Archive for September, 2009

I know when you’re looking for a place to live you need to understand if there a bunch of great things going on around town. I have to say that Bridgewater does fit the bill because of it’s centrally located position. You go up the road and you’re in New Brunswick. Excellent restaurants, nightlife, and the vibe of a college town. Even closer down the street and you’ll be in Somerville. It’s one of the up and coming scenes in NJ. Somerville has a huge main street with a ton of great restaurants.

Take a drive of Route 206 for 25 min and you’ll hit the famous social scene of Princeton. Keep going on 206 and Philly will be in reach within a 1/2 hour. Hop on 78 East and you’re in New York City in about 40 min.

Did I mention the Wegman’s that Bridgewater has? For the people who’ve been there I don’t need to say a thing. For those who have not, then having it as your neighborhood supermarket will change your life.

The point is, there are a million things to do in town and close to your condo or townhouse

Have a great day!

From time to time its great to go back to the beginning to understand where we are today. It was only 2 years ago when I was a first-time home buyer. I thought when I graduated college that I would never have enough money to land a new place. I was invited to a first-time home buyer program locally and I received a great piece of information.

You can’t time the market, you have to be in it to win it. Now this sounds like a age old cliche but if you think about it, it makes a ton of sense. Say you have a place you love and its $300,000. You say to yourself I need a 20% down payment, closing costs, and various other fees. The next thing you say to yourself is I NEED 60 THOUSAND DOLLARS!? Thats how I felt for a very long time until I looked into it further. You don’t always need a 20% down payment AND your interest rate on your mortgage is equally as important.

So say at the time you looked at that place the mortgage rates were 6%. You save all the money you need and then look at the place again, now the mortgage rates are 7.5%! The monthly payment you were trying to get down just went back up to what it was the first time you looked. While you try to time the market it do any number of things and cause you many headaches.

If in the beginning I would have dug deeper I would have seen this very same mistake and I lost about 2 years playing the waiting game.  I found my dream starter condo in Bridgewater and I haven’t looked back. The amount I pay every month is what I would be paying for a similar apartment in New Jersey.

I’m not saying everyone is able to buy a new place the first time they look but knowing ALL your options will help you set a plan. I love being a homeowner and I still feel over 2 years later that it was one of the best decisions of my life. I hope to help you with that same decision.