5 Mistakes Buyers Make
Categories: Hoboken Condos
1. Not Knowing What You Can Afford
Before you start going to open houses or browsing through online listings, please speak with a lender. Or better yet, go to bankrate.com and use their nifty tool. You don’t want to look at homes that are more than you can comfortably handle and lust after one you can’t have. At the same time, the benefit of age has shown me that for younger buyers with likely upward salary trajectories, stretching a bit now may not be a horrible thing.
2. Not Getting a Prequalification (or Preapproval) from a Local Lender
It’s an extremely competitive market. The strength of your offer depends not just on the price but on other terms, as well. One of the most important, who is writing your loan? Many lenders make promises they can’t keep and lure you in with ultra-low rates. If they haven’t done lots of business in Hoboken, it’s not likely that they will be able to close. Listing agents know this. They also know the regular players. Get a prequal or, even better, a preapproval from one of them. You’re not obligated to use them for your mortgage but it will absolutely help you to secure the property of your dreams.
3. Not Having Your Own Buyer’s Agent
Lots of buyers today think they can do it all themselves. They look for properties on their phone, go to the open house, and think they will “represent themselves” when it comes to making an offer. Guess what, folks. It doesn’t work that way. Not having an agent just means that the seller’s agent is now supposed to look out for your interests, too (and the seller’s agent loves that because they get paid double!) Do yourself a favor, find a good, experienced, local agent who is an expert in the market and let them work for you and you alone.
4. Expecting Perfection
I don’t care how big your budget may be, nothing is ever going to be perfect. Look, even the White House is considered a “dump” to some people. Certain things can be fixed (kitchens, paint colors, closets) but others, like size and sometimes floor plans, cannot. Make a list of what’s most important to you and be prepared to make compromises.
5. Not Asking About the Association
You’re not just buying a home to live in, in most cases you’re buying a condo which is part of a condominium association. They control the purse strings and make the decisions that directly impact the value of your investment. Be sure you know all about their finances and workings because you are buying into all of that, as well! Is it a building full of renters, owned by absentee investors who bought 20 years ago, don’t care and don’t wish to spend money on anything? Are they operating on a shoe string? Do they allow units to be rented out as AirBnBs? Is the roof and masonry in good repair? Is there any money in reserves? You need to ask all these questions and more.
This is just a partial list but addresses some of the bigger issues I see every day. Working with a good agent can help you avoid many of these pitfalls. Give us a call to see what we can do for you!
Lori
201 993 9500
| Currently 2 Comments »
The Weekly Wednesday Wrap-Up – Hoboken Residential Sales and Activity for the Week of August 23rd, 2017
Categories: Hoboken Condos
To see live links to these listings, please complete this little form and you will be redirected to the same page with clickable links:
As of August 23, 2017:
- 167 active Hoboken listings
- 134 Condo & Co-op listings, compared to 131 last week
- 22 Single-family listings, compared to 22 last week
- 11 Multi-family listings, compared to 11 last week
This Week’s Residential Property Sales & Activity:
- 11 DABOs (Deposit Accepted By Owner and Under Contract) vs 19 last week
- 17 Sold vs 16 last week
- 22 New listings vs. 31 last week
- 5 Price changes vs. 7 last week
- 1 expired listing vs. 1 last week
Studio & 1-Bedroom Properties
37 Active listings
8 New listings
0 Price changes
1 DABO
- 230 Bloomfield St., 302 listed Aug 10 for $400K;;
3 Sold
- 820 Hudson St., C2 listed May 4 for $550K; reduced May 19 to $540K; reduced May 24 to $520K; sold for $500K;
- 159 Newark St., 4B listed Jun 2 for $679K; sold for $675K;
- 1425 Garden St., 204 listed May 31 for $749K; sold for $755K;
2-Bedroom Properties
56 Active listings
9 New listings
4 Price changes
10 DABOs
- 82 Jackson St., B5 listed Aug 4 for $549K; reduced Aug 11 to $499K;
- 1000 Hudson St., 201 listed Aug 3 for $655K;
- 729 Madison St., 2C lised Aug 1 for $680K;
- 308 Garden St., 1L listed Jul 20 for $699K;
- 610 Newark St., 5E listed Aug 4 for $729K;
- 1103 Washington St., 8 listed Aug 3 for $763K;
- 128 Adams St., 1 listed Aug 8 for $899K;
- 89 Jefferson St., 2C listed Aug 9 for $998K;
- 61 5th St., 1R listed Jul 13 for $999K;
- 264 5th St., 2A listed Aug 7 for $1.0M;
- 329 Willow Ave., 4F listed Jun 5 for $499K; sold for $510K;
- 221 Clinton St., 5R listed Jul 8 for $500K; sold for $510K;
- 812 Grand St., 517 listed Jun 20 for $699K; sold for $707K;
- 812 Grand St., 201 listed Jun 8 for $709K; sold for $715K;
- 907 Willow Ave., 1 listed Jun 6 for $849K; reduced Jun 21 to $825K; sold for $825K;
- 1200 Grand St., 229 listed Jun 29 for $859K; sold for $890K;
- 601 Observer Hghwy., PH 603 listed May 11 for $1.170M; sold for $1.155M;
- 1125 Maxwell Ln., 302 listed April 1 for $1.659M; reduced May 8 to $1.60M; sold for $1.535M;
3-Bedroom & larger Properties
41 Active listings
5 New listings
1 Price change
11 Multi-family active listings
22 Single-family active listings
2 DABOs
- 723 Washington St., 7 listed Jun 29 for $959K;
- 2 Constitution Ct., PH12 listed Mar 30 for $1.450M; reduced Jun 1 to $1.40M;
- 502 Monroe St., 402 listed Jun 1 for $1.065M; sold for $1.060M;
- 662 1st St., 2B listed Jun 15 for $1.149M; sold for $1.20M;
- 110 8th St., listed Dec 6 for $1.588M; reduced Feb 14 to $1.498M; sold for $1.40M;
- 14 Paterson Ave., 1 listed Jun 1 for $1.889M; sold for $1.846M;
- 14 Paterson Ave., 2 listed Jun 3 for $2.179M; sold for $2.15oM;
| Currently No Comments »
Does This Look Just Like Siena, Italy, to You?
Categories: Hoboken Condos
I saw this website promo for The Siena, in Montclair, NJ and just had to chuckle. The promo says the building is “inspired by Tuscany” and has a photo of the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena. Having lived part-time in Italy for 17 years, I have a pretty good idea what Siena (and Tuscan buildings, in general) look like. Light yellow stucco exterior building walls, green window shutters, red barrel-tile roofs, terra-cotta courtyards. You can read more about it here.
Here is the Montclair version:
Here is a picture of the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena:
Do you see the similarity?
| Currently 1 Comment »
