JoAnna and Gail's Real Estate Thoughts

The 2010 Final/2011 Preliminary Tax Bills have been mailed.  Due to the late mailing, the third quarter grace period has been extended to August 25^th.  Please note that all payments received after this date are subject to interest charges calculated from the original due date of August 1^st.

• If your bill is marked “For Advice Only” and you are a responsible to pay your own taxes or you pay off your mortgage, use the advice copy to make tax payments on time.  Please notify the tax office so they can update their records.
• If you have received an actual tax bill (stubs attached) and a mortgage company/bank is responsible for paying taxes, please forward the bill to them to ensure timely payment and notify the tax office as to where future bills should be sent.

According to the Manalapan Township Committee, as reported in last week's News Transcript, Manalapan’s total tax rate (all taxing entities accounted for) in 2010 will be $2.03 per $100 of assessed valuation.

Simply put, divide your NEW assessed value by 100 (on the green card you received in January) and multiply by $2.03 to receive a pretty close indication of your proposed taxes. For example, if your assessed value is 425,000, you multiply 4250 by 2.03 and find your taxes for 2010 would be... $8,627.50.

Hopefully you will find the difference from 2009 to 2010 to be equivalent to the normal year to year change.

If you don't have your green card, drop me a note and I will look up your assessed value in the tax records.

- JoAnna Siminerio

News Transcript Article on Manalapan Township Proposed Budget

I'm big-time networking on Facebook.  Mixing it up with my old friends, staying in touch with neighbors or parents of my children's friends.  They see my blog posts and get a friendly, non-pushy reminder that I'm in the real estate business.

Another quote by Bob Burg...

These days I'm increasing my networking focus.  I'm emphasizing the "give."  I'm partnering with local businesses through a formal lead exchange group, Monmouth County Leadz.

We're just getting the group off the ground.  We meet the first three Thursday's of the month from 7:00 am - 8:15 am.  That's not a typo... yes, I said 7:00 am!!!  The idea is to get together, talk about our ourselves and work toward helping each other grow our businesses through referrals.  There's the "give"!  Assuming we do it right, there should be plenty of "take" to follow!

Businesses are "category exclusive," meaning only one of each category allowed!  Who are we looking for?  Attorney's, plumbers, electricians, contractors, designers, stagers, personal chefs, just to name a few!

If you have a business in the Monmouth County area and are looking for this type of committed networking, please reach out to me for more information.

Manalapan Day was a blast right from the start!! (See my original post about the event:  Manalapan Under the Stars).

The weather threatened but in the end the sun won!!  It might have been a little warm at times, but we'll take it as opposed to the wash-out the event was last year!!!

For myself, Gail and the rest of the Weichert Team, the fun started long before the official event!  Overcoming the hostile wind and setting up our tent was challenging!!  We heaved and we ho'd and we finally got it up and secured!  It seemed each one of us were able to contribute something to get the job done.  Yeah Team!! Unfortunately some of the other vendors weren't quite so lucky!!  Tents were rolling, signs were falling, folks were scurrying! 

Thankfully, the wind calmed down in time for kickoff at 4:00!  Folks started pouring in!!  Everyone was having a great time!  Lots of vendors selling, cooking and teaching!  Kids were having a blast on the blow up rides and pony rides!  Lot's of entertainment on the main stage (sponsored by Elite Fitness of Manalapan and Freehold).

As a Manalapan resident for almost 20 years, I always enjoy the chance to catch up with so many old friends and past customers... for a few clients this was their first time at Manalapan Day!! 

I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the Manalapan township photo contest submissions!  This year's theme was "Fur & Feathers."  Of course, I was biased as my daughter entered... Go Danni!!!

Gail and I were happy to see so many other members of our new networking group, Monmouth County Leadz!  Doctor Joffe (Chiropractor), Doctor Max (Pediatric Dentist) and Jim Scott (Bridge Financial Group) were all there!  We were also very happy to meet some new potential members!

As the sun just started to go down it was time for the main event, Tommy James and the Shondells!  Young and old were singing and swaying!

Top it all off with an amazing fireworks display and the day was a roaring success!  Thanks again to Danni for some great fireworks photo's!

Can't wait for next year's event!!

It's all my fault!  I take the blame!

Before I went to bed last night...

• I had my pajamas on backwards and inside out
  
  
• Toothpaste on my nose
  
  
• I put a lemon on a spoon and put
  it under my pillow
  
  
• I flushed the toilet 3 times
  
  
• I spun around 5 times
  
  
• Threw a dash of salt out the window
  

And then I went to sleep.

It worked!!

I needed a day off... a chance to catch up!  And catch up I did!!

• I cleaned out and organized my Outlook - sheesh I let that go too long!  Lovin' all my new Rules!!  Nothing better than being automated!
  
  
• Made some progress on my e-pro certification.  Good thing they give you 8 months to finish this program!!
  
  
• Took 1 of 3 webinars I needed to complete my short sale/foreclosure specialist certification. 
  
  
• Wrote a contract!  Not presenting til the snow clears, but it's ready!
  
  
• Wrote this blog post!!  Yeah... that took 1/2 the day!
  
  
• 3 loads of laundry
  
  
• and a pot of chicken soup too!
  

It's almost 24 hours later and it is STILL snowing.... Excuse me while I go turn my pajamas around... wait a sec... I'm STILL in my pajamas!!!  SNOW DAY, SNOW DAY, SNOW DAY!!!

Special thanks to Jackie and Summer who shared their secrets to ensuring a snow day!!

To my Manalapan Township neighbors,

You'll soon be getting a letter with your new tax assessment.  

You need to understand that these were "across the board" reductions in value to stop the rush of homeowners filing for (and winning) tax appeals.

Our assessment values were originally calculated in 2007.  Since that time, as you know, home values have dropped considerably.  The purpose of this reassessment is to bring the assessed value of your home closer to true market value. It isn't an exact science and won't precisely indicate the current market value of your home.  It is just a measure by which the township will calculate your taxes.

I know some of you were probably excited to see the lower assessment values thinking your taxes would be lowered and others were probably disturbed to consider this number might be reflective of the true market value of your homes!  Again, the only reason this reassessment took place was to curb the number of tax appeals being filed by township residents. 

THE TAXES YOU ARE PAYING SHOULD NOT CHANGE DRAMATICALLY!! 

The Township is lowering the assessed value on your home and will be raising the tax rate... so you should be paying approximately the same amount (not counting any normal annual tax increase). Make sense? Drop me a note or give me a call if you would like further clarification.

Now... having said this... if you believe your new assessed value is NOT indicative of your home's market value, you could qualify for a tax appeal. To win an appeal, you need to provide 3 - 5 comparable CLOSED sales that defend your position. I've helped my clients on more than a few tax appeals and would be happy to help you evaluate your situation.

In the words of Benjamin Franklin... "In this world nothing is certain but death and taxes."

In the words of JoAnna Siminerio... "In this world nothing is certain but death and increasing taxes... oh, and gaining weight during the holidays!"

Best wishes to my family, friends and neighbors for a happy and healthy Thanksgiving Day!

Credit to my daughter Danielle
for another great photo and kudos
to my sister Cathy for a
fabulously fun and healthy
Thanksgiving Turkey Treat!!