Dream Home for 2015?

They call it the Net-Zero Energy home. It has ground source heat pumps (promising a 30% reduction in energy use), photovoltaic arrays, supplementary wind power, high efficiency appliances and battery storage, all talking to each other through a Home Energy Manager.
The folks at treehugger.com are a bit skeptical about the need for all the high tech "gizmos" in such designs, pointing out that " the net-zero energy house will cost 10% more than a conventional house. That's a lot of money; if people would pay that much for extra insulation and better windows they would probably save 30% of their energy costs without fancy heat pumps."

Tax Appeals Pressure Local Budgets

I'd like to think that my post last fall clarifying the tax appeal process helped one or two EcoRealty readers along the road to getting back a few tax dollars. In any case, the financial pressures faced by many of us are resulting in a huge increase in such appeals.
The NY Times reports that, as home prices fall, homeowners and associations are appealing to the local authorities to have their property taxes revised downwards.

In suburbs of New York, tax lawyers are so busy that they have hired extra employees to go through the paperwork related to property tax reassessments. "We've been absolutely getting killed," said Robert W. Singer, the mayor of Lakewood Township in New Jersey. Singer's town expects to pay $2 million in tax refunds to homeowners. "We've never had this before. Usually they're undervalued. Now, everyone's overvalued."

Prologue to Our Revolution

This is a day for reflecting on our country's roots in the human need for "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." For my extended family, I can't help reflecting on my ancestors' little known contribution to the revolutionary fervor that culminated in the events of 1776:

From The Hampton New Hampshire Library archives:

"It is a singular and interesting fact that the first armed resistance to British oppression in the North took place in Hampton almost 100 years before the outbreak of the Revolution. In 1682, Charles II of England sent to New Hampshire as royal governor, Edward Cranfield, a most arbitrary and injudicious man. The ruling body at this time was the Assembly, made up of representatives of the four towns of Exeter, Hampton, Portsmouth and Dover, which ably managed the affairs of the little commonwealth. This Assembly refused to comply with Cranfield's commands and he dissolved it. One of the members was Edward Gove, of Hampton, a high-spirited and impulsive man, who resolved not to lightly submit to what he considered an infringement of the people's ancient prerogatives. Mounting his horse he rode through Exeter and Hampton with the cry: "Freemen, come out and stand for your liberties!" He gathered around him a little band of supporters. But before the movement could become formidable, Gove was surrounded by the militia in Hampton village and surrendered. He was tried, convicted of high treason, sentenced to be hanged, drawn and quartered. But this ferocious sentence was never carried out.

After several years commitment to the Tower of London, he was pardoned by the King and permitted to return to Hampton. Gove has been harshly treated by the historians. They have represented him as a rash and impulsive man who headed a hopeless rebellion against constituted authority. But there is another side. I like to think of Gove as a pioneer patriot, as a man in advance of his times, as the morning star of the American Revolution. Had Gove lived a century later, he would have been acclaimed as a great patriot, and his name would have been enrolled with those of Sam Adams, Josiah Quincy, Joseph Warren and John Sullivan."

Pendings Continue to Push Markets Higher

According to the National Association of Realtors®, pending home sales show a sustained uptrend, rising for four consecutive months with very favorable housing affordability and a first-time buyer tax credit boosting activity.

The Pending Home Sales Index in the Northeast rose 3.1 percent to 80.9 in May and is 6.8 percent above a year ago. The last time there were 4 consecutive monthly gains was in October 2004.

In our Little Falls office, we're also seeing closings in May and June approaching the highest levels in recent years.

Qualify Your Lender!

Whether your a 1st time buyer, or a homeowner looking to refinance or modify your existing mortgage, it's more important than ever to "qualify" your lender -- just as they're qualifying you. The lowest interest rate isn't always the best deal. Closing costs and prepayment penalties, for example, can adversely affect the bottom line. We give our clients a selection of vendors who have a good track record, but they're still free to use someone with whom they've established a relationship.

The Star Ledger is reporting that six people have been indicted on various mortgage fraud-related charges in three separate cases in New Jersey. Among those charged are two women who authorities say used loan application information to obtain more than $1 million in unauthorized mortgages, lines of credit and credit cards. Banks in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and New York were defrauded in the schemes.

Getting Our Green

NAR has introduced a new GREEN designation for REALTORS®, which will help home buyers and sellers who care about energy efficiency and environmentally sound building practices identify REALTORS® who can help them meet their green home goals.

I've gone back to school to learn the most effective ways to reach these goals. I've aced my final exams and expect to receive my "degree" in the form of NAR's official Green Designation in a few weeks.

Green building may be incorporated from construction, through green materials and design, through reconstruction with energy efficient materials. There are basic inexpensive -- as well as costly -- methods for making yours a "green home."

The New Jersey Association of Realtors is making access to these methods easier for Realtor® and consumer alike with links on its newly enhanced website.

Residents Rally Council to Defeat Open Space Cuts

By a 4 to 3 vote, Bloomfield's town council voted down a contoversial proposal to reduce open space funding in the towns 2009 budget. We arrived too late to hear all the heartfelt appeals that residents made at the opening of the meeting, But I was allowed to make the following comments:

First, I'd like to give all of you your due credit for the tough decisions you've had to make to keep this year;s budget increase as low as you have.
Please don't blow it now by repealing the overwhelming vote of our residents to save our open spaces. As I recall, the open space referendum won by a 2 to 1 margin. Where do you get the right to negate these voters.? That's happening a lot these days in third world countries. It shouldn't happen here.

I live close to the formerly Copeck-owned open space that you, Mr. Mayor, once heralded as a pristine wilderness. Last fall, I watched the tractors rip out 2/3 of the trees that made that space magical.
The developer here is apparently asking 659k for slightly larger townhouses in Hasbrook heights. Does anyone know when there's going to be a market for let's just say half million dollar townhouses on a flood plain? As a Realtor, I have my doubts. The larger of the Greenbrook townhouses now sell for around 300k. I know there were lengthy negotiations to save that space with public funding. Apparentlly we didn't have enough funding to save it for our town. Suppose our open space fund had started 9 years earlier -- or even 5 years. That Liongate forest might have remained pristine.

Mortgage Rates Reach 25 Week High

Mortgage rates jumped across the board this week, with 30 year fixed mortgages reaching their highest point so far this year.

Freddie Mac reports a jump in the rate for the most popular conventional mortgages to a 25-week high of 5.29 percent during the week ended June 4, up from 4.91 percent the prior week. As recently as two months ago, rates had been 4.78 percent. The 15-year fixed rate also increased, rising to 4.79 percent from 4.53 percent.

Rates are still low by historical standards. Since 1985, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate has averaged 7.84 percent. That's distorted by years of double-digit rates in the 1980s and early 1990s, but even if you look at more recent times, today's rates look good. In 2008, the median rate on the 30 year fixed was 6.2 percent, meaning it was higher than that for half the year.

Analysts advanced a number of theories to explain this week's skyrocketing mortgage rates. A federal budget deficit of nearly $2 trillion, with more to come, is believed to be inflationary, and investors are demanding higher interest rates to compensate for the inflation risk.

Today, bankrate.com is posting an average rate pf 5.45%.

Brookdale Update

EcoRealty tries its best to dig up items of local or regional interest that deserve greater exposure. Every once in a while, however, we're able to scoop our colleagues in the local media. Such was the case with the previous story. While we were privileged to be in a position to get the ball rolling, Debbie Gallant at Baristanet.com helped spread the word which got the attention of The NJ Star Ledger which helped bring it to a satisfactory conclusion for the residents.

Paving Paradise

(click on pix to enlarge)
First it was too many trees on Montclair's Myrtle street. Now an even bigger pushback is underway by residents in the Brookdale Park area for Essex County's widely publicized plans to pave new paths through Brookdale Park along with repaving on top of the old ones elevating the paths as high as 6 inches above "ground level." Members of the Brookdale Park Conservancy are up in arms at nearly every aspect of the project. "Not only were we not consulted in advance", complained one resident, "but Essex County has had this ready to go for 18 months without telling anyone. The roads may need work but no one thinks the paths are in need of repaving."

One neighborhood activist posted this sign at the planned starting point for a new asphalt path connector to Poe St:
Scores of neighbors object strongly to the addiion of the asphalt path at this location. It will unnecessarily destroy precious habitat, increase stormwater runoff poution and Heat, diminishthis woodsy settung Olmstead intended, require repaving, waste tax dollars, and aggrevate your voters. NO MORE ASPHALT IN BROOKDALE PARK. NO ADDITIONAL PATHS.
Neighbors-- If you share this sentiment, contact
joedi@adminessexcountynj.org

Here's an excerpt form the letter that Susan and Richerd Mullins sent:

Dear County Executive Joe DiVincenzo,

PLEASE REVERSE THE “INSULT ONTO INJURY” OF REPAVING THE BROOKDALE PARK PATHS! On May 29th, We were heart sick as we walked the Brookdale Park paths last Thursday. There was a new, quite thick, layer of macadam from the Bellevue Ave entrance to the Grove Street entrance. Accompanying paths to the street were also redone. As a result, deep ruts are created alongside the edges through which water and topsoil and any other living thing will probably flow and become mud.

Runners who refuse to ruin their legs by continually running on macadam, now have the option to run in mud, and probably have the second hazard of spraining their ankles as they climb off and on the path. Daily walkers, like myself, will have the same hazards through a good deal of the winter while the park paths are slippery with ice and snow. The deep, unexpected ruts, alongside the curb-like height of the path will make walking incredibly treacherous.

WE DO NOT WANT OUR TAX (GREEN ACRES) DOLLARS GOING TOWARD GREEN DEVASTATION, ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION AND HAZARDOUS WALKING CONDITIONS! Please do whatever you can in order to stop such a travesty!

Thank You ,
Sincerely,
Susan C Muliins
Richard Mullins

County officials announced early Monday that plans for new paved paths would be scrapped, but all the old paths will still have to be repaved because "the money's been spent."

Welcoming Weeds

If you've gone lackadaisically green, then you might find that regular gardening is too much work. You have to keep those plants alive, find non-chemical ways of dealing with weeds and insects, save water and generally care about things.

Josh Peterson of Planet Green tells the best way to grow a Weed Garden.
Desirable Weeds

Desirable weeds are the ones you can harvest and use. Here's a list from You Grow Girl!

Amaranth
Chickweed
Lambsquarter
Mallow
Purslane
Burdock
Garlic
Queen Anne's Lace
Dandelions
Sheep Sorrel
Stinging Nettle
Yellow Doc

A Home for the Ages

Our latest whirlwind trip to DC left us only a couple of hours to wander the Smithsonian National History museum,so serendipity would have to rule. We wound up spending the most time at a longstanding exhibit displaying the the largest single object in the museum.
The two-and-a-half story Georgian style Colonial home that once stood proudly at 16 Elm Street in Ipswich, Massachusetts is now the centerpiece of the groundbreaking exhibition called Within These Walls. Within the structure of this timber-framed home, professionally displayed for visitors interested in the architecture, lies the stories of five families from the wealthy Choate family of early colony days to the widow Mary Scott. We didn't find out until our return home that the the massive project, which included dismantling and reassembling the massive house from the ground up, was sponsored by our own National Association of Realtors.


http://www.tricountyrealtors.org/id46.html

President Obama Signs Two Important Acts Affecting Homeowners

President Obama signed into law the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act, and the Fraud Enforcement and Recovery Act (FERA), on May 20. The Helping Families Save Their Homes Act is aimed at helping homeowners by making mortgages more affordable and preventing "avoidable" foreclosures. As many as 9 million homeowners could benefit from this legislation. Obama, before signing the bill, said the bill "expands the reach of our existing housing plan for homeowners with FHA or USDA rural housing loans, providing them with new opportunities to modify or refinance their mortgages to more affordable levels." The original bill was criticized for the "cram down" provision, which according to critics would encourage borrowers to abdicate their responsibility towards loan repayment. The legislation, however, was ultimately passed without the cram down provision. FERA is a bid to revamp the outdated and ineffective laws governing mortgage fraud.

Affordable Housing in Montclair

HOMECorp has recorded a number of successes in its mission: to provide safe, permanently affordable homes in Montclair and to promote neighborhood development. As an organization, HOMECorp seeks to strengthen the community fabric by assisting families who are largely disenfranchised from the booming housing market in Montclair. They are an ecumenical, community-based non-profit organization that is the only entity in Montclair spending all of its time and resources on providing affordable housing.

Since its founding in 1988, HOMECorp restored and built new 19 dwellings (33 units) and 43 apartments in Montclair. Once barely habitable, these existing properties housed in excess of 260 homeowners and tenants, transforming a neighborhood of deteriorating rental units to one characterized by new energy and the optimism of first-time homeowners. In addition, HOMECorp's efforts have spurred private development of adjoining properties, further improving the housing stock.

HOMECorp has restored 18 historic houses in Montclair's Historic Mill District, transforming a run-down, distressed area into a comfortable, stable residential neighborhood.

This morning, we previewed HOMECorp's latest project: a 3 BR Colonial, in decent shape with curb appeal, for 290k. A short walk to the center of Montclair and MidTown Direct RR, the taxes are reasonable(for Montclair) at $7500.