Pascack Valley NJ Real Estate : September 2007

Buyers Beware!  You May Cause a Bidding War Against Yourself! 

There has been so much press  about the softening of the market and most people would agree.  Yeah, sure - it's officially a Buyer's Market.  So what does that mean to you?  Is it time to sit back and wait for all the Sellers to beg you to buy their homes? 

Well that's not likely always going to happen.  In some cases the Sellers may have bought another home and held out for the right price to be paid for their current home.  Some Sellers have had offers fall through and are now sitting with two homes to their name!  Is it possible that you are the only Buyers in the marketplace that are ready, willing and able to buy the home you have your eye on?

We're here to tell you to beware because you may cause a bidding war against yourself.   If you've seen a home that seems to be priced appropriately for the current market and you have gone through all the steps to be pre-qualified, don't wait!  Another Buyer probably saw the house yesterday and is drawing up an offer with their Realtor® right now! 

If you've been negotiating back and forth and it has taken days to come to a meeting of the minds, hemming and hawing could cause you to put yourslef into a Bidding War situation. 

Ask yourself these important questions:

• "Does this home fit most of your criteria for the price you can afford"? 
• "Can you picture yourself and your family being happy in this home"? 
• "Will you be disappointed if you lose it to another Buyer"?

You're probably saying to yourself "the bidding wars of yesterday are over"!  We're here to tell you that they may not be as common as yesterday's market but they are still a fact of the bidding process.  

Buyers Beware!  You May Cause a Bidding War Against Yourself!

When Buying in the Pascack Valley area of Bergen County, New Jersey, call Bob & Lisa at (201)218-6802 or visit us online at www.HammersTeam.com.  We're your Pascack Valley Real Estate Resource.

Another Similar Post

The Real Estate See Saw Challenge has become a normal situation for many Sellers who are also Buyers.  These are those families who must Sell their current home in order to purchase another home.  These people could be making a move based on any of the following scenarios:

1. Yesterday's first time homebuyer whose family has now grown out of their current home.
2. Empty nesters who no longer require 3 or 4 plus bedrooms and want to downsize to make a more manageable living space.
3. Homeowners whose significant other is no longer a contributing co-owner due to life altering events such as divorce, death or other.

Where has the market left these homeowners?  The increase in inventory during a time when mortgage guidelines have become stricter has presented a new set of issues.   Should you Sell first and hope to find a more suitable home before the purchaser of your home needs to close.  Or do you Buy first and hope the bank will approve you for a loan.  Then there becomes the need to carry two homes while you search for a qualified Buyer for your home.  This of course sets up another dilemma.  In real estate we refer to it as the "domino effect".  If you buy a home that is contingent on the sale of your home and the buyer of your home is buying your home contingent on the sale of their current home and so on and so on....... All very scary scenarios to think about which could be the cause for lack of harmony in the home and countless hours of sleep deprivation! 

So what do you do?  Do you take that leap of faith that will eventually get you to experience the blissful end result you so desire?  Who can you trust?  The Lenders, the Seller of the home you want, the Buyer of your home, your Realtor®?  So many questions!

The answer is "there are no easy answers".  If you want to make that move, a certain amount of compromimse will be inevitable.  But then isn't it true that anything worth winning comes with a challenge?   Hiring a professional experienced in the many different possible scenarios will allow you to make the best possible decision for you and your family.  Your Realtor® can also provide you with the answers to your questions that will help you make sense of The Real Estate See Saw Challenge. 

Whether you are Selling or Buying in the Pascack Valley area of Bergen County, New Jersey, call Lisa & Bob at (201)218-6802 or visit us online at http://www.hammersteam.com/.   We're your Hometown winning Team and we're here to help you with your real estate needs.  The Pascack Valley Real Estate Resource!

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River Vale, New Jersey in the Pascack Valley - So what's all the fuss about?  Recently Money Magazine named one of our Pascack Valley towns on a list of top 100 places to live in America.  Ranked number 29 on this year's list was my very own hometown of River Vale.  The article uses criteria such as economic opportunity, good schools, safe streets, things to do and a sense of community.  In addition to these points is proximity to everything one can hope for in a quiet Suburban setting.   Of course this was no great surprise to me since I experienced it first hand. 

As a girl growing up in River Vale, New Jersey back in the 60's I was too young to know anything special about the small town.  Attending the Roberge Grammar School on the South side of town was pretty uneventful to me but then I was but a child.  The world might have been  smaller but the town had an unassuming charm of rural Americana much like it does today.  I remember walking to School at a time when the main roads were much less travelled.  My best friend's Mom drove an old fashioned station wagon and we never heard of an SUV.   When we got to be pre-teens, we would walk to the Four Corners to buy a slice of pizza or a snack. 
                    

My very first job was babysitting for my Mother's best friend's children who lived across the street.  The youngest child is the current River Vale Mayor Joe Blundo .  He was a cute tyke and we all knew he would be a politian someday.  After graduating the fifth grade, it was on to Holdrum Middle School.  Walking down River Vale Road to Holdrum was easy because there are sidewalks leading right to the School.  My Mother always said that one of the nicest things about the town was the fact that it only had one traffic light.  The town only recently added a light on the north side of town at Tappan & River Vale Road.

Once I graduated the eighth grade, I travelled on the school bus to Pascack Valley High School on Piermont Avenue in Hillsdale where I met my husband, Bob.  My next job was working at the Four Corner's A&H Drug Store as a clerk.  It was a family owned business run by two brothers named Al & Herb (thus the A & H).  In it's place now is a small Toy store amongst other stores in the strip of businesses on Westwood Avenue in River Vale.  The strip of stores offers a convenience to the local residents.

Once I was driving age, I worked at the Valley Fair which is now the Shop Rite of Hillsdale.  Valley Fair was a small department store that housed everything you could imagine from Records to clothing to a soda shop where I worked serving egg creams! 

Although this small town of less than 10,000 residents has been named amongst the top 100 in CNN's Money Magazine, the town of River Vale will always be my hometown.  So what's all the fuss about River Vale, New Jersey?  You might say the best kept secret is out - but I knew all along it was another great place to live in the Pascack Valley. 

For more local information about the town of River Vale as well as the Pascack Valley area of Bergen County, New Jersey, visit us online at www.HammersTeam.com or call Lisa & Bob direct at (201)218-6802.  We're your Pascack Valley Real Estate Resource - the Team that's on "Your Side"!

"Be careful what you wish for" is one of my favorite sayings in life.

Suppose you can call me superstitious - or am I?  Maybe I just know what's good for me.  In the current real estate market many agents are hoping to secure as many listings as possible to get them over the hump of the lean times.  After all, we do all work on commission and only get paid once a listing sells and closes.  Therefore, the more listings you have, the better your odds become.  That's the theory.  However, taking or having an overpriced listing could backfire and cause a multitude of unsavory issues.

But it's a very scary time we're facing in the real estate market right now.  There are many who joined the real estate market when times were great.  Ahh...the biddling wars!  Those were the days my friend!  In today's market, once in a great while, a Seller will have the need to sell.  There may have been a life altering event or just the desire to move.  Those Sellers may take the advice of a real estate professional and list in an effort to actually get the best price "possible"!  Now there's a concept that seems to be a thing of the past. 

So now what?  Are we heading back in time when the market represented those who had an actual need to Sell or Buy?  What is happening to mortgage rates?  Will only those with traditional standards be able to qualify?  What will become of the property appraisals?  It used to be said that a home is worth what a ready willing and able Buyer is willing to pay.  But do the banks still agree with that?

If you're a Seller wishing for yesterday's prices, you may be surprised to learn that those prices are part of yesterday's market.  If you're a Buyer wishing for desperate Sellers to lower their prices down so far that the Buyers will see value, you may find yourself in competition again. 

Isn't it best to remember what your goals are and work with a professional to get the best scenario for your situation?   Wishing and hoping for unrealistic outcomes may bring you unpleasant surprises.  Whether Buying or Selling real estate, Be careful what you wish for! 

Lisa & Robert Hammerstein • Sales Associates • Re/Max Real Estate Associates • (201)218-6802

• Address • 123 Broadway • Woodcliff Lake, NJ 07677 •

For up to date Listings and Real Estate Tips in the Pascack Valley area of Bergen County, New Jersey, call Bob & Lisa at (201)218-6802or visit us online at www.HammersTeam.com.  We're you're Pascack Valley Real Estate Resource.  The Team That's on "Your" side!

Pascack Valley area Schools Open their Doors for the new School Year!

The Labor Day weekend signals the end of Summer vacation for School bound children in the Pascack Valley area of Bergen County, New Jersey.  As parents enjoyed the last lazy days of relaxing at the pool, their thoughts turned to preparing the kids for the first day of School!  As the School Buses line up and you get ready to send your children off to meet the teachers don't forget the list of school supplies.   Pencils, erasers, notebooks and calculators to name a few.

If you live in the Pascack Valley, your children may be attending any one of the quality Schools found in the eight  towns that comprise the Pascack Valley. These are the towns of:

• Emerson
• Hillsdale
• Westwood
• River Vale
• Park Ridge
• Montvale
• Woodcliff Lake
• Washington Township

If you're considering Buying or Selling a Home in the Pascack Valley area of Bergen County, New Jersey, call Bob & Lisa direct at (201)218-6802 or visit us online at www.HammersTeam.com.  We're your Pascack Valley Real Estate Resource!

Click on one of our other posts about the Pascack Valley area:

Pascack Valley High School Blog

What Makes A House A Home in the Pascack Valley

Pascack Valley Libraries

A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words

Washington Township Real Estate Market Activity:

The following chart shows the Sales Activity of Single Family Homes for the month of August 2007, in the town of Washington Township, New Jersey in the Pascack Valley area of Bergen County, New Jersey.

There are currently 51 Actively Listed homes in the town of Washington Township with an average List Price of $718,053.

The Pascack Valley Real Estate market is always in bloom!  Click on the photos below for information about the town of Washington Township.

For more information on Listings in the Pascack Valley area of Bergen County, New Jersey, call Bob & Lisa at (201)218-6802, or visit us online at http://www.hammersteam.com/ your Pascack Valley Real Estate Resource!  It's a great time to "Buy A Home" in the Pascack Valley.  We're keeping an eye on the market for you....

Click on the links below to view some scenes of the picturesque towns of the Pascack Valley.

EMERSON

HILLSDALE

RIVER VALE

WESTWOOD

PARK RIDGE

MONTVALE

WOODCLIFF LAKE

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

Click the House on the right to see the benefits of working with the HammersTeam!

The following chart shows the Sales Activity of Single Family Homes for the month of August 2007, in the town of Montvale, New Jersey in the Pascack Valley area of Bergen County, New Jersey.

Montvale Real Estate Market Activity:

There are currently 38 Actively Listed homes in the town of Montvale with an average List Price of $875,142.

The Pascack Valley is gearing up for School!  Click on the photos below to check out the Montvale Schools.

For more information on Listings in the Pascack Valley area of Bergen County, New Jersey, call Bob & Lisa at (201)218-6802, or visit us online at http://www.hammersteam.com/ your Pascack Valley Real Estate Resource!  It's a great time to "Buy A Home" in the Pascack Valley.  We're keeping an eye on the market for you....

Click on the links below to view some scenes of the picturesque towns of the Pascack Valley.

EMERSON

HILLSDALE

RIVER VALE

WESTWOOD

PARK RIDGE

MONTVALE

WOODCLIFF LAKE

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP

Click the House on the right to see the benefits of working with the HammersTeam!