www.activerain.kateconover

The Luxury Market --- homes over $1 mil --- got hit hard when the real estate market of 2003-2006 sprung a leak. By 2007, we were painfully aware that market was in deep trouble, and it continued to decline until late 2011. We thought the market of te early to mid 90s was bad, but this was fright...

Ever since New Jersey decided Buyers and Sellers didn't need to use an attorney to close on a home, I've struggled with which is mre apt to protect her client and which is more apt to screw things up.  On days like today, I hearken back to what Will Shakespeare said --- "First, we kill all the la...

My client is in contract on a home in Ridgewood, NJ, a home he knew had a shared driveway and no garage.  Hes been looking for a home in Ridgewood for more than three years, so it surprised me when he chose this home.  Don't get me wrong, it's beautiful, and has everything else he wanted. But I a...

Northwest Bergen County is composed of 13 towns: Allendale, Franklin Lakes, Glen Rock, Ho-Ho-Kus, Mahwah, Midland Park, Oakland, Ramsey, Ridgewood, Saddle River, Upper Saddle River, Waldwick and Wyckoff.  New Jersey taxes are generally high compared to other areas of the state, and Bergen County ...

The market is better.  It's not wonderful, but it's better.  Better than what? Well, better than the last 3 years, that's for sure. Phones are ringing, people are calling for appointments to see homes, homes are selling in fewer than 6 months, and pricing has gotten more realistic at the start of...

We've all had home inspectors we've had to deal with --- some good, some not-so good; some efficient with time, some who take so much time we wonder if they're homeless --- but there are a few that make you wonder how they got licensed.  One of my least favorites --- a Bergen County, NJ inspector...

So, your Sellers are ready to move their family to the new home they've purchased,  Everything is packed, the home has been scrubbed from top to bottom (don't you love Sellers who like to clean?), and we only have a week til the big day.  Then the phone rings (cue the music DA-DA-DA-DUM!!!!). You...

If you're one of those people --- like Superman --- who likes to fight for justice, doesn't mind giving up making a living for months on end, and has $500 to put on the line, you might enjoy the process called filing an ethics complaint.  I'm assuming the $500 "deposit" is to discourage agents fr...

Now that we are required to take Continuing Education courses, before June, 2013, I figured I'd better get a head-start, so I signed up for a Procuring Cause class, taught by Mimi Weisinger.  I figured that after 23years in real estate, I could probably teach the course myself, but hoped it would...

I swore I would never move to a townhouse.  When I left my hometown of Asbury Park, NJ to move to Bergen County, I thought I had moved to mars.  First, no ocean.  Who leaves the ocean to move to the sticks?  And, in 1972, Franklin Lakes was the sticks.  Then, after the divorce, I had to make anot...