As budgets become tighter, many school disctricts are finding different ways to cut costs, while still delivering quality education  Recently, the North Brunswick Township Public Schools took on the challenge of energy conservation and are now passing that resource on to residents.  Here's the original article from the district website: As the cost of energy continues to rise, it is increasingly important for many to reduce those costs through conservation, efficiency, and ot [...]

Spring 2012 is coming up roses in Central Jersey real estate. "It's as good as it gets!" says Gloria Zastko, President of Gloria Zastko, Realtors, and a 39-year veteran in New Jersey Real Estate. "There are reasons to move and to move NOW", cautions Zastko.  Interest rates are the lowest they have ever been.  As the economy continues to improve, there is, however, indication that interest rates will hike and also there is speculation that mortgage qualificat [...]

As people seek a new home, one of the main factors is often a great place to raise their kids.  Well, it ends up that in this year's report on Analyzing State Differences in Child Well-Being from the Foundation for Child Development, New Jersey ranks at the top!  TodayMOMS on MSNBC also drew out some great insights from the report, pointing to a link in higher taxes, public investment in kids, and overall well-being (at least we know our taxes go somewhere!).  So, the next t [...]

Click to view the video As we look towards 2012, we have a perfect storm of low home prices and interest rates, creating significant affordability.  But, are homes really that affordable?  What would a monthly payment look like?  Would it be better than renting?  Dave McDermott from Well Fargo Home Mortgage shares his perspective.

Click to view the video There are some in the media that say that real estate is improving. Is that the case in Central Jersey? What's going on now and what can we expect for 2012? Andrew of Gloria Zastko Realtors lays out some of his observations. In This Month's Zastko Report: A look back at activity in Middlesex County from December 2011 Why is there greater affordability? Are more people looking for homes now, or are they still waiting? Real estate is local.& [...]

Recently, Governor Christie signed into law a bill that would allow school board elections and budget votes to be moved to November, as opposed to the usual time in April.  One of the provisions, in line with the 2% cap on property taxes increases, is the elimination of a vote on school budgets that fall within this limit.  Is this change a good thing? Some would argue that it removes a check on school districts on how they spend taxpayer money.  On the other hand, the 2% cap [...]

There seems to be a persistent misconception that people need perfect credit or a huge downpayment to buy a home.  In reality, the short answer is that it depends on each individual, but many people are successfully able to make it happen.  To provide some clarity as to the truth of the matter, we went directly to the source and brought in Alex Rivera, Vice President and Mortgage Banker at Jersey Mortgage.  He shared with us some fantastic insights about today's process i [...]

Gloria Zastko and Andrew Zastko, co-owners of Gloria Zastko, Realtors announce that once again the firm met its goals, and surpassed its marketshare.  In 2011, its top producing agents sold and closed in excess of 300 transactions, a deal a day; once again establishing itself as the #1 North Brunswick Broker and a top-ranking agency in Central Jersey. A good part of what makes the Zastko firm so consistently successful is its ability to stay on top of the market.   The firm re [...]

Over the weekend, the Star Ledger released a Special Report, "Did N.J. property tax reform help most taxpayers?"  According to the article, "New Jersey homeowners paid an average of 2.4 percent more for property taxes in 2011, the smallest increase in nearly two decades, showing Gov. Chris Christie’s push to restrain local levies might be working."  This is good news for many New Jersey residents who pay some of the highest property taxes in the nation.  [...]

Congratulations, North Brunswick Twp High School!  Recently, Inside Jersey of the Star Ledger assessed public high schools across the state, and our local high school came out #9 in its category.  Not only is there affordability for families desiring to live in the area, but they can expect a great education as well.  So, what are some of the positive things going on?  You can check out the school's website here.  Also, visit back often, as we highlight some of the [...]

One of the most common questions from home buyers is, "What is the square footage?"  And while it may seem it like an easy answer, it is often a much deeper and more complicated question, especially when dealing with homes in Central Jersey.  One of the reasons is that there are many older homes in the Brunswick area, where square footages were neither supplied by a builder or measured by the municipality, unlike newer homes, which often have floorplans supplied by the buil [...]

Dian Hymer, a columnist with Inman News, wrote a fantastic article called Know Risks When Foregoing Inspection Contingency, dealing with the importance for getting a home inspection.  Home inspections generally run no more than $500-600, depending on the size of the home and what additionally inspections you have included.  Considering the size of the investment of a home purchase, along with the potentially high cost of home repairs, it's always wise to get a home inspection bef [...]

Wells Fargo recently released their end of the year report, citing some positive news from recent statistics across the country.  Yet, it was also a mixed bag, with some price declines as well.  Here some of what they had to say: Most of the economic reports dealing with housing have shown a little more strength recently. New home sales rose 1.6 percent in November and sales of existing homes climbed 4.0 percent. New home construction also improved, with housing starts rising 9.3 p [...]