I said before, sellers are very reluctant to put their house for sale due to the losses they will have to take, resulting in very low inventory. This low inventory is holding back the market in a big way, because for the first time that many can remember, a lot of buyers are giving agents their criteria for a new home and advising them to keep an eye out for anything that may come on the market because there currently is low quality inventory. I have seen over the past few weeks that if a home of good quality comes on the market it will sell in no time.
     Redfin conducted a survey of 816 home owners or "would be" sellers and eight out of ten believe that if they wait another year or two they will receive a good amount more for their home than if they were to sell right now. Only a measly thirteen percent believe now is a good time to sell. Contrary to popular belief, it actually is a seller's market in many areas right now. "Many sellers are still not aware of how strong our market is," Charles Roberts, co-owner of Your Castle Real Estate who serves as a director on the Denver Board of REALTORS®, told Inman News. "They still think it's a bad market to sell. Our job is to inform them about the market and explain to them that with a rising market, it has become a strong seller's market and to walk through their options." “Now it doesn't mean prices are skyrocketing like past cycles, but with the chance of multiple offers, it makes the process more appealing,” Lopez told Inman News.

     Now that we are seeing extremely good conditions to buy, we are seeing buyers all over who want to purchase a home. This means more bids on properties and possibly even a bidding war which could earn the seller's some extra profit on the sale. However, the people who are on the fence about selling should really move forward and consult a real estate agent (like myself!) in order to get an informed opinion on what their next move should be, or more specifically WHEN their next move should be.

NJ Holds 3 Out of the Top 10 US Suburbs

     Onboard Informatics, a Real Estate data collecting company, together with Caldwell Banker Real Estate ranked the top ten Suburbs in the US. There were 11,000 suburbs included in the study with the focal points of the study being proximity to good schools, amenities, safety, and commutes. Three out of those ten suburbs are located in New Jersey (only state with more than two suburbs ranked). The top suburb on the list, Cherry Hills Village, comes from Colorado with almost a 100% home ownership rating. Cherry Hills Village is approximately ten miles from downtown Denver and provides residents with a short average commute time of 20 minutes for those who work in the downtown area.

     “Suburban communities continue to appeal to people of all ages, especially as many suburbs are seeing more diversity and re-energized downtown communities,” says Budge Huskey, president and COO of Coldwell Banker Real Estate. “Residents can have it all in many of these suburbs: Great access to recreation centers, schools, and a feeling of community, while only being a short distance to the city.”

The top ten list is as follows:

1. Cherry Hills Village, Colorado
2. Clyde Hill, Washington
3. Haworth, New Jersey
4. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey
5. Wolf Trap, Virginia
6. Ho-Ho-Kus, New Jersey
7. Indian Hills, Kentucky
8. East Grand Rapids, Michigan
9. Rossmoor, California
10. Huntington Woods, Michigan

Source:Realtormag

Stay Real ~ Fact Time

Horse racing is one of the most dangerous sports. Between 2 and 3 jockeys are killed each year. That's about how many baseball players have died in baseball's entire professional history.

Could the Name of Your Street Get You More Money?

     The well known real estate search engine Trulia has come out with a survey providing information that shows the endings of the street names, such as "park", "place", "road", etc., have an affect on the home prices. According to the survey, address located on a street suffix of boulevard, place, and road accumulated a higher average price per square foot than homes located on a street suffix of drive, avenue, or street. Trulia found that the street suffix boulevard is the most popular (in terms of generating the highest price per square foot) coming in at an average of $117 per sqft, while the suffixes lane and street generated average price per sq ft of $101 and $86 respectively. Although there are many more significant components when coming to an asking price, this is definitely an interesting bit of information.

New Customers for US Real Estate

Hey Everyone, hope the weekend was good to all of you!


     As we are all aware of this, our housing market in the United States has taken quite a big hit these past years; led by the burst of the housing bubble, as I have explained previously in my posts. Overall, the US economy has not been fairing too well either creating a loss of jobs and less money to be spent. This has opened up a huge opportunity for foreign buyers in US real estate. “Foreigners purchase for a variety of reasons: trophy homes, desire to put money in the U.S. for safety, desire to have a place to visit for vacation, desire for a rental unit,” Jed Smith, an NAR economist, told NBC News. “These
factors … tend to dampen the effects of changes in total overall cost." Opportunity coupled with financial ability and desire is creating an influx of foreign buyers. 

     Now that I have explained the "why" it is time to find out the "who" question. There are two main countries pursuing US real estate right now, both holding their own amidst the worldwide economic problems, and both dealing with the US frequently; these countries are China and Canada. Canada for obvious geographic reasons and China because they own most of the US debt due to the fact that their economy is currently being supported a lot by the US economy; that is until they become economically independent (but that's another story all in itself). These countries currently have strong economies and have found "gold" in US real estate.  Canada and China are the main foreign powers that are capitalizing on the low real estate prices in the US, while mexico and the UK are also in the mix. Foreign purchases in the US have increased 24 percent since 2011. From March 2011 to March 2012 the Canadians captured the largest US real estate market share in terms of foreign purchasers, being responsible for 24 percent of all foreign purchases in the US. According to realtor.com the Canadians are focusing on Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and Orlando (all vacation spots). On the other hand, the Chinese account for 11 percent of foreign purchases, but they are targeting the opposite side of the US; mainly Los Angeles and San Francisco. The targeted homes for UK consumers have a median size of 2,342 sqft (American median home size 1,854 sqft) so they may perhaps be coming to the US real estate market because of their interest in McMansions and larger homes, which the US has plenty of. “The rest of the world might make fun of Americans for our big portions, big homes, but it turns out that most foreigners look at bigger homes than what most Americans look at,” Jed Kolko, Trulia chief economist, wrote in a blog last week.

source: nbcnews

Stay Real

"Write drunk, edit sober."

Ernest Hemingway

Stay Real ~ Fact Time

It was the accepted practice in Babylon 4,000 years ago that for a month after the wedding, the bride’s father would supply his son-in-law with all the mead he could drink. Mead is a honey beer and because their calendar was lunar based, this period was called the honey month, which we know today as the honeymoon.

Rural Areas: Need For Concern?

Alright, so here's the scoop for the future of Rural Areas. To begin let me explain some things that have a lot to do with this matter:

• USDA (U.S. Department of Agriculture): One of their responsibilities is to foster rural communities
• MSA (Metropolitan Statistical Area): geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. These areas are not legally incorporated as a city or town would be and they are not administrative divisions such as counties or sovereign entities like states. Simply put they are areas in which there is a single large city that wields substantial influence over the region (ex. NYC, Chicago)

Approximately 900+ rural communities are possibly in danger of losing their status and benefits of being in such communities. Many housing groups have been pleading with congress for years to grandfather eligibility for these communities into federal rural housing programs. Congress needs to step in on the matter because the definition of a "rural" area has been the same since 1974 and many current rural areas are at risk of losing their designation regardless of the fact that they technically remain rural. The housing groups that are pleading for an intervention wrote a letter to Congress stating, “these communities are, by any measure, rural, and most will lose eligibility because they are located within Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA).” According to the defninition set forth in 1974 communities have to be no larger than 20,000 residents and cannot be a part of a larger MSA. The groups pleading the rural areas' case are asking the cap be raised to a 35,000 resident limit and that the areas of under 10,000 residents that have had MSA areas encroach upon then not be penalized.

     In the past Congress has issued temporary measures to grandfather these communities into the rural housing programs, the last of which was issued in 2000 and expires October 1, 2012. The legislation to extend it passed the senate a few weeks ago, but it will not reach congress until well after the given expiration date. The federal rural housing service which is in charge of federal rural housing programs has stated that they will keep the current methods in place until March 27, 2013. This will give them time to develop a new method of tracking population and income changes. The US Census Bureau used what they referred to as the long firm questionnaire in 2000 which is what we are basing our tracking off of now and until March 2013. However, for the 2010 Census information a different method was used to gain information and the new method will be the basis for determining eligibility after March 27, 2013.

     In conclusion, these 900+ areas will remain rural in consideration for the next 6 months to come. However, after these next 6 months, the eligibility may change and, in the sense of the rural housing programs, the fate of these communities will then be determined.

Some information acquired from: Realtormag

Stay Real ~ Motivated

The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack in will.
Vince Lombardi

Stay Real ~ Fact Time

Fact for the Day!

Since 1896, the beginning of the modern Olympics, only Greece and Australia have participated in every Games.

Stay Real ~ Romney Addresses Housing Market

Hey guys,
      As you are aware, the race for our new president is in progress and has been a heated and steady battle. It is a very close race and will most likely go down to the wire, BUT have you taken into consideration the candidates plans for the housing market? Although it has not been addressed a lot publicly by either side, the plans for our housing market are crucial to the success of our economy and vice versa. We need to spark our economy in order to spark the housing market and we also need the housing market to thrive in order for the economy to be consistant and reliable. The strength of our economy and the housing market are both issues that need serious attention. Therefore, let us get to the topic at hand; Mitt Romney and his campaign team released a 6 page Housing Policy white paper that addresses all the areas Romney plans to work on if elected; they are as follows:

• reduce the outsized role of the government and revitalize the private sector's role
• protect taxpayers from additional risk in the future by reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
• provide a long-term sustainable solution for the future of housing finance reform in our country
• get the federal government out of the landlord business by responsibly selling 200,000+ vacant foreclosed homes in a way that will enhance communities
• make it easier for home owners to get alternatives to foreclosure such as short sales, deed-in-lieu-of-foreclosure, and shared appreciation
• replace the Dodd-Frank act with sensible regulation by ushering in a new era of responsible lending to allow banks to approve loans to families with good credit rather than rejecting their mortgage applications
• plans to create 12 million jobs within the next four years {The best way to help the housing market is to get the economy going and get America back to work}

In the paper, Romney-Ryan go on to address the current housing market condition and how exactly we got into this predicament. It states statistics such as the $13,000 average drop in home prices nationwide in result of the collapse. Also, it touches upon the fact that we need to get the economy back on track by opening up jobs for the 23 million Americans currently unemployed. The unemployment rate has been over 8% for a record 43 consecutive months while the average home income has dropped nearly $4,000. 

     Next, the letter addresses Obama's current policies and attempts to put the housing market into a recovery state, declaring that the Obama administration has actually made matters worse in terms of the home ownership dream. The paper states that the Obama administration has not given a clear image of the future of housing finance policy. Early in his term, the president stated, according to Washington Post Reporter Bob Woodward that "we will not roll out an aggressive housing plan," and it was not included in his 2009 stimulus. However, as we all know the president did come out with a housing plan which accomplished mainly widespread confusion and an abundance of government help programs. "These programs have been poorly administered with constantly changed terms and overstates goals that have never been met."

     The Romney-Ryan plan seems to completely understand the importance of the housing market stating, "Housing is a vital part of the American economy and it has played an instrumental role in leading the country out of past recessions. The Romney-Ryan plan will reduce the outsized role of the government and revitalize the private sector’s role in the housing market to end the housing crisis and preserve the American Dream of homeownership."

You can read the full Housing Policy paper @ this website: http://www.scribd.com/doc/106597377/Housing-White-Paper?secret_password=f7ipmm91iidtw7pujo6

The REALiTY of the Housing Market

Hey everybody,
     Today I would like to hopefully clear the air a little for all of you with your concerns on the condition of the housing market. As we all know, our country experienced the burst of the housing bubble and a collapse unseen in our countries' history. Now, to many people this has been a very scary and depressing time for a few reasons:

• your home is worth much less than you purchased it for
• lenders are stricter with issuing home loans
• if your home was foreclosed upon, you may be offset by the idea of home ownership

However, there is a positive outlook on this "supposedly" shitty housing market (didn't know I spoke French, huh?). My apologies for the use of profanity, but the word fits the types of attitudes people have been feeling towards the housing market. First off, let me talk about the "ridiculous" stretch from 1995 to 2005 wherein the housing market took off faster than Usain Bolt. Home prices hit record highs and people were making unfeasible profits on their homes from an investment standpoint. Investors flooded the market and started flipping houses, in some instances, the same week they bought it; and still making a profit. This is the condition everyone became used to and considered it the NORM. I capitalized the word NORM for a specific reason, because it was not the norm whatsoever. This decade span of time was an extremely good stretch, but based off of an inevitable failure; over lending. Sure it was nice for everyone to get a loan regardless of their ability to pay it off but realistically that does not work, as we saw with the collapse. Lenders were willing to give out crazy loans because the home prices kept increasing by crazy amounts, but that did not continue forever. So we can come to the conclusion that between the years of 1995 and 2005 we experienced an ABNORMAL housing market. Therefore, let me explain to you what a "normal" housing market looks like. A "normal" housing market is one in which prices remain steady with a constant but small appreciation over time. There should be appreciation in a "normal" housing market, but not insane appreciation in very little time.

     It seems that today, we are back on track for a "normal" housing market. If you take a look at my previous posts you will see the statistics that I have talked about and the proof in the numbers. We are seeing appreciation in home prices that are not enormous, yet they are consistant. There needs to be some confidence instilled back in the public in regards to home ownership. Do not just look at our current condition compared to the "abnormal decade" because that decade is an outlier in terms of our overall housing history. Hopefully I was able to put some of your concerns at ease and offer you a perspective that you have not yet thought of.

Stay Real ~ Fact Time

Here's a funny one for everyone!


Walt Disney was scared of mice, how ironic.

Positive Week For Housing Market

Hey everyone,
     Here is a housing market update. Some new stats came in this week which supports the idea that the housing market is in the recovery process. Home sales and prices are on the upswing compared to the same time last year which is good for a few reasons. First of all home buyers and sellers are becoming more confident with their decisions. Since actual facts are showing us that there is improvement, people can get more comfortable. For buyers, new home ownership is looking more and more like a solid investment; for sellers, the realization that buyers are more confident and home prices are on the upswing means there will be more of a demand, which means all the sellers that have been holding off until the market "bottomed out" have now realized that the market has already "bottomed out." Also, home builders are coming to the same realization that sellers have come to in the sense of the market "bottoming out", which builds confidence with home builders. More confidence means more homes on the market and an increase of inventory would satisfy the large amount of buyers out there. although nothing is set in stone, this is definitely a good sign and a step in the right direction for the housing market. Here are the facts:

• existing home sales have sky-rocketed nearly 8% from last year
• median home price is 187,400 (9.5% increase from levels a year ago)
• 6 consecutive months of home price increases
• new home market is showing signs of recovery with starts rising approximately 29% from a year ago

Stay Real ~ Local

I live in somerset county so I thought I would begin a local segment for all of my local followers. I am going to keep you up-to-date on current news and events occurring here in Somerset County, NJ. So here we go with the first post in my new segment. I hope you find it useful!

• Sheriff's Office in Somerset County Will be holding its bi-annual prescription drug take back day on Saturday September 29 from 10am - 2pm. Medications can be dropped off at the Somerset County Sheriff’s Office Headquarters at the Somerset County Administration Building which is located at 20 Grove Street in Somerville. There will be a sheriff’s officer stationed at the entrance to collect any medications being brought in.
• Somerset County is holding a free flu clinic for seniors ages 65+ in Franklin Township. This will be held October 25 from 9:30 - 11am in the Community Senior Center (505 DeMott Lane, Somerset). Any residents planning to attend need to bring proof of age and address, along with their medicare cards and are asked to wear short sleeve shirts for convenience. Any questions call  908-231-7155.
• Lord Stirling Park Stables: Saturday Dog Walks Guided one hour walks along the stable's unpaved equestrian trails for you and your dog(s) to enjoy. Get some exercise for you and your dog, see the fall leaves begin to transform, let your dog has some fun time with some canine companions. Registration is $3 per dog, check in is at 10:15am with the actual walk beginning at 10:30. For more information call 973-635-8672.
• Six Somerset County towns will be receiving over $2.2 million to share for Green Acres funding.  Somerville will be getting approximately $306,000 for acquiring property in the borough's green seam project area. The goal is to create about 40 acres of open space for recreation. Franklin and Hillsborough are receiving $487,500 each for open space land acquisition, while Peapack-Gladstone and Montgomery will get $325,000 each for similar reasons. Also, Bedminster will get $325,000 for park expansions.

some info from: nj.com

Information Overload

Hey everyone!
     Ive been noticing that many people are simply being inundated with information on the housing market from numerous sources on a daily basis. Some people come to me and say, "hey rob, all im seeing is bad news for real estate, things must be tough." Then I get almost the same amount of people saying, hey rob, I see the market is on the way up, is business going crazy right now?"
     There is such indecisiveness out there to confuse you which probably is what's making so many potential new home owners hold off for now. They do not know what to think, which is completely understandable; and if you are seeing only good news or vice versa, keep doing research cause the positive and negative is out there. The best advice I can give you on the matter is to reach out to a Local Real Estate Agent and ask the questions that are keeping you from moving forward. Us Real Estate Agents are not only money hungry deceiving gremlins, which seems to be the common perception. Our main goal is to HELP everyone and anyone in any real estate matter that we are able to. Now in every bunch, there is a rotten apple and if you had a bad experience please do not be completely discouraged. Obviously agents are trying to make money, it is a job, isn't your goal in your job to make money? However, as a Real Estate Agent we have the pertinent information to HELP you with anything you need, and if we do not know the answers, which will happen, we will do everything we can to find them. I personally promise you the service that I have explained so anyone with any questions please reach out to me in any way you would like. But most importantly, MAKE SURE YOU TALK TO A REAL AGENT AND ASK YOUR QUESTIONS. Dont rely on the media to give you the right answer!

Stay Real ~ Inspired

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.
- Dale Carnegie

Stay Real ~ Fact Time

Did you know that your brain has no pain receptors or pain fibers and the brain it’s self cannot feel? Your brain cannot even feel pain. Although headaches are still not all the way understood, one reason it’s believed you feel headaches is because the skull is surrounded by what’s called meninges or blood vessels which do have pain receptors



UH8TJB379GJ5

Decrease in Mortgage Loan Defaults

Good Afternoon,

      This piece goes along with the post I did yesterday on how home lending is becoming more difficult to acquire. According to the S&P and the Experian credit data, more of the home owners out there are seeing their mortgages to be more manageable; in turn, lowering the amount of mortgage defaults for the 8th straight month. I mentioned in my post yesterday that lenders are more strict and more careful with the approval process when giving out a loan. This is because of all the defaults they have seen over the past couple years. They want to make sure they will not be losing money which is usually everyone's concern in any matter. However, because of the stricter policies, people are acquiring more suitable loans that fit their requirements as opposed to their desires. Now we are starting to see the reality of the situation which is that if the right loans are being given out to the right people they will be paid and maintained instead of defaulting. The default rates are now even seeing post recession lows according to S&P and Experian. In August, first mortgage rates dropped .52% from the same time last year and the second mortgage rates have seen a drop of .72% compared to the previous month.

"For the housing market, there are still a substantial number of loans outstanding that defaulted in the past and that segment of the market is still of concern," says David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee at Standard & Poor’s. "But for 2012, the drop in mortgage default rates is a good sign for the housing market and the consumer."

Some information acquired from: Housingwire

Stay Real ~ Motivated

We are all inventors, each sailing out on a voyage of discovery, guided each by a private chart, of which there is no duplicate. The world is all gates, all opportunities.
--Ralph Waldo Emerson

Stay Real ~ Fact Time!

Here is an interesting fact for today...hopefully you enjoy it!

Dogs can have a fatal reaction to eating chocolate. Chocolate contains a bitter alkaloid called Theobromine also known as Xantheose and that’s the active ingredient that’s bad for the dog.

Stay Real ~ Home Lending

Hey everyone,
     Home lending is a big concern for most buyers out there because it is a very important piece in the puzzle of gaining home ownership. Therefore, it is good to know where the lenders are at with the leniency regarding giving out home loans. As most of us know, a big contributor of the housing market collapse was the fact that banks and other mortgage lenders were issuing loans to people who really did not qualify for the issued loan amounts. It got to a point where, if you had a pulse, you got a mortgage loan. But as we all saw, once the people responsible for the mortgages realized they could not afford the payments, they began to default. It was a dominos effect throughout the country, loans defaulting left and right. As you could expect, lenders are more serious about the qualification process because they want to make sure that they will get there money back. In 2011, home lending reached its lowest point since 1995 (a little before the lending went crazy). This low number of newly issued loans supports the reports of many people having a more difficult time qualifying for mortgages. There was a 10% drop in home loans last year coming out to 7.1 million issued loans. That number is .8 million lower than the number of loans issued in 2010. Although we have the extremely low mortgage rates, the drop is home loans issued is credited to the fact that lenders are being more strict and requiring higher credit scores to acquire a loan.

This is just some information to keep in mind when you start your research on mortgages and begin the process of applying.

Strategic Defaulters: WATCH OUT

First let me explain what a strategic defaulter is. A strategic defaulter is typically an "underwater" home owner who has walked away from a mortgage commitment while still having the ability to pay. The housing market has been inundated with foreclosures over the last few years, but credit repository Experian has estimated that 20% of those foreclosures were the result of walk-aways (or Strategic Defaulters). Well now it is payback time! The Office of the Inspector General at the Federal Finance Housing agency is cracking down and taking action against these so called "strategic defaulters" by seeking them out and collecting on what they still owe. The Office of the Inspector General assumes that there is nearly $1 Billion owed to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and it needs to be collected.

If that is not bad enough news for any strategic defaulter, there is more! Not only are they being sought out for the money that they owe, but anyone who is a strategic defaulter and did not mention that fact on any mortgages applications after they walked away will be considered to have made MORTGAGE FRAUD. The Office of the Inspector General intends on referring these individuals for criminal prosecution. "We are working with Fannie and Freddie to build a mechanism" to identify strategic defaulters, Wolfe said at a recent mortgage industry conference. So if you walked away from one property and bought another, chances are fairly good that the OIG is going to find you.

"We're not just going to demanf repayment," says Heather Wolfe, OIG assistant inspector general for audits. "We're going to lock [people] up."


*source: Chicago Tribune

Back in Action!

I apologize for the lack of postings lately but I have been going through a lot of training and last week was a tremendous learning experience for me. I am back now and ready to get the information flowing again! Ill be posting soon!

Stay Real ~ Mortgage: FHA 203(k)

Hey everyone, I wanted to talk to you all about a certain type of mortgage that many may not be aware of, but can be very beneficial and help to get you to the desired status of home ownership. The FHA 203(k) program provides a single close loan that enables a qualified buyer to purchase a home that may need repairs, to refinance an existing home for the purpose of remodeling, or to move an existing home to a mortgaged property. The streamlined FHA 203(k) program allows the buyer to finance a maximum of $35,000 to make improvements. Both programs generate the necessary funds for renovation by financing the as-completed value of the home, rather than the present value.

FEATURES:

• primary residences that are 1 to 4 unit properties
• purchase and rate/term financing
• fixed rate mortgages with 30 year term
• up to six months for rehabilitation
• one underwriting review and one closing for rehabilitation construction and permanent financing

This type of loan is meant for borrowers who:

• want an alternative to a closed-end second mortgage or HELOC
• can benefit from flexible qualifying requirements
• are looking for a cost effective way to repair or improve their current home
• plan to purchase a home that needs repairs
• want to rehabilitate a neglected or damaged foreclosure property

This is a very smart way to go if your needs fit the ones I described and I would recommend consulting a mortgage counselor for more details. The economy is tough but dont get discouraged because, just like the FHA 203(k) programs, there are many other options to assist you in closing on the home you want. I strongly recommend consulting a Mortgage counselor in order to see all of your options because it may be easier than you think to acquire the home you want and get it when you want it.

Stay Real ~ Fact time

"Kemo Sabe", meaning an all knowing one, is actually a mispronunciation by Native American of the Spanish phrase, Quien lo Sabe, meaning one who knows."

Touring A Home: Buyer Turn Offs

Hey everyone,
     Weather is not too good here for yet another day but still gotta stay positive, so lets talk Real Estate. When a seller is preparing to showcase their home to potential buyers they need to keep one very important concept in mind: DEPERSONALIZE!
      The touring process for the buyer is very emotional. The objective is to allow them to completely visualize themselves living in the house and connect with the home on a personal level. If all of the seller's "personal" items are displayed throughout the home it makes the objective almost impossible. For example, one of the open houses I hosted was inundated with personal items. Everywhere I looked I saw another picture of the family, the kids' toys were scattered throughout the home, and they obviously had a few pets. I felt like I was in someone else's house, which although I knew I was, it is not supposed to overwhelmingly feel like that. The buyer needs to picture themselves living there in order to completely connect with the home. So let us go through three steps to cover the most common buyer turn offs in order to keep your beautiful home from giving off the wrong impression:

Step 1: Cut the personal clutter! Clean up toys, shoes, clothes, and TAKE DOWN PERSONAL PICTURES (especially on the fridge).

Step 2: If you have a pet(s), first of all do not leave them there when the house is being shown. Secondly, clean up their toys, beds, food bowls, and if they shed, clean that too.

Step 3: Lastly, bathrooms and kitchen. If they look gross, guess what? people will get grossed out. Weird right? but it does happen. So make sure there is not any old toothpaste or anything hangin' out in the bathroom sink and get the toilet spotless. As for the kitchen the theme continues, clean sink, oven, stove top, and countertops. Kitchen and bathrooms are very personal rooms in the home and could possibly be a deal breaker if not clean.

Great Video: Rebound or Relapse?

Check out this great MSN video - Housing Rebound or Relapse?


This video features a debate on whether the housing market is looking positive or staying negative. What do you think?

Market Update

"I think we have turned the corner on prices," said David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P's index committee. "It looks very good."

"The best news on the housing front is that prices have turned," said Patrick Newport, U.S. economist at IHS Global Insight.

As you can see by the quotes above, home prices are on the way up. National home prices rose in June when compared to the same month of the previous year, according to the S&P index. This is the first year-to-year increase since back in september of  2010, in which the housing market was being affected by a federal home buying tax credit. In the 20 major metro areas that the S&P tracks, June was the second straight monthly increase in home prices for all 20. Foreclosures are on the decline and mortgage rates (below 4% all year) are lower than most people can remember them ever being. The National Association of Realtors stated that sales of previously occupied homes jumped 10% in July 2012 (compared to July 2011).

     So let's take a look at the big picture and what this all means for our economy as a whole. Since the bust of the housing market, home prices have fell which made homes worth less than the mortgages against them. Therefore, if home prices rise, there will be a greater ability to overcome the mortgages against them. If people are feeling wealthier due to the increased value of their homes, it will increase consumer spending. Since consumer spending is responsible for approximately 70% of our economy, the economy as a whole could see an upswing due to the home price increase. Also, when people start to see the value of their home increase there are going to be more homes for sale on the market, which in turn means that there is a bigger selection for potential buyers.

       As you can see from what I have been saying, the increase in home prices could potentially put a spark in the economy which would mean things are starting to get better. Only time will tell, so stay-tuned for the next market update!

A Brighter Home

Good Morning,

      Hope everyone enjoyed the long weekend, but now its back to business. I want to share a little bit of advice that will go a long way. One of the most important things when showing your home (or even just in general) that a lot of people do not even realize is the lighting. Energy efficient light bulbs are the product of choice lately, the bulbs last longer and save you money in the long-run. Which bulbs are best? While nearly 75% of energy efficient light bulb customers are choosing CFLs (compact florescent lamps) the real gold is in LEDs (light emitting diodes). LEDs shine brighter, last for decades, save more money in the long-run, and turn on instantly without the warm-up period that CFLs need. Although LEDs are more expensive, their price has dropped nearly 20% in the last year so it is becoming more affordable. When it comes to showing your home wouldn't you rather have a brighter light in order to showcase your home more effectively? I would assume that your answer would be yes, so whether you are looking to list your home or not I would recommend researching LED lights and see just how beneficial they could be for your home. Check below to begin your research and start seeing what is available for you, I've inserted a few selections for you to begin with. As always I hope this information is useful and if you have any questions or concerns please let me know and I'll do my best to get you the answer.