NJ Real Estate News
| Real estate developers see future growth in high-end, rental residential projects | December 18, 2011 |
| In the years since the real estate bubble collapsed, developers have looked long and hard at what projects they have in the pipeline. They study the market and in meetings ask, Could we see our plans through? Should we modify them? Start over? | |
| One segment that is starting to see a revitalization, industry leaders said, are the high-end rental apartment buildings in urban downtown areas throughout the state near public transportation options and with extensive amenities. The projects are cropping up in popular towns along the Hudson River waterfront, but also now include areas like New Brunswick, Harrison, Morristown, Woodbridge and Lyndhurst. | |
| TV show provides impetus for the search | December 17, 2011 |
| After Epifanio Sunga and Mary Feliciano lost a bidding war on a house that was over their budget, said Sunga, “I was actually thankful we didn’t get it. It would’ve been hard to make the payments, and the taxes were high.” Luckily, they soon found a home in Clifton that they loved and could more easily afford. The bond the young couple formed with the sellers made the deal even sweeter. | |
| Their search will be highlighted on the TV reality show “Property Virgins.” They had been wanting to move out of their rental apartment since the rent had gone up, and their application to the show provided a push. “We only had three months from the beginning of the show to the final taping,” says Feliciano. “The show gave us the motivation to start looking.” | |
| Real Estate Matters: To refinance a home | December 17, 2011 |
| My daughter is in an interest-only loan with a 30-year term. Her interest rate is 8 percent. She owes $128,000 on the loan. Fannie Mae owns the loan. She has tried to refinance her home. We thought that she could refinance her loan under the Making Home Affordable Plan, but she was told she makes too much money to get help. | |
| What would happen to her if she walks away from the home, and what are the penalties? Can she be sued for the principal, and can they garnish her wages? She has a good job, and if her wages were garnished, she would lose her employment. She is a single mom with a 10-year-old son with no outside help. | |