Is It A Good Time to Refinance?
February 5th, 2010 categories: Mortgages & Finance
In an article on RISMedia.com yesterday called 5 Reasons Why Refinancing May Be a Good Option Now, Bills.com suggests homeowners strongly consider refinancing.
“Low rates and compelling opportunities to refinance into shorter term loans have arrived at the same time as large consumer demand…With some exceptions, a 1/2-point to a 1-point drop in rate will generally make refinancing worthwhile…”
Refinancing from a 30-year mortgage to a 15-year mortgage is a smart idea if you have plans on staying in your home longer and can afford a higher payment.
“The current difference between fixed 15-year and 30-year interest rates is significant, making refinancing into a shorter-term loan a compelling opportunity. This can save hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life of a loan and shorten the time to payoff with sometimes only a slight increase in monthly payment.”
The article also suggests refinancing into an FHA mortgage to pay for home efficiency projects - another good idea if you need to make some improvements but don’t have the cash. Generally, I don’t like the idea of refinancing your home to buy something else. But since these improvements are likely to add value to your home, it’s not the same as refinancing to buy a car or go on vacation - never a good idea.
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Groceries and Real Estate? RE/MAX New England to Open Offices in CT, MA, RI Stop & Shop Locations
January 28th, 2010 categories: Real Estate Industry
Yesterday, RE/MAX New England announced it will be partnering with Stop & Shop to open up to 17 in-store branches.
I don’t get it. I get banking at the grocery store. I get renting a movie. I get the need for a pharmacy.
But real estate transactions don’t really qualify as a “quick stop.”
And I can’t imagine that the RE/MAX brand, which is built largely upon the experience and expertise of its seasoned agents, will benefit from this. I have trouble imagining top agents doing business in this environment. I also have trouble imagining that a lot of potential buyers and sellers will be drawn in if there isn’t that quick transaction (check cashing, ATM,etc) to attract them.
What I really think this about is RE/MAX opening more offices and getting more agents. More offices and agents=more fees to RE/MAX. Not a bad thing but if “more” lowers the quality of agent and level of service, then I think RE/MAX is compromising the very thing that attracts many agents and customers to its brand.
But I hope I’m wrong…maybe you’ll see me next year at your neighborhood Stop & Shop. Always the optimist, at least I won’t have to go far to get a cup of coffee or deposit my commission checks.
Read The Real Estate Bloggers post, I’ll Take Some Eggs, A Gallon of Milk and a 3 Bedroom Ranch.
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I Know How Stressful Buying and Selling Your Home Can Be
January 18th, 2010 categories: Home Buyers, Home Sellers
For the last few months, I’ve been busy buying, renovating and furnishing a new home.
It took me 3 years to find this house (looking regularly).
It took 4 months to close after we had an accepted contract and after the deal almost fell apart multiple times.
One week after we owned the house, we had a major plumbing issue in the house. Of the backed-up toilet variety.
It’s taken 3 months to renovate it enough so we can move in. In fact, we don’t officially move for another two weeks. I’m literally surrounded by boxes.
I know how stressful and all-consuming buying or selling a home can be. I haven’t written a blog post in three months…just no time.
I know you have doubts about the decisions you’ve made. I know that sometimes you don’t trust everyone involved in the sale/purchase. I know you’re feeling a lot of pressure to be in the new home by a certain date or that you need to be out by a certain date. I know how stressful it is to have people walking through your house day after day and no one seems interested in making an offer.
We’re not done working on our new house yet. Maybe we’ll never be done.
For now, I’m getting back into blogging and hope to share some things I learned along the way.
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5 Simple Reasons Your House Isn’t Selling
November 2nd, 2009 categories: Home Sellers
Back in school, I was always among the last picked for sports. Coordination has never been one of my qualities. So, I know how homeowners feel when their home isn’t selling and other homes seem to be. Why me?
Why is the real estate market as cruel as the schoolyard these days? It’s often very simple. The real question is - can you change it?
1. Your Photos Are Terrible
Have you actually seen the photos your Realtor took? If they look like they were taken by a five-year-old tilting his head while standing in the dark, then you have a problem. The photos should help to sell the home. And if the photos would scare away buyers, then it’s time to insist your agent take different photos. Buyers are spending hours online looking at photos and if yours look like this, you won’t be attracting any buyers.
2. Your Home is Inaccessible
In order to buy your home, people actually need to be able to see it. This may be a no-brainer for most of you but I actually saw a listing recently that indicated the only time prospective buyers could do a showing was between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. on Saturdays. Or how about the sellers that follow buyers around the house? Or don’t plow the driveway after a snowstorm? Or leave a snarling dog in the living room?
Buyers don’t need to have unfettered access to your home. However, try to make every effort to let people in with a reasonable amount of notice.
3. Your Home is Cluttered
How many times have I heard, “They’re not buying my stuff. They’re buying the house. They can decorate it any way they want after they buy it.” It may seem silly to home sellers that home buyers today cannot look past your stuff.
Maybe it’s all the HGTV shows but most buyers will focus on your stuff if it’s in the way of them seeing your house. And if they can’t see your home, they won’t buy it.
4. There Are No Buyers for Your Home
While some segments of the market are buzzing, others are dead. Even though there is a tax credit available for first time home buyers, the middle and upper ends of the real estate market have slowed. Financing for investors is also hard to come by.
It’s crucial for you and your Realtor to have a discussion about this. Are you prepared to lower your price to attract buyers? Are you prepared to wait a long time? Is your home as attractive as possible so as to tempt any and all buyers who are looking.
5. Price, Price, Price.
Is your home priced well for condition, location and what’s comparable on the market? It’s not enough to look at past sales - it’s crucial to know what else is on the market that other buyers would be looking at and price at or below those.
Do you dig real estate news, tips and advice? Sniffing around for pet-related information in Connecticut? Get Unleashed - the blog that’s helping to find homes for people and pets.
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It’s Getting Wild In Here
September 14th, 2009 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information
My husband mentioned to me over the weekend that he heard a report that Connecticut has more forest today than it did in the 1800s. It makes sense to me that despite our development of land for housing and commercial purposes, we have much less farmland now.
It also makes sense to me that with more forest, we would have more wildlife. (I don’t need grant money to figure that one out.)
Over the weekend, yet another Connecticut resident posted on this blog that he had seen a wolf in Waterford. Over the last year, five different people have claimed to see wolves. There is also a forum where even more people claim to have seen wolves.
I know there are coyotes in state. I’ve personally seen coyotes more than a dozen times.
While looking for info on wolves, I came across this helpful comparison of wolves and coyotes - in case you’ve seen a dog-like animal and aren’t sure what it is.
More of a feline admirer? We have bobcats in Connecticut.
I’ve also seen black bears personally, both times in Avon. But I’ve heard accounts from friends of sightings in West Hartford, Bloomfield and Simsbury. There’s a great photo of a napping bear on the Courant’s web site.
Then there was the moose on the loose in New Britain.
And I don’t want to forget our winged friends such as hawks and eagles. The CT DEP estimates that over 100 Bald Eagles have their winter nests here. I have a hawk that likes to perch in my neighbor’s tree and I hear it sometimes from my home office.
If you’re interested in birds in Connecticut, check out this photo stream on Flickr.
Other than my fuzzy cellphone photos of turkeys, the only wildlife photo I’ve taken recently is this ferocious terrorizer of all things small and slow…the turtle.
You may also enjoy reading:
All About the Farmington Valley Greenway
Do you dig real estate news, tips and advice? Sniffing around for pet-related information in Connecticut? Get Unleashed - the blog that’s helping to find homes for people and pets.
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