April Fun Day Monday winner is announced. Check back the first Monday of May to enter to win a $25.00 Amazon.com gift card.
Smithville Village Home Show This Saturday!
This Saturday Smithville Village will host a home show featuring local vendors and merchants to help you with all your home needs. These local vendors can help you with your repair, remodeling, inspection, landscaping, insurance, financing and home projects. The event is free and hours are from 10 AM to 4 PM. Free admission and free parking.
Smithville Village is located at Rt. 9 and Moss Mill Road in Smithville, NJ (Galloway township).
Proceeds benefit KW Cares. KW Cares is a 501(c)(3) public charity created to support Keller Williams Realty associates and their families with hardship as a result of a sudden emergency.
Fun Day Monday Quiz April, 2015
The Taxi Driver’s Story
I want to share a story with you that touched me deeply, reminding me to slow down and focus on doing
things that are really important. This is a true story, written by a NYC taxi driver:
I arrived at the address and honked the horn. After waiting a few minutes I honked again. Since this was going to be the last ride of my shift I thought about just driving away, but instead I put the car in park and walked up to the door and knocked. “Just a minute,” answered a frail, elderly voice.
After a long pause, the door opened. A small woman in her nineties stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned on it, like somebody out of a 1940’s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.
She took my arm and we walked slowly toward the curb. When we got in the cab, she gave me an address and then asked, “Could you drive through downtown?”
“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on my way to a hospice.” I looked in the rear- view mirror. Her eyes were glistening. “I don’t have any family left,” she continued in a soft voice. “The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter. “What route would you like me to take?”
For the next two hours, we drove through the city. She showed me the building where she had once worked as an elevator operator. We drove through the area where she and her husband had lived as newlyweds. She had me pull up at a furniture warehouse that had once been a ballroom where she had danced as a girl. Sometimes she’d ask me to slow in front of a building and would sit staring into the darkness.
[After dropping her off] I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift. I drove aimlessly lost in thought. For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk. What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had honked once, then driven away?
On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything more important in my life.
Sincerely,
Matt Haviland
Your Real Estate Consultant For Life
~ This story is excerpted from the original, which can be found at: http://www.snopes.com/glurge/cabride.asp
P.S If you liked this story, let me know how it touched you. Contact me at: SJHouses.com or 609-338-3773
P.P.S. If you’d like to view or download our entire April 2015 Newsletter click here: Matt’s Home News April 2015
What’s Your Home Worth in a Declining Market?
Here’s a quick note to let you know how I can help you—or anyone you feel comfortable introducing me to.
It’s no secret that parts of our area are experiencing declines in the real estate market. Home prices are not going up for many area. Take a look at the charts showing the Mainland area real estate market (Galloway, Egg Harbor Township, Northfield, Pleasantville, Absecon, Port Republic, Egg Harbor City, Mullica Township, Hammonton, Linwood, Northfield, Somers Point, Beuna and Hamilton Township.) A healthy real estate market depends on a balance of buyers and sellers being able to move in and out of the market. Right now we are seeing a buyer’s market in the mainland communities.
For sellers, the implication is that they will need to price their homes more competitively. A competitive price will attract more interest than a higher price. In the end, the higher priced property usually sells for the same as the competitively priced home, but just takes longer to sell.
If you or someone you know is thinking about selling, contact me to get a price analysis to help plan your sale: 609-338-3773. Also ask for a copy of my free report, How Sellers Price Their Homes.
Matthew Haviland, Your Real Estate Consultant For Life Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Shore 609-484-9890 ext 132
P.S. Do you know someone else who’s thinking about selling their home? Please introduce us so that I can help them get the most money possible from the sale
February 2015 Market Statistics, Ocean City, Longport, Margate, Brigantine, Linwood, Egg Harbor Township, Galloway, NJ
Spring is hopefully right around the corner. I wanted to take a moment and look at last month’s sales data and update you on what’s happening in the market. With this update I am comparing a few statistics among different municipalities: Ocean City, Longport, Margate, Brigantine, Linwood, Egg Harbor Township, and Galloway, NJ.
As you can see sales, inventory and price varies greatly among each or these communities. The turnover ratio shows the percentage of homes selling in each city. The higher the percentage the more homes are selling each month.
The most commonly asked question I get is: “How’s The Market.” Experience shows it all depends on where you live. If you’d like to know How the market is in your neighborhood I’d love to do some research for you and send you an email that will tell you what homes are for sale now, what homes have sold recently and how long homes are taking to sell in your neighborhood so you can feel secure in the knowledge that you have the most accurate information. This timely information will tell you right away how your market is right now! I imagine that information would be of value to you, would it not?
Please contact me if you’d like to know what’s happening in your market. 609-338-3773.
Best wishes,
Matt
* Information based on MLS data as of 3/2/15
A Different Kind of Spring Cleaning
Spring is nearly here, and for many people that means spring cleaning. It means tossing away old clothes, moving the furniture and mopping unseen places, washing hand and nose prints off the windows, scrubbing walls, and perhaps painting or redecorating.
A beautiful Spring day at Verona Park, Verona, NJ
But there’s another kind of spring cleaning, a kind that could do more to spruce up our lives and brighten our day than any other kind of cleaning. What if we spring cleaned our relationships, too, this season?
What if we scrubbed the stains off of our marriages, our relationships with our children, our co- workers, bosses, and friends? What if we mopped up the messes we’ve made and wiped off the dirt we’ve allowed to build up?
What if we swept away the dust bunnies under our friendships? What if we listened more, spent more quality time, and reached out to those we’ve ignored? What if we spruced up our promises and intentions, and remembered that our loved ones want us to be there for them emotionally, not just physically?
If you’re interested in giving it a try, here’s a proactive approach to doing this kind of spring cleaning: First, make a list of people you have relationships with, including your close family, kin, friends, etc. Next, go through each name and ask yourself how you could tidy up that relationship. It may only need a little polish, like a letter to Aunt May who hasn’t heard from you since Christmas. It may need deep cleaning, like telling the truth about a big lie or getting vulnerable about your feelings. Or you may simply decide things are just fine the way they are.
Whatever your spring brings you, I hope it is bright and clean and fresh. Sincerely,
Matt Haviland
Your Real Estate Consultant For Life
P.S. If you like this idea, let me know. I’d like to hear about your experiences. Contact me at: SJHouses.com or 609-338-3773.
P.P.S. If you’d like to view or download my entire March newsletter with great tips, articles and ideas click here: March 2015 Newsletter – Matt
Tax Appeal Time – Help With Your Atlantic County, NJ Tax Appeals.
I’ve been getting calls from clients regarding appealing their Atlantic County, NJ property tax valuations. In an effort to help I’d like to include some resources to help with this process.
The deadline to appeal taxes is April 1st. All of the information and forms required can be found here: http://www.aclink.org/taxation/homepage.asp Here is a link to the form you’ll need to download and complete: http://www.aclink.org/taxation/pdfs/FormA-1-Print.pdf
You’ll see on form A-1 that you will need to provide 5 comparable sales to justify your appeal. Comparable sales used as evidence in 2015 should have occurred between October 1, 2013 and October 1, 2014. This is where many people get stuck coming up with this information.
If you need help completing the form or obtaining comparable properties I am available to help.
For a fee of $50.00 I will locate the 5 best comparables and email them to you with full details including lot and block number and addresses. (This service is free to current and past clients)
If you need additional help completing form A-1 I can also help for an additional $75.00 fee.
Note: The county charges a separate filing fee ranging from $5.00 to $150.00 based on the assessed valuation. The filing fee schedule is as follows:
| If the assessment appealed is: | |
| Less than $150,000 | $5.00 |
| $150,000 or more, but less than $500,000 | $25.00 |
| $500,000 or more, but less than $1,000,000 | $100.00 |
| $1,000,000 or more | $150.00 |
Best wishes on saving money on your taxes!
Matt
P.S. Call me if you need my help with your property tax appeal. I have a limited amount of time set aside to help with this so call me at 609-484-9890 ext. 132 if you need my help.
Why Some Homes Take Longer To Sell…
Snow Covered BoardwalkOcean City, NJ
Here’s a quick note to let you know how I can help you—or anyone you feel comfortable introducing me to.
Sellers who list their houses in a hot market expect to get multiple offers. But when a house languishes without selling, even though plenty of buyers are looking, they wonder what’s wrong. They might think their price is fair, their bedrooms spacious, and their location just right. But buyers are not looking at any one house in isolation; they are comparing it to others. In that light, many features of a home, including price, can look less desirable than it would if standing alone. The only way to know what’s keeping a house from selling is to ask buyers for their input.
As a real estate consultant, my job is to get input from buyers about what interests them so I can help you position your home for the highest price possible. If you, your friends, or family members are planning to sell this year, please contact me at 609-338-3773. When you do, I’ll share with you a copy of my free report, Five Deadly Mistakes Home Sellers Make.
Matthew Haviland, Your Real Estate Consultant For Life Keller Williams Realty Atlantic Shore 609-484-9890 ext 132
P.S. Who do you know who’s thinking about selling a home? Please introduce us so that I can help them see their home through the buyers’ eyes.
How Does Someone Create a More Interesting Life?
I was reading a blog post that asked people how they would define an “interesting life” for themselves. After reading the responses, I thought I’d share one with you that I particularly liked.
Having an interesting life doesn’t mean it has to be interesting to anyone else. It also doesn’t mean you have to do the typical things most people associate with being interesting, such as travel.
The definition of the word interesting, in application to life, is different to everyone.
I have done things such as swim with dolphins, ride a horse along the beach, rappel down a steep cliff, star in high school plays, have my picture in the newspaper, ride home on the first train of morning because I missed the last train the night before, roll around in a large plastic ball on water, walk on stilts for a circus company, teach a college course, sew my own clothing, make actual useful things in woodshop, and more. The list of random things goes on and on.
Are these things going to make me famous? No. Are they exciting enough to make a book out of? Probably not. Do you think any of those things are interesting at all? I have no idea. But I feel I’ve had an interesting and meaningful life so far.
Sometimes what we think of as interesting is some external idealized life. But if you listed all the things you’ve done in your life, I’ll bet you’d have a fairly long list of things that you found interesting at the time, and even more so in hindsight. From that list, you may find yourself feeling motivated to do something a little different to recapture that feeling of doing something interesting. Go for it!
Sincerely,
Matt Haviland
Your Real Estate Consultant For Life
P.S. I’m amazed at the interesting things people have done with their lives. Next time we talk, I may just ask you about some of the interesting things you’ve done. You can always reach me at: 609-338-3773.
P.P.S. If you’d like to view or download my entire February newsletter filled with interesting articles and ideas click here: February 2015 Newsletter – Matt