Middlesex Chamber of Commerce is holding a toy drive for the Christmas Holiday.  If you are a member or even a non member and are in downtown Middletown, please stop by Middlesex Chamber of Commerce at 393 Main Street, and drop off a gift for a child that might not have anything this Christmas season without your help. Many toys were collected at the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce Realtor Council Holiday Luncheon, sponsored by McCue Mortgage, at Billie "T's" in Cromwell yesterday.  But many more are need for children whose parents are not able to provide one for them.  Many area residence are out of work, and struggling to pay their bills, so there is most likely no money available for Xmas presents.  The Middlesex Chamber along with other area organizations will be trying to identi... 12/09/2011

Recent reports show that Middletown Connecticut Economy Is Looking Up as 2011 comes to an end.  The Middletown Press today reported on the "State of economy bright" for Middletown Connecticut for employment, foreclosures, and storefront vacancies. Unemployment is down in Middletown Connecticut from 8% to 7.5%.  Some of the decrease in unemployment may be credited to the temporary seasonal jobs, so we will have to wait until the end of January to get a better handle on this figure.  But even if temporary jobs contributed to the decrease in unemployment, it is still good to see it go down. The housing market in Middletown Connecticut is also looking better.  It is anticipated that Middletown Connecticut will finish the year with fewer foreclosures than it had in 2010, and with the lowest ... 12/06/2011

  26TH ANNUAL HOLIDAY ON MAIN STREET   The Middlesex Chamber of Commerce is one of the busiest Chambers in Connecticut.  The Chamber always has several events throughout the each month that they host, or assist the City with.  This time of the year the Chamber is particularly busy assisting the City of Middletown with its holiday events. This year the City of Middletown along with the assitance of the Middlesex Chamber of Commerce have several Holiday activities for the whole family.  The activities will start the Friday after Thanksgiving and continue through the end of the year.  Friday, November 25, 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM - Free Hay Rides. Saturday, November 26, 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM Free Hay Rides.   Saturday, December 3, 10:30 AM to 2:30 PM Free Hay Rides, Santa, Holiday Movie at Wesleya... 11/18/2011

MIDDLETOWN CT MARKET REPORT OF AUGUST 2011   My market report gives you the real estate activity for the Town of Middletown CT for the month of August, 2011. Middletown is a great residential town with easy access into Hartford, and is an excellent location for first time home buyers because of the values of the homes. If you are a seller and are strongly thinking of putting your home on the market, I would encourage you to see what your property is worth. If you are looking to purchase a home, now is an excellent time to do so. Real estate in Middlesex County is an excellent investment, prices or at their best, the selection is great, and the rates are still low. Please feel free to call me for any of your real estate needs, whether you are a seller, or purchasing a home. 860.883.8889 ... 09/28/2011

  I have been meaning to post this all week, but I keep on forgetting the camera that the picture was on at work.  I took this picture of Harbor Park in Middletown, Connecticut, a couple of days after Hurricane Irene had passed through.  The flooding that you see is the result of all the rain that came flowing down the Connecticut River from up North.  I tried to get closer, but the police was not letting anyone closer than were I was, and as you can see they were escorting out anyone who attempted to get closer. The cars that you see are on RT9, and as you can see the water had almost reached RT.  That means that the water had to of risen 16 to 20 feet on the river.  I have only seen it higher than that one time before, and that was in the mid 80's when the water rose over the guard r... 09/05/2011

PAY IT FORWARD... Giving someone a ride.  You know how we have all had *those* days when no matter what we do, we are running behind.  This happened to a lady I met this past Thursday.  I was pulling into a parking garage in Middletown CT, when I saw this woman running past me... I noticed that she was trying to make the commuter bus to Middlesex Hospital in Middletown, CT.  She was half way down the ramp, when the bus pulled out.  She stopped, looked at her watch and shook her head.  Being dressed a hospital uniform of sorts, I didn't feel awkward about approaching her. Just having pulled into the garage, I drove up to her to see if I could give her a ride.  She said another one was coming in a half hour, but once again she looked at her watch, and remarked "If you don't mind I could r... 09/04/2011

 Board of Education & CommitteesCalendar of Meetings   When my two sons were in school I made it a point of attending every Middletown Connecticut Board of Education & Committee Meetings.  I found that it was the best way to stay informed of what was going on in the district, and to have a voice before decisions were made.   I would encourage parents that still have children in school to attend all of these meetings, or better yet start attending them before you have children in school.  Not many parents attend these meeting, so those that do are able to have more of an impact then at most other City Government Meetings.   Below is the link to the monthly regular Middletown Connecticut Board of Education Meetings, followed by the links to the Middletown Connecticut Board of Education Co... 08/15/2011

THIRD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 94 MINER STREETMIDDLETOWN, CT 06457 Strawberry Shortcake Festival (and craft sale)   Thursday, June 9th, 2011 from 11:30am to 4:30pm (Approx)   The Third Congregational Church on 94 Miner Street in Middletown, CT is holding its annual Strawberry Shortcake Festival, tomorrow, Thursday, June 9th from 11:30am to 4:30pm. This festival has been going on for over 120 years.. yes, you heard me correctly 120 years. People in the area look forward to this event every year. The strawberries are native to the area and picked fresh. Even the biscuits for this heavenly dessert are made from scratch.  Guess what is on top of fresh strawberries and homemade biscuits.. what tastes better... you got it REAL HOMEMADE WHIPPED CREAM. My mouth is salvating already. If you haven't... 06/08/2011

PAY IT FORWARD.... It only took a quarter.  After this holiday weekend, and having 5 teenage boys over my house, I needed to go grocery shopping... again.  Seems this is a neverending scenario. Someone recommended, Aldi's, Supermarket in Middletown CT.  I've been to this store, but not for quite some time, I completely forgot about it.  This makes a lot of sense, prices at this store are about ½ price there compared to others around. So this past Tuesday, I went to Aldi's, got a carriage and loaded up on food.  After putting the groceries into my van, I went to return the carriage.  At this store in order to get a carriage you need to deposit a quarter into a slot in each one in order to use it. As I was going over, I noticed a woman that was going through her purse, shaking it, trying ... 06/05/2011

FREE EVENT IN MIDDLETOWN CT.. come shred your papers.  The town of Middletown CT is extending their Earth Day, by having a "Shred Free Event".  This coming Saturday, April 30th, 2011 you can bring up to 6 boxes of paper to be shredded... FOR FREE.  This event is being sponsored by the Middletown Public Works and Water & Sewer Departments.   With all the cut backs we are seeing, it is nice to see Middletown CT put the people of the town first.   FOR ACCURATE INFORMATION ON REAL ESTATE... CONTACT YOUR LOCAL AGENT    Info about the author: Valerie Osterhoudt is a Cromwell Connecticut Residential Realtor who can assist you with the purchase and/or sale of real estate in the Middlesex County of CT, which includes Cromwell, Rocky Hill, Berlin, Middletown, Wethersfield, Newington, as well as a... 04/28/2011

This does not happen every day, and I wanted to share that when you price a property correctly... IT WILL SELL. I did a CMA for a client at 843 Middle Street, Middletown, CT.  I spent time with her and went over all her options.  She took my suggestion of listing the property a *little* under Median price... which stood out from other listings in the area. She might have priced it a *little* low, but she doesn't want to sit on the property month after month waiting for an offer.  Only to have to lower the price again... to where it is NOW. After an open house I had.. thanks to my stuffed bear.... we had a multi offer situation... haven't seen this in years.  She might have priced it a little low initially, but the multi offer brought it over the Median price... IN LESS THAN 9 DAYS..... ... 04/19/2011

Please don't give my client a heart attack.. she's 88 years young!    This was the thought going through my mind last night when I received a call from the local gas company. My client is selling her home and is scheduled to close TOMORROW.  Last night on my way to dinner, when I was 40 minutes away from the area, I received a call from the local gas company saying that when the buyer requested us to switch the utility into his name, he mentioned that he smelt gas in the kitchen... 3 weeks ago when he was there for the home inspection. What the @#@%#???  Why wasn't this brought to our attention when the home inspection was going on?  Why didn't the buyer's agent call me to let me know this?  I was just in this home last week, and smelt NOTHING.  The dispatcher on the other end of the ph... 04/14/2011

What a bike was born to do from David Hellman on Vimeo.As I sit here and think back, I first became cognizant of cancer when I was in boy scouts.  A member of our patrol had what I think was leukemia, I can't recall exactly, but I'm pretty sure he needed a bone marrow transplant. He didn't get it, and he passed. That was nearly 17-20 years ago. Since then, I have worked many jobs. Paper routes, grocery stores, as an EMT, in the casino and hospitality business, and now in real estate. Every where I have worked and lived, from the east coast to the west, I can think of someone that I have had a friendship with that has been affected by the disease. Cancer can arise in any organ of the body and strikes one of every two American men and one of every three American women at some point in the... 04/09/2011

HOLDING AN OPEN HOUSE, SUNDAY, MARCH 20TH FROM 1:00 TO 3:00 PM (COME SEE *TEDDY*.. my mascot) OPEN HOUSE, 23 CANDLEWOOD LANE, MIDDLETOWN CT, SUNDAY MARCH 20TH FROM 1:00 TO 3:00 PM 23 Candlewood Lane MIDDLETOWN, CT Do you collect classic/antique cars? Then this home is for you. This home can accomodate up to 5 vehicles.. includes lift. 3BR/2BA Single Family House $349,900 Year Built 1988 Sq Footage 2,064 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 2 Parking 4+ Car garage Lot Size 35,719 sqft HOA/Maint $18 per month DescriptionPark like setting, built in 1988, Midway between Boston, New York, & Providence, 3 BR, 2 BTH, DR, LR W/FP, EI KIT, FR, 5 car garage, large treed lot. This home is in a private central CT community. Large heated enclosed porch for year round use, Can't stress enoug... 03/17/2011

Middletown CT Market Report for February 2011   My market report gives you the real estate activity for the town of Middletown CT for the month of February.  Middletown is a great residential town with easy access into Hartford, and is an excellent location for first time home buyers because of the values of the homes.  If you are a seller and are strongly thinking of putting your home on the market, I would encourage you to see what your property is worth.   If you are looking to purchase a home, now is an excellent time to do so.  Real estate in Middlesex County is an excellent investment, prices or at their best, the selection is great, and the rates are still low.    Please feel free to call me for any of your real estate needs, whether you are a seller, or purchasing a home.  860.8... 03/16/2011

I was holding an open house today in Middlesex County in the town of Middletown... which some of you are aware of.  As I was walking around the grounds I came across this purple Crocus in bloom... this is also my favorite color.  You will also notice one ready to open up any day to the left of this one.  SPRING IS IN THE AIR!! FOR ACCURATE INFORMATION ON REAL ESTATE... CONTACT YOUR LOCAL AGENT    Info about the author: Valerie Osterhoudt is a Cromwell Connecticut Residential Realtor who can assist you with the purchase and/or sale of real estate in the Middlesex County of CT, which includes Cromwell, Rocky Hill, Berlin, Middletown, Wethersfield, Newington, as well as all other surrounding areas.  Please visit me at www.CTrealtorMLS.com for all your relocation and/or local needs.   For ... 03/13/2011

If you are thinking about listing your Connecticut Real Estate for sale anytime soon, you need accurate real estate market information.  You really need to consult with a full time REALTOR.  Working with an experienced Connecticut Real Estate professional can save you some serious time and aggravation. It's important that you have a Connecticut Real Estate professional that will not just tell you what they think you want to hear. I am that Connecticut Real Estate professional! You are thinking about selling your Connecticut Real Estate, and start checking out prices. WARNING: Just because your neighbors have listed their home for a certain price doesn't mean that they are right or that it will even sell.  IN ADDITION: For Sale By Owners (FSBO's) are also not a proper way to gauge what ... 02/17/2011

I am a little late in posting this, but I figured I better put up a couple of pictures, before the next storm hits this week.  I don't know about everyone one else in Middletown, Connecticut, but I am beginning to wonder if the "Snow In Middletown Connecticut ........ Will It Ever STOP!!!" I have lived in New England most of my life, and I have live through some years of a lot of snow.  I was even stuck in the Blizzard of 1978 for three days.  That snow storm dumped 33" where I lived in RI in one shot.  But I have never seen this much snow at one time on the ground.  We have had three huge storms in less than 30 days.  The first was dumped about 12", the next 24", and this last one 15" where I live in Middletown, Connecticut.  This was not it, because in between those three huge storms ... 01/30/2011

At the beginning of last month I wrote a blog FHA Condominium Expiration Dates Extended about HUD extending the deadlines on FHA Condominium Approved Complexes.  Last week HUD made it official by coming out with Mortgagee Letter ML 2011-03 formally putting it in writing the guidelines for the extension.  This Mortgagee Letter clarifies the guidelines for extending the extensions previously provided in Mortgagee Letter ML 2009-46A issued in 2009.  Mortgagee Letter ML 2009-46A provided the guidelines for approval of condominiums and expiration dates FHA case numbers assigned on or after December 7, 2009 through December 31. On December 10th of last year I wrote in my blog that the expiration dates had been extended, but with different extensions depending on when the Condo Complex was app... 01/14/2011

Fannie Mae announced last week it's new Loan Level Price Adjustments for  (LLPA) for all loans that are Rate Locked on and after Monday January 17th.  The revised Level Price Adjustments will also apply to conventional conforming loans locked prior to January 17th that request a rate lock extension with a new rate lock expiration date greater than February 18, 2011.   This means that if a Borrower is purchasing a home with a Conventional Mortgage that will be backed by Fannie Mae, and they have a Credit Score of 740 or higher, and are making a downpayment of 20% to 24.09% they will be assessed .25 points on their loan by Fannie Mae.  That to me is what I would call over the top, and unreasonable. A Borrower that has a Credit Score of 740 or higher is a great borrower, one that manages h... 01/12/2011