6 Don’ts When Buying Your First Home - a homebuyer's primer

We are the New Jersey title insurance agent that does it all for you. For your next commercial real estate transaction, house purchase, mortgage refinance, reverse mortgage, or home equity loan, contact us, Vested Land Services LLC. We can help.

We can't help you when you're home shopping (well, maybe we can answer some questions about closing and settlement costs) but here's a list of some no-nos put together by Realty Times.

6 Don’ts When Buying Your First Home

(Realty Times, written by Jaymi Naciri)

These are exciting times. You've finally outgrown apartment life or living with your parents or sharing a place with waaaaayyyyy too many roommates, and you're ready to take the leap to homeownership. Now it's time to prepare. As you embark on this journey, beware of six important don'ts that could potentially derail your purchase.

 Don't think it's too early to get prequalified

 So, you're just going to go out "looking" at houses, you say? The time when you just expect to drive around a little and maybe visit an open house or two is obviously the time when you're going to fall in love with a house and want to make a move on it right away.

If you're not already prequalified with a lender, you may not have a chance at it. Competition is fierce across the country thanks to low inventory, and well-maintained, move-in ready homes do not sit if they're priced right. Talk to a lender now to make sure you can qualify - and learn your max budget - even if you just think you're casually looking (because that can change in a hurry!).

 Don't wait to the last minute to check credit

 As a continuation of the casually looking conversation…you want to check your credit the second you start thinking about buying a home. You never know what's going to be on there. Even if you've never missed a payment and have always done a good job of managing your outstanding debt, there could be errors on your report that you're unaware of or even something from many years ago that you didn't realize had been reported to a credit agency. Those little boo-boos, accurate or not, could be hurting your score, and a low score could keep you from getting a mortgage at all. Give yourself time to correct errors or fix blemishes; every tick upward can help you get a better rate and make your home more affordable.

 Don't forget about PMI when calculating your monthly expenses

The idea of putting as little down as possible on your new home is attractive, especially if you're not a natural saver. Today, that can mean just three percent of your purchase price, depending on the loan. For FHA loans, it's three and one-half percent. The problem with making the minimum down payment is that you then have to pay Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI). 

 "PMI is a fee you pay on your mortgage until you owe 80 percent or less of what your home is worth. It's one reason why so many experts advise homebuyers make a 20 percent down payment; if you do, you avoid the evils of paying PMI," said Student Loan Hero. "PMI can cost between 0.3 percent and 1.15 percent of your loan annually. Depending on how much you borrow, that can mean thousands of dollars in extra costs until you can cancel your PMI." 

 Don't ignore the closing costs 

 Many of us micro-focus on the down payment when getting ready to buy our first home, but there is another important expense related to the purchase: The closing costs. Closing costs encompass a wide variety of fees, some or all of which may apply to you depending on where and what you're buying. They can include everything from the application fee and appraisal to the escrow fee to the home and pest inspection to the recording fees. You're looking at between two and five percent of your purchase price for closing fees, which can definitely add up. Many first-time buyers fail to factor this in when getting ready to purchase, and you don't want something that could amount to a few thousand dollars or more to come as an 11th-hour surprise. 

 Don't forget to factor in all the monthly expenses 

 New-home communities often quote a monthly payment that looks quite affordable and that can entice buyers who don't look more closely. That's because the payment is based on principal and interest only (Typically, you'll see a star next to the payment that tells you there's a disclaimer at the bottom of the page.). If you take a look at the small print, you'll see that there are also taxes and insurance to factor in. In some cases, there is also a homeowner's association fee. That monthly payment may not be looking so good anymore.

If you're buying your first home and coming from an apartment or other rental property, you may not have worked things like a gardener into your monthly budget. You'll also want to consider that if you're going up in square footage, there could an increase in your utilities, and you may be taking on payments for things like water and trash that were covered by your rental. It's best to have a true idea of what your monthly expenses are going to look like when buying your first home so you don't end up in over your head.

 Don't think you can go it alone

 Can you buy a home without an agent? Sure. Is it a good idea? Not usually. It could be that you are looking to buy a home that is for sale by owner. "In the industry, we call these types of sellers unrepresented," said The Balance. "Beware if you are trying to buy a home directly from an unrepresented seller. Odds are the seller won't know what she is doing or she might be taking advantage of you; either way, it could be problematic." 

 Unless you are a real estate attorney or are otherwise connected to the industry and aware of the laws, contract issues, etc., it's best for you to have representation, regardless of what type of home you are buying.

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Vested Land Services LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-808-6130 - Fax 973-227-0645

E-mail sflatow@vested.com

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How to Stop That Unruly Neighbor From Ruining Your Sale

We are the New Jersey title insurance agent that does it all for you. For your next commercial real estate transaction, house purchase, mortgage refinance, reverse mortgage, or home equity loan, contact us, Vested Land Services LLC. We can help.

We love these columns from the Ask Real Estate section of the New York Times and have ourselves been featured in a column or two.

Here's a doozy:

How to Stop That Unruly Neighbor From Ruining Your Sale

Some neighbors are determined to make things difficult. But it’s in everyone’s interest to play nice.

By Ronda Kaysen

June 30, 2018

Q: I am writing to you on behalf of my lovely neighbors, who have been harassed for years by a neighbor who shares their driveway and often blocks them in. Now they have put their home up for sale and he’s at every open house intimidating potential buyers.  We live in a great community in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He’s the bad seed on the block. It seems the real estate agent can't handle him. What can my neighbors do?

A: The neighbor has a financial interest in behaving nicely while the house is on the market. If the house sells for less than it’s worth because of his theatrics, other homes in the immediate area (including his own) could see a drop in value.

The neighbor’s antics may backfire in another way, too. Someone will buy that house eventually, and he will have to live alongside that person (and continue to share the driveway). If he shows himself to be an unpleasant person, he may attract a buyer willing to take him on. “The person who ends up buying it is going to be somebody who can take it,” said Anna Shagalov, an associate broker with Halstead. Such a neighbor will be primed for confrontation, “and that is not in their best interests.”

The seller, or the real estate broker, should explain to the neighbor that his attitude is self-defeating. Be positive and try to enlist him in the sales effort. After all, a quick sale means a swift end to a long, unpleasant relationship. Ask him what can be done to appease him.

If the neighbor refuses to cooperate, the seller could make the open house a boisterous one, with distractions like balloons, a food truck and coffee. “Even if he’s ranting in the corner, he gets drowned out,” said John W. Harrison, an associate broker at CORE. “Really, all you’re trying to do is curate the purchaser’s first impression.”

Even if the neighbor is on his best behavior during the open house, the seller may still need to disclose past confrontations over the shared driveway, depending on what information the buyer requests in the contract.

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Vested Land Services LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-808-6130 - Fax 973-227-0645

E-mail sflatow@vested.com

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Why First Time Buyers Flock to the FHA Loan Program

We are the New Jersey title insurance agent that does it all for you. For your next commercial real estate transaction, house purchase, mortgage refinance, reverse mortgage, or home equity loan, contact us, Vested Land Services LLC. We can help.


While we don't offer mortgages, we know what they are and how they work.  40+ years' of experience is a great teacher.  Meanwhile, Realty Times looks at FHA loan programs and explains why they remain popular.

The FHA loan is one of the most-used mortgage programs for first time home buyers and there are some very good reasons why. The Federal Housing Administration introduced the FHA loan back in 1934 and since then has been the preferred choice for "first-timers."

FHA loans are one of the three "government-backed" mortgages. The other two are the VA and USDA programs. This government backing means should the loan ever go into default, the lender is compensated for all or part of the loss. With the FHA loan, the compensation to the lender is 100 percent of the loss. This compensation is in effect the result of an insurance policy and FHA loans carry two such policies.

There is an upfront policy that is rolled into the final loan amount and is not paid for out of pocket. The upfront policy is currently 1.75% of the base loan amount. The other policy is an annual one that is paid in monthly installments.

Today, for most FHA loans, the premium is 0.80 percent of the outstanding loan balance.

It is for this reason that lenders can relax their lending guidelines somewhat due to these two policies. As long as the lender followed the proper FHA guidelines when approving the loan, the guarantee is in place. Note, the FHA does not physically approve any mortgage. Instead, approved lenders do. Instead of the FHA being a mortgage program, it really acts more like an insurance policy.

The FHA does, however, prescribe a minimum credit score of 500 yet you'll be hard-pressed to find a lender who will approve an FHA loan with such a low score. In certain instances, lenders can approve an application with a 580 score while others ask for a score to be 600 or even higher. Individual lenders can set their own minimums.

Another reason why first-timers like the FHA loan is probably the most important one. The minimum down payment for an FHA loan is just 3.5% of the sales price. This makes it easier for first-time buyers to save up enough money for a down payment and accompanying closing costs. Conventional low down payment loan programs, on the other hand, make it harder to qualify by increasing rates for low down payment loans.

And speaking of money, FHA loans are a bit more lenient when it comes to receiving a financial gift. Buyers can receive a financial gift for all or part of the funds needed to close as long as the funds are coming from a family member or qualified non-profit agency.

This article and others written by real estate expert David Reed can be read on-line here.

For your next New Jersey title insurance order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Vested Land Services LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-808-6130 - Fax 973-227-0645

E-mail sflatow@vested.com

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Cyber Crime - new scheme

We are the New Jersey title insurance agent that does it all for you. For your next commercial real estate transaction, house purchase, mortgage refinance, reverse mortgage, or home equity loan, contact us, Vested Land Services LLC. We can help.

A news report about a new cyber crime scheme targeting #titleinsurance agents.
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6422059342433972224/
Gotta keep your guard up!

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Vested Land Services LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-808-6130 - Fax 973-227-0645

E-mail sflatow@vested.com

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Ridgefield Park, NJ - a Mayberry for the 21st Century?

We are the New Jersey title insurance agent that does it all for you. For your next commercial real estate transaction, house purchase, mortgage refinance, reverse mortgage, or home equity loan, contact us, Vested Land Services LLC. We can help.

As a New Jersey title insurance agent, we have insured dozens of homes in Ridgefield Park, a suburban Bergen County community.  The New York Times' James Levin looks at living in that sleepy little town.

Ridgefield Park, N.J.: A 21st-Century Mayberry

With its vintage housing stock and close-knit community, residents say making a life in this village of 13,000 is “like living in the ’50s.”

At this spring’s Earth Day celebration in Ridgefield Park, N.J., a bluegrass guitarist strummed the theme from “The Andy Griffith Show” — a fitting anthem for a Bergen County community easily compared to the fictional Mayberry.

The full article continues below or can be read on- line here.

For your next title order or

if you have questions about what you see here, contact

Stephen M. Flatow, Esq.

Vested Land Services LLC

165 Passaic Avenue, Suite 101

Fairfield, NJ 07004

Tel 973-808-6130 - Fax 973-227-0645

E-mail sflatow@vested.com

"The trappings of small-town life are evident in working-class Ridgefield Park, one of four official villages in New Jersey. Front porches and fluttering flags abound on cozy, tree-canopied streets, many one-way. The elaborate Fourth of July parade, first staged in 1894, is the state’s oldest. The supermarket, with four aisles and a painted tin ceiling punctuated by spinning fans, is more like the grocery where Aunt Bee shopped.

  

Even Ridgefield Park’s most famous native — strait-laced Ozzie Nelson, from another black-and-white TV classic, “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” — underscores the suburb’s old-fashioned, unhip, Starbucks-free image.

“It’s like living in the ’50s here,” said Karen Purpura, a 69-year-old flutist who moved to Ridgefield Park with her partner, Tom Olcott, from nearby Englewood last year after inheriting a house from a friend. “People look out for each other; the neighbors even snow-blow our property. It’s a family town. You feel grounded.”

The couple’s rambling 1908 colonial, with its wraparound porch, is representative of the housing stock, 60 percent of which is at least a century old. Ms. Purpura said she and Mr. Olcott, a 66-year-old musicians’ union official, put more than $100,000 into repairs and upgrades.

“We retained the integrity of the house, restoring it back to the original wood floors,” she said. “We’re not looking to live any other place. This is our home, where the grandkids come. We love the house and we love the neighborhood.”

Beyond ambience, home buyers have pragmatic reasons for choosing Ridgefield Park, which has 13,000 residents in less than two square miles. Located at the nexus of highways, the village offers a short commute to New York, just five miles from the George Washington Bridge and 11 miles from the Lincoln Tunnel. And home prices are markedly lower than in other Bergen County towns like Ridgewood, with which Ridgefield Park shares village status and an inventory of turn-of-the-century houses.

Ayse and Firat Okcu paid $400,000 for a three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath colonial in Ridgefield Park in 2016 after considering two towns farther north in Bergen County, Emerson and Oradell, for their strong school systems. But accessibility won over the couple, parents of a 1-year-old. Mr. Okcu, 41, has a 35-minute early-morning bus ride to Manhattan, where he works at a Times Square hotel, and Ms. Okcu, 37, has a reasonable drive to the Weehawken hotel where she works.

“Plus, the type of house we bought would have cost $50,000 to $100,000 more” in the other towns, said Ms. Okcu, who described Ridgefield Park as friendly and secure.

Janice Cima, a broker associate with Keller Williams Village Square Realty in Ridgewood, grew up in Ridgefield Park and said locals have long invoked Sheriff Andy Taylor’s idyllic hometown when describing their own. “Ridgefield Park is similar to Mayberry in that it’s picturesque and tight-knit,” she said. “People move here and stay through multiple generations. You can’t say that about many towns.”

While many prize Ridgefield Park for its proximity to Manhattan, Ms. Cima said, the vintage homes — the oldest of which was raided by the British during the Revolution — are also a draw.

“Buyers appreciate the uniqueness of the houses — the crown moldings, the original woodwork,” she said. “You don’t come to Ridgefield Park for new construction.”

What You’ll Find

Situated just north of the Meadowlands, Ridgefield Park occupies a peninsula bordered by the Hackensack River to the west and Overpeck Creek to the east. Interstate 80 is the northern border, with Teaneck and Bogota on the other side; Route 46 slices through the village’s southern flank.

The New Jersey Turnpike parallels Overpeck Creek and separates Ridgefield Park’s residential portion from Overpeck County Park and the Overpeck Centre complex, which includes the Samsung Electronics America headquarters, a hotel and a 12-screen movie theater.

A larger mixed-use project is expected to be built over the coming years on vacant land south of Overpeck Centre, where the turnpike and Route 46 converge. The $1 billion SkyMark Center would comprise 1,500 rental apartments in a “town center” configuration and a high-rise — millennial commuters are the target audience — as well as 212,000 square feet of open-air retail and two hotels. All permits have been obtained, and a spokesman for the developer, Eagle Nest Development Urban Renewal, said financing is being finalized and ground could be broken in six months.

Mayor George Fosdick described his town as “ever-changing, yet eternally the same,” and said commercial development east of the turnpike keeps things that way. Homeowners benefit, he added, because “our future, in terms of economic development, lies in the area of Ridgefield Park where people don’t live,” ensuring that the village proper maintains its traditional appearance.

What You’ll Pay

On June 28, the New Jersey Multiple Listing Service website showed 28 properties for sale, all but four priced under $400,000. At the high end, listed at $535,000, was an early 20th-century brick center-hall colonial on Euclid Avenue, with annual property taxes of $14,147. Nine single-family houses and two condos were listed for between $300,000 and $400,000, with property taxes of $7,500 to $12,000. Five co-ops were listed for less than $100,000.

Between June 1, 2017, and May 31, 2018, 70 single-family houses sold at a median price of $324,500, up from $310,000 during the previous 12-month period, according to the listing service. The median price of a co-op was $83,500, and that of a condominium or townhouse, $184,950.

The Vibe

The timeworn Main Street business district takes all of four minutes to walk and has a variety of tenants, including a bakery specializing in wedding cakes, a bicycle shop, the village hall, a stationery store, a dollar store and restaurants serving Greek, Peruvian and Thai fare, among others. The anchor is the quaint Village IGA grocery, where village officials dart in for lunch at the deli counter and fliers announcing pancake breakfast fund-raisers and missing pets are taped to the entrance glass.  

Volunteer organizations, from the fire department and ambulance corps to the Masons, Lions, Elks and Knights of Columbus help keep the townspeople connected, as does a popular Facebook group, Ridgefield Park Moms. In April, the village rallied to support a family who had lost their home to fire. “Instantly there were efforts by many of our organizations to raise money for clothing for the family,” said Mr. Fosdick. “There’s a tradition here of helping friends, neighbors and strangers.”

Stephen Quinn, a wildlife artist and member of the local Environmental Commission, lives in a circa-1921 house built by his great-grandfather. Several years ago, he bought the adjacent property, knocked down the house and created a pocket-size wildlife sanctuary. A better-known natural landmark is the protected nest of a pair of avian celebrities, bald eagles Al and Alice.

“Ridgefield Park has always had a countrified air about it,” Mr. Quinn said. “Compared to other places, we’ve maintained our small-town character.”

The Schools

Students in kindergarten through sixth grade attend one of three neighborhood elementary schools: Grant, Lincoln or Roosevelt. Ridgefield Park Junior-Senior High School enrolls 1,240 in grades seven through 12. Average SAT scores for 2016-17 were 515 in reading and writing and 511 in math, compared with 551 and 552 statewide. Sixty-nine percent of the class of 2017 went on to college, versus 71 percent statewide.

Mark Hayes, the interim superintendent, said the school district is “turning a corner” three years after a $2.5 million budget shortfall necessitated the appointment of a state fiscal monitor.

The Commute

There is no train station in Ridgefield Park; most commuters take the bus instead. From the principal thoroughfares of Main Street and Teaneck Road, New Jersey Transit buses reach the Port Authority terminal in Manhattan in less than 45 minutes; the fare is $4.50 one way or $148 monthly.

The History

Decades before Ozzie Nelson presided over his clean-cut family on television, he was the pride of Ridgefield Park: an Eagle Scout at 13 and, at Ridgefield Park High, a star quarterback who led the football team to an undefeated 1922 season. The road looping around the current high school was named Ozzie Nelson Drive in 1992, 17 years after the entertainer’s death."

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