Monday, July 15, 2019

NJ's Homestead Rebate - don't lose 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!

This post is from NJ Money Help.

I missed the New Jersey Homestead Rebate deadline. What now?


Q. I was denied the 2016 Homestead Rebate because I filed late. The application was literally lost under a pile of “too much to do” on my desk. How can they deny it to us under any circumstances?
— Unhappy homeowner

A. We can relate to that “too much to do” pile on your desk, but we’re afraid that won’t cut it.
A deadline is a deadline.
Generally, tax refunds are not issued unless the taxpayer files a tax return requesting the tax refund that they are entitled to receive, said Neil Becourtney, a certified public accountant and tax partner with CohnReznick in Eatontown.
He said for income tax purposes, an individual taxpayer has three years from the due date of the federal and New Jersey income tax return to file for a refund.
“If a taxpayer fails to file their federal or New Jersey personal income tax returns within this three-year time frame, they will lose out on any tax refunds to which they were entitled,” he said.
Unfortunately, the New Jersey Homestead Benefit program is based on income thresholds that need to be verified, requiring eligible homeowners to file a form each year with the New Jersey Division of Taxation.
The deadline for filing a 2016 Homestead Benefit application was Nov. 30, 2018.
The application called for the entry of your 2016 gross income, which could not have exceeded $150,000 if age 65 or older or blind or disabled, or $75,000 if under age 65 and not blind or disabled, Becourtney said.
This is explained in detail on the Division of Taxation’s website.
Unfortunately, you’re out of luck.
“In the future, I recommend that you file it the day it arrives in your mail,” Becourtney said. “I file the form for a few of my elderly clients who forward their forms to me – it only takes about five minutes to complete.”
Email your questions to Ask@NJMoneyHelp.com.
This story was originally published on July 11, 2019.
So, New Jersey homeowners, it goes something like this: you snooze, you lose.

For your real estate purchase or mortgage refinance 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
@vestedland
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Monday, July 8, 2019

Bergen County New Jersey's Ho-Ho-Kus in the news

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!

Thinking of buying a home in Bergen County?  Think Ho-Ho-Kus!

The Sunday Times featured a nice article, "Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J.: A Tight-Knit but Welcoming Community."

"With a thousand pieces of candy on hand, Nicolle and Joe Zawacki thought they were well prepared for their first Halloween in Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., having been warned that the three-bedroom home they bought six months earlier was on “the Halloween street.” But when a steady flow of 20 to 30 trick-or-treaters at a time began arriving at their door, the supply quickly ran out. They were relieved when Mr. Zawacki’s mother stopped by with her leftover candy."
 That says something about a child-friendly community, doesn't it.  But that's not all this town of 4,000 residents has.  It's got direct transportation to Hoboken's train terminal and ferry to NYC, and in the words of the Times, "a picturesque downtown."

If you are thinking of buying in Ho-Ho-Kus or any other New Jersey community, contact us, we can help.  You can read the full article on NYTimes.com here.

For your real estate purchase or mortgage refinance 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
@vestedland
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Seller changes mind, what's a buyer to do?

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!

When Home Sellers Have Regrets

Real-estate agents recall desperate measures that sellers took to try and stop a home purchase.


Great feature article from the WSJ.COM about sellers who change their minds about selling right before closing and transfer of title.
Q:Have you ever worked with a client who went to desperate measures to stop a sale?
Andrew Karigan, 
Karigan Residential Group at Douglas Elliman Real Estate in Newport Beach, California
“Just after we accepted an offer, the seller changed his mind. The buyer would not let him out of the contract, so the seller did everything possible to try and sabotage the deal. The home had a lot of deferred maintenance, and there were issues concerning lack of permits. After getting a large ‘request for repair’ document back from the buyer, the seller refused to do any repairs. The buyer still wanted to proceed. The seller then wrote a disclosure statement stating that the home was haunted. This didn’t work either."
In New Jersey, we have a legal device called a "Notice of Settlement" that gives buyers a fair amount of protection.  But, at the end of the day, you need a good lawyer.

Read the full article here.


For your real estate purchase or mortgage refinance 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
@vestedland
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‘This Old House’ Turns 40

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!


It's not title insurance, but we salute "This Old House" as it turns 40

The New York Times features the long running home improvement and renovations show "This Old House" which turned 40 years old this year.

According to Bob Vila, the original host of the show,
“It’s like cooking,” you get the ingredients, put them together and “at the end of the project, you’re a hero.”
Well, to all the do-it-your-selfers out there, keep watching a great TV show.

The full NYTimes.com article can be read here.


For your real estate purchase or mortgage refinance 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
@vestedland
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Thursday, June 27, 2019

When it comes to selling your home, know whom you are dealing with

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!

Real estate crook gets caught!

Hudson County Man Charged In Multimillion-Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme

It always amazes us how far people can sink when they try to make a buck. The Department of Justice has released information about one criminal got caught bilking banks out of mortgage money.

According to the press release:

"A Hudson County, New Jersey, man has been indicted for his role in running a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme that involved properties in Jersey City, Union, and elsewhere in New Jersey and caused losses of millions of dollars, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced today.

"Anthony Garvin, 49, of Jersey City, was charged in a superseding indictment returned June 25, 2019, with one count of bank fraud conspiracy and five counts of bank fraud. Garvin was originally indicted on one count of bank fraud conspiracy and one count of bank fraud on Jan. 11, 2019."
The scheme was to locate distressed sellers and put together short-sales.  Turns out, though that the buyers didn't really qualify for loans, and, guess what, the fraudsters lied!
You can read the full press release here.

For your real estate purchase or mortgage refinance 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
@vestedland
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