GENERAL Answers
The most important steps to take before
buying a home:
Use a real estate buyer agent, get a
lawyer and get Preapproval if securing a
mortgage. These three things will help
you save money!
Currently, we are getting into a buyers
market. For a buyer, this means they
have more bargaining power, because
homes are on the market longer. It also
may mean that sellers may be more
amicable to paying for some of your
closing costs in certain instances.
If you have a contingency in a contact,
such as you need to sell your home
before buying, may lower you bargaining
power on price. Also, with contingencies
the seller may still market the home
during this time until the contingency is
removed. You still may have the right of
first refusal, but it is a risk that your deal
may fall through.
Besides the purchase price there may
be other costs involved. In many
communities there is usually an
application fee. These fees are one time
and may cost between a couple of
hundred to several thousand.
A lawyer will make sure that the contract
you are signing will protect you and your
deposit money. Spending money on a
lawyer could save you thousands.
If you need a mortgage to purchase the
home, get preapproval for a mortgage
prior to looking for a home. Having a
preapproval certificate gains you
bargaining power.
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Adult Community
An HOA (Home Owner Association) is an
organization formed by the community
home owners that maintain the by-laws
of the overall community. These
organization also have input on how the
community budget is formulated, which
has direct effect on maintanence and
application fees.
Maintenance fees usually cover snow
removal, trash pickup, lawn care,
clubhouse maintenance, community
buses, driveways, home structures, such
as roofs, siding etc. Consult with the
community on the exact coverage, since
it does vary between communities.
Usually children are not permitted to live
in an adult community. There are some
that allow children over 21 in some
special cases. It is best to check this out
with the administration of the community
prior to buying.
When buying a new construction home
the tax on the home will most likely be
higher than a resale. The reason for this
is most towns assess their taxes based
on a percentage of the sales price. In
most cases a new home is assessed
on 60 to 70 percent of the sales price. A
resale will have a lower assessed value,
due to a lesser original sales value.
Taxes do not usually change when
buying a resale. If the home was
originally sold for $100,000 and now is
sold for $200,000 the tax rate still
remains the same. Check with the town
for any questions.
There is a Senior Citizen tax rebate in NJ.
The rebate is based on age, income
and other values. Minimum rebate is
$1,000 and maximum of $1,200.
Changes can be made at any time.
For more information about senior taxes,
click on this link and then click on senior
at bottom of the webpage presented:
http://www.state.nj.us/treasury/taxation/
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REAL ESTATE AGENT
Having a buyer agent means that you will
be represented (even in new
construction) when buying a home. The
Selling agent (those representing the
seller and/or builder) cannot represent
you and anything you tell them, will be
given to the Seller. Therefore, you have
little or no negotiating power. See
information on AGENCY below for more
information.
An Exclusive Buyer Agency agreement
guarantees that your agent will represent
only you in the buying process (Buyer
Agent). This is a valid contract between
you and your agent, that protects you
when buying a home.
By working exclusively with one agent you
are assured of getting all the proper
information on homes and what is
available. They will negotiate the best
price for you and not the seller. In most
cases, a buyer's agent can save you in
the thousands even 10's of thousands
on the purchase of a home.
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