From the Courier Post Online:
Don’t let tax rebate purchase your vote
Voters must remember the whole truth about the property-tax relief checks they’ve recently received.
Over the last few weeks, about 2 million New Jerseyans got a pleasant surprise in their mailboxes — property tax rebate checks from the state that averaged more than $1,000.
That much “found” money certainly puts a smile on anyone’s face. But, forgive us for being cynical, we hope it doesn’t serve to buy people’s vote come Nov. 6, when all 120 seats in the state Legislature are up for election.
The so-called “property tax reform” that state lawmakers hammered out months ago, culminating in these checks, is less reform than it is gimmick.
The rebates of 20 percent, 15 percent or 10 percent most New Jerseyans got depending on their household income, are a relief. But don’t forget where the money came from — state lawmakers raised the state sales tax in 2006 in part to pay for these property-tax rebates. All Trenton has really done is take more money from your pocket at the cash register every time you buy something and given some of it back to you in the form of a check.
…
For one, raising one tax to give people “relief” from another tax isn’t reform; it’s smoke and mirrors.Second, real property-tax reform means actually slashing people’s quarterly tax bills. If you woke up tomorrow and found you suddenly owed only $1,200 and not $2,000 to the local tax collector next quarter, that would be actually cutting taxes. Continuing to collect the same amount in taxes but then giving a little back to people as a check or a tax credit is not the same thing.
The way to cut property taxes is to eliminate the fat from our government by reducing its size and consolidating and sharing services. We must also lessen the percentage of funding school districts draw from property taxes.
Our lawmakers in Trenton, despite the palpable outrage around the state over high property taxes, have done nothing in recent years to cut the size of state government or force consolidation and the sharing of services. Nor have they improved the school funding formula.
From the Daily Record:
Parsippany co. takes Better Homes brand
Magazine publisher Meredith Corp. said Monday it licensed its Better Homes and Gardens brand to Realogy Corp., the owner of Century 21, Coldwell Banker and ERA to build a new residential real estate franchise system.
Des Moines-based Meredith will receive royalty payments from Realogy based on a percentage of sales from Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate. Realogy also has agreed to purchase advertising in Meredith publications and to market Meredith magazine subscriptions through Better Homes and Garden Real Estate.
Meredith plans to create additional advertising partnerships with existing and new clients, and will offer Realogy selected database services.
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed, and the transaction is not expected to have an immediate material impact on Meredith’s financial results, the company said in a statement.
Parsippany-based Realogy plans a July 1, 2008, launch of Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate.
“It fits extremely well with our strategic objective to further diversify our business by providing Meredith with significant sources of revenue beyond traditional advertising,” said Meredith President and CEO Steve Lacy.
From Reuters:
S&P says subprime losses to peak only in 2009
The U.S. subprime housing crisis will not peak until 2009 and total defaults could reach $150 billion, rating agency Standard and Poor’s said on Tuesday, but robust emerging markets would help keep global growth strong.
77 Hudson, an under-construction tower in JC caught fire last night. HOV seems to be taking its new marketing plan seriously.
High-rise construction blaze lights up J. City
Yeah I’ll bet those rebate checks were nice….if you actually got one.
Here is another $100,000+ loss in Morris County, this time in Morris Twp.
Here is the prior sale:
MLS# 2079215 – Burnham Rd, Morris Twp.
List Date: 05/23/05
Original List: $599,900
Reduced to: $575,000
Sold: $555,000
Sold Date: 09/30/05
Back on the market a year later:
MLS# 2320030
Original List: $589,000
Reduced to: $539,000
DOM: 182
Expired
Relisted as:
MLS# 2403815
List Date: 05/06/07
Original List: $524,900
Reduced to: $499,900
Sold: $460,000
Sold Date: 10/4/2007
—-
Purchased: $555,000
Purchase Date: 09/30/2005
Sold: $460,000
Sold Date: 10/4/2007
Add in the transaction costs associated with purchase and sale and you’ve got a $100,000+ (20%+) loss after 2 years.
I know this is unrelated but just had to mention being in Macy’s Sunday and saw they already have all their Christmas decor out.
Grim, keep the facts coming.
Clotpoll Says:
October 8th, 2007 at 8:30 pm
I think I saw Torre’s resume at monster.com.
clot: thanks for a nice giggle
I know this is unrelated but just had to mention being in Macy’s Sunday and saw they already have all their Christmas decor out.
Went into Lowes last week and saw XMas trees on display.
Had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn’t still sleeping.
The rebate checks are a joke, sales tax went up by 1%, so that’s extra $1,000 per year, RE taxes are up by 10%, so that’s extra $1,000 and I got a check for $500. That’s Corzine math for you.
Don Mattingly Says:
October 8th, 2007 at 11:13 pm
Chuchundra #21…I understand. I’m married to a Mets fan. But I can’t even begin to tell you how many arguments I had to deal with at the beginning of the season… Jeter vs. Reyes…. Wright vs. Arod…. Mets this, Mets that, Yankees suck, E-Rod… meanwhile you guys haven’t won a damn thing. We might blow this series, but we still rule NY.
23: Rule NY? No way. You just have the most loudmouthed obnoxious imbeciles willing to chest thump. NYC was always a National League town until about 10 years ago. E-Rod? I take Wright over him in a heatbeat, since he has way more Jeter in him, and then you would have $20M left over for anyone else who ISN’T E-Rod.
E-Rod should walk and the Yanks shouldn’t stand in his way. It’s a marriage made in hell.
To be clear: Said Yankees fans were loudmouthed obnoxious imbeciles first, and they self-selected to the team.
77 Hudson.. yes in flames. An intentional accident? HOV must be on the brink.
#13 Gary.
I can see the top of 77 Hudson from my office. I was thinking insurance scam too. But I suppose that is too far fetched.
I just love how concrete & steel structures burst into flames.
So long, Joe.
This STL fan sincerely hopes that the Yankees get LaRussa; they certainly deserve him. Hope Yankee fans enjoy the endless and random lineup changes. Then again, LaRussa might not be too bad without the double switch to drive fans bonkers.
just curious if anyone knows of anybody who has rented a SFH recently. Seems like every house that is for sale is also for rent these days and I believe I’ve noticed the rental prices dropping
WOW…..WOW…..WOW
Look at these losses in California.
http://flippersintrouble.blogspot.com/
#17 Skeptic,
May i ask where you have seen the rental popping up and what price ranges you are seeing for SFH. Me and the wife have been looking in southern morris county and haven’t seen to much that is very interesting. A lot of what we have seen is way overpriced. people obviously trying to rent a SFH for the cost of the mortgage to cover their buts.
More homeowners burdened by taxes.
And Putnam was an area my husband and I were actually considering for its supposed affordability. I definitely didn’t realize they had no police and fire dept.! Who would even think there’d be a need to check for that?!
Taxes Climb and Tempers Flare
FURIOUS about a recently announced plan to increase county taxes by 40 percent, some 300 Putnam County residents demonstrated at the county courthouse in Carmel late last month, frustrated with the growing costs of owning a home in an area long considered an affordable alternative to Westchester.
edit
While a few hundred dollars might not seem enough to foment a tax revolt among the populace, Vincent M. Tamagna, a county legislator representing Philipstown and Putnam Valley, said that for some residents, it could mean having to move elsewhere.
“In 13 years in office, I’ve never seen such a large and angry crowd,” Mr. Tamagna said. “It will paralyze many of our seniors and devastate young families. It poses yet another threat to the middle-class residents who are being squeezed out.”
Putnam, one of the fastest-growing in the state, used to be a county of Cape Cods, raised ranches and tiny lakeside cottages converted for year-round use, recalled Savo Fries, manager of Houlihan Lawrence’s Jefferson Valley and Croton-on-Hudson offices, who began selling area homes in the 1970s.
But in a decade, said Ms. Fries, a former president of the Westchester-Putnam Board of Realtors, the picture has changed drastically. Putnam’s countryside — stretching north 11 miles between Westchester and Dutchess Counties — is becoming increasingly crowded with large new luxury developments.
These in turn are attracting “more corporate buyers” who are less pinched by the tax increases than previous groups, said Anne H. Ladau, an associate broker for Houlihan Lawrence in Putnam.
They are drawn, she added, by the fact that “Putnam is still a lot cheaper than Westchester.” The median sales price for a single-family house in Westchester at the end of the second quarter of this year was $700,000, compared with $398,500 for Putnam.
“In Patterson,” Ms. Ladau said, “$600,000 to $650,000 gets you a lot of house and a couple of acres of land. A comparable house in northern Westchester could cost $1 million.”
The trade-off, of course, comes in the services. Putnam County does not have a lot of them to offer its residents. For instance, in Putnam Valley — a town that lacks a police department and has volunteer-only fire and ambulance — residents in some areas do not have trash-collection services. Yet a four-bedroom colonial on 3.12 acres is on the market there for $797,500 and has an annual tax bill of $18,531. The owner of a comparable home in Somers in Westchester might well have less land, as well as a slightly higher annual tax bill of $20,000, but would have access to a wide array of services, including police and fire protection, Ms. Fries at Houlihan Lawrence said.
edit
Ms. Fries said Putnam’s difficulties were typical of a rapidly growing area. “We’re seeing here what we saw in Yorktown in the 1970s, when there was a lot of new development there,” she said. “All of a sudden, you need more roads and schools and rec centers and sewers. And the taxes start to soar, which is what’s happening here now.”
edit
Like Steve Zanarini, a retired I.B.M. executive, they are angry with the county and local governments for failing to provide the kinds of services — road clearing, library and recreation, for example — enjoyed by Westchester residents paying similar taxes. Mr. Zanarini said that if he received more services from the town of Southeast, where he lives now, he might not sell his house and move. “We don’t even have our own police force,” he said.
edit
State Assemblyman Greg Ball, who represents eastern Putnam County and parts of Dutchess and Westchester, agreed that elected officials have protected the environment and Putnam’s open space at the expense of building a viable tax base.
“For years, politicians have tried to safeguard this area,” he said, “but what has happened is that Putnam has become a bedroom community where residents can no longer afford the bedrooms they are living in.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/07/realestate/07wczo.html?_r=1&ref=realestate&oref=slogin
I have been saying this for years they find a way to take $1,000 and give you back $300 and everyone gets happy about their homestead rebate as if they are actually doing you a favor.
Now if they give you have an extra $100.00 this year they will dupe everyone into beliving that the system is improving despite they are just giving you back a little more of what they already took.
The float on such a deal should net someone a ton of cash.
#17 skep-tic Says:
just curious if anyone knows of anybody who has rented a SFH recently. Seems like every house that is for sale is also for rent these days and I believe I’ve noticed the rental prices dropping
Just went to an open house in Pelham Bay, where the house was originally listed at 750K, and reduced to 700K after sitting for months. The owner was trying to convince me to rent a floor. Her plan was that I would pay 25K over 5 years and she would count it toward the mortgage. Interesting proposition but the house was still overpriced by at least 300K.Thanks but no thanks.
I really went out of curiousity because I wondered why the house was so overpriced, especially since she was a longtime elderly home owner. After talking a while, it was clear she was stuck with a million dollar flip in NJ that wasn’t selling, and saddled with lots of mortgages. Kinda sad since she should’ve been preparing for her retirement.
But why should I be the one paying for her miscalculated gamble?
#19
kettle– I haven’t been looking very seriously (am in a lease until spring 2009)– just have noticed rental prices for homes that are also for sale in northern Westchester county, NY. I agree that many houses have absurd rents (I am also curious though whether anyone knows someone who would consider a $5,000+ rental), but some of them have come down to somewhat reasonable levels in the past month. I am seeing houses that are priced in the $750,000-800,000 range with $15-18k in taxes offered for rent for under $3500 in some cases. Not that these places are a steal, but it at least seems to suggest that there may be increased competition in the rental market
#18 Brings me to a saying in the stock market.
Bull’s Make Money
Bear’s Make Money
Pig’s Lose Money
There goes HGTV’s lineup.
GSMLS broke 36,000 today… still rising quite a bit each day.
I’m in the market for a SFH rental as well in the Denville/Montville/Butler area of Morris County. I scour Craigslist every day, but most places do seem overpriced, although still cheaper than buying. My wife and I currently live in a small, but nice enough, 1 BR apt above a storefront. Rent hasn’t been raised in 4 years; it’s only $1050/mo. I want to rent a small 2 BR house, but it’s hard to swallow increasing my monthly payment 80% even if we can afford it.
I’ve thought of offering to pre-pay a full year’s rent for a 15% discount. I wonder how that would play.
Another issue is if the landloard is trying to sell and rent at the same time. I don’t want to move and then have to move again 6 or even 12 months later because they found a buyer.
#18 Brings me to a saying in the stock market.
Bull’s Make Money
Bear’s Make Money
Pig’s Lose Money
OT, but this applies to what’s happened to the Indian stock market the past few weeks. 5% pop overnight? Time to take serious chips off the table….
Disclaimers apply.
# 26
I agree on most of your points. I really wonder if a broker would be worth the cost. me and the wife have considered it, but we have found all of our previous homes ourselves and generally feel that we can do just as well on a search by our selves. With our lack of recent findings we wonder if the rental market is that low right now or to brokers really have the local market that locked up. Has anyone tried negotiating prices? I have seen several SFM’s for rent sit for months. We are contemplating making a few offers to rent at a lower price then advertised ( i.e asking is 1900 and offer 1700)Has anyone tried this?
RE SFH rentals.
Somerset County has quite a lot, and seemingly more affordable than Morris (and with a greater spread between selling price and rent price).
I have considered moving to one of the towns we will be house hunting in except for a couple of reasons;
1. The kids are settled in school and I don’t want to move them twice as having a few town choices is more prudent for house hunting.
2. I REALLY don’t like the idea of renting from an emotional owner who may want to sell from under me. I like renting from professionals where it is all business and where they have 24 hour support staff.
RE taxes
I have always thought it would make more sense to use a ( town tax) instead of property tax. every lot in a town pays the same amount on the basis that the majority of people use approximately the same average amount of resources ( i.e police/fire/road use/etc).
For example look at mendham borough. The most recent budget is 5,767,000. the most recent data shows there are 1781 house holds (5,176 indiviuals). SO divide 5,767,000 by 1,781 and come up with each household pays approx $3,238 per year in town tax.
This is an overly simple model and you would need to build in exceptions for low income family and what not but the entire concept of property tax to me is repulsive and essentially means you only rent the property not really own it. A town tax of sorts is currently used in a couple of nordic countries and has been successful. Besides it is much more equitable. To me it is morally corrupt to tax someone out of a home or off of property even though they can afford to purchase it. I suppose one alternative is a strong homestead statute similar to florida that states your home and property cannot be touch due to taxes or liens.
looking in ny Says:
October 9th, 2007 at 9:43 am
#17 skep-tic Says:
just curious if anyone knows of anybody who has rented a SFH recently. Seems like every house that is for sale is also for rent these days and I believe I’ve noticed the rental prices dropping
look: My wife and I located a SFH rental in Middletown – the Oak Hill section. We used a realtor. He showed us listings in Colts Neck, Fair Haven and this one. We chose this one, because it was clear that the owner was a long time landlord, had no mortgage, and she intends to eventually move back into the place at some point in the future. As a result, she breaks all the landlord basics. She keeps the place impeccably maintained at substantial out of pocket cost to her. She provides free lawncare in the rent. She also has a handyman that performs whatever carpentry we ask, the only exception is that she made us pay for installation of baby gates for the stairs. Before we move in, she completed repainted the entire house inside. She refinished the hardwood floors. She resealed the driveway and rekeyed the house. She also walked around to all the neighbors and told them that she had new tenants moving in and they should stop by and introduce themselves. After we were there for 2 weeks, she took my wife and son out to lunch and showed her around the area.
Meanwhile, we are paying about a shade more than twice the real estate tax carry cost on the property.
One of our neighbors is a husband and wife….one works for Vonage and other Hovnanian……..eeeeeeeeeeek. They bought in 2005 :(
Home heating bills on the rise
Price of oil heat seen jumping 22 percent, natural gas users can expect to pay 10 percent more – report.
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — No matter how you heat your house, this year will cost you more than last, according to a government report Tuesday.
Hardest hit will be those who use oil heat. Due mostly to higher crude prices, nationwide-average oil heating bills are expected to be 22 percent higher this winter than last winter, according to the Energy Information Agency. About 7 percent of all Americans heat their home with oil, mostly in the Northeast.
Natural gas users, accounting for over half of U.S. households, can expect to pay 10 percent more this winter. Propane users can expect to pay 16 percent more, while electricity users will see a 4 percent rise. About 30 percent of U.S. homes are heated with electricity while about 5 percent use propane.
In addition to higher fuel prices, EIA said this winter is projected to be 4 percent colder than last, which accounts for some of the rise in heating costs
The sales tax was increased by 16.5%, not 1%. This extorted money is then floated and some crumbs get thrown to the homeowner while the rest gets pilfered by the Government of the Peoples Republic. The proletariat is too ignorant to understand which is by design so that the regime can continue it’s deception.
Did I mention 2 miles to Whole Foods? 1 mile to the train? Less than a 15 minute drive to the Belford Ferry? 2 miles to Nicholas?
So, Paul McCartney was asked, given his messy recent divorce, whether he’d “ever go down on one knee again?”. He answered, I’d prefer it if you would call her Heather.
For anyone who knows…
My understanding is that when you sign a lease you have full legal use of the home for the duration of the lease assuming you adhere to all aspects of the contract and that the landlord has his immediate rights suspended for the duration (i.e he may not enter without your permission)
SO if the 2 of you have a binding contract how can he legitimately sell the home while the lease is in effect without breaking it?
Is the situation such that the land lord is essentially breaking the lease and that the landlord would only be responsible for an penalties state in the lease?
How would this be different from them trying to evict you?
Not as pathetic as the Mets, but still pathetic.
Wang – WHY was he pitching on only 3 days’ rest, especially when he got shelled in Game 1? Why didn’t Mussina start?? Mussina was effective in September.
Jeter and Posada – I hate to rag on my boyfriend Jeter, but ??!! Did he and Posada forget how to hit?
Clemens – YEAH! He earned his $28 million!
Torre – due to his lame pitching strategies, I think he WANTED to get fired.
As for the Wright/Arod argument – Mets fans were hating on Wright early on in the season when he was in a slump, remember?? I’m a big Wright fan. I’d take him over A-Rod. But the Yanks never would have made it to the postseason without A-Rod.
And of COURSE New York was a National League town for years. There were TWO beloved National League teams in the city to the American League’s one. I would not expect those fans to become Yankee fans after the Giants and Dodgers left town. The tide starting turning in the early 90s when the Mets had the infamous “the worst team money could buy.” Even loyal Mets fans had had enough after that debacle. And with the younger generations used to 13 years of playoffs with the Yankees, well, I think NYC will remain a Yankee town for some time.
As for chest-thumping – I heard a lot of chest-thumping from Mets fans last year and this year. And they haven’t won $hit yet. Neither have the Yanks, but at least they have won more recently than the Mets.
As for SFH rentals –
We are currently renting a 2-bedroom, 1-bathroom apartment in a two-family house for $1550. We are cramped but are dealing with it. I recently took a look at a house in town for rent for $1900 – 4-bedroom, 3-baths, good location. I was surprised the rent was that low since similar houses in town rent for $2300-$2900. The real estate agent told me rents are coming down and those high-priced rentals are sitting. We considered moving, but figured we’d stay where we are since we hope to buy in a year, and we could put that extra money into the bank. Plus we know what we have; the landlord isn’t going anywhere and we don’t have to worry about the house being sold under us.
Corzine’s tax rebate probably did help out a lot of low-income homeowners. 16.5% increase in sales tax probably didn’t hurt those folks all that much. Even if they spend $20,000 year on taxable goods (I doubt most do), “1 percentage point” increase comes down to just $140 in extra sales tax. Balance that against $1500-$2000 in check, and it’s not that bad.
I guess people posting on this board make good enough living that they either spend a lot more than $20,000 in taxable goods / year and got a small one. (Or didn’t even get one because their AGI was over $250,000, in which case, stop whining. You make too much to complain.)
“chicagofinance Says:
October 8th, 2007 at 11:58 am
anecdotal evidence:
I went for a walk in Central Park on Saturday around the Met. I guess I’m a little out of the loop…..when did this area turn into the river walk by BPC? I’m telling you, something is seriously out of whack….someone has to chuck out all these bankers….I’ve never felt as if there was such uniformity and monotony in NYC……..yeeech!”
Amen, brother. Sing it!!
Me and the wife have been looking in southern morris county and haven’t seen to much that is very interesting. A lot of what we have seen is way overpriced.
Southern Morris County–as in Chatham, Madison, Morris Township and Mendham?
Good luck. You’ll need it. It’s more expensive than most of Bergen County around there.
Have you tried Parsippany?
#31
I fell into similar very good rental situation. I think we are getting a great deal, but I also know we are solid tenants. I would not look at another rental at this point unless it was a move up house with an owner who was interested in a long term lease (5 yrs). Unless you are planning on staying in a house for much longer than this, there is probably not any financial advatange to buying. Given how high property taxes are and given that more and more people are subject to the AMT and given that there are a lot of empty houses sitting around with owners who have left for FL, I wonder whether this sort of thing will start to become more common.
#37 kettle1-
An owner can sell while you are still living there. The new owners cannot “evict” you until the terms of your lease are over. (according to my ex-real estate attorney, now chicken frying bf)
Rachel
For the Charlotte area just talked to few realtors and they seem to be increasing the new listings in the area by $3.00 per sq ft more. Are they getting it? I have to say yes. I know of several people who recently sold and thier homes sold within 1-3 months.
Buyers are becomming more picky here. They seem to be coming with the attitude that the whole country is in a downturn despite Charlotte still growing and moving upward.
New sales and developments are still going in. Not many early buyer incentives being offered. There was one development which did offer 5K-15K in free upgrades but the signs are now gone without any house cost decreases. We are seeing some slowing but still suspect it to be other areas having trouble selling to get to cheaper areas like here. So we see a lot of home sales and the units going for rent within a few months because the home owners cant sell from where they are. In most instances it is the NY area. I would imagine by that NY is having greater difficulty in home sales than NJ is based upon those moving down from the two areas. Could it be work transfers issues possibly? As we dont see many split couples coming.
Overall I would say Charlotte is still moving upward as we havent moved out of control income to housing cost ratio and are still cheaper than surrounding areas. I do wonder when this area will peak but I suspect it has another 10% upward to go before we are not such a bargain any more considering the income to home ratio but the salaries seems to be moving upward still and job demand still seems high as I get a lot of calls sometimes several a day. The thing about NC and SC is they dont go up 10% overnight its a slow movement here which explains its stability.
As for any increase in Inventory in the area here I would say its because of northerners who have bought homes here are again having problems selling where they are that if they arent renting out the home here they are putting them back up for sale. The problem here is you can tell which ones are trying to be sold by a northern owner because they are overpricing the home. NC moves slowly upward and they are pricing them as if they moved at the rate NY/NJ did so they are sitting. I would say a northerner listed home here is trying to get $10.00 more per sq ft which they arent going to get because of the surrounding homes for sale. On homes that are 3,000 sq ft they are overpriced some 30K compared to the area. Which makes the locals listings look like deals because they are at market value. I would also imagine the 30K overage on a northerner selling a home here is that maybe they need the cash and if they arent getting it from the northern home they are trying to get it from the southern home which is bad since the house will just sit and they will carry the load of 2 homes.
Also it is possible our low taxes, toll free roads, and insurance costs be a factor in the steady increases while other areas talk of increasing taxes despite them being taxed to death already. Fort Mill, SC should see a boost since they will be cutting property taxes by a good portion because the state is doing well with the lottery. The lottery here doesnt just go to the universities to buy them bigger houses and cars it actually goes into the public school system. Maybe instead of increasing property taxes in NJ to cover the road system they should have the lottery money go where it should.
Could some nice person pull the details on
MLS ID# 2448415.
The missus is interested, but I’m balking at the taxes.
Cheers in advance.
Balance that against $1500-$2000 in check, and it’s not that bad.
The average check is listed at $1000. How are the poorer owners getting twice that?
njpatient Says:
October 9th, 2007 at 10:36 am
“chicagofinance Says:
Amen, brother. Sing it!!
nj: re-venge for Wanda….
ChiFi (32)-
Vonage & Hovnanian? There’s a daily double for you.
If there were a contest for worst company in America, those two would be front-runners.
#42 schabadoo
Actually we would love to able to find something in/ around the califon lebanon township area which is aon the border of hunterdon/morris county
Well, hell, smoke me some more of them mirrors! Let’s raise gas and cigarette taxes. Why should NJ have the highest property taxes in the country, while having the lowest gas and bottom-quadrile ciggy taxes?
Maybe i am to demanding, but this is an example of a ridiculous rental where price really doesn’t match what is being offered.
http://newjersey.craigslist.org/apa/407954328.html
here is a comparison to the last one, which one of these 2 is really worth 2400-2600
here is a comparison to the last one, which one of these 2 is really worth 2400-2600
http://newjersey.craigslist.org/apa/428392456.html
ChiFi (36): Did Sir Paul really say that, or are you just repeating some other fellow’s gag?
Also, I seem to recall NY being a AL town from ’76 – ’83.
But my loyalties will always lie with the Mets. I’m proud to say that, without my grandfather’s work (with Bill Shea and the NY World’s Fair commission), there might not have been a team called the Mets, let alone any team playing in Flushing.
#52 Does it come with a free car rental?
“Owner currently resides in apartment.”
#47: “The average check is listed at $1000. How are the poorer owners getting twice that?”
Because of those people who received checks, the bottom half received bigger amounts than top half. So for example, people with AGI lower than $25,000 may have received on average $1,800. Whereas people with $175,000 AGI may have only received $300…
#57 True my last year in NJ my homestead rebate was a mere $300.00 which is approximately what you estimated.
““chicagofinance Says:
Amen, brother. Sing it!!
nj: re-venge for Wanda….”
At the Caaahhh…..the CAAAAHHH….
#51:Jamey Says “Well, hell, smoke me some more of them mirrors! Let’s raise gas and cigarette taxes. Why should NJ have the highest property taxes in the country, while having the lowest gas and bottom-quadrile ciggy taxes?”
Because tax on gas is regressive. But I’m all for taxing cigarette to death. $20/pack sounds good to me. How about obesity tax to offset the cost of healthcare? I know this will work very well, but it’s too politically incorrect.
#57
Owwww
#58 Mitchell: It was just a random guess, but my point is, if that’s all you got, then you must be banking some nice money, just like other rich to semi-rich people on this board. I certainly wouldn’t complain if I was making what you were making and only got $300. (not suggesting you were complaining)
From Bloomberg:
Thornburg Raises Loss Estimate From Mortgage Sales
Thornburg Mortgage Inc., the Santa Fe, New Mexico-based mortgage provider, lost $1.1 billion selling bonds backed by adjustable-rate home loans as rising defaults eroded demand for the securities.
The company’s previous estimate for the loss was $863 million, it said in a statement today. Thornburg, which has fallen by more than half on the New York Stock Exchange this year, declined as much as 12 percent after the announcement.
“The losses were greater than expected from the credit crunch in August,” said Jason Arnold, an analyst for RBC Capital Markets in San Francisco. “They have a little bit smaller asset base. That certainly doesn’t help out on the earnings side and will also have a greater impact on book value.”
…
“The global dislocation of the mortgage finance and credit markets this past summer has had a greater impact on our balance sheet than we initially estimated,” Larry Goldstone, Thornburg’s president and chief operating officer, said in the statement. “We have begun to see a modest improvement in financing conditions since August.”
#52, 54: Unless I am reading it wrong, the 3 bedroom is a walk to the midtown direct train, whereas the house is not, right? That would explain the pricing…
NJ rent prices.
Well after about 6 months of going back and forth on rent vs buy- we have chosen to rent. We looked at over 170 houses in morris, summit and a couple of other counties. We were amazed at how nuts most of the sellers were- the vast majority were STILL in the camp that they were going to sell their houses for what they bought them for in mid 2005, or get 35-50% more than what they paid for them in 1999-2002. We even had one women who had a fit that we wanted someone to look at the stucco on her house in Mountain Lakes as the final step in a contract, so she pulled out of the deal. Now it is listed at less than we offered. Of the 10 or so homes that we were interested in, and even placed offers, 8 are still on the market, and they all have dropped 10%+. One in Mountain Lakes was listed at 999,999 and the guy was a relo, just saw it on gsmls for under $850,000.
As for rentals…..
We decided to sit it out and found a reasonable couple in Harding, they realised that their house was going no where. It is close to 287 and they have it listed at 990,000. I think it will go for about $800,000 in about 18 months or so. We have locked a lease for 18M at around $3,500 a month, which is a bargain compared to the $22,000+ plus taxes alone that we were looking at houses in Mendham and Chester. It is a great house, 4 bedroom, huge beautiful finished basement (hardwood floors), excellent kitchen, family room etc.
Yeah $3,500 sounds steep, but the houses that we are looking at a dropping by 35,000 every 4 months, so it is worth waiting.
As for moving again, oh well! We are not even sure that NJ is the right place to be given the insanity of the tax system. In the meantime, our equity is going to sit in a few accounts helping to pay for our rent.
(Saying nothing about the nasty cops that roam here- boy are they pricks. No tickets for me, but I have invested in another high end radar detector as they troll for revenue by reducing the speed in previously high areas to trap people and get $$$. On my 5 mile trip tp work through Troy- at least 2-3 cops a day trolling. Then there are the kangaroo courts, don’t get me started. There revenue activities will only get worse as $$ from property taxes fall……)
Mitchell –
when did you move there? it’s amazing how familiar you are already with the area. you sound like you’ve lived there all your life.
We even had one women who had a fit that we wanted someone to look at the stucco on her house in Mountain Lakes … One in Mountain Lakes was listed at 999,999 and the guy was a relo, just saw it on gsmls for under $850,000.
Hapgood?
October 9, 2007
A Bank Bet on Condos, but Buyers Want Out
By CHRISTINE HAUGHNEY
Javier Miglin may walk away from an $80,000 down payment on a condominium with water views in Miami. Randal Mills may give up a $130,000 deposit on a 15th floor condo on the Strip in Las Vegas. And in San Diego, Jeanette Graham would just like to meet the neighbors.
The three seemingly unrelated predicaments have a common thread that leads to Chicago, and Corus Bankshares, which financed the construction of each condominium development involved.
Whether buyers like Mr. Miglin and Mr. Mills close on their condos will be a crucial indicator for Corus. Many condo projects that started during the real estate boom are just being completed, and developers must begin repaying construction loans taken out before the market turned sour. If buyers do not close, and developers struggle, lenders like Corus may be left holding the bag.
“We’re at the riskiest point of the condo lending cycle as these projects are being completed,” Jefferson L. Harralson, a bank analyst at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, said. “In the coming weeks and months, we’re going to find out what the demand for these condos really is.”
Real estate clearly was a different story when Corus started concentrating on lending to condo projects a few years ago. The bank bet heavily that thousands of buyers, many hoping to turn a quick profit, would snap them up.
Today, developers owe Corus $4 billion, $3.7 billion of which, or 92 percent, is in condominiums. Of that, about 25 percent of them are in projects in the Miami area and 9 percent are in Las Vegas, according to regulatory filings. More than $2.15 billion of its outstanding loans are due by the end of this year. Nationwide, the number of condos completed this year will be up 45 percent — 232,933 vs. 160,239 — from 2006, according to data tracked by Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, a real estate investment brokerage based in Encino, Calif.
But sales have fallen 12 percent through August, Marcus & Millichap said. And recent trends in Las Vegas and Miami, where at least six Corus-financed projects will be finished by next summer, are worse.
In the three-month period from June through August, sales fell 46 percent in Las Vegas and 29 percent in Miami from the year-earlier period, Marcus & Millichap said.
“Up until this point, Corus has been relatively unscathed with essentially one foreclosure,” said Peyton N. Green, a senior analyst in the Nashville office of the FTN Midwest Securities Corporation. That foreclosure, involving a condo conversion in Naples, Fla., resulted in a write-off of $13 million.
But the company’s stock price reflects the gloomy outlook, having fallen 36 percent in the past 12 months, to $13.61 a share yesterday. Mr. Green, who has a neutral rating on Corus’s shares, said about one-third of the shares have been sold short, a strategy used by speculators to profit from falling stock prices.
While most banks do not have the exposure to the condo market that Corus has, Mr. Harralson said they still face risk. Banks typically allocate an average of 15 percent of their loans to construction and the rest to consumer loans, business loans and other real estate.
Corus warned in its last quarterly filing that “a surge in buyer cancellations could be especially painful, particularly if a substantial percentage of a given project’s presale buyers did not close.”
Still, the Corus Bank president, Robert J. Glickman, remained optimistic. So far, he said in an e-mail message, developers have used many successful strategies “to ensure that buyers come to the closing table.”
“Good developers — those that are diligent, successful — need to keep up the buyers’ interest and desire to close,” he said.
That optimism raises warning signs with analysts like Jack McCabe, a real estate consultant in Deerfield Beach, Fla. He has been hired by hedge funds and other investors to study 8 of 12 projects in Miami that Corus has financed and advise them on their progress.
“In this market downturn, even the most successful developers with the best projects and the best geographic locations are going to take hits,” Mr. McCabe said. “Mr. Glickman’s comments are eagerly overoptimistic and do not match the severity of this downturn.”
A real estate consultant in Miami, Lewis M. Goodkin, said a number of buyers under contract are hiring lawyers to help them get out of deals before the developers expect them to close. Mr. Goodkin, who has been hired by institutional investors trying to short Corus’s stock or buy up its loans at a discount, said that many buyers thought that they would be able to flip the apartments before having to close.
“They’re going to do everything they can to get their money back,” he said.
That is what Mr. Miglin is trying to do with the $391,000 apartment he bought at Corus’s Marina Blue project in Miami. The 36-year-old Los Angeles-based computer consultant put down his deposit three years ago with plans to flip the condo at a profit.
A year ago, he hired his developer to sell the 46th floor apartment. Then in August Mr. Miglin put the condo on Craigslist.com — along with seven other Marina Blue sellers who are trying to get rid of their apartments.
Now Mr. Miglin is running out of time because he expects his apartment to close at the end of October. If it closes, he will have to pay at least $20,000 to complete the unfinished unit with floors, closets and painting. He will also pay $15,000 in closing costs and roughly $3,500 a month on mortgage payments, property taxes and homeowners association dues. He calculates that even if he finds a renter he will not be able to pay back half of his monthly costs.
“I don’t want to take possession of it,” he said, but he still has not made up his mind.
Robert Cooper, a lawyer in Miami, said that buyers from five projects that Corus financed in Miami have contacted him seeking advice about how to get out of their contracts.
Ely R. Levy, a lawyer in Hollywood, Fla., said several clients approached him about breaking their contracts and recovering deposits on four South Florida projects financed by Corus.
Buyers in Las Vegas are starting to follow their Miami counterparts.
Mr. Mills, a 55-year-old general contractor and developer in Lake Havasu City, Ariz., put money down on a $728,000 apartment two years ago at a development called One Las Vegas. He hoped that eventually reselling the condo would give him a $100,000 profit that he could save for retirement. But as the project nears completion, he and his wife have decided that they would rather live in the cheaper condo they already own.
“I’m just doing what I can to sell mine before I have to close,” he said.
Then there are smaller markets like San Diego, where developers are also struggling to sell units. Corus helped finance 11 condo projects there, about 5 percent of its portfolio. More than half of the loans are for projects in downtown San Diego, which is scheduled to have 3,000 units completed by 2008.
Among the projects is the Icon, where Ms. Graham bought a one-bedroom apartment last year for $374,000. At the time, she said that she was able to negotiate a $9,000 reduction in homeowner association fees, $5,000 toward closing costs and a washer and dryer. She said that her building sold 80 percent of its apartments.
But she said that the building is now offering even better incentives. Residents who refer buyers get a $5,000 finder’s fee and an extra $5,000 for the buyer.
Still, she questions whether there will be any takers, especially since her building feels empty. “I can go a whole week without seeing a neighbor,” Ms. Graham said.
From the Jersey Journal:
Firefighters still at the scene of ‘suspicious’ high-rise blaze
Firefighters were still at the scene this morning of last night’s high-rise fire on the Jersey City waterfront, which broke out at the 77 Hudson St. construction site.
Radio reports have said the fire, which broke out just before 9 p.m. and was under control around 1 a.m., is being investigated as suspicious.
Yeah Hapgood. We loved the house, but she was a little over the top. She had redesigned the inside, and had done a beautiful job, but she just could not accept the fact that she was not going to get list price! We had offered about 97% of list. They were going to make over 800,000 on the house and she started quibbling over curtains and stuff. Icing was a couple of cracks that we wanted a stucco expert to looked at and then more than the stucco came unglued and the deal was over. Phew.
I love the Hapgood architecture.
“They were going to make over 800,000 on the house and she started quibbling over curtains and stuff.”
I really don’t understand this stuff. I guess the idea of easy money is just too tempting to let go
Mets – not that funny, but nothing on SNL ever really is…..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRCcEarNJdk&mode=related&search=
kettle1 Says:
October 9th, 2007 at 11:02 am
#42 schabadooActually we would love to able to find something in/ around the califon lebanon township area which is aon the border of hunterdon/morris county
ket: stay away from Califon…you’d have bad neighbors….clot….do you concur?
JC KHOV blaze
http://hoboken411.com/archives/8652#comments
#73 CHIFI
Care to elaborate at all?
Kettle1 Says:
October 9th, 2007 at 1:01 pm
#73 CHIFI Care to elaborate at all?
k: actually no
chifi (73)-
Only one street in Califon…right outside town. Right, ChiFi? :)
The town itself is fine.
ChiFi (74)-
I thought that was the KHOV annual shareholders’ meeting.
Clot, ChiFi’s comment was rather cryptic, would you care to add anything? does bad neighbors mean individuals or companies or what????
79
I’d wager on an inside joke…
From MarketWatch:
Lehman cuts Countrywide estimate, citing uncertain outlook
Analysts at Lehman Brothers on Tuesday said they expect Countrywide Financial Corp. will book a $740 million third-quarter write-down on some loans held for sale, and lowered their quarterly estimate to a loss of 95 cents a share. “While most of the causes of the loss are well understood by now, expectations for the size of the marks Countrywide will take still very widely,” according to a research note. “While the size of the mark and the third-quarter loss is relevant, we expect investors will be more concerned about Countrywide’s liquidity, its origination outlook and credit trends. Fears about liquidity seem to be easing some, but unless credit stabilizes and the non-conforming mortgage market bounces back, we don’t expect Countrywide to earn more than $2 a share in 2008, so the stock appears fully valued.” Shares of Countrywide were off more than 4% at last check.
“They were going to make over 800,000 on the house and she started quibbling over curtains and stuff.”
Do you know they didn’t have any additonal debt on the property?. Maybe they had HELOCuted their equity.
my wifes parents lived in califon until just recently ( retirement), and i know that right on main st/512 you would likely have the usual small town gossip etc. Ideally, but perhaps not realistic we wouldlike to find something around that, not on main street
Stan says:
Do you know they didn’t have any additonal debt on the property?. Maybe they had HELOCuted their equity.
I doubt it, they had already bought another one across the street to do the same thing all over. They had purchased the home for about 500K about 6 years earlier and gutted it.They might have, but he was a WS trader and she was a prof interior designer, so I don’t think that they were short of cash. never know I guess.
#46 PGC –
1 SOUTH GLEN AVE
Mount Arlington Boro
OLP/LP: $649900
Taxes: $13015 (ouch)
DOM: 12
From MarketWatch:
Poole doesn’t see recovery for some time
U.S. housing and credit markets remain fragile and won’t recover for some time, a key Federal Reserve official said Tuesday, implying significant risks to the Fed’s forecast for a modest improvement in the economy. “Recent events suggest that housing will remain weak for several more quarters,” said William Poole, president of the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, and a voting member of the Federal Open Market Committee this year. “Stabilization may not begin until well into 2008.” The financial markets “appear to be stabilizing, but they have not returned to normal and are still fragile.”
Kimberly-Clark plans price hike for consumer goods
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/kimberly-clark-plans-price-increase-some/story.aspx?guid=%7BC307053F%2D3567%2D4475%2D9632%2D5247C80FF446%7D&dist=hplatest
” it plans to increase U.S. prices for its consumer tissue and baby-care products amid “significant inflationary pressure from higher raw material and energy costs.”
1 SOUTH GLEN AVE
Mount Arlington Boro
OLP/LP: $649900
Taxes: $13015 (ouch)
DOM: 12
A little more information…
Was prevously listed under: 2387013
List Date: 03/19/07
OLP: $849,900
Reduced to: $699,900
DOM: 184
Expired
And before that under: 2290735
List Date: 06/16/06
OLP/LP: $929,000
DOM: 194
Expired
So we’re looking at a real original list price of $929,000, now down to $649,900. Real dom is approximately 15 months.
ML:
Gas tax isn’t regressive, at least not entirely, as it is offset by universal credits and rebates. There are rebates and subsidies for the purchase of more fuel efficient cars, although cars that qualify for them are few in number. And, most important, NJ is the US state best served by public transit systems. So, in many cases, driving is a choice. If driving is legitimately business related, fuel costs are deductable. But the fact remains that NJ relies too much on property tax receipts.
Raising the tax on gasoline to where it meets that of the next highest (Ky and MO–35.3 cents total state and federal tax/gallon**) state rate in the nation — would add three cents to the cost of a gallon of gas. Yet it would raise nearly $2 billion/annum, conservatively estimated. Hardly an onerous burden for families who use energy sensibly. Raising gasoline tax to the national average of $.42/gallon would also significantly ease the infrastructure burden and help fund public transit and alternative energy initiatives. But, of course, that would be Un-American… If one feels that it’s a God-given right to commute from Warren to NYC alone in a Ford Explorer then, yes, it might cost you a bit more.
Obesity tax is a non-starter. Cigarettes, used as directed, are deadly. Food? Notsomuch. So taxing food would be out. And going door-to-door to root out fatties? That’s a tough sell.
**Whattya know? NJ’s actually NOT the lowest. There are two states with lower gasoline taxes, Georgia and Alaska. Alaska I get, but Georgia?
Coming April 15, you need to go to the official weight station at the post office and get your IRS tax-weight for the year certified. For example, if you are 150lb you will pay 15% income tax, 200lb 20% etc. Watch everyone is going to be on diet before the April cutoff date, and then the all-you-can eat orgies afterwards…
I can see the top of 77 Hudson from my office. I was thinking insurance scam too. But I suppose that is too far fetched.
…Maybe not so far fetched…I’m not thinking HOV, but what about some buyer who plunked down a deposit for a unit that he was planning on flipping for guaranteed big profits? Things aren’t looking so sure anymore.
kettle (79)-
Inside joke. That area’s fine.
#85 Sybarite
#88 grim
Thanks for that
I suspected something like that. I think there may be more room in the price as the original purchase was $330K in 2001. Add in 100Kfor a HELOC for the work they did. I think $550K might make the taxes workable.
Minutes of last Fed meeting out this hour.
Bernanke had the grilled cheese.
Poole had the tuna melt.
From Marketwatch
Poole said there are no new lessons to be learned in the current credit squeeze. “Sound mortgage underwriting should always be based on analysis of the borrower’s capacity to repay,” he said. Another old lesson that’s been relearned: “It is risky to finance long-term assets with short-term liabilities.”
Most of Poole’ speech was devoted to the real estate industry’s impact on the economy. He noted that housing investment is the most cyclical sector. “Housing both leads the economy into recession and out of recession,” he said.
Looking ahead, Poole held out little hope for a near-term turnaround. “The most important statistics in this regard are the number of unsold new homes still on the market relative to their current sales rate, and the recent trends on house prices,” Poole said.
The inventory of unsold homes is about double its recent average, putting downward pressure on prices. Some buyers are postponing a purchase “because they expect house prices to fall,” he said.
Falling home prices are rare, but economists are now expecting prices to fall 5.6% this year and an additional 3.9% next year. “We are in uncharted territory,” Poole said. Forecasts for home prices are “highly uncertain.”
Wait a minute, home prices to fall 9+% before 2008 is over??
Clot, Chifi,
Sorry if my sarcasm/joke meter if off today ;)
Kimberly-Clark plans price hike for consumer goods
In related news, the BLS is adjusting its consumer price index (CPI) calculation to exclude toilet paper, diapers and paper towels from core inflation, citing these price increases as “transient”. These products will join home prices, food and energy from being excluded from the survey. [sarcasm off/]
I am going to switch to 1-ply toilet paper. And meet John to shake his hands….
Ha. Tell him you’re a lefty, shake and then
say, “Gotcha!”
Who are the Yankees?
The Yankees are the French of Major League Baseball. Arrogant, condesending, self-important. A former power who can not accept mediocrity.
Yankee fans and Sperm
Q: What do Yankees fans and sperm have in common?
A: One in 3,000,000 has a chance of becoming a human being.
Birth Control
Q: What do Yankees fans use for birth control?
A: Their personalities.
Deutsche Bank Cuts Workers at MortgageIT
Deutsche Bank recently laid off 580 workers at MortgageIT, its New York-based alternative-A/conventional lending affiliate, industry sources have told MortgageWire.
List of MortgageIT branch offices.
http://rld.mortgageit.com/Branches.aspx
White Plains, NY 10604
New York, NY 10038
Englewood Cliffs, NJ 07632
Southampton, NY 11968
Chi,
Worry about your own team. Just like a trade, why worry about others positions? They can’t hurt you. Worry about what you have on.
Yankee Invaders
Think Space Invaders, except you are Curt Schilling, and you have to blast invading Derek Jeters
http://www.yanks-suck.com/invaders.php
random questions –
I just went to Lois Schneider Realtor site, and there are 31 “real estate experts” and 2 people on the “management team” listed. All 33 are women. Is this unusual? Are they hiring?
Yankees, like the French?…more like the USA, successful, attention getting and hated by many. Although I do not get it, Jeter, Torre, etc seem like nice guys. Just like I think that the US is really a good country, but I apparently we are hated by many…must be all those I banker types we have with their big payrolls, oops paycheks..lol!!
Also, the owner spends a lot of money but at least returns a decent product, unlike those other owners who just keep the money and luxury tax.
#105 RayC
All those “Wall Street Wives” heading back into the work place after the kids go to college … :*)
CNBC doing a nice piece on the foreclosure auction in the Ford Center in Dearborn MI. It’s a few blocks away from the Republican Debate that’s about to start.
One great sound bite from a couple “We just bought a house for $2,000. Where’s the risk? You could spend that on a sofa”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aI8aINfWVpQ0&refer=finance
Ben bails out another 12.5 Billion worth of junk in the name of liquidity.
I love this rigged game.
Guys…pulled all that junk from a website run by Bosox fans……just screwing around….
One great sound bite from a couple “We just bought a house for $2,000. Where’s the risk? You could spend that on a sofa”
Last time I checked, you didn’t have to worry about those surprise mechanics/tax/etc liens on a sofa. Hope those folks did their due diligence.
Birth Control
Q: What do Yankees fans use for birth control?
A: Their personalities.
Replace Yankees with U of C students/grads and that fits the bill better
#62 not complaining but verifying what they were saying.
People are too hung up sometimes on the dollar amount they make at thier job. While I dont make as much as I used to my take home after all is said and done and reduced tax bracket I wind up having more living in NC.
#66 A little over 2 years now. Love it and still dont have any desire to even visit NJ. A lot of friends have visited since the move and a few have moved are close to moving south.
In my 2+ years here in NC I only have one complaint in that NC being a nascar state cant drive but the traffic is nowhere near like my NJ commute was.
Prior to this I was a workaholic living to work and had no free time. In my free time I would work on making home improvements. Basically we flipped the houses we lived in making upgrades based upon what would return the best amount. Bathrooms, Kitchens, Hardwoods. It worked out well for us.
Scenario:
A buddy who only had 100K in equity after costs in his NJ home came down and bought a townhouse for 125K (I think 1800sq ft) brand new near the lowes motor speedway. Completely changed his life. He made due with what he had available and didnt over spend. Unemployment was plenty to cover his 25k mortgage until he got settled. The bank almost didnt want to give him a mortgage for 25k because it was so small an amount. He could have bought a house and will probably sell the townhouse in a year to buy a one but its what he did to get himself worked in here and get the job income going. He’s making 75K Perm with benifits now back in NJ he was making 115K as a contractor no benifits but come on a 25K mortgage with an 75K income lets say he is much better off and is saving to go after a nice home. Im off subject and rambling think the talk of dollar amounts got me going.
#66 Its not for everyone but if you have 200K in equity and live in a 2000 sq ft place in NJ and you take that equity you can buy a 2,000-2,400 sq ft house brand new here in NC in a good area. Then what difference does it make on your income if you take a 30% cut in pay. Its all your money not the banks/mortgage company. Your income puts you in a lower tax bracket without any mortgage to deal with. Low taxes etc.
Me moving from NJ to NC and rolling my equity here put me into semi-retirement. I may not live in a 800K house but I would put my 3050sq ft 3 year old home up against those 800K homes in NJ. Why kill yourself for a mortgage, traffic, etc, etc, etc. Take the equity and run to a cheaper place if your not bound by family. Just dont overdoo it.
I could have certainly bought a 6000 sq ft house here but our last house was 2,000 sq ft with a 800 sq ft basement and it was 500K. I wound up in a larger brand new house erasing my mortgage with my equity and took a more relaxed job so I could live.
No one on this board cares about NC already!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MITCHELL = Cliff Claven of North Carolina
Fort Mill, SC 29715
MLS ID# 691666
$179,975
4 Bed, 2.5 Bath
2,180 Sq. Ft.
0.28 Acres
Single Family Property, Area: YORK COUNTY, Subdivision: Jones Branch, County: York, Approximately 0.28 acre(s), Year Built: 2007, Two story, Laundry room, Hardwood floors
Property taxes on this are probably about $1,000 a year and going to decrease to about $600 a year.
Fort Mill is about 20 mins outside and Charlotte and South Charlotte is a hotbed for Jobs.
Why kill yourself?
Whats a New 2007 house 2,180 Sq. Ft. 20-30 mins outside any city in NY/NJ cost?
Depending on what field your in if your an IT professional you can easily make 65k without trying and 125K perm if you know what your doing.
Award Winning Schools: The Fort Mill-York 4 School District has earned an “Excellent” grade on its state report card four years running. An independent survey placed all district schools in the top 10 percent in the nation. In addition, 126 district teachers have attended graduate-level or advanced-training classes.
115-117
am I missing something with all the NC advertising?
Yes if you click on Mitchell’s name it will link to his real estate site. Guess where?
LOL… Cliff Claven
Depending on your salary, state income taxes are higher in NC than NJ.
Mitchell..Oh..that explains a lot!!!!!
NJ has one of the lowest Income taxes in the nation, particularly on incomes under $75k and even under $100k.
Go to the surrounding NYS counties and you can pay the same Property tax levels we pay, plus another 5k on Income tax.
IN NYC, the property tax is lower (although my brother’s house is almost $4k on SI -40×100 lot) and you pay NYS and NYC tax.
123
Wow, now that’s funny.
If he backed off a bit, it could’ve passed for ‘sincere advice’ rather than ‘blatant advertising’.
#31 ChiFi
Thanks for the reply. Although I was actually answering the same reply you did! still useful advice, I’ll keep it in mind.
126
Outside of NYC yes, you can pay taxes as high or higher then NJ. But in NYC, including SI, property taxes are lower then NJ. But yes you’re right, we do get beaten over the head with every other tax they can come up with. This is why so many Staten Islanders go to NJ, get gas, cigarettes, food, etc.- it’s worth paying the toll-especially if they’re on the NJ/NY bridge and tunnel plan.
MITCHELL = CLIFF CLAVEN
MITCHELL = SPAM
“am I missing something with all the NC advertising?”
NC has replaced NJ as the best place to live if you are a middle manager.
Middle managers by their nature avoid taking risks. That is why they desire affordable single family homes in mass-produced cookie-cutter suburbs. In the middle manager’s mind, his kids will be safer and his peers won’t doubt his economic status.
What middle managers don’t care for are old neighborhoods having broad varieties of people and buildings. Middle managers don’t care at all if the city they live near has an intact downtown. They certainly won’t pay a premium for these things.
Between 1950 and 1990, NJ was a great place if you were a middle manager. Big companies like Merck and AT&T expanded and built enormous headquarters in the suburbs. These growing bureaucracies furiously hired middle managers. Places like Bergen County boomed. The middle managers living there were willing to pay absurdly high taxes to their town government if it would reduce the risk of change. Apartment buildings were banned and police and fire departments were formed.
Then New York City boomed too. NJ’s proximity to this rise in economic activity caused NJ land values – and home prices – to surge. Today, a NJ middle manager can’t afford the home in the town he thinks he deserves.
NJ still has many middle managers. But they don’t value the attributes (neighborhoods with personality, proximity to New York’s job market and culture) that NJ currently provides.
This is where places like Cary, NC, come in. NJ middle managers are moving there in droves. Many of them visit this website to report on how great life their life has become.
pret-a-manger: you post is as condescending as it is spot-on I’m afraid……….
ChiFi (132)-
The real problem is, the middle manager is a festering and dying segment of American business, soon to be extinct.
The herd is simply chasing dwindling opportunities all over the map. Denver, Phoenix, Boise, Cary…all stops on the nomadic middle management trail.
So who’s John going to hire and “mold” to do his C-thing meetings?
John, you better move your butt to Omaha.
I hear there may still be some middle mgmt. types left there.
mould?
grim-
Please toss this Mitchell chump.
Pat (134)-
I think John’s gonna hook up with David Duke in Louisiana.
Or maybe take over out in Utah? The whole move on/don’t look back thing seems appropriate.
Chicagofinance,
“Condescending” and “spot-on” – that was my aim.
I knew I was writing an impolite post. But that is what I observe.
Is Cliff Claven a made-up name? Come on, Mitch. Fess up. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliff_Clavin
Pret – your point can be generalized even more to “people want affordable housing”. Affordable housing in NJ puts most people well outside of NYC’s economic and culture sphere unless you want a daily commute of 3+ hours.
For these people, it is a question of trading NYC’s ammenities for 15+ hours a week of time to spend with family or other interests.