Covering real estate and housing

Questions:
How many properties does a particular landlord own in the borough?
How much did he pay for them?
How quickly did he sell them?
For how much profit?

It’s very easy to answer all of these questions and come back with answers that can create a powerful new sense of who some of the major private players are in a town. Large real estate developers frequently have relationships with town politicians. They also have a big influence in how people find dwellings and their conditions. What tenant wouldn’t want to know about the owner of their property? How about neighbors of a future development?

Additionally, general real estate trends in a borough have a big influence on residents. Are old residents being priced out? Are home prices sinking? Are people getting traditional, 30-year mortgages, or having to resort to risky (subprime) loans with high interest rates and fees? Are areas going to be rezoned?

Doing real estate research can be stories in themselves, as in talking to local real estate representatives about who is moving into town and what they are paying. Or they can add more depth to a news story. When someone comes to a council meeting asking for zoning rights or approval of a new project, find out more about the person and his company.

Some approaches:
1. Much of the research can be done from Lexis. Start with the “legal” tab, and go to New Jersey. Then click on NJ Public Records Combined. Start running searches with what you have (the name of the developer, the company name, or the property address). Any document that says DEED will contain stuff like buyer/seller, the price, the block and lot and the mortgage company. One piece of information will often help you fill in what you don’t have (like figuring out if someone owns many different real estate LLC’s.)
2. Once you are in Lexis and have a real estate owner’s name, it’s worth it to background them. Of prime interest is if they have previous lawsuits against them. Look in NJ Public Records Combined and NJ Combined Civil Filings, to start. Have they sued a lot of tenants or sought to foreclose on them? Have companies sued them for debts? What other people are named with them in the suits? Do they own a lot of property?
3. Also look for criminal records.
4. If they own other companies (often LLC’s), go to the state Business Gateway to buy company status reports. Once you receive it, check who is named as president and other corporate officers.
5. If you have a block and lot or address of a particular project, go to the municipality and request the paper file (often in planning or engineering department). Digging through here can turn up development plans, records of permits obtained (for improvements, for example), and other goodies.

Trend Research:
Data Place: This free web site has a bounty of data on mortgages and housing, viewable by maps scalable to the census tract.
Otteau: They release data on sales trends and building state for New Jersey, broken down to the county.

Local experts:
1. Mary Ann Sgobba, 973-626-2366, msgobba@erasoldoveri.com: From the ERA office in Totowa, also the head of the Passaic Board of Realtors. She is great for a quote on the market, and is super quick in finding local people buying/selling
2. Matthew Penney, Wayne, Preakness Realty, 973-694-6500, 862-849-6781: Works for the largest real estate office in the county
3. Wendy Nastasi, Crossroads Finance Discount Mortgage, 973-839-5900: Very knowledgeable and open to explaining technical issues. She ís very critical about the bad parts of the lending industry.
4. James Bergan, New Jersey Real Estate Report, 973-632-3741: This Clifton resident runs an incredible blog on housing issues in the state. I look at it daily.

- Heather Haddon, Herald News, Aug. 2007

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