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Basking Ridge Real Estate – Questions and Answers

Submit questions here, I will do my best to answer them here on the blog or via email.

Q. If my house is listed with a realtor and someone calls me directly and I show them the house and they make an offer, do I have to pay the commission?

A. The short answer is Yes.  Probably not what you want to hear, but it’s in the listing agreement.  Paragraph 2 of the listing agreement used by all brokers listing in the Garden State MLS states the following: “GRANT OF EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO SELL, LEASE, EXCHANGE OR OTHERWISE TRANSFER AND TO MULTIPLE LIST PROPERTY. In consideration of the Listing Broker listing and endeavoring to find Buyers/Tenants for the Property at the Listing Price, the OWNER, (or their legally authorized representative) grants the Listing Broker the exclusive right to sell, lease, exchange or otherwise transfer the Property, at the Listing Price and on the terms as stated in this Agreement, or upon such other Price and/or terms as may be acceptable to the Owner. The Listing Broker is directed by the Owner to list the Property with the SERVICE and to distribute this listing to Service participants.” 

This basically means that the broker is due a commission regardless of who introducest the property to the buyer.  It is very likely that the buyer knew of the availability of the property due to your agent’s marketing efforts.

The other pertinent paragraph is number 11. “REFERRING INTERESTED BUYERS TO BROKER/NEGOTIATIONS THROUGH LISTING BROKER. The Owner shall refer to the Listing Broker every prospective Buyer/Tenant who contacts the Owner during the term of this Agreement. The Owner directs that all negotiations for the purchase or lease of the Property shall be conducted through the Listing Broker.”  

This really is in your best interest – as a REALTOR® and an unbiased third party, I am less likely to say something that might hurt your negotiation.  Seemingly innocent interactions between a seller and a potential buyer can muddy the waters.  There are some things that are better left unsaid – I’m not talking about hiding material information, I’m referring to things like where you are moving, why you are moving, when you are moving, etc.

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Contact Jennifer Blanchard

Insights from Jim Weichert

The beginning of a new year is always a time to reflect and consider goals and opportunities for the year ahead. As we begin 2012, there are many reasons for encouragement when it comes to the economy and real estate. If recent economic and real estate trends are any indication, 2012 will be a year when good things can happen not only for potential homebuyers and sellers, but for the country as a whole. For example:

• Existing-home sales rose again in November, and remain at levels above those of a year ago. What’s more, pending home sales also continued to gain in November, reaching the highest level in 19 months, an indication that there will be more future sales.
• In November, sales of new single-family houses rose 1.6 percent from October and were 9.8 percent above November 2010. Additionally, housing starts surged to a one-and-a-half year high in November, and permits for future construction were the highest since March 2010.
• In a sign that the overall economy is strengthening, U.S. employment has grown solidly for the past six months, generating 100,000 jobs or more in each month for the first time since April 2006.
• The Conference Board’s Index of Leading Economic Indicators showed two months of solid gains, signaling that the economy was gaining momentum and the risks of a recession were receding, and its Consumer Confidence Index improved to levels seen in April 2011.

Basking Ridge Market Activity

Two closings so far this year:

• 2 Commonwealth Drive, 2 bedroom Fairfax model in Spring Ridge, listed for $248,000 and sold for $232,500.
• 72 Gerard Avenue, 4 bedroom bi-level, listed for $549,000 and sold for $540,000 in only 36 days.

Eleven new listings – one condo, two townhouses, a bi-level and seven colonials.  Many of these homes were listed last year, came off the market for the holidays and are now back on the market.

There have been five contract sales since the first of the year – actually, only four.  11 Archgate Road was logged into the MLS once it was already under contract (it is scheduled to close at the end of the month).

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The most valuable piece of information in this post: “If you don’t grab someone’s attention in the first two weeks, your chances of getting your asking price start to diminish.   Once listed, a house on the market ages quickly.”

This is why I start to talk to my sellers about their list price not being the right price before even 30 days on the market!

It’s the truth – the longer you wait to get the price right, the lower the final sale price will be!  Well said, Sharon!

I had a client ask how high over the top of their price range should they be looking when searching for a home.  If their range tops out in the $700,000s is it worth it to look into the mid-$800,000s?

My opinion is this: If you don’t want to go over $800 then looking up to $850 might be frustrating … Here in Basking Ridge most properties close between 94% and 96% of list price at time of sale. Many properties are not priced right and will sell for less than that – but not necessarily before the seller adjusts the price. As much as we want it to be, it is not a science… by knowing the inventory and using my network, I can help you determine a good offer that takes motivation and market value into account.

The other point that many people – buyers and sellers alike – lost sight of is that an offer should be relative to market value NOT list price.  This is a tough one and sometimes you have to test the market (as a seller) or test the seller (as a buyer).

It’s more art than science…

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Basking Ridge Home Value; Basking Ridge Townhouses for Sale; Basking Ridge Condos for Sale; Basking Ridge Homes for Sale; Contact Jennifer Blanchard; Get Basking Ridge Listing alerts in email

We spoke earlier today – I apologize but I did not catch your name as my bluetooth connected.  You said you read my blog, so I am hopeful that you see this! 

The property we discussed is still available.  It is in an R4 zone which means you only need one acre to build but we’d need to look at a survey to understand if it is a buildable lot or if you’d need a survey.  I suggest you use BING’s birdseye view to look more closely at the location.

I look forward to getting your contact information via email!

There have been thirteen new listings in Basking Ridge since December 1st.  You can search here for these Basking Ridge homes. Four of them are already in attorney review or under contract (price it right and it will sell fast).  Five deals fell apart and the houses are back on the market (two of which have been withdrawn).  Sixteen listings adjusted their price (one of them twice).  And….drumroll, please because this is big… there were THIRTY contract sales.  Seven of these have already closed.  There were nineteen closings in Basking Ridge.

It’s been a busy month.  I have a few inspection contingencies to wrap up – and after that I plan to have a quiet New Year’s Eve at home with my family and some friends.  Resting up for what I hope will be a really busy spring market!

See you Next Year!!

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Basking Ridge Home Value; Basking Ridge Townhouses for Sale; Basking Ridge Condos for Sale; Basking Ridge Homes for Sale; Contact Jennifer Blanchard; Get Basking Ridge Listing alerts in email

What happens first, what can wait for what?  Appraisals, inspections, second deposits, oh my!!

Here’s how it goes: you make an offer, accompanied by a $1000 good faith initial deposit.  Your Realtor will likely hold this check until the offer is negotiated and you will get it back if the deal doesn’t get agreed on. Your Realtor cannot hold a check for more than five days – so if it takes longer than that to negotiate, it might be deposited into the escrow account and will be returned to you if the purchase agreement is not executed.

Negotiate the contract, sign the contract.

Congratulations!

You have three days to get the executed contract to an attorney in order to start attorney review.  The duration of attorney review varies based on the availability of all parties to discuss the contract, make and agree to changes.

Once attorney review is completed you will schedule the inspection and apply for your mortgage.  These two things happen concurrently.  This is an important point to make – you cannot wait for the inspection contingency to be satisfied before you apply for your loan.  This means that you can’t hold off on ordering the appraisal either. If you wait too long to order the appraisal because you don’t want to spend the money you run the risk of missing your mortgage commitment date because you can’t predict what sort of issues might come up and you need to leave time to resolve them.  Losing the money you spent on the appraisal is a risk you have to take in order to continue the process in good faith.

Your second deposit will also likely be due before the inspection contingency is cleared – you can’t wait to write that check; you have to write it when it’s due; you will receive your deposit monies back if the deal falls apart over inspection items (as long as your contract allows for that).

It bears repeating — Ordering the appraisal and submitting the  second deposit are NOT intended to be contingent upon successful negotiation of the inspection items. Doing so may derail your purchase…..

I have had two deals in the last two months that almost fell apart because the buyers held off on making their deposit and ordering their appraisal until they were confident that inspection issues were resolved.  In one case we were having issues with repair requests – tempers were flaring and both parties were upset with the way things were going…having held back on the deposit led the sellers to believe that the buyers were not serious about the transaction and in turn that made them not want to work on the repairs…  In the other scenario, the buyers didn’t want to spend the money on the appraisal until they had resolution on some of the inspection issues (which, by the way, ended up being non-issues, but that’s for another post). Unfortunately, their appraisal came back with a glitch that in ten years neither I nor the buyers agent had ever encountered before!  More than likely this glitch will be resolved but as a result it is holding the sellers up from making their next purchase.  If the appraisal had been ordered when it was supposed to be, there would have been plenty of time to resolve this issue.

Keep your deal on track…. it’s the right thing to do.

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Search for Basking Ridge homes for sale.

Search Basking Ridge townhouses for sale.

Search Bedminster homes for sale.

See what has sold in Basking Ridge.

Wonderfully private – your own backyard oasis featuring an inground pool and a newly renovated kitchen! Beautifully situated on 3 magnificent acres and convenient to everything! Generously sized living and dining rooms. Finished lower level is walkout – offering a separate entrance, perfect for a home office or aupair suite. Every room has terrific views. The breakfast room opens to a tiered deck ringed with evergreens. This home is a perfect luxury townhome alternative…live here as it is or consider expanding as there is plenty of space and lots of potential!

Four bedrooms (3 bedroom septic), three full baths, two car garage, almost three acres, in-ground pool…and more!

Offered at $825,000 – SOLD for $777,500

A new study by Yahoo! Real Estate shows that people still value homeownership. In fact, 81 percent of the current and prospective homeowners surveyed said that owning a home is still a part of the American dream. In addition, buyers are now more confident that their dream home is within reach due to today’s low mortgage rates and affordable home prices. Of those surveyed, 72 percent said they already live in their dream home, or will own it someday.

Additional findings from the Yahoo! Real Estate Home Horizons study include:

• Half of all respondents are looking for “green” or energy-efficient features in their dream home, as they aspire to reduce their carbon footprint. This was the most popularly cited feature.
• 57 percent of respondents said they were very satisfied with where they live, while 35 percent were somewhat satisfied and 8 percent were unsatisfied.
• When asked why they want to move, 45 percent of buyers said they want to live in a larger space. Other popular reasons were a desire to live in a home that better suited their lifestyle (42 percent) and to live in a better neighborhood (30 percent).

Based on the results of the study, Yahoo! Real Estate expects 2012 to be the year in which demand for green homes, energy-efficient appliances and lowcarbon impact home building materials really take off.  Are you ready for the
change?

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Search for Basking Ridge homes for sale.

Search Basking Ridge townhouses for sale.

Search Bedminster homes for sale.

See what has sold in Basking Ridge