Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Houses in Clark NJ

CENTURY 21 JRS Realty celebrated the end of 2007 with a wonderful holiday party, comedy show, and award presentation.
2007 was a great year for CENTURY 21 JRS Realty. We have many terrific agents that make up a very successful company. All of our agents are SPECIAL people, not only to the Sangiuliano family but to all of our customers and clients as well. They are a credit to themselves, their family's, and CENTURY 21. We honored the top 3 agents in both of our offices. Jessica Hoff and Khem Persaud received awards for #1 TOP SALE Associates in the Clark and Rahway offices. Simi D'souza & Marci Hodges we honored as the #2 Top Sales Associates in Clark and Rahway respectively. Punit Shah & Amr Ibrahiem were the #3 Top Sales Associates in Clark and Rahway as well. Congratulations to all CENUTURY 21 JRS Realty agents and employees on a great year. You are all very much loved and appreciated.










































Tuesday, December 18, 2007

Homes in Clark

Understanding Adjustable Rate Mortgages
You've probably heard a lot about ARMs in the news of late, but many people still find them confusing. They know that the rate changes, but they aren't sure how. ARMs really aren't all that complicated.
An ARM, like its counterpart the fixed rate mortgage (or FRM), has two elements: The interest rate and monthly payment. With a fixed rate loan those items stay the same throughout the life of the loan. With an ARM, the interest rate changes and in turn, causes changes in your monthly payments.
It works like this. An adjustable rate mortgage has a period in between rate changes called the adjustment period. A one year ARM has an adjustment rate period of a year, so that's how often the interest rate - and your payments - can change. A 3-year ARM has a 3-year adjustment period, etc.
The interest rate itself has two parts: the index and the margin. The index determines the interest rate. It may be based on CMT securities, the Cost of Funds Index (COFI), the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) or even the lender's own cost of funds. These indexes vary, with some changing more often than others and some that are generally higher than others. The margin represents how much your interest rate will be over and above the index. For example, if your index is 3% with a 3% margin, the rate would be 3% + 3% or 6%. Following is the formula.
Index + Margin = Fully Indexed rate
Using the formulas, if the index rose to 4%, the fully indexed rate would be 7%. There is a limit on how much your loan can change: It's called a rate cap. Rate caps limit how much interest the lender can charge you.
There are two main kinds of caps typically used on ARMs:
A periodic cap limits how much your rate is allowed to increase from one adjustment period to the next.
A lifetime cap limits how much the interest rate can change over the entire life of the loan. By law, there must be an overall (lifetime) cap on adjustable rate mortgages.
Note that if the interest rate on a given loan is held down by means of a periodic cap, if the index were to go up, the lender may be able to impose the increase at the end of the next adjustment period. For example, if a periodic cap is 2% but the index rose 3%, the lender may raise the rate 2% during the present adjustment period and the extra 1% during the subsequent period.
There is a third cap called a payment cap that limits how much your monthly payment can go up at the end of each adjustment period. Usually if your ARM has a periodic rate cap, it will not have a payment cap.
The reason it's so important to consider all these caps when evaluating a loan is to understand the way that your monthly payment will increase. This is important because it will directly affect the amount of money you have on hand each month for non-housing expenses. The incremental increases in the index and rates can be deceptive. But do the math: If your monthly payment increases from $953 to $1,395 over the first seven years of the loan, that is nearly a 50% increase and could represent a significant burden to your monthly budget.
If you still aren't sure about your ARM program, get a written disclosure from your lender. If you are considering an ARM, be sure to compare the annual percentage rates (APR) and caps on several ARMs to evaluate which one will cost you less money.

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

For Sale in Clark

1) One of the major deductions is the business use of your car.
2) Decide the best tax usage of your car-Mileage or Actual Cost Method
3) You can switch the method of usage for car even if you used the other
4) Keep adequate travel records
5) Though most business meals are only 50% deductible, there are exceptions
6) Don't overlook deductions such as stationary and business cards
7) As a Self-employed tax-payer you are permitted to take a special "above the line" deduction for health insurance premiums you pay yourself and your family
8) Deduct business use items- Things use part for business and personal may be deducted for the business use.
9)Continuing Education expenses are deductible
10) All Dues are deductible
11) A portion of Equipment costs may be deducted in the year of purchase
12) Hire your Children
13) You might qualify for special tax breaks if you hire your spouse to work for you.
14) Home office Expenses for work done from home
15) Don't miss the self-employment tax deduction
16) Gifts to Clients up to $25
17) Keep Good Records
18) Check out the benefits of a retirement plan
19) You may also qualify for an individual retirement account
20) Don't under pay your taxes
21) Always take a sensible approach when it come to tax planning

This information is general in nature and should not be acted upon without further details and/or professional assistance. The tax laws contain numerous limitation and exceptions that cannot be easy or quickly summarized. To identify and implement the tax strategies best suited to your situation, please contact and certified CPA.

Short Sales in NJ

CENTURY 21 JRS Realty attends seminar on Short Sales
BY JR Sangiuliano
Today CENTURY 21 JRS Realty hosted a seminar by a title company on Short Sales to help them help sellers that cannot afford their present mortgages. With the changes in the Real Estate market and Mortgage industry that have affected the entire country this past year it is important to stay up to date on all information. That is the number one reason CENTURY 21 JRS Realty is keeping up with all the changes that are affecting buyers and sellers in today's Real Estate market. Many Realtors do not have the experience or expertise to handle short sales and closings for sellers that are behind in their payments.Short sales offer an alternative to losing your home to foreclosure and allow sellers to still purchase another home if they so desire. Not many Realtors take the time to learn how to help sellers fix the situations they have been put in by dishonest mortgage company's, over priced homes, and ARM payments that they cannot afford. Sellers do not have to lose their homes to the banks through the foreclosure process. A properly trained Realtor can save a homeowner thousands of dollars in fees, and hours of heartache by simply knowing the process. Well now CENTURY 21 JRS Realty has the training and knows how to save sellers time and money if they are behind in payments or just cannot afford them any more. Did you know it takes 7 years to clear a foreclosure from you credit, but with a short sale you may be able to buy your next home right away. CENTURY 21 JRS Realty and Broker/Owner JR Sangiuliano suggest that if you have a situation in which you are falling behind or cannot afford your monthly payments just call one of our highly trained sales associates to asses your situation with you and let you know the proper steps to take. CENTURY 21 JRS Realty has two offices in this local area, 138 Westfield ave in Clark, and 1474 Main St in Rahway. We can also be reached on the web at http://www.c21jrs.com/ or e-mail JR at c21jrs72@aol.com for more information.