What's All the Fuss? Financial Matters Explained

Have you wanted to know what the fuss was about subprime mortgages or wondered why you should care? Sam Ali does a very nice job explaining why the experts are concerned and even touches on the disagreement on the impact the subprime meltdown has and will have on the financial sector in his article entitled "Feeling the ripple effect". Be in the financial know and get some answers!
Check is out here!

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Celebrating Diversity in Lawrence and Princeton

Princeton and Rider Universities are celebrating international communities with festivals. The Princeton festival will last about a month while Rider’s is a week. It all begins at Princeton on the Saturday March 28th 8pm at the Richardson Auditorium.

Featuring: Princeton Capoeira, Raks Odalisque, Flamenco Puro, Seasame Street, Triple 8, Kalaa, Black Arts Company, TapCats, Naacho, eXpression, DiSiac, and Ballet Folklorico de Princeton

Both festivals are open to the public so come out, taste, learn, and enjoy!
Read the article.
Princeton Calendar

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Property Tax Relief Bill Held

The property tax bill saga is really something. Let me do a recap. First Governor Jon Corzine calls the legislature into special session and charges them to find a solution to our tax woes before the legislators go on break for Christmas. The legislators go through their partisan bickering but eventually come up with a comptroller, a four percent cap on increases, and a tax credit for most households. The latter may or may not be sustainable depending on who you ask. After getting the legislation through the Assembly and the Senate it now sits Governor Corzine’s desk.
Well most of us know the Governor only has 45 days to sign the legislation into law which is up on Saturday. What is less known, is that in New Jersey the rule applies only when Congress is in session. With the legislators doing other things Governor Corzine has opted not to sign the bill until some undisclosed time. My guess the dog and pony were unavailable or maybe the signing pens are on back-order. We will just have to wait and see.
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Sixty-Second Sold Window

That is the amount of time that sellers have to win over buyers. Just sixty seconds, in which perspective buyers decide if they like the home they are viewing or not. The smart seller will make sure that their home captures as many of the senses as possible in that first minute. To that end, the seller will look at their home with the eye of a potential buyer.
It starts from the street. Curb appeal is essentially how does the home look from the street? Does is distinguish itself or just blend into its surroundings. Is it attractive, eye catching, or buried behind shrubbery and trees. Is the lawn full and healthy or full of crab grass and brown patches? Even with the lawn snow covered, the entrance to the home must be spotless. If there is outdoor lighting make sure it works properly.
From the entry, move on through each room of the house removing clutter and making sure it is spotless. Keep in mind the sixty-second window applies even after the original sixty is gone. That old chair you are not taking to the new home, get rid of it now. Decreasing clutter is the hardest but most essential task in getting a home into “showcase” condition. Usually the longer a seller has lived in a home, the more clutter that home collects – which makes the task of getting rid of clutter all the harder. If necessary rent a storage unit to temporarily house those items that will go to the new home and discard the rest. Remember too that pets and all evidence of their residence, needs to be removed from the house.
Clean it, paint it, repair it, or replace it. Go through the entire house once clutter is removed with this mantra in mind. If it is marked, dirty, or dusty, clean it. If it looks tired, stained, or dingy, paint it. If it is dripping, burnt out, loose, or squeaking, repair it. If it is broken (includes cracked, chipped, or splintered), worn, or leaks, replace it.
Remember in a buyers market there is plenty of choice for buyers. That just means your home is competing with other homes in the area and in the price range. Making the most of that first sixty-second window along with a realistic price are what make buyers sign your contract.

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Mortgage Fact: Unenplyment Matters

It is good news about the job market! The unemployment numbers for February dropped to 4.5 percent nationally. In New Jersey the unemployment rate held a 4.2 percent (Department of Labor and Workforce Development) in February unchanged from January. With the hoopla over the stock market decline, some might have missed that New Jersey’s unemployment rate is lower than the national average again in February. Granted it is merely 3 tenths of a percentage point but it is something to crow about while everybody else is bemoaning the loss of 12,000 on the stock market. We live in a capricious society where anxiety over the stock market reigns, rather than a celebration of the lower the unemployment rate which is an indicator of a healthier the economy. The healthier the economy the more likely people are to at least catch up on their mortgages rather than default entirely and have their home fall into foreclosure -- which is the major anxiety-maker of the moment.
Granted the number of foreclosures is up but with the increase in the number of subprime mortgages out there some pruning had to be anticipated one would think. Is that any reason for investors to start withdrawing from the mortgage investment market? Apparently so if last week's market ending is anything to go by. Still at least in New Jersey, unemployment is lower than the national rate!
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A Community Loss

What is going on in Princeton Township? First the Princeton planning board approved a project that would get rid of 900 trees and now there is another project that will get rid of another 804 trees. Granted the developers will replant 586 trees between the two projects but still an 1118 tree loss seems a bit excessive.
A friend said to me recently that New Jersey was going to have to change its name from the “Garden State” but cause it in not in the least rural anymore. While I agree we are not as rural as we were, we do have a lot of mature trees around with plenty of greenery left to see.
I guess the board got the idea about so many trees being lost might be a problem because they attached a provision to their approval that the developer minimize the number of tree lost.

The advisory panel also recommended that the developer be required to plant or pay for enough replacement trees on and off the site to ensure that the project does not lead to a net loss of trees for the community. Article here

Both developers will have to make financial contributions to the township's tree plantings. Whether that will replace the mature trees lost remains to be seen. It would be nice though, if the Garden State continued to have mature trees around.
Read the original article

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ARM's Worries Affect Stock Market

It has been a bit of concern to everybody including the Fed, but until yesterday it had not really showed in a way that would get the working man’s attention. Yesterday it did. What was it: the concern over sub-prime loan defaults, i.e, foreclosures.
Investors withdrew from the sub-prime mortgage sector yesterday and caused a drop in Dow Jones Industrials of more that 240 points. In fact, all the US stock indexes were down about two percent.
Granted there were other contributing factors like retail sale profit figures being relatively small (0.1 percent) and the Mortgage Bankers Association saying that foreclosures increased 28 basis points from the third quarter which is up 25 basis points from last year.
While there forecast for sub-prime loans continues to look dour the number of houses on the market continues to increase. Prime mortgages continues to rise and buyers have plenty of variety from which to choose their future home.

Read the MBAA press release
Read The Times of Trenton article

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Capital Beat: No Citizen’s Convention on Tax Reform

What a difference's three months makes! Now just last year there was much talk of convening a citizen’s tax convention to deal with the property tax problem. There did not seem to be any other way to manage the problem and then New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Jon Corzine said he would push for just such a convention. Well here it is almost Spring and according to George Amick we should “stick a fork in the idea” because “It’s done”. For at least another year, New Jersey homeowners will continue to pay the highest amount in property taxes in the country.
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Following the Mortgage Dollar

Ever wondered what really happens to your house payment?

It seems logical that it would go to the lending company that made the loan to buy the home -- and it does, but it takes a longish trip along the way.

If your mortgage stayed in your lending company's portfolio, the lender would probably have to wait many years before the loan was paid up. And the relatively small monthly mortgage payments wouldn't provide enough money to enable the lender to continue making home loans.

But most mortgage loans don't stay with the lenders who made them. To obtain more money to lend, most lenders sell their mortgages on the secondary market -- a large network of investment companies and quasi-government agencies, including the industry giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

If your mortgage is sold to one of these organizations, you may never know it, because the mortgage's new owner will often use your original lender to service the account.

But you money doesn't stop its journey at that point either. The purchasing organization must also replenish their money supply, so they can keep on buying mortgages. They pool you loan with thousands of others and sell shares in the pool to individual investors and big financial institutions. Countless people obtain income by investing in these mortgages.

Because of this, when you buy a home, you're not only helping yourself, you're also helping our economy.

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Property Tax Reform: Is it Really Dead?

Perhaps we should autopsy property tax reform to see what killed it. By real reform I mean more than the stop-gap measure that is in the works. Yes, the special interest groups played a part in the downfall of this last attempt to curve the runaway costs of living in NJ. It was naïve to think that the Governor and legislature could pass a tax reform package that would really give New Jersey an overhaul especially this close to an election year. That legislators could or would police themselves and end practices that drain the state’s revenues, well we got a clue when they balked at changing rules that allow dual office holding, seems just plain wishful thinking. Instead in a slight of hand move unionized workers’ benefits and pension plans became the fall guys. Legislators can continue to hold down two positions in state government and in effect rob state revenues that double benefits without demanding any real work.

Is it any real surprise that the legislature will pass only about half of the 98 special committee’s recommendations? Not really. Blame the special interest groups for trying to prevent their membership from having to bear the brunt of the reform effort, blame the Governor for hearing the pleas of the people and calling a special session of the legislature, blame New Jersey residents for wanting lower taxes in the first place; but, whatever we do, don’t blame the legislators themselves who gave up the fight for real tax reform before the first bill was drafted.

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Tip of the Day: Paint

Stumbled across this article today and thought it would be fun. A friend to sellers, buyers and renters alike, paint can do many things to help create a mood. It is a low-cost way to freshen a room. It can help reduce the recurrence of mold and mildew and depending on the play of light in the room can appear to deepen or lighten itself. For about $20-$45 per gallon of paint you can revitalize a room or change it entirely using different application techniques. There is nothing else that can do so much in a room for such a price.

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Hamilton Transit Village Back On Again

Well, it looks like the transit village is on again in Hamilton -- almost anyway. Seems the squabbling town council and the mayor met again with transit company representatives and agreed to act in the public interest and get more public input and further studies into the proposal to create a mixed use site at and around the Hamilton Train Station. The Republican council and Democratic mayor agreed to put partisanship aside and act for the public good much like their neighbors in West Windsor, who are also getting a transit village. The complaint of disruption the proposed project would create around the station is moot because the traffic pattern around the station is already changing due to parking expansion. The station sits alone with many, long abandoned, commercial properties. The transit village would definitely vitalize that area. If done carefully the Hamilton Station area could well become a destination in New Jersey in its own right allowing visitors to check out Hamilton’s attractions or use Hamilton as a base to hop over to Philadelphia or New York for big city shopping or entertainment. Hopefully the servicing the people attitude will last long enough to allow this project to move ahead.

Read the article.

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Blunder Costs Ewing Township $40Gs

Looks like the folks in Ewing Township had a bit of a blunder with a land deal. Seems the tax collector sold a tax lien on property the township did not own. The township’s tax collector sold the lien on property out by the Trenton/Mercer Airport. The lien was purchased by Capital Asset Research Corporation. When CARC tried to foreclose on the property, it discovered the property was actually owned by Mercer County rather than the township.
CARC was awarded $51,000 from Superior Court but struck a deal with the township for $40,000. Ewing Township may be able to recoup some of the money for this mess from the tax collector’s bonding company.
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Energy Conscious Get Knocked in the Wallet

Okay when I read this article I thought, no good deed goes unpunished. Do something environmentally conscious and what do you get: knocked in the wallet. It seems if you spend the money to have solar panels installed to provide energy for your home, then township assessors come along and counts the panels as a home improvement and ka-ching! You pay more in property taxes.
Folks it really does not make sense that on the one hand the state, encourages people to use less fossil fuel and solar energy is just what is need to fight global warming. Those hearing the call and having the means invest in solar energy and thereby use less fossil energy. But then the township turns around and taxes the improvement? That is a really good way to get resident cooperation and participation in energy conservation efforts.
Though I have not come across a property yet that has solar paneling in its assets, either for purchase or sale. I would imagine it would be a good selling point; however if townships are going to use the panels to raise the taxes that could be make them a liability.
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Real Estate Investing: Foreclosure

The number of properties nearing or in foreclosure has increased to 1.05 percent in the third quarter of 2006 from 0.99 percent in the second quarter. In 2005 the rate was 0.97 according to the Mortgage Bankers’ Association. Thinking of investing in a property that is in the foreclosure process? While there are bargains out there, some research is definitely needed to make sure everything stays fair and meets your profit taking goals. Things that can make a foreclosure less than ideal are liens on the property, repair work, and holding costs (the funds needed to keep the property in “showcase” condition while awaiting a buyer).
Amy Hoak does a pretty good job explaining things for the real estate investor. It is worth a read.

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West Windsor Proposes Tax Hike

Well, it is beginning. Governor Corzine has not even signed the 20 percent tax benefit for homeowners and already a municipality has proposed to raise its property taxes 7.5 percent to $.29 cents per $100 assessed property value. That works out so that a home assessed at $574,800 would pay an extra $115: $1667. Where have these township people been? The Governor is has legislation on his desk that will force municipalities to only raise taxes by no more than four percent. Why create a budget that ignores that?
This is the first work session for township officials so perhaps it is their wish list stage and some serious trimming will occur at other meetings. The police and emergency services, municipal courts, and community development still have to be discussed. Hopefully West Windsor officials are letting these "others" know the budget is already over the Governor’s high mark, and thereby prompting those entities to expect severe trimming. Perhaps by announcing the high proposal township officials are like Barack Obama, when he announced the misdeeds of his youth -- it is a preemptive measure but bares little resemblance to the end product. Meantime, one can only hope.
Read the Report

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Tip of the Day: Cabinet Hardware

Love Tim Carter of Ask The Builder. Thought his response to Lois was just right. Finding hardware that matches the rest of the style of the kitchen is important. I had a CMA appointment were every cabinet had a different knob on every cabinet door in the kitchen. The wife had just removed the original hardware over time and replaced it with whatever struck her fancy at the time. No two cabinet doors or drawers had the same pull. It was amazing. I explained that buyers might not necessarily have her artistic eye and that we needed to make things easy for buyer to imagine living in the space. She was willing to make the changes and kitchen cabinetry became an asset rather than a liability.
Read Tim's cabinet knob advice

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Tax Plan Passes Senate

Well, they took two months longer than they said they would and there seems to be some doubt whether the bill will be sustainable or not but the tax bill (S20/A1) is on its way to Governor Corzine’s desk.
There was a bit of drama with this vote because Senate leader Richard Codey (D) held the voting board open for two hours. He had four members of his party who either voted no or abstained from the vote altogether. Senator Codey brought the Senators back yesterday in effort to pass the bill and vowed to keep bringing them back until the bill passed. With some behind the scene lobbying of Republicans for votes by Gov. Corzine and Codey, the bill finally passed (28/10) and is now on it way to Governor Corzine’s desk where he is expected to sign it.
That the bill is bipartisan even though Senate Minority Leader Leonard Lance (R) was against the bill means there is hope for property tax reform. Granted this bill may not be sustainable, granted it is not the sweeping change really needed to bring property taxes down in the future or adequately fund schools districts, but it is a start. The legislature is taking a long time to learn to walk but at least it is mobile at last.
Read the Article

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Property Tax Relief Legislation in Senate Review

The tax relief bill is one step closer to reality. It comes before the State Senate (S20) today. The relief effort will only be as successful as the local governments will allow it to be. The credit program allows homeowners whose earnings fall between $100,000 and $250,000 to receive a credit on their property tax bill. While the cap placed on the amount local government may increase taxes in a given year, and the Senate allotting $2.05 billion to the program at least the first year of the program may work out well for homeowners. Since the four percent cap on increases in local levies has exceptions, how long the amount allotted to the program will last is anybody’s guess. Ideally, the amount homeowners receive should remain at 20 percent no matter what local governments do -- whether that is indeed the case remains to be seen. Still it is a beginning.
Read Dunstan McNichol's story

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County Superintendent Bill in Review

There is a bill working its way through the New Jersey Senate (S19), sponsored by Senator Bob Smith (D), which will create a county level school superintendent. The plan was to create a position to hold local school districts accountable for their spending and thereby lower property taxes. Basically this position would approve or cut budgets. While the idea of a superintendent with the ability to cut budgets is a good one the bill working it way through Senate readings includes a process where local districts can appeal the decision of the superintendent which could very easily render the office of the county superintendent ineffective. Why was the process included in the bill you might ask? It seems some Senators are involved in local government and they did not want the superintendent to have the very power the position needs to effectively bring down New Jersey property taxes. Folks, it looks like the superintendent will have a stick, maybe even a big stick to encourage local governments to work together but it also looks like the Senate bill gives local governments a saw.
Read The Times of Trenton article

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