Will a swimming pool add to your home's bottom line?

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.

Will Building A Pool Pay Off In Your ROI?

That's the question asked in Realty Times.

It's sweltering. Who can blame you if you're looking for ways to cool down?! But if that means you're thinking about building a pool, you'll want to consider the financial ramifications first.

And we're not just talking about the cost of building one, properly maintaining it, and adding it to your insurance, all of which is pricey. "The average cost in the U.S. to install, equip, and fill a 600-sq.-ft. concrete pool starts at $30,000," said Houselogic. "Add in details like safety fences (most states require them), waterfalls, lighting, landscaping, and perhaps a spa, and you're easily looking at totals approaching $100,000."

SFGate

 If value and return on investment are on your mind (and they definitely should be), crunching some numbers before you start digging out your yard is prudent - even if you think you're going to live in your home forever. Talking to your real estate agent, even if you have no plans of selling your home anytime soon (or ever), is also a good idea. While opinions differ - some REALTORS® will tell you that pools pay off, while others will tell you not to expect good ROI—having some knowledge of what to expect, especially in your market, will help you to make a more informed decision.

Our take is that you have to do what's best for you and your home.  

Go here to read the full article.

What do you think?

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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In the market to purchase a home? Answer this - can you afford it?

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 New York Times column asks - Can I Afford to Buy a Home? And then proceeds to a series of  questions that will help you answer the question.  Here we go:

Buying a home is the biggest financial decision most people will make, with many factors going into that decision. In some markets, renting might be a better option, depending on your personal circumstances.

Your Income

Taking on a mortgage is a long-term commitment. You should be confident that your income level will be stable for the foreseeable future, or at least three to five years, the minimum amount of time before it would likely make financial sense to sell or refinance. 

Your Savings

You will most likely be tapping your savings to make a down payment. Keep in mind that mortgage lenders won’t want you to deplete your savings entirely – they will want you to have cash reserves to cover unexpected expenses. Reserve requirements vary, depending on the lender and type of loan, but figure at least two months’ worth of payments.

There's more to read at the Times.  Hope you find it helpful.

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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Solar power, even apartment owners can benefit

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 have previously looked at Solar Panels from a title insurance perspective and how they can impact the sale of your home.  I came across the below article in the New York Times on how solar panels can benefit those who live in apartment buildings.

Now Even Apartment Dwellers Can Use Solar Power 

More New York homeowners have tapped into solar power in recent years, as regulations have eased and prices have dropped. But apartment dwellers, for the most part, have been kept in the dark.

Starting this summer, though, renters and homeowners who live in buildings that don’t, or can’t, have solar panels on the roof can join something known as a community solar group. Simply put, these groups allow someone in a Manhattan apartment to lower their electricity bill by connecting to solar panels that happen to sit on the rooftop of, say, a Bronx warehouse.

“I think community solar gives equal access to solar power for those of us in the city,” said Taka Juba, an owner of a Manhattan condominium apartment, who joined the city’s first community solar group run by IPPsolar, a Manhattan-based solar firm. “Anything to offset your bill is great, but there’s a social and environmental impact too.”

To me, the implications are fascinating.  First, from a financial point of view, will the apartment owners benefit financially, and, second, from the title agent's point of view, how to create an agreement that doesn't tie up the title to the real estate.

You can read the full Times article 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

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Live in a condo or home owner association property? Do you understand the budget?

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.

Residents of condominium and home owner association properties are often surprised when they get a notice of a "special assessment."  Special assessments come about because of the need for emergency expenditures arising after a catastrophe, or because the management of the property did not properly budget for repairs and replacements.

This article from Realty Times outlines the budget process; something that should be understood by you, the #homeowner.

HOA Pencil Sharpening: Crunching the Numbers

Now is the time when most homeowner associations count last year's costs and crunch next year's numbers hoping to squeeze blood out of a turnip. Often it's so dry, there isn't even any turnip juice left much less any O positive. But crunch you must. Here are some of the ways to make the cash flow more freely.

Adjust by Inflation. This is a no-brainer. Check the area Consumer Price Index - CPI and raise all budget items by at least that amount. An exception is utilities which often enjoy a larger rate increase based on the utilities the utility companies expect not to sell added to the cost of maintaining antiquated power generation plants plus a fudge factor they hope to slip by the utility rate commission (a bit of budget humor). 

Add a Contingency. A contingency is 5-10% of the total budget which is used to either cover all those things you forgot to include or could not foresee. 

Continue to the full article for more items.  Hope you find it helpful.

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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Selling your home? Do you have a for sale sign on the lawn? Some people would like to ban for sale signs.

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.

From the New York Times:

Does a For Sale Sign Help Sell a House?

Many towns in the New York area have long banned the lawn signs, but some believe they still have value in a rapidly evolving marketplace.

A planned ban on For Sale signs in New Canaan, Conn., hadn’t even begun before it was over.
 The New Canaan Board of Realtors had publicly announced the six-month trial ban in early June, citing the dramatic shift toward online house-hunting and a desire among its members to improve the look of the pricey town. For Sale signs have multiplied noticeably in New Canaan this year as the community has struggled to attract enough buyers to whittle down its substantial supply.
 “When you have as much inventory as we have, the signs make it look like there’s something wrong,” said Doug Milne, an agent with Houlihan Lawrence who specializes in the towns of New Canaan and Darien, explaining part of the thinking behind the proposed sign ban.

So, is it for giving the neighborhood an aesthetic look by banning signs, or is because a plethora of signs make people thing there's a fire sale?

I'll let you read the full article.

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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