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Real Estate
in Marlboro New Jersey
Real Estate in
Marlboro New Jersey is very valuable.
Whether you are interested in a colonial, bi-level, townhouse,
condo, ranch, adult community, split level or just a nice piece of land Marlboro New Jersey is for
you. This is if you are interested
in selling or buying. Marlboro NJ Homes for sale are a good
long term buy. Homes for sale in NJ are good
to have.
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This is from a recent
article from Homes News Tribune
Homes
become house of cards
Shaky real-estate market puts buyers in bind
Home News Tribune Online 10/15/06
By MICHAEL L. DIAMOND
GANNETT NEW JERSEY
By the time Kara Homes Inc. filed for bankruptcy a little more
than a week ago, Robert and Annette Capra had deposited almost $90,000
toward a new home at Kara's Hidden Lakes Estates in Lacey and the home
still needed a roof.
Adding to their headache, the Capras recently sold their house
in Belleville, Essex County.
The new owner is set to move in by the end of the year, which could leave
the Capras with nowhere to live, Annette Capra said.
"It's devastating," Capra, 41, said. "I'm
shocked that people would do this."
The Capras are among dozens of Kara
Homes customers who have spent
thousands on deposits and downpayments, and have nothing to show for it,
other than appearing as creditors on Kara Homes'
bankruptcy filing.
Even customers who thought their deposits were secure are at
risk. Some said their contracts called for their deposits to be held in
escrow, kept by a third party for safekeeping. In other cases, they were
supposed to be insured by a bond that Kara was to have purchased.
But those buyers also are listed as creditors and are worried
they, too, could lose their money. The N.J. Department of Community Affairs
said it is investigating.
East Brunswick-based Kara Homes,
one of the biggest home builders in Monmouth and Ocean counties, filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Oct. 5. An amended statement filed last week said
the company had $350 million in assets and $227 million in liabilities.
A Kara
Homes lawyer said
after the company initially filed for bankruptcy that it was a victim of
the slowing real-estate market and ran out of cash. It needed time to
reorganize and find financing so that it could continue its operations.
The Capras aren't alone in their desperation. In their Lacey
development, for example, four buyers made deposits, including
downpayments, that total $186,751, according to court documents, and have
neither been reimbursed nor have completed homes. And that is only one of
29 projects Kara is building, according to its Web site.
Buying a new home isn't without risk, experts said.
Consumers typically put down 5 percent to 10 percent to
purchase a new home, along with money for added features. The money is put
into escrow until the contract says it can be released. That often is only
until the attorneys review the contract, which takes three days if there
are few problems. At that point, builders usually use the money to build
the project, experts said.
"Many of the contracts say your deposit money will be
released to the builder so they don't have to borrow money to build,"
said Robert Schechter, a lawyer in Piscataway.
"They can do what they want with it."
If a builder goes bankrupt before the home is complete, people
who made deposits and don't have the finished product are considered
creditors.
Bankruptcy law allows buyers to obtain a lien on the property,
which means they would get paid back once the property is sold. But they
might not recoup the full amount; buyers take a back seat to secured
creditors such as banks or other lenders who helped the builder buy the
property, experts said.
For that reason, some buyers said they negotiated their contracts
so that their deposits were safe. How so? The contracts called for the
money to either be kept in escrow until the home was complete or be covered
by a bond purchased by Kara
Homes.
Edmond Ying of Marlboro deposited more than $50,000 for a home
at Kara's Horizons at Birch Hill development in Old Bridge,
according to the bankruptcy filing. But he said he canceled the contract
because the home wasn't delivered on time.
He thought the money was in escrow and was surprised to learn
he was listed as a creditor.
"I don't know why they listed me as a creditor because my
money is with the escrow lawyers not with the company," Ying said.
"Kara Homes should not be able to touch
the escrow money."
One of Schechter's clients, Albert Wu of Highlands, deposited
$96,290 for a home in Kara's Cottage Gate development in Middletown, according to the bankruptcy
filing.
Schechter said Wu also wanted to end his contract because Kara Homes didn't deliver the home on
time. But Wu never got a refund, even though the contract stated that Kara Homes purchased a bond to protect
the deposit. Schechter said the bonding company isn't named on the
contract.
Kara Homes' attorney did not return a call
seeking comment.
The state Department of Community Affairs is investigating
whether consumers had provisions in their contracts protecting their
deposits that Kara
Homes didn't meet,
spokesman Chris Donnelly said, but he wouldn't comment further.
The hope of Kara
Homes buyers now
rests with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, which experts said could allow the
company to try to find financing and complete the developments.
Annette Capra said she is stunned, angry and worried that the
money she and her husband deposited might have been used for Kara's
operations and now is gone.
She said she received a call from Kara Homes
last week saying the company planned to finish her now roofless house. But
she didn't sound relieved.
"I didn't believe a word he said," Capra said.
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Tip #23
Home Buying Tip, Big Ticket Items:
Before you buy a home
you should avoid buying any big ticket items. When this is found out during the
credit process or reporting it can make mortgage banks nervous.
Even if you will be able to get a loan, you might not be
able to get the best available interest rate.
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Tip #24
Home Selling Tip, Listing Right:
A common mistake when people list their house (especially in a
buyers’ market) is list the house at a high price that they
don’t anticipate to sell it at.
They figure that if they get it then GREAT but if not they can
always lower the price.
This is not a good practice because what
mostly happens is it will stay on the market for a while and make
potential home buyers
nervous because it’s been on the market so long.
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