Although the economy has been a catalyst for many issues, some of the trickle-down effects have had positive effects on Brooklyn homes. One of the most notable is that families are drawing closer together.

Over the past thirty to forty years, the “steps” to take for growing up were always one, grow up and two, move out. Few parents ever considered that their now adult children might be moving back in to their quiet, empty Brooklyn homes. However, with the economic problems hitting millions of Americans, the number of multi-generational households is growing.

During the Great Recession and more specifically in 1940, approximately 25% of households were multi-generational. Homes often held children, grandchildren, and sometimes even great grandchildren – four familial generations. However, as the U.S. economy began to prosper and the baby boomer generation grew into adults, more homes became single family households. By 1980, only 12.1% of homes held more than one generation.

Now, the percentages are once again beginning to climb. Loss of jobs, foreclosed homes and lack of security has contributed to approximately 49 million Americans, or 16.1%, living in multi-generational homes. While this is far from ideal for those in a hurry to leave the nest, the benefits are many.

I once asked a single mother what it was like moving back in with her parents.  She said, “It was hard at first, redefining the boundaries, but having my parents around has been a blessing in disguise. My kids have a stabilizing influence and extra attention, while I get occasional breaks that I normally wouldn’t get. We eat dinner together too, which helps build the family atmosphere for my kids. It’s not all smiles and roses, there’s a lot of compromise, but it works.”

For those who have been thinking about letting your family move in to your Brooklyn home, try to consider more than just the negatives. Look at the positives as well.  And what could be more positive than closer family ties?

Whether you need to upgrade to a bigger family home or downgrade to a smaller one, I can help. Call Charles D’Alessandro of Fillmore Real Estate at (718) 253-9600 ext.206 or email me at charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com for more information.

Charles D’Alessandro

charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com
tel 718 253-9600
fax 718 253-9573

According to RealtyTrac, 1 in 70 homes have received foreclosures notices since January, 2010 – a total of 1.7 million houses in the U.S. Was your Brooklyn home one of them? In previous blogs, we’ve covered several ways to avoid foreclosure, but a rising trend has brought another possibility to the forefront.

According to a recent Pew Research Center study, many individuals are surviving the economic blues by expanding their households. By the end of 2008, more than 16%, or 49 million, of Americans lived in a household with more than one generation. Although the statistics aren’t back yet for 2009 -2010, experts expect the numbers to be even higher.

These Americans aren’t all young college graduates moving back in with mom and dad, either. Parents have moved in with children, children with parents – somehow, even siblings have managed to live together in relative harmony. This trend spans across the board from single parents to elderly grandparents. According to the report, approximately one in five adults ages 25 to 34 and 65 + live in a multi-generational home.

Are you suggesting I let family members move in?

Actually, yes I am. Now, depending on your family dynamics, I realize this might be the equivalent of inviting World War III to your doorstep. However, if you face losing your Brooklyn home to foreclosure, you might at least stop to consider the possibilities. For instance:

• More working people in the household means more ability to pay the mortgage and stop the foreclosure.
• With more family members, you have a stronger family influence on children living in the home.
• With more people, responsibility is shared more.  You won’t need to do everything on your own.

No, it’s not an ideal situation. However, if you’ve said, “I’d do anything to keep my home,” did you mean it? Does the definition of “anything” include family World War III? Could you sit down with your family members, work out a set of compromises and live in harmony? If you’ve tried everything else, this may be your best bet for avoiding foreclosure on your Brooklyn home.

You never know; you may even come to like it.

If you’re looking for a home to support a multi-generational household, I can help. Call me at (718)253-9600 ext.206 or email me at charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com for more information.

Charles D’Alessandro

charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com
tel 718 253-9600
fax 718 253-9573

Brooklyn Real Estate Blog Downsizing Your Demands for a Home for Sale in Brooklyn

When you look for a mortgage, you want to find one that allows you to buy the biggest house possible for a monthly payment you can afford. This seems simple enough. All you need to do is a little division to determine your monthly payment.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the entire picture of your monthly mortgage payment, and lenders don’t always explain this to you. Here are three things you need to know about your monthly mortgage payment for your new Brooklyn home:

1. Interest and Principal. Only part of your monthly mortgage payment actually pays down your loan. A portion of your mortgage payment goes toward your loan principal and part of it pays the interest. The longer you have your loan, the more money goes toward your principal. Be aware that at the beginning of your loan term, most of your payment goes toward interest and does little to reduce the amount of money you owe on your home.
2. Homeowner’s Insurance and PMI. Typically, your lender collects money to pay your homeowner’s insurance premium. This increases the amount of your monthly payment and can change if your insurance company raises or lowers premiums. Depending on your loan amount and property value, you may also have to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) which protects a lender against loss if you default on your loan.
3. Property Taxes. In most cases, your annual property taxes will be paid through your lender. The lender collects extra money each month that they pay to your local government at the end of the year. When local taxes increase or decrease, so does your payment.

Call me today at (718) 253-9600 ext.206 or email me at charlesdalessabdro@fillmore.com to help you find the home (and mortgage provider) of your dreams.

Charles D’Alessandro

charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com
tel 718 253-9600
fax 718 253-9573

Brooklyn Real Estate Blog 10 Things to Do While Waiting for Your Brooklyn Home to Sell

— @ WiseStamp Signature. Get it now

If you’re a homeowner who is unable to refinance to a lower interest rate because your Brooklyn home’s value has decreased, there’s hope.

If you have questions about HARP or any other questions about Brooklyn homes, please give me, Charles D’Alessandro of Fillmore Real Estate a call today at (718)253-9600 ext.206 or email me at charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com.

Charles D’Alessandro

charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com
tel 718 253-9600
fax 718 253-9573

Brooklyn Real Estate Blog 10 Things to Do While Waiting for Your Brooklyn Home to Sell

Selling a home is sometimes a long process. You can sit around worrying and wondering when you’ll have a buyer, or you can get busy to help the time fly.  Here are 10 things to do while waiting for your Brooklyn home to sell:

1. Clean. I’m sure you’ve already cleaned every part of your Brooklyn home to prepare it for sale. Make a game of it this time.  Time yourself to see how fast you can clean one room or one drawer.  Or, take out every type of cleaner you have and use it in each room.
2. Plant a container garden. The best part of a container garden is that you can take it with you. Plant some herbs or easy to grow vegetable plants, like tomatoes or cucumbers.
3. Sort through your magazines. Now you have the time to read all those magazine articles you’ve been saving.  Cut out coupons and recipes.  Send articles to your friends to let them know you’re thinking of them.  Throw out the magazines when you’re finished.
4. Clear the pantry and freezer. You don’t want to take all your excess food with you when you move. Clean out the pantry, and donate supplies to your local homeless shelter or food pantry.  Eat something from your freezer every day until it’s all gone.
5. De-clutter and eliminate. Clean out your makeup stash. Weed through the kids’ toy box. Do any small task that will lighten your moving load.  Ask yourself, do I really want to pack this item, move it and then unpack it?  If the answer is no, pitch it or give it away.
6. Finish crafts. Go ahead and finish the quilt or scrapbook you’ve been working on. This will help clean out your craft closet and will make packing your craft supplies that much easier.
7. Empty your medicine cabinet. Do you really need that bottle of medication from your surgery 12 years ago? Toss anything that’s out of date or that you no longer need to keep.
8. Save your digital photos to a disk. Choose only the photos you want to keep and save them to a CD or flash drive. You never know when your computer is going to crash.
9. Have a yard sale. You need to clean out your closets anyway. You might as well make some money off the items.

10.  Throw a barbeque. Take the proceeds of your yard sale and have a barbeque for you and your neighbors. Think of this as a going away party.

Take advantage of the time you have while waiting for your Brooklyn home to sell.

Need help selling your home?  Call me today at (718) 253-9600 ext.206 or email me at charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com.

Charles D’Alessandro

charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com
tel 718 253-9600
fax 718 253-9573

Brooklyn Real Estate Blog How to Buy Brooklyn Real Estate after a Previous Bankruptcy

Many people have trouble relaxing, even in their Brooklyn homes. Why?  Frequently, it’s because of too much visual stimuli such as unfinished projects, knickknacks and clutter.

You may think the answer to being able to relax is to move into a “better” home.  However, what usually happens is that you move your unfinished projects and clutter with you.  Instead, if you take the time to get organized, you may find – like many owners who have backed out of a sale – that you don’t need to move, you just need to re-organize.

Take a moment from your busy, stressful life to read these tips and discover how you can improve and de-stress your personal castle:

1. Add money to your wallet. Unwanted or unused items can be turned into cash. eBay and Craigslist are two heavily-used websites where you can sell your unwanted/unused items.  Make a little cash and clear the clutter.

1. Be generous. If you don’t want to sell your items, don’t throw them away.  Donate them to places such as Goodwill.  Online, there’s FreeCycle, where you can share your items and give them away to those who really need them.

1. Keep it clean. Set up a system to decide what to do with mail. Many people end up with piles of mail throughout the house. Rather than letting it pile up, decide the day you get it where that mail goes: trash, take action or file away.

1. Include your family in the de-clutter process. After all, your spouse and kids live there, too. As well, if others have a chance to give their input, they may be more willing to keep your Brooklyn home organized. Let others in your family have a part in the decision-making process and implementation.

1. Take stray worry off your mind. You may be subconsciously worried about things in your home. Reduce the potential stress by creating a sense of safety. For instance, make sure your smoke detectors are working, that you have a radon meter (if necessary) and a carbon monoxide detector.

You may be thinking, “Home isn’t what stresses me out.”  Are you sure?  You might be pleasantly surprised how relaxed you’ll be when your home is de-cluttered. Your Brooklyn home can truly become a place where you leave the stress at the door.

If you’re looking for a home to relax in after a hard day, I can help. Call me now at (718) 253-9600 ext 206 or email me at charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com for more information.

Charles D’Alessandro

charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com
tel 718 253-9600
fax 718 253-9573

Brooklyn Real Estate Blog 5 Things I’ve Learned From Brooklyn Real Estate

For homeowners getting ready to put their Brooklyn homes on the market, here are a few stunningly-easy tips to help get your home sold faster and maybe even for more money.

Keep in mind that your prospective buyers will most likely be viewing several Brooklyn homes on the same day as your showing. The emotional elements you include will have a profound impact on their memory, and will make your home standout when they review what they’ve seen with their agents at day’s end.

Preparing your home for the perfect showing is essential and comprises three basic elements that will make your home sparkle.

Atmosphere

• Soft classical music
• Simmering potpourri
• Bake an apple pie in the oven.  Or, if you have a bread machine, bake bread.
• Well-lit rooms and inviting indirect lighting
• Air conditioning or heating set at a comfortable temperature

Decorations

• Garden-fresh bouquet of flowers near the entrance or on the kitchen table
• Fresh neutral-colored paint and cleaned or new carpet
• Remove family photos or personal items (allows buyer to imagine it is their home)

Cleanliness

• Meticulously spotless kitchen and bath
• Walls washed and spackled as needed
• No clutter whatsoever (uncluttered rooms look larger)
• No pets – kennel them if needed (buyer may be allergic)
• Clean closets (yes, people peek in your closets)

Remember it’s the little things in life that matter, and the same is absolutely true when it comes to a buyer looking for a place to call home-sweet-home.

For more ideas on how to sell fast and make the most from the sale of your Brooklyn home, call me today at (718) 253-9600 ext.206 or email me at charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com

Charles D’Alessandro

charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com
tel 718 253-9600
fax 718 253-9573

Brooklyn Real Estate Blog Brooklyn Real Estate Seller Strategies 101: Common Sense Curb Appeal

Have you ever seen a child right after a huge chewing gum bubble pops on his face? A mess everywhere, eyes wide, mouth in an “O” – rather reminiscent of the real estate industry when its own bubble popped. Homeowners panicked and began trying to sell their Brooklyn homes.

As more pushed to unload the instantly unwanted “step child” of homeownership, the real estate market became glutted, resulting in lower sales prices. Two years later, some owners are still trying to sell their Brooklyn homes, still panicking, and still worried about what the future will bring. However, you might be like some homeowners, who are indecisive about selling their homes or who realize they don’t really want to sell.

Stop.

Take a deep breath.

Quit worrying for a moment and ask yourself… Why am I selling?

There are good reasons to sell:

• Your house has become hard to afford.
• You’re getting older and need to move somewhere that doesn’t take as much maintenance.
• You need to relocate for your job.

But there are a lot of not-so-good reasons to sell:

• You’ve read so much about people who have been unable to sell their homes that you became alarmed and put yours on the market “just in case” you want to sell it later.
• You’re simply tired of your home.  If that’s the case, all you actually need to do is update or redecorate your home to make it sparkle again.
• You’d just like to see what you can get for your home.

It may seem strange for a real estate agent to speak against selling Brooklyn homes. However, my first motivation is always doing what’s best for my client, including giving them the best advice I can. So, I urge you to take a moment and think about it:  do you really need to sell your home now?

Even if your home has lost some of its value, there are many ways that your home is still very valuable:

• Building credit - Home ownership is still a good way to build credit. With good credit you can borrow for other major expenses, such as a new car.

• Building equity – The average home equity for the U.S. is approximately $38,000. When you consider how much your home costs, that may not seem like much. However, when you are ready to sell, that equity will be there to put toward your next home purchase or your retirement savings.

• Saving money on taxes – Owning a home offers several tax benefits.  For most Americans, the biggest benefit is deducting the annual interest paid on a mortgage.

• Living well – There’s a reason why homeownership is still called the American Dream.  It simply feels good to live in a home you love.  That you can decorate any way you want.  A home that’s your very own.

Now think about why you bought your home in the first place. Do the things still exist that made you value the home enough to buy it?  If yes, maybe you should stay.

If you do need (or want) to sell your home, I can help. Call me today at (718) 253-9600 ext 206 or email me at charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com] for more information.

Charles D’Alessandro

charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com
tel 718 253-9600
fax 718 253-9573

Brooklyn Real Estate Blog Remodeling Your Brooklyn Home for Sale: Cost vs. Value

We’re all trying to live greener lives, but nothing zaps your energy or your will to live greener in your Brooklyn home like summer heat.

The summer heat can also assault your wallet.  In fact, you can easily watch your utility bill double during the summer months.

Fortunately, there are some steps you can take to cool your Brooklyn home for less money and less impact on the environment this summer. Here’s how.

1. Prep your home. Turn off heat-generating lights and appliances.  Don’t use your oven. In the afternoon, close your windows and outside doors and keep window coverings drawn. At other times, use fans to create a cross breeze.

1. Raise your thermostat. When you’re not home, raise the thermostat to 80 degrees. Lower it two or three degrees when you are home and use ceiling fans to keep rooms cool. Moving your thermostat from 75 to 80 will lower your consumption by 15%. Your Brooklyn home will still feel comfortable, and you will notice significant savings on your next utility bill.

1. Take a look at your windows. You’d be surprised to find out how much heat enters your home from old, single pane windows. Newer energy efficient windows with double panes block more heat and keep more cool air inside. If you can’t afford new windows now, at least cover the ones you have with heavy curtains or shades to keep out heat.

1. Check for leaks. Leaky duct work and poorly sealed doors can let as much cool air out of your home as an open window. Walk around your home checking under your doors and around your windows to feel for escaping air. Hire a professional to check your air conditioning systems for you. Take the time to have duct leaks repaired and seal air leaks.

1. Dress appropriately. There’s no reason to keep your home so cold that you have to wear extra layers of clothing when you’re inside. Wear light, loose fitting clothing. You’ll be more comfortable in slightly warmer temperatures. Keep light throw blankets handy for anyone who easily gets cold under a ceiling fan.

Implementing even one or two of these tips in your home can save you money and help the environment.

Want to buy an energy efficient home?  I can help.  Call me today at (718) 253-9600 ext.206 or email me at charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com to learn more.

Charles D’Alessandro

charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com
tel 718 253-9600
fax 718 253-9573

Brooklyn Real Estate Blog Your Brooklyn Home For Sale: Reaching Out to the Buyer

You placed your Brooklyn home for sale on the market weeks ago, but it seems no one is interested. What you may not realize is that the most desirable, most treasured buyers arrive at your home every day. They may not knock; they may not schedule an appointment; they may even need Map Quest to figure out where you are, but they’re viewing your home.

Buying habits are changing rapidly. More than 70 percent of today’s buyers find the house they want to buy through online resources. Why aren’t they just getting into their cars and coming by for a visit? Because a large part of your potential buyers are looking at your Brooklyn home for sale from states away…

The Invaluable Relocation Buyer

You want the relocation buyer. In fact, every seller, every agent and every community wants the relocation buyer. Why? Relocation buyers are those who have to move. They’re incredibly motivated to buy, and the chance of them buying a home in the community is high.

Your Buyer’s Profile

Your relocation buyer is probably an educated professional in his or her field. Relocation buyers usually know exactly what they’re looking for, and aren’t willing to budge much. They’ve commonly moved before and are knowledgeable home buyers.

If you’ve never sold a home, they’ll most likely understand the buying/selling process better than you do. They also know that real estate activity and values are different in every area. As well, they know how their companies’ relocation assistance programs work, which affects their moving budgets.

Reaching buyers is a competitive process. If you want highly motivated buyers like these knocking on your door, you need a well-organized marketing strategy.

Talk to your real estate agent about your online presentation. Perhaps a video tour would be the best strategy to attract buyers to your Brooklyn home for sale. Whatever you decide to do, if your marketing strategy doesn’t include a well-put-together online presentation, you’ve already lost the relocation buyer.

Are you missing a large buying market for your home? I can help. Call me at (718)253-9600 ext.206 or email me at charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com for more information.

Charles D’Alessandro

charlesdalessandro@fillmore.com
tel 718 253-9600
fax 718 253-9573

Brooklyn Real Estate Blog Home for Sale in Brooklyn? Why Disclosure Is Important