Real Estate in New Jersey

Real Estate in New Jersey is a very valuable commodity.  Whether you are referring to North NJ, Central NJ or South NJ; real estate in New Jersey has a tremendous amount of value.  This is if you are interested in selling or buying.

This is from a recent article from NorthJersey.com

Golden West acquisition to lift Wachovia to No. 3 bank in Bergen


Tuesday, May 9, 2006

By RICHARD NEWMAN
STAFF WRITER

 

Wachovia Bank's planned $25.5 billion acquisition of Golden West Financial will help the company leapfrog from sixth place to third among the 50 or so banks that compete in affluent Bergen County.

Golden West has five World Savings Bank branches in Bergen -- in Fort Lee, Hasbrouck Heights, Ramsey, Ridgewood and Waldwick -- and they have been successful luring deposits thanks to high rates on certificates of deposit.

The branches have combined Bergen County deposits of nearly $1 billion in the middle of last year, according to the most recent government figures. That's more than Hudson United had with 21 branches in the county, and Boiling Springs Savings with 11.

"They are a large deposit gatherer in the state of New Jersey," said Ray Hallock, CEO of Columbia Bank in Fair Lawn. "They are certainly a competitive force."

Beyond Bergen County, World Savings has eight other branches in the state, none in Hudson, Morris, or Passaic counties.

The deal will considerably expand Wachovia's turf in several states and also its mortgage lending business. World is a leader in Option ARMs, adjustable-rate mortgages that allow borrowers to delay making interest payments, often for 10 years.

Amid rising home prices, the loans have increased in popularity, but some observers are concerned that borrowers will have trouble making payments when the interest is finally due.

That concern appears to be one reason that Wachovia shares fell more than 6 percent Monday.

Wachovia CEO Ken Thompson said he will continue to use the same approach Golden West has been successful with in its mortgage lending, with emphasis on making adjustable-rate loans, using conservative underwriting rules and servicing its own loans for customers, instead of selling the loans and the servicing rights.

"Like the Hippocratic oath, we will do nothing to screw up that model," he said.

Golden West Co-CEO Herbert Sandler suggested during the conference call that it is getting harder to succeed as a company with essentially only one line of business, mortgages.

Sandler and his wife and co-CEO, Marion, both in their 70s, dismissed speculation that their decision to sell was motivated by concerns about who could take over the company, or worries about the increasing risks of the real estate market.

He said such speculation was "garbage."

"It has nothing to do with succession, Option Arms or the real estate market. We found a partner that met our needs culturally," Sandler said.

Golden West earned $1.5 billion last year and has been a top performer for shareholders in recent years.

Wachovia officials said some of World Savings' 285 branches in 10 states will be getting ATMs and drive-through lanes when Wachovia takes over, but they did not specify which branches.

It is also likely that some World branches will be closed and their deposits moved to nearby Wachovia branches. Wachovia said 55 branches will likely be closed in connection with the merger.

The combined company is expected to cut more than 1,000 jobs nationwide.

The move will give Charlotte-based Wachovia, which is primarily an Eastern Seaboard bank, a significant presence in California, where World Savings has more than 100 branches.

Wachovia has 3,159 offices in 16 states concentrated in the East and South.

If the deal goes through as expected in the fourth quarter Wachovia will have about $669 billion in assets, and deposits of $390 billion.

Nationwide, it will rank third in deposits behind JP Morgan Chase & Co. and top-ranked Bank of America Corp.

The transaction will also vault Wachovia ahead of Valley National, Commerce Bank and PNC Bank in deposit market share in Bergen County while further advancing the consolidation of the banking industry in New Jersey.

The deal, announced late Sunday, follows an announcement last month of TD Banknorth's plans to buy Saddle Brook-based Interchange Bank. Maine-based TD Banknorth, which is majority owned by a Canadian financial firm, entered New Jersey in January with its acquisition of Hudson United Bank, which was based in Mahwah.

The acquisition of Interchange will make TD Banknorth the fifth-largest bank in Bergen County.

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.

 

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.