Uncategorized Archives - Luxury Homes/Top Towns

2018 Holiday Fun in Cranford

November 30, 2018 by Scott Gleason

Tomorrow, we enter the final month of the year. And the City of Cranford wants to make sure to end 2018 with a bang. They’ve scheduled tons of great holiday events over the next few weeks. Since I’m sure you won’t want to miss anything, I’ve put together this list of upcoming 2018 holiday fun in Cranford. Which ones will you be participating in?

2018 Holiday Fun in Cranford

Homes for the Holidays House Tour

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Visit four beautiful Cranford homes decked out in all of their holiday finery this Sunday, December 2nd on the Holidays House Tour. For just $25 per person, take a self-guided tour of these properties. Inside each home, volunteers share details about the property’s history while guests dine on light refreshments. As a courtesy to the homeowners and for your comfort, please wear low-heeled shoes. This event is open to anyone aged 12 or older. The homeowners also ask that no photos be taken of the homes while you visit either. Purchase tickets before Sunday by visiting the Holidays House Tour Eventbrite website. Then, pick up your tickets and guide book at the Hanson House (38 Springfield Ave) on Sunday beginning at 10:30 am. The homes on the tour open their doors at noon. If you wait until the day of the event to purchase your tickets, it will cost you $5 more per person.

Cranford Menorah Lighting

The first day of Hanukkah takes place this Sunday, December 2nd. On December 5th, all faiths are welcome to watch as the Cranford menorah is lit up for this season. The menorah is located on Springfield Ave, directly across from the municipal building. Guests receive free refreshments and traditional Chanukah gelt as well.

Santa Toy Drive

‘Tis the season of giving. One way to be a part of the holiday fun in Cranford is to donate to the Cranford Santa Toy Drive. Simply drop off your new, unwrapped toys at the Cranford Fire Station on Springfield between 5 pm and 9 pm next Wednesday (December 5th) or between 9 am and 1 pm next Saturday (December 8th). All gifts collected will be delivered to our underprivileged families on December 14th and 16th. If you would like to register to receive a gift, please sign up online here. Contact the Cranford Jaycees if you have any questions about the toy drive.

Breakfast with Santa

Make this Christmas one to remember. Sign your child up for Breakfast with Santa at the Garlic Rose Bistro. Santa Claus agreed to take time out of his busy schedule to fly in from the North Pole and sit down for a personal meet and greet with all the good boys and girls that come to have breakfast with him on December 8th. But you must make a reservation in order to get in. Spots fill up quickly. So, make sure to contact Garlic Rose today at (908) 276-5749.

Santa’s Mailbox

For more holiday fun in Cranford, bring your child to the Cranford Post Office anytime between now and December 18th. Drop off their letters to Santa in the specially marked mailbox right inside the post office’s entrance. Make sure your letter includes a return address. Santa sees you when you’re sleeping. He knows when you’re awake. But let’s make it easier for him to send a letter back to your child by including your home address.

Scott Gleason, CRS at RE/MAX Select, Luxury Homes

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Evaluating an Offer: It Isn’t Always About the Money

August 17, 2018 by Scott Gleason

Now is a busy time in the Westfield luxury real estate market. Sometimes, sellers receive several offers at one time. This is definitely a nice problem to have. When evaluating an offer, other options besides money factor into accepting or rejecting it.

Evaluating an Offer: It Isn’t Always About the Money

Contingencies

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Most real estate transactions include contingencies of one sort or another. Typical contingencies include a home inspection, clearing the title, appraisal, financing, and sale of the buyer’s current home. When evaluating an offer, one with fewer contingencies attached looks more attractive, even if the offer comes in lower. Unless they offer substantially more than the list price, a buyer with a laundry list of requests might not be worth the hassle.

All-Cash Offers

With all-cash offers, you avoid certain contingencies (like the financing contingency). This shortens the escrow period and limits the chance of the deal falling through. Also, you don’t have to wait for the buyer’s home to sell. Likewise for financing. They still may require an inspection or appraisal. And most buyers want the title to clear first. A slightly lower all-cash offer may appear more attractive to you than a higher offer waiting to be approved for a loan. This especially holds true when you need to sell quickly (new job starting up out of state, for example).

Financing

Most buyers require a mortgage loan to purchase a property. When evaluating an offer, see if they have their financing in place right now. If they’re waiting for approval or haven’t even started the loan process yet, you might want to move on to a buyer whose offer includes an approval letter.

Length of Escrow

Another consideration when evaluating an offer is how long of an escrow the buyer wants. If you have a short time frame to work with before you need to move, a 15-30 day escrow sounds appealing. On the other hand, you might still be looking for another Westfield home to move into. In that case, accept an offer with a longer escrow. Take the offer that works best for your specific situation.

Earnest Money Deposit

Finally, look at their Earnest Money Deposit (or “good faith deposit”). This is the money that the buyer puts down to show that they are serious about their offer. The amount varies (usually about 1-3% of the purchase price). Typically, the title company holds it in a special account. It then gets applied to the buyer’s down payment when a deal is reached. However, if the buyer backs out for any reason not specified in the sales agreement, the seller keeps the Earnest Money Deposit for themselves.

Take your time evaluating an offer. Always discuss each and every offer you receive with your Westfield REALTOR®. Use their knowledge of the real estate market to help you decide which offer to accept and which to reject.

Scott Gleason, CRS at RE/MAX Select, Luxury Homes

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September 2017 Market Update

September 25, 2017 by Scott Gleason

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Westfield by Grade School:

Tamaques

Scott Gleason scott@luxuryhomesnj.com

RE/MAX Properties Unlimited

Luxury Homes for Sale in Westfield

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June 2017 Market Update

June 19, 2017 by Scott Gleason

3 Signs Your Neighbor’s House May Be a Teardown

Friends, neighbors, clients ask, in a crescendo of frequency: What’s with all the teardowns in my neighborhood? Why aren’t families buying these homes and enjoying them as they are? What will these new “monstrosities” do to my property value? Today’s post is not about my views on new construction, nor the architectural trends that builders and buyers favor, just the economics.

You’ll see in the charts later, that some towns are much more new-construction prone than others, and within towns, neighborhoods vary too. This story is just about the towns that receive this update. They are densely populated towns with terrific selling propositions for affluent forming families: highly reputed schools, favorable commuting, and happening town centers. These towns were 98% fully developed by the middle of the baby boom. The post-war building of “affordable” houses didn’t always maximize the lots, and some homes were not gems of design and craftsmanship. So, demand for new construction means demand for destruction.

What makes a house a candidate? It is decidedly not correlated to age. Most homes built before the depression are far less likely to be replaced. Look instead for a house whose size and condition, relative to the lot size and location, make it more attractive to replace than refurbish.

Does your neighborhood support new construction sales at prices 2.5 times, or more, the market value of the most obsolescent home on the block? Some houses’ architecture or floor plan, position on the lot, workmanship, or “delayed maintenance” dictate a very low value to end-users. The vast majority of new end-users both work long hours, leaving little bandwidth or patience to resuscitate a “diamond in the rough.” And they tend to be cash tight, so while they can afford a higher purchase through financing, they cannot afford extensive renovation after closing. What about compromising on condition or cosmetics, improving a little at a time, with an addition in the future? The current buying generation just isn’t wired for delayed gratification. There are also many buyers who want only the latest floor plans, color schemes and materials, or who believe only a new house is a good house.
Can a wider house than the existing one be built on the lot? The builders are paying steeply for teardowns now and have to aim high in the new construction price range for their finished product. One component in the new home buyers’ decision-making is ostentation. Why spend over a $1 million on a new house if your in-laws don’t gasp with envy from the curb? This also explains why so many new homes have front garages. It is a consequence of the need to build the widest overall edifice the zoning allows.
Are there precedents on the block? This is a double driver. Homeowners who seek to avoid appraisals, inspections, and maybe even leave all their paint cans and National Geographics behind when they move out, copy the neighbor who sold to a builder, or ask agents to do so. (If you know anyone in this position I am delighted to help them reach a wide range of bidders, and barely charge them for my always exceptional service.) And new home buyers like to look up and down the block and see other homes like theirs. So, each new home tends to be more valuable than its antecedent.

And how, dear reader is your home value impacted? All to the good. The new homes raise the average value on your block. The statistical principle, regression to the mean, tells us that all house values increase according to the rising mean. Your house is worth more and you can expect more ROI from your future home improvements. Rejoice!

Teardown economics

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Westfield by Grade School:

Scott Gleason scott@luxuryhomesnj.com

RE/MAX Properties Unlimited

Luxury Homes for Sale in Westfield

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April 2017 Market Update

April 20, 2017 by Scott Gleason

3 Ways to Buy a Home in a Seller’s Market

If you are looking to buy a home or know someone who is, you are probably aware it’s a red hot market with very tight supply. Here’s the drill: Listed on Thursday, showing frenzy all weekend. Offers on Monday, “best and final” offers on Tuesday. Your $40,000 over list price finished in the silver. No home for you! Maybe for the 3rd time.
And with so much competition among buyers, owners are extracting ever more favorable terms—no appraisal contingency, limited inspection rights, closing delays and more.
How do you innovate to win?
1. If you must have a “move-in ready” home, don’t fall in love, play the field. Find more than one house that could work, and offer on all the houses you would be happy to own. Instead of bidding $10K,20k or,40K over list, make it $11K, 22K, 43K above. You’ll hit one with persistence.

2. Look for lonely sellers, tactic #1. The vast majority of the bidding frenzy is created by millennial buyers, seeking homes that already look like the ones they see on HGTV. Minor sins like floral wallpaper, salmon & black bathroom tile schemes, and knotty-pine paneling drive away more than half of the buying public. If you can see past the “horrors” you may be the only buyer on the seller’s radar, and thereby empowered.

3. Look for lonely sellers, tactic #2. In a market this hot, 30 days on market is an eternity. Buyer agents call listing agents and say: “your 22 Languid Dr. has been listed 3 weeks—is there something we should know?” Often, they just over priced it and the sellers are beginning to say “why doesn’t anyone just come see the house, and make an offer, so we can negotiate?” You could be that someone! If your limit was $600,000, take a look at houses over 30 days on market and up to $660,000. If you like one offer your limit as a best and final. Buyers ask, “what if we fall in love with a house and they won’t come down?” Is it any more painful than taking 2nd place in a bidding contest? It’s no more likely. In America risk is rewarded!

Curious about your home’s value?

Please click below for the market update of interest to you:

Westfield by Grade School:

Franklin

Jefferson

McKinley