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In New Jersey, deer are an ever-present problem for gardeners.  The ones around my house are particularly fond of tulips!

To minimize the predations by the deer in your neighborhood, carefully select deer-resistant plants.  If your plants are unappetizing, the deer will go elsewhere for their lunch.

Most of New Jersey is in hardiness zone 6a or 6b, so it's important to choose plants that will thrive in temperatures that get no colder than -5 F.  Keep in mind the amount of shade and sun that your particular garden bed receives, as well as the soil type.  Plant between now and the end of September.

Deer-resistant perennials that thrive in New Jersey include:

• clematis
• coral bells
• daylilies
• dianthus
• evening primrose
• geranium
• grasses (ornamental)
• hollyhock
• hosta
• iris
• phlox
• salvia

Enjoy your new garden!

 

I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but it remains true.

If you are a buyer who is wondering when is “the right time” to buy – it’s today!

Here's why:

Lower property values are making homeownership more attractive than renting in many markets throughout the country. Paying for a mortgage is now less expensive than renting in many large metropolitan areas, including Miami, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Washington, DC, as well as in smaller cities like San Antonio and Fresno, CA.

Lower mortgage rates are the result of the current recession. What does this mean for you? On a 30-year fixed-rate loan amount of $200,000 at 5%, the interest paid over the life of the loan is $186,512. That brings the total loan payments to $386,512. At 6%, the amount of interest paid rises to $231,676, a 24% increase. At 7%, it's $279,018, a 49% increase.

Investment opportunities abound as mortgage rates and home prices have dropped dramatically since March 2008.  This has created one of the best buyer affordability conditions, with the percentage of median household income needed to pay the mortgate on a median-priced home at a 30-year low.

Have you noticed how wonderful Best Lake looks, now?  The algae have been eliminated, and the water - once, again - looks marvelous.

The fountains on the two lakes help to keep the water moving, which also discourages algae.  I think that the birds and other wildlife appreciate the work done to maintain this lovely area.

I always delight, particularly, in the birds that treat the lakes as home.  My favorites are the great blue heron, snowy egret, and cormorant.

The bird house on stilts in Best Lake is now a favorite perch for the heron and egret.  Watch carefully, and you may see them surveying the lovely scene, or fishing.  Occasionally, you may be lucky enough to see one of them flying:  impressive!

Each month, I provide a 6-month view of home sales activity in the Warren Township and Watchung Borough markets, along with a 90-day view of current homes for sale.

Check out the Warren Twp and Watchung Boro pages on this website, to see what's happening in real estate.

On the same pages, you'll find interesting township information and useful links.

The June 8, 2010 Courier News (http://www.mycentraljersey.com/news) reported on the 2010 New Jersey Kids Count report (http://acnj.org/main.asp?uri=1003&di=1689), issued June 7.

The 10 best counties in New Jersey for children are:

1. Morris
2. Somerset
3. Hunterdon
4. Bergen
5. Middlesex
6. Monmouth
7. Sussex
8. Union
9. Mercer
10. Warren

According to ACNJ (Association for Children of New Jersey), "sixteen different measures of child health, safety, education and overall child and family well-being are used to rank and compare the counties." Congratulations to area counties, who make children's welfare such a priority.

We can all be proud of the students of Watchung Hills Regional High School, who have raised $25,000 for the Pennies for Peace Foundation, a program of the Central Asia Foundation.  The monies raised will support a service-learning project focused on Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Many schools throughout the area are participating in the "Pennies for Peace" program.

Congratulations to the 2200 students and 200 faculty for their efforts and generosity!

In-depth coverage of the story was published on the front page of the May 26, 2010 Independent Press.

Spring is here!  We are enjoying noticeably longer days, sunshine, and lovely flowers. 

Spring Curb Appeal

This is a good time to give your house some Springtime curb appeal.  Even if you're not selling your house, right now, you'll be delighted to see how well your house "shows" in your neighbourhood.  Some basic tasks you should undertake in the Spring:

• Sweep up any left-over sand and gravel from the driveway and walkways.
• Hose off any remaining salt and dirt.
• Pick up the branches and twigs that have been blown off the trees by the winter storms.
• Trim the trees and bushes to remove damaged branches and out-of-place sprouts.  (This is not a major pruning.)
• Refresh the edging around the garden beds, whether you use a small trench, vinyl liners, a low-level fence, or decorative bricks.
• Cultivate the garden beds, to break up the winter hardness and let in the air and sunshine.
• Remove early weeds from garden beds and between paving stones.
• Buy some greenhouse-raised Spring flowers, and plant them in outdoor planters.
• Wash the door, porch, and steps.
• If you have storm windows, remove them.
• Wash the outside of the windows, and the window sills, then put up the screens.

Invite Spring Inside

This Spring, don't do just a traditional "Spring cleaning."  Also give your house the "look" of Spring.

Naturally, you should start with Spring cleaning.  You'll remember "the basics" from when your Mother used to do Spring cleaning, when you were growing up:

• Open the doors and windows, and air out the house, for at least 2 hours.  Choose a dry, sunny day for this activity.
• Wash the inside of the windows, and the window sills.
• Wash or dry clean the window treatments.  Plan to replace any window treatments that have been faded or rendered threadbare by the sun.
• Empty and clean the refrigerator.  Throw out expired foods.  Put clean refrigerator liners in the drawers.  Open a fresh box of baking soda and put it at the back of a shelf.
• Clean out ALL of the kitchen cupboards, one at a time.
• Give the bathrooms a thorough scrubbing.
• Clean out the closets.  Would they benefit from closet organizers?  (Check for ideas at Easy Closets, Stacks and Stacks, or Solutions.)
• Assess the family's clothing.  Move seasonal clothing to a storage closet.  Give away any clothing that your family is no longer wearing.
• Appraise each room critically: what can you remove, to make it less cluttered and more spacious?  Store, give away, sell (on eBay, Etsy, eCrater, or craigslist), or toss these items.

So much for the Spring cleaning part.  Next, invite Spring inside!  Think of ways to add Spring color to your house.  For example:

• If you have to (or can) replace window treatments, give a room a whole new look, by choosing fabrics in Spring colors or patterns.  (A variety of colorful window treatments are available at Touch of Class, Country Curtains, Target, The Curtain Shop, and Best Window Treatments.)
• Replace throw/toss pillows with new, brightly colored pillows.  (Check for bargains at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, Crate & Barrel, or Linens N Things.)

• Put colorful vases and candles on the tables.  (Vases and candles are available at Crate & Barrel, and Target.)

• Replace old, worn towels with new towels in Spring colors.  (You'll find reasonably priced towel sets at Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, Linens N Things, and Sears.)

• Place vases of Spring flowers in the main rooms, and in your bedroom.  Also, put a small vase of flowers in each bathroom.

You will have given the house a new Spring "wardrobe," making it more welcoming to visitors.  Your family, too, will enjoy the change, and will relish returning home, each day.

P.S.  All of the stores I have mentioned have online outlets, so you can shop from the comfort of your home.

For many people, Fall is their favorite time of year.  The air is fresh and crisp; the colored leaves make the countryside even more beautiful.

Fall is also a wonderful time to sell a home, because houses look their best against Nature's most colorful backdrop.  Also, as the leaves come down, the lighter, more airy woods render house interiors brighter.

This is also a terrific time to buy a home.  Many people are eager to be in their "new place" in time for the year-end holidays.  Buying now, also enables you to take advantage of any 2009 tax benefits to which you might be entitled.

Please contact me, if you are interested in buying a new home, or if you are considering selling your home.  You can call me on my cell phone (908-612-4962), or send me an e-mail message (RothR@MorettiRealty.com).

 

A wonderful program is available in New Jersey for those who are now having trouble meeting their mortgage payments.

If you are "upside-down" in your home (that is, your home's market value is less than your mortgage principal) or if the tough economy has made it difficult for you to both pay the mortgage and feed and clothe your family, then the Housing Assistance Recovery Program (HARP) may be able to help you.

HARP provides a way for you to remain in your home, avoiding foreclosure.  For basic information about the program, download the HARP information file (PDF format).

CENTURY 21 Moretti Realty is the Broker of Choice for the HARP program.  We will work with you, to determine if you are qualified for the program, then refer you to those who can help you stay in your home, while getting your finances back in order.

Please contact me, for more information or to set up a preliminary consultation, at no cost to you.

On Sunday, October 4, CENTURY 21 Moretti Realty and the Old Timers Motorcycle Club will sponsor the 4th Annual Run to support the Open Your Heart to Children Battling Cancer Foundation.  The day includes a motorcycle run (registration 9 am), a vintage car show (registration 12 pm)  and the raffling off of a vintage 1972 Harley-Davidson motorcycle. 

The day begins at 9 am, with registration for the motorcycle run (a 55-mile ride through scenic Somerset county), and continues at 12 pm, with registration for the vintage car show.  Refreshments and activities will be available throughout the day.

Pop Warner Field (Kenneth Avenue, off Belmont Avenue), South Plainfield, NJ

I'll be there all day.  Please participate, to help Children Battling Cancer!  (See my About Me page, for more information.)

The First-Time Homebuyers Tax Credit program, that gives new homebuyers an $8,000 tax credit, is about to expire.

"Wait!" you exclaim. "I've got until November 30!  That's plenty of time."

Well, you see, it's not plenty of time.  The rules of the Tax Credit program are that you must close the purchase of your new home by November 30th - that's just 75 days from today.

"See!  Like I said:  plenty of time," you argue.

Unfortunately, these days, it takes up to 60 days - after your offer has been accepted! - to close on the purchase.  Why?  Several reasons:

• Arranging the financing of a purchase (taking out a mortgage) is taking much longer than it used to, due to new conservative lending practices. 
• Part of the financing process involves having the home appraised, and appraisals, too, are taking longer to do.
• The title must be searched, to ensure that it is truly clear of liens (other than mortgage and home-equity loan)
• In addition, inspections must be undertaken, and any issues corrected, to the inspector's satisfaction.

All of these steps add up to about 60 days.

You can do the math:  If there are just 75 days left, 'til the tax credit program expires, and 60 of those days are tied up in the closing process, then ...

YOU MUST MAKE AN ACCEPTABLE OFFER ON YOUR NEW HOME
WITHIN THE NEXT 15 DAYS!

Contact me now, and let's get started!

There is so much going on, these days!  We have open houses and charity events - and I'm teaching a Social Media course!

I decided that it was time to gather all of this information together, into one place.  Now, on my home page, you'll find a new section, "Up-Coming Events in Which We Are Participating."  Right now, there are 4 events - all taking place in September and October.

I'll be updating that information, every time we do something new, so check back, every week.

I'm sure that you have heard, in the news, that it is more difficult to get a mortgage this year, than in the past.  To some extent, that is true.  Since the economic "meltdown" of a year ago, banks and other lending institutions have become more conservative.

What does that mean, for people who would like to buy a home, today?  It means that those who can make a larger down payment and have a stronger credit rating will secure a mortgage more easily than those with smaller down payments and weaker credit ratings.

If you are in the second category, not all is lost.  The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is still in the mortgage insurance business!  An FHA-insured loan requires a smaller down payment, and is accessible to those whose credit ratings are lower.

To learn more about FHA-insured loans and the application process, I recommend that you read the FHA Tips, at Learn More About FHA Loans.

I have also included an FHA-created widget on both my Warren Township and Watchung Borough webpages.  This widget shows the maximum loan amount that the FHA will insure, for different types of residential buildings, for 5 counties:  Somerset, Morris, Union, Middlesex, and Monmouth.

There is still time to take advantage of an element of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 that is targeted to home buyers.

Until November 30, 2009, you may be able to claim an $8,000 credit on your 2009 Federal income taxes.  What a terrific opportunity!

If you have not owned a home in the last 3 years, but purchase a home before December 1, 2009, then you may very well qualify for this credit.  For program details, visit the IRS Answers page.

It is important that you realize that your real estate transaction must close by November 30, 2009.  That means that you should make an offer on a new home by the end of September.  Act now, to be sure you don't miss out!

To learn more about the splendid homes available in Warren Township or Watchung Borough, please contact me.

Last week, I had the privilege of participating in Inman Connect, a real estate conference devoted to innovation and technology in real estate.  In addition to learning about what is happening in the field, I enjoyed good conversation with colleagues.

Inman Connect always includes an excellent Exhibit Hall, where vendors of real estate tools and services can showcase their wares.  Many nifty tools and "widgets" for providing consumers with information about their homes and neighborhoods, as well as great marketing tools for listings, have been developed recently.

Watch the pages of this 24K Gold Customer Service website during the coming weeks.  You'll be delighted by the quality of the information that I'll be providing!

Have a look at the current summary (year-to-date) sales information for Warren Township (07059) and Watchung Borough (07069).

I am delighted to report that July brought an improvement in sales in both of these real estate markets.

Watchung Borough showed particularly strong improvement, with the average sale price increasing by almost $65,000 and the number of days on the market decreasing by nearly a month!

The numbers in these markets, as well as overall in New Jersey, continue to indicate that this is a good time to buy and sell a home.  Please contact me, for assistance with all of your real estate needs.

If you have a look at the Warren Township and Watchung Borough pages on this web site, you'll see that some nifty charts have been added.

You can now view the latest real estate market information for each of these communities:

• Median selling price of a single-family home
• Median selling price per square foot
• Inventory (number of properties for sale)
• Average number of days on market 

The charts are updated automatically, every week, so the information is almost "real time"!

There is also a link on each web page, that permits you to sign up to automatically receive market updates via e-mail.  This is a great service that I am delighted to be able to offer you.  Do take advantage of it!

As always, you can contact me for additional information about buying and selling homes in these markets.

According to the Wall Street Journal (July 28, 2009), sales of new homes (those that were previously unoccupied) jumped in June - up 11% over May's sales.  Read Jeff Bater's article.

This is another sign that the recession has ceased its downward plunge, and the US economy is stabilizing.

Given low mortgage interest rates and the First-Time Home Buyer's tax credit, the Summer of 2009 is turning out to be a fabulous time to buy a house!

Contact me, for help in finding your dream home.

Every year, Money Magazine publishes a list of the ten best places to live in America.  This year, the focus was on small towns.

Warren Township, NJ, was named the sixth-best small town in America!

ABC Eyewitness News, New York's Channel 7, did a feature on Warren Township, shortly after the Money Magazine list was published.  Watch the video!

You can also read more about Warren Township, and why it was chosen for the top-ten list, on CNN's Money site.

I love libraries!  They are full of such interesting and entertaining books, audio CDs, periodicals, and videos.

Today, I spent a happy couple of hours researching the history of Warren Township.  The Reference Librarian was especially helpful, finding appropriate books and showing me the packed vertical file that I can pore through, when I'm ready for that.

The Warren Library is located in the handsome Municipal Complex on Mountain Avenue, just East of Warrenville Road.  It looks out onto the Warren Township War Memorial, an elegant but sober tribute to all of Warren's citizens who perished in wars, starting with the Revolutionary War and continuing up to the Iraqi War.

Occupying a two-storey building, the library is well stocked and has lots of room for reading and studying.  Two coin-operated photocopiers are available, too.

If you have not yet visited the Warren Library, make a point of doing so - soon!

You probably have heard about a relatively new element of the Federal economic recovery plan:  Many home buyers may be able to claim an $8,000 credit on their 2009 Federal income taxes.  What a terrific opportunity!

If you have not owned a home in the last 3 years, but purchase a home before December 1, 2009, then you may very well qualify for this credit.

For additional information, visit the IRS Answers page.

To learn more about available homes in Watchung Borough or Warren Township, please contact me.

In a neighboring township, the Bernardsville Public Library was recently honored as a winner of the New Jersey State Library's contest on Best Practices in Early Childhood Literacy.  Congratulations to the library on earning statewide recognition for the "Literacy on the Go" kits, which the library makes available to parents.

The competitive New Jersey State Library program recognizes the criticality of pre-school literacy development to a child's future academic success, and encourages local libraries to help parents provide needed developmental activities.

Recently, a TwitterPal informed me that ABC13 had published a web article with the above headline.  Naturally curious, I sought it out.  You may wish to read it, also.

The primary way that the author recommends that you maximize home sale profits is to employ less expensive service providers for tasks like moving, storing, and inspection.

I would suggest that, rather than selecting providers based on the lowest bid, you select recommended service providers who have a good track record and are customer-service oriented.  Those are the ones who will provide the best value.

As your real estate professional, I can offer special discounts for such well-known service providers as

• Ace World Wide, the nation’s leading residential and corporate moving company
• AmeriSpec Home Inspection Service
• Brinks Home Security
• CENTURY 21 Home Protection Plan
• Lowe's Home Improvement
• CENTURY 21 Mortgage Services
• JC Penney Custom Decorating.

In addition, I can provide special rates for hotels and car rentals - all through the CENTURY 21 Business Benefits program.

Contact me, for details!

According to a June 18, 2009 report from Bank of America / Merrill Lynch, there is reason for optimism, with respect to the US economy.  With appropriate caveats, the authors of the report suggest that we may be about 90% of the way through the recession, with recovery beginning in the late Summer or early Fall.

What are those caveats?  Overall, the consumer portion of the economy is mixed:  the workweek, jobless claims, and consumer goods orders remain weak; but consumer expectations are stronger.

Is there good news in there, for you, the home buyer or seller?  Absolutely!  As consumer expectations improve, so will activity in the housing market.  For the next few months, buyers will continue to have a good variety of homes from which to choose, while sellers will experience increasing interest in their homes.

Right now, on the "cusp" of the recovery, may prove to be the best time to embark on your next real-estate transaction.  Please Contact Me, to discuss your housing needs.

Lately, most people find themselves talking about the weather - usually bad - at some point in every conversation.  It's not that people have nothing else to say, but rather that the weather has been so unusual: f ast-moving, strong storms; hail; flash floods; even mini-tornadoes!

If you're trying to sell your home, you may be feeling the effects of the weather:  fewer potential buyers may be viewing your home, and you may think that your home looks dreary, just as the weather is dreary.

Fear not!  Bad weather does not have to mean a bad showing.

First, be confident that buyers will continue to look for a new home - especially if their need is urgent.  So, make sure that your home is ready to welcome potential buyers, with helpful touches like:

• a new "Welcome" mat, umbrella stand, and boot tray outside the door
• a coat tree inside the door.

Second, ensure that your home looks cheerful, no matter what the weather:

• Maintain your external property, and pick up any storm debris immediately.
• Have the gutters cleaned more frequently, to prevent rainwater from spilling over the sides.
• Place planters of seasonal flowers on either side of the front door, steps, or sidewalk.
• Inside, keep the window treatments open, to let in as much natural light as possible.
• Place small bouquets of fresh flowers in the main rooms.
• Turn on the lights in otherwise dark corners of rooms.

Taking these simple steps will keep your home "smiling,"  even on gray days.

As time goes on, I will be sharing interesting information about the real-estate markets I serve, with a special emphasis on Watchung Borough (07069) and Warren Township (07059) in Somerset County, NJ.

Both of these communities offer the benefits of suburban life - quiet neighborhoods, larger lots, good schools, beautiful parks, excellent medical facilities - with the convenience of easy access to New York City and other important business destinations in Northern and Central New Jersey.  Whether you prefer to use public transportation or drive yourself, you'll appreciate the proximity of Watchung Borough and Warren Township to transportation routes.

For more information about each of these communities, check out these web sites:

Wishing you a glorious Spring.