Archive for the 'Home Owners' Category
Are We Headed for a Recession Crime Wave?
November 20th, 2008 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information, Home Owners
Back in October, the New York Times had an article called “Keeping Wary Eye on Crime as Economy Sinks.” For anyone who remembers New York City in the 80s and early 90s (I almost went to NYU in 1992 - almost), the idea that we could return to a time of higher crime rates is unsettling.
Is it any coincidence that Hoffman Guns, just a few doors down from my office on the Berlin Turnpike in Newington just opened a newer and larger store and that the lot is always full? Gun sales are up and while some may attribute that to the Obama’s election and possibly tighter gun laws, I think it has just as much to do with the downturn in the economy.
From the New York Times article,
“Every recession since the late ’50s has been associated with an increase in crime and, in particular, property crime and robbery, which would be most responsive to changes in economic conditions,” said Richard Rosenfeld, a sociologist at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Typically, he said, “there is a year lag between the economic change and crime rates.”
In addition, Ken Gronbach, a Connecticut ad man turn demographer, predicted this crime wave years ago in his book, Common Census. In 2007, Gronbach posted his predictions on his blog and one of them was a crime wave due to the huge numbers of Generation Y young men coming of age with nothing to do.
From his blog,
“…a crime wave, owing to the repopulating of a segment of unemployed high risk young men in the crime committing age of fifteen to thirty. We are seeing increasing evidence of this now. This is not an anomaly. This is a trend. Generation Y, now twenty-two years old and under, will be the largest generation in the history of the United States. The peak of this generation is currently seventeen years old. It will fill the prime crime committing age of fifteen to thirty with more idle high risk young men than this nation has ever seen. It will become very difficult to live safely in the Nation’s cities. “
Burglaries are likely to be on the rise - whether you attribute it to the economy or the changing demographics. Buying a gun doesn’t suit everyone but there are several things you can do to deter burglars at your home, for example getting a dog (or just getting some dog supplies to make it seem like you have a dog), adding exterior lighting, and trimming back bushes.
Click here to receive the full free report on improving your home’s security - just type “Security” in the message.
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2009 Tax Credits for Connecticut Energy Saving Home Improvements
November 11th, 2008 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information, Home Owners
Courtesy of the bailout bill, homeowners can take advantage of several federal tax credits to help save energy and encourage conservation or the use of alternative energy sources.
The credits include:
10% credit (up to $500) for installing insulation
10% credit (up to $500) for exterior and storm doors
10% credit (up to $200) for window/skylight/storm windows
30% credit (up to $2000) for solar water heating system
30% credit (up to $2000) for geo-thermal heat pump system
There are also credits for certain types of roofs, furnaces and boilers, and biomass stoves. For full details on these credits, visit the Energy Star website.
There are also some rebates available through the State of Connecticut. For example, you can qualify for a rebate on a replacement furnace of up to $500 (rebate is on a sliding scale based on adjusted gross income).
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Surprise! Your Home is On Candid Camera
July 8th, 2008 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information, Home Owners
I took a new listing at 91 Old Farm Drive in Newington for $289,500.
Immediately, I went to Trulia.com to claim my listing. There I saw Google Street View in action - the little Google gremlins had been to the home already and taken a street shot.
And according to Google, Street View is available in much of Hartford county including West Hartford, Manchester, New Britain, Farmington and Windsor. I knew this was coming but didn’t realize how far they had gotten - all the way to my new listing in Newington before I knew it.
In this case, Google Street View works to my clients’ advantage because it’s a nice street with well-maintained properties nearby. But agents can no longer hide behind their trick photography to disguise the traffic racing by or the gigantic hill the property is perched upon.
And as you’ll see in the link below called Cool Sights in Google Street View, the photos are not only revealing real estate, it’s also capturing slices of real life - from dog fights and car accidents to naked people and folks who like Borat enough to put a cutout of him in their apartment window.
Smile, Connecticut Real Estate. You’re on Candid Camera.
For some related topics:
Cool Sights in Google Street View
Couple Sues Google Over Street View
Getting Off Google Street View
How Google Street View Takes All Those Pictures -from Popular Mechanics
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Three Things You Can Do In Your Pajamas To Save Money on Home Heating Oil
July 2nd, 2008 categories: Central Connecticut News & Information, Home Owners
It may be 80+ degrees outside but it’s not too early to think about ways you can save money on buying home heating oil for the next Connecticut winter.
And to make it easier than easy, here are three things you can do while sitting at home in your pajamas (or whatever) to instantly save money on your heating oil purchase.
Join a Club
I thought clubs were for chess players and yearbook editors but turns out that home owners with oil heat can also join a club. Pinergy is a group of homeowners who’ve gotten together to buy oil at a reduced rate because they are buying in larger quantities. According to their web site, they pay least 30 cents/gallon less than the average home heating oil price at the time members buy. Right now, their advertised price is $4.429/gallon and you can join their group for free on-line.
Get a Plan
Whether you pre-buy, get on a fixed or capped plan, now is a great time to spend some time on the phone to call oil companies in your area and compare what they offer. If you think heating oil is going to be on the rise over the winter, perhaps a pre-buy or locking in a rate is the way to go.
Schedule Service
A tuned-up heating system is an efficient one. It’s estimated that you can cut back on your oil usage by anywhere from 2-10%. And if you insulate your pipes, turn down the temperature on your water heater and block up areas where heat can escape, that can have a pretty big impact on your usage.
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Five Perfectly Good Reasons to Get a Comparative Market Analysis of Your Home
June 2nd, 2008 categories: Home Buyers, Home Owners, Home Sellers
Need a reason to find out how much your home is worth? Here’s five:
Selling
Thinking about putting your home on the market? Having a Realtor do a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) is a great way to find out how much you can expect to sell for but also how professional an agent is and whether you may want to hire them. If the agent is responsive, explains the rationale for the value and demonstrates knowledge of the marketplace, then you may want to have them go one step further and present a marketing plan. Don’t fall into the trap of hiring the agent that promises you the highest sales price - this person may be trying to “buy” your listing knowing full well it won’t sell for that much.
Buying
If you’re buying a home without the help of a Realtor, you can still ask a Realtor for some help in determining a value before you put in an offer.
Refinancing
Before you go to a lender to refinance, have a Realtor do a CMA for you. That can save you some time and frustration if the CMA reveals you don’t have enough equity.
Revaluation
The National Taxpayers Union estimates that 60% of taxpayers pay too much based on an inaccurate assessment. Did you know you could fight your assessment? Every town has its own rules for fighting an assessment but having a CMA in hand will give you an idea of how accurate the assessment is and ammunition to fight it.
Upgrading
Thinking about finishing off your basement? Upgrading your bathroom or kitchen? Adding a deck? Ask a Realtor to compare your home to others that have sold in the are and determine how much value your upgrade may add.
But I Can Go to Townhall and Get the Same Information Without Dealing with a Pesky Realtor…
The townhall will have much of the information you need but will not have the following: the value of upgrades like granite counter-tops, pictures, details about additional features, and market data such as average days on market.
Want Your Free CMA?
Click here to fill out the form. In most cases, I can have the CMA done within 24 hours. I’ll get back to you if I have any questions.
It’s Free - What’s the Catch?
No catch - I won’t even add you to a mailing list unless you want me to. If you like my service and want to hear from me on a more regular basis, sign yourself up.
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