The biggest lie For Sale By Owners tell themselves

I will save money by selling it myself.

For Sale By Owners (FSBO) must be the same people who think they can fix the plumbing leak or electrical problem. How hard could it be? We've all heard the story. The husband tries to fix it himself and when he floods the kitchen, his wife calls the plumber and pays triple because it's now and emergency and things have been ruined.

There's a reason why municalities require electric and plumbing to be conducted by licensed professionals. But if you want to sell your home, try and save money and don't call a realtor.

How hard could it be? The identical condo in my building just sold for $600k. I'll price mine at $610k and wait for the offers. I don't have to move for three months. Except:

1. The unit upstairs has upgraded kitchen and baths. Now Mr. FSBO is $40K over the market price.

2. The sold unit took 90 days to go under contract and 45 days more days to close. And that was at a fair market offering price.

3. The sold unit got the price because there was an agent who used his expertise to market this unit to the real estate community and potential buyers all over the country. There were 75 showings (not including 15 open houses) before and offer came in.

4. The condo had two offers (both start at $580k) and ended with a highest and best round of bidding.

So Mr. FSBO will wait and wonder. No offers for two months. He is moving in 30 days.

The additional carrying costs for 7 Months $25,000

Staging of the vacant unit $5000

That's $30k or 5% that could have gone to pay the licensed professional.

Mr. FSBO in the end settles for $530K or $25k less than if he'd used a realtor.

All in Mr FSBO saved himself $30k in realtor commisssions but spent $55k to do it. And that's if everything else in the transaction went smoothly.

But my friend in Texas sold their own house 4 years ago and got a good price. How hard could it be?...........Even a blind squirrel finds a few acorns.

HOBOKEN condos 2007

Sales:
Avg Days on market 66
50% sold in first 41 days

information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

The ONE thing every seller must do

Who has a knife? $50 for a knife.

Can you hear Monty's voice?

Seller Alert: Stop your agent from sticking the knife in your back. Here's how.

When you fill out the MLS form, put the following sentence in the remarks section. (This is the section that only other realtors see. It makes us look smart when we say...be careful there's a small dog in the unit and his name is Atlas or it's parking spot number 12.)

"In the case when there are multiple bids on the unit, Seller will directly contact Buyer's agent with confirmation of your client's offer via fax or email. Please provide contact info."

What's the big deal? Well, here's one of lifes situation where the seller can be robbed and never even know it. And it happens. And it's illegal. If the seller is doing business over the phone, they may never see the actual offer. Instead, the seller relies on his agent. Now if that agent has represents a buyer too...

Just protect yourself unless you always wanted a goat.

HOBOKEN condos 2007

Turkey week closings 10
information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

The ONE thing every buyer must know

Pricing is based on Square Footage. ( A real shocker.)

All other things accounted for, the bigger the place, the higher the sale price.



Every buyer should demand before the end of attorney review either:

1) a copy of the tax records with the square footage listed

or

2) a copy of the stamped architecture plans submitted to the city.



Protect youreslf. Sellers make mistakes, realtors make mistakes.



I've tracked properties where the square footage on the MLS print outs goes up and down from sale to sale and I can assure you the condo is not expanding and contracting with the seasons. This costs the buyer money. Get it right and in writing. 25 square feet at $500/sqft is a $12,500 mistake out of your pocket. That goes a long way to paying realtor fees when you sell.


Floor plans are not the same. Any 10 year old with software can make one. When in doubt call the architect or tax office.


HOBOKEN condos 2007
2000+sqft

available 9
sold/uc 17
information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

There's One For You, Nineteen For Me

Taxes TBD:

With a 2.49% property tax increase "looming", this is a good time to take a look at property for sale listed with taxes TBD. Mostly you'll find this in new construction and recent condo conversions.

Here's what usually happens. The town uses the sale price of the condo and multiplies it by the tax rate and tax ratio to get the annual base tax. Since it is not the custom of the town to reassess each year, this base is what will go up by 2.49% next year.

For example you buy a nice 2 bed/2 bath or $600k this month. The 2007 tax rate is 3.49 and ratio is 29.79. Combined this is 1.04% of the sale price or... $6238 in taxes. However, if you purchased a similar $600k unit in 2005 when the combined number was 1.25% Your starting taxes in 2005 would have been $7496 and then adjusted according to the overall property tax adjustment each year for 2006 & 2007.

The moral of the story...taxwise new construction is a better deal than it was two years ago.

Instead of a tax increase, they should just raise the price of a parking ticket to $1000.

HOBOKEN Tax Rates

Year Rate Ratio
2007 3.490 29.79

2006 3.434 34.45

2005 3.287 38.01

2004 3.216 43.16

2003 3.242 49.49

information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Greed Is Only So Good

Velocity Losing Steam:

Condos for sale, gone to rentals... In Hoboken. That's The Velocity. The developer will tell you it's a business decision in a changing market and not...

1) Greed. When the market was hot, realtors were lined up with buyers ready to go to contract. Realtors got stonewalled. Then the market turned...

2) Location. In a slower market, who wants to be in that really nice building next to the public housing. Would I leave my BWM convertible with the top down and my Garmin on the dash on Sixth and Jackson? I'd rather watch Oprah.

3) Slight Of Hand. Remember the big auction? It was a marketing ploy not a push to dump the units at any cost.

The Winners:
Metrostop and The Monroe Arts Center now have a virtual moat separating their high end projects from the public housing.

Which is more desired?

Old Wolrd Charm vs. New Construction.

It's like the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Some, myself included, like CBS. Dave Price and crew showing everything pssing by down the street, giving info about the floats, etc. Others, like Mrs. IHRE (InsideHobokenReal Estate) prefer the NBC coverage with the kareoke like performances from every b and c list entertainer that can be coerced out on Turkey Day morning.

So the moral of the story. Some like the classics like Big Bird and some like the latest and greatest. One is not better than the other. Just different. Who knew an ogre could fly.

The Stat department was given the day off due to gluttony and general malaise.

information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

I would dance and be merry, life would be a ding-a-derry

Heading Home For the Holidays.


Many of us are. Or at least leaving Hoboken. Chances are you're heading to a place with a tough housing market. Considering the Mile Square City has done over $444MM in real estate transactions this year, life is good. When you see other markets, it will have you clicking your heels three times.

With the thoughts you'll be thinkin'

you could be another Lincoln

If you only had a brain.

So the next time you lament the fact your condo is not appreciating 20% a year remember to give thanks.




Hoboken Condos Sold


2007 Total Dollar Volume $444,652,401


information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Black Friday: Not just for retail

Snooze You Lose:


Black Friday. Stores open at 7am. no. 6am. no. 5am. no. 4am. no 3am. All this to save $50 on a toaster oven? I have an idea. Don't drive 30 minutes to the store. Don't sit in your car for 3 hours for the store to open. Don't rushing in like a crack addict needing your electronics fix. Don't wait 30 minutes to check out and get home in time to miss breakfast. Instead, buy a property. save thousands. order gifts at retail online with all the money you saved.





My point is that many consumers are too busy spending the Holiday season rushing around to save $50 and miss the big picture. Here it is.... Wait for it....CONTRARY TO MODERN DAY MYTHS: REAL ESTATE SELLS BETWEEN THANKSGIVING AND THE NEW YEAR!!!





Deals are to be had. Not the $50 kind. 70 Hoboken condos went under contract during this period in 2006. Sev-en-ty!!! Fourteen of those properties came on the market during this time. Buyers: If you want to wait until everyone else is back in the market, it explains why you are sitting in the mall parking loti n your pjs and slippers at 3am.
Still think that toaster oven is worth it?




Hoboken Condos Under Contract 2006
Between Thanksgiving and New Years
Number: 70
Number: Listed after thanksgiving and u/c 14
information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

Is your agent costing you money?

SELLERS BEWARE! Agents will come into your home and pitch you on why they are the best person to market your home. Big agencies, little agenices. Agents will talk about the services you get from the office.

One of the most overlooked part is the back end is the process by which agents in Hoboken show your property. For the most part there is no lockbox at your door. Thus the agent has to call your office. When they do this the agent is usually.

1. put on hold

2. transfered two or three times.

3. told the admin is on a smoke break and they will have to call back.

Having made it through the labrynth, the agent then picks up keys the day of the appointment. If an agent comes into my office, the admin has a set of keys in a marked envelope waitng for the agent. In and out time 30 seconds.

If you are thinking of selling you home, narrow your choice down to two or three agencies. Go there on a Saturday around noon or 1pm. Create some pretense to hang out for 10 minutes and watch what agents have to deal with to get keys. You'll see the following

1. The biggest agency is totally disorganized. There's a big box of keys, lots of keys scattered on the desk, the admin will sift through the keys sometimes finding them and sometimes not. If not, your appointment is canceled.

2. Another big mom and pop (now with multiple offices in Hoboken), usually has one set of keys for each listing. Too bad if two agents want to go within an hour or so of each other. The agency never tells the showing agent of the conflict until he gets there to pick up keys. Result. your place doesn't get shown.

3. They aren't open on Sunday. The biggest showing day of the week. I can't pick up keys Saturday night. Your place doesn't get shown.

Sellers: There is lots of inventory. If it is hard for the agent. Buyers will see other properties, thus reducing offers and therefore the selling price of your property.

Can you afford not to spend an hour checking out the back office function?

Hoboken Condos two and three bedrooms 2007
Sold with parking 295
Sold without Parking 235
information deemed reliable but not guaranteed

The days are getting shorter

The fall market is rapidly coming to a close. Winter is coming. Winter is coming. Listings are up, sales are slowing.

Buyers: Buy now before the spring crowds.

Sellers: Price it right and leave the others waiting for Godeau.

Hoboken Condos November 1-15th 2007

New Actives 50

Under Contract 25

The neon lights....

Close to shops.

Close to restaurants.

Close to transportation.

Don't let the address fool you. Washington St. can be a great place to live. Close to everything. Most of the units are quiet. Noise reducing windows, bedrooms in the back. Buyers shouldn't overlook it.

Uphill from the flood prone sections.

2007: Washington St. Condos (Doesn't include Hudson Tea)
Active 18
Under Contract or Sold 55

It Feels Bigger

Roomy. Spacious. No Wasted Space.

Buyers sometimes place too much emphasis on the square footage. Fact is some large places feel small and some small places feel big. Layout, furntiure size, ceiling height, windows all play a part. One senior agent in my office is famous for getting listings that "feel bigger". All this boils down to getting buyers to consider looking at places that are a little smaller. technically that is.

Price per square foot is dependent on square footage. Small that feels big translates to lower ppsq. Bargain city.


Hoboken Condos Less Than 400 sqft 2007
Active 3
Under Contract or Sold 11

Hoboken's New Frontier

Where's the value in Hoboken?

A question I get a lot from buyers looking at Hoboken condos. The short answer is it depends on what you are looking for? Personally, if you are looking 3-5 years out, I recommend that you consider the area by the 9th street light rail stop.

1. Transportation within walking distance

2. New shops and restaurants in the Monroe Art Center and MetroStop

3. Close to the ShopRite

4. Lots of block sized condo buildings being built there with nice amenities.

5. Easy Access Out of Town.

You won't need a starship to experience this new frontier.

A Search Nightmare

At first blush you think. "that can't be right. $700k for a one bedroom. This is Hoboken, not New York City." You are correct my good friend. It's really a one bed with another bedroom that's not a bedroom. probably because it doesn't have a window. Here in lies the rub. How do you find these "invisible" bedrooms? Even the MLS doesn't make it easy. A good agent will ask you if you will consider the one plus other. But online your likely to miss it.

A good tip is to plug in a very high price for a one bedroom and see what shakes out. This also works on two bedrooms with the invisible third.

Just be sure the invisible room doesn't come with an invisible occupant.

Hoboken Condo 1 bedroom $700K+
7 sold in 2007
5 available

Fetching a pail of water

The Jack and Jill. You know the Brady Bunch bathroom between the boys and girls rooms. Let's see six kids sharing one bath. That makes sense. Even when Greg moves upstairs, still no separate bath. Who buys this house? with no room for expansion. An architect?

I can't believe Toll Brothers still builds them. Then again, if you have 4000sqft, its likely you have another bath somewhere and you're not shoehorning three kids into each room.

The Old Lady Should have put in a second bath. Save those trips up to the well. If you live in a 3/1 in Hoboken, put in the second bath. damn it.

Hoboken Condos 3 Bed/ 1 Bath available: 2

Hoboken Condos 3 Bed/ 1 Bathsold 2007: 9

They See Your Every Move

Some folks prefer a doorman building. Convenience, Security, prestige.

What the ad should say:

1) Outrageous Maintenance

2) Having to say hell, good morning every morning.

3) Tipping for every thing

4) No one comes or goes without them knowing. No one. Ever. and they talk. talk to your neighbors, each other.

5) Make the yearly bonus big enough so they won't tell your boyfriends about each other.

Their watching you, watching you, watching you...

Hoboken Condos available Doorman builidings 61
Number of Doorman Buildings with condos available 8

Heaven is only steps away

The Hoboken 5th Floor Walk-up....





What the ad should say:


1) Keep in Shape. Save on Club H.


2) It's only one more flight than a 4th floor walk up


3) If a date is willing to make the walk, think relationship.


4) God is my upstairs neighbor.


5) TAKE OUT.





Clients love them. Love to look at them. Love to buy in an elevator building.









354 stairs to the crown in the Statue of Liberty. Not a walk I want to make every day with groceries.

Stat of the day...

Hoboken Condos: 5th Floor Walk ups available 17
Hoboken Condos: 5th Floor Walk ups sold/uc 30

Exploding Listings

Exploding Listings. Idiots who write columns and don't sell real estate for a living will tell a seller to get as short of a listing as possible. In their confused little heads, the writer thinks that giving an agent six to twelve weeks will motivate the agent to work harder and good agents should sell property in this time frame.





Here's the truth. Sellers lose with short term listings. Agents lose with short term listings. It's the old perverse incentive.





Agents work less hard. In a market where there is five months worth of inventory, chances are less that a property will sell in six weeksl. So agents don't really try, knowing they may be throwing out good money on marketing with no commission at the end of the day.

A lesson on life from Amarillo Slim:

Giving a six week listing is perfectly acceptable....as long as the seller agrees to reasonble terms. Like a price that is below market. A good agent is only going to take this listing if there is a reasonable chance to sell it. Otherwise, a seller has to ask if they want a subpar agent who is too dumb to get away from a loser listing.

Market stat of the day:

Number of 2bed/2 bath, 1300+ sqft Hoboken condos available: 2

Penny Wise Pound Foolish

61% of active lisitings for Hoboken have a sales commission of 5% or greater.

People have short memories. They lock a fact away and then rely on it, sometimes not noticing the world has changed.

Like the penny. Lost is the history. Six perecent commissions used to be the norm. Then boom. the market surged. Commission rates began dropping like a stone. Online agents. Discount agents moved in. Commissions of 4%, 3% or less!!!

THE SUMMER OF LOVE is over.

The survivors. The real players with real value add are getting an honest wage for an honest days work. 5%... 6% and more. "The skies above are clear again. Let us sing a song of cheer again..."

Motivated Seller

#1 Stupidest Buyer Question

"Why is the seller moving?"

Getting Married?
Having A Baby?
Job Transfer?
Death?
Moving to a warmer climate?
Hates the neighbors?
Cashing out?

A buyer's reason for buying is different from a seller's motivation.

It is illegal for an seller's agent to tell the seller's reason for selling. Buyers will ask. Agents will sidestep the question.

If you see an advertisement with the words motivated seller, ask yourself "Aren't all sellers motivated at some price?"


Hoboken Real Estate:Bullet Proof
Avg Condo Sale under $1MM for 2007 $509,443
Avg Condo Sale under $1MM for 2006 $503,976
Increase of 1%

Mind Reading 101

Stupidest Buyer Question #2

What will the seller take?

Also phrased as, "will the seller take $x?"

Three possibilities exist here.
1) I know and as a seller's agent can not by law tell the buyer.
2) I don't know and the seller's agent if she knows, can't tell me because of the same law.
3) I don't know only the seller knows. That's why we go through the process of making an offer with details like down payment, credit worthiness, closing date, etc. This is not a flea market in Rome. If it were your property, you would not want it treated that way. Part of an agent's job is to help people who do not buy and sell a lot of homes to understand the process and faciliate a smooth transaction. Bringing in prequalified buyers who bring in written offers, helps weed out the players from the spectators.

One thing I can tell you. It is likely that if a buyer comes in with an all cash full price offer, the seller will take it.


stat of the day:
Home on the range.
Hoboken One Family Homes on the market 20
2007 Hoboken One Family Homes closed or under contract ytd 27