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Middletown, CT Real Estate News

By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
Fall Has arrived once again in Connecticut, which means it is time for me to begin my Progression Of Fall Colors series I started twelve years ago.  This is a series I hoped to continue for many years, and have been able to do so far, however, this year I have started maybe a week to late. The first two years of this series, the pictures were of a farm which is only about a minute walk from my house.  Ten years ago I decided to change the location for the 2014 Progression Of Fall Color Series to a lake about 5 minutes from my house on RT17.  I tried that location for two years, but the colors were not as good as I expected them to be.  So eight years ago I decided to change locations again to a site at Lyman's Orchards in Middlefield, CT.  But once again that site did not produce the co...
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By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
Today was a perfect day for Open Houses, the weather was perfect, and the Buyers were out.  I stopped by four Open Houses and all were busy except one, because of the type of property. The Buyers that I saw at the Open Houses were mainly First Time Homebuyers, and all of them excited about the possibility of purchasing their first property.  Each of them had a lot of questions for the Realtors that were holding the Open Houses. It is unusual for me to pick up a new Borrower when I stop an Open Houses, but today was the exception.  I stop by an Open House that I gave a Pre-Approval Letter to the Realtor for one of her Buyers yesterday.  When I stopped by she filled me in on how the offer was going, and while we were talking a young couple came in.  The Realtor introduced me to them, and ...
Comments 14
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
Yesterday I wrote a blog on the new policy that was just announced by HUD for the $8,000 Tax Credit, in their latest Mortgagee Letter "MORTGAGEE LETTER 2009-1.  In it I advised everyone to read it for themselves and become familiar with it.  What I did not do in my blog yesterday was to further advise everyone to caution their clients about the SCAMS that will most likely emerge as a result of this latest change. We have seen SCAMS pop up for everything prior to this, and I have no doubt that new SCAMS will pop up with creative ways to take advantage of those who do not follow sound advice, and would rather listen to those who will tell them what they want to hear instead. We have seen SCAMS devised to take advantage of those who are trying to refinance out of high interest loans.  We h...
Comments 38
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
FHA issued MORTGAGEE LETTER 2009-15 today, once again making a provision or provisions for the $8,000 Tax Credit (Gift) to be received before the Closing on a property. Now before anyone gets to excited about this, like many did before, you really NEED to read the entire Mortgagee Letter, once you do, you will most likely not be as excited about this provision.  There are several catches, and I really don't know if eligible lenders are going to get on board with this. The new provision while allowing for the $8,000 to be received in advance, does not permit it to be used for the initial 3.5% downpayment.  It can be use as an addition to the 3.5% downpayment and or Closing Costs.  I personally do not see this as any advantage, and certainly not worth the extra paper work and liability th...
Comments 8
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
In the beginning of the month I wrote a blog "Appraisal Issues Continue To Be Big Problems!!!".  In the blog I gave an example of a loan that I was presently working on, and the appraisal issues that I was have with it.  It was one of those loans that the Buyer was not the problem, they had excellent credit an income, but the property had major issues. I closed the blog by saying that I would report back on the outcome.  Well I am happy to report that the loan closed yesterday, and I now have two extremely happy Borrowers. We were able to get the house changed to a single family residence, witch allowed it to be able to comp out for the sales price the the Sellers needed to be able to sell for, or they would have been upside down on the property.  And my Borrowers were able to get a pro...
Comments 5
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
Most will associate the term "Be Prepared" with the Boy Scouts, and it is a term that I am very familiar with since both my sons are Eagle Scouts.  But these days this term has taken on a new meaning for me with all of the changes and challenges that we are facing in the Real Estate Industry.  These days we in the Real Estate Industry need to adopt this term for ourselves as well.  In some regards we have always had to "Be Prepared" in Real Estate, because of the possibility of last minute things popping up, but lately the need to "Be Prepared" has increased significantly. With the constant changes in loan program guidelines, appraisal issues, and PMI requirements we have to not only be ready to act immediately, but to also anticipate any and everything that could developer during a tra...
Comments 14
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
Yesterday I commented on a blog that Donna Bigda wrote on Condominiums, and she suggested that I add a couple of links for Buyers to have as a resource. The comment that I made was that most Condo Loans that I do are for First Time Homebuyer, and that FHA and Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) are the two main loan programs that I use for them, because most First Time Homebuyers do not have much money to put down on a house or condo.  I also suggested that if a Realtor is working with a Buyer that will be using one of these two loan programs, that they need to make sure that the Condo Complex is on the Approved Condo List for FHA and/or CHFA.  This is very important step in purchasing a Condo with either of these two loan programs, because if the Condo Complex is not on their ...
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By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
Most of us who have been in this business for a while, and plan on being around for a lot longer, pride ourselves in providing our Clients with great service.  Up until a couple of years ago I thought that providing great service was good, that is until I read a little book by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles "Raving Fans". As I was reading this book it became very clear to me that just providing great service is not good enough.  That if I wanted to set myself apart from everyone else that also provides great service, that I had to create "Raving Fans" Creating "Raving Fans" is not easy, but if you do people will seek you out because of it.  Creating "Raving Fans" is not about price or rate, in fact if you create "Raving Fans" price and rate become a very minor consideration, it it is ...
Comments 13
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
  ****************************************************************************************************************** Info about the author: George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
Comments 18
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
I don't know about everyone else but for the last two months I have been busier than I have been for a long time.  In fact the month of April was one of the best months that I have ever had.  I have been so busy that it has been hard to keep up with all of the Pre-Approvals, and Loans that I have doing, and I have had very little time to do other things that I know I need to do. When times are busy like this it is is easy to begin to take for granted that it will continue, and get comfortable with just waiting for the phone to ring.  But in reality it is when times are busy like this that we should be most concerned, and do what we need to do to keep the phone ringing, and not take for granted that it will continue to ring by its self. This leads me to the title of my Post "Who Moved My...
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By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
  ****************************************************************************************************************** Info about the author: George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
Comments 11
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
  ****************************************************************************************************************** Info about the author: George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
Comments 14
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
  ****************************************************************************************************************** Info about the author: George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
Comments 15
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
The term "Seasoning Money" or Seasoned Money" is a very common term in the Mortgage Industry.  A simple definition for what is "Seasoned Money" is that it is a reference to the length of time that has past since funds were deposited in or withdrawn from a Bank Account.. Why is "Seasoned Money" important in the Mortgage Industry?  It is important because if a Borrower is applying for a mortgage, the Lender is going to require that they produce bank statements for a certain period of time.  These days any deposit or withdrawal of funds of $1000 or more, that are not a normal monthly deposit or withdrawal will need to be explained. This is not a problem if the Borrower can document where the funds came from.  For example they sold a car and can produce a sales slip and copy of the check, o...
Comments 18
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
If you have not heard by now, the announcement by Shawn Donovan, Secretary of HUD, made on Tuesday 12, about a change to the $8,000 Tax Credit is at least for now no longer valid. In his speech on May 12, at the National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) Summit, Secretary Donovan made the following statement about the Tax Credit: “We all want to enable FHA consumers to access the tax credit funds when they close on their home loans so that the cash can be used as a downpayment. So FHA will permit trusted FHA-approved lenders and HUD-approved nonprofits, as well as state and local governmental entities to "monetize" the tax credit through short-term bridge loans. We think the policy is a real win for everyone, ensuring that borrowers can tap into the numerous organizations that are already ...
Comments 14
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
  ****************************************************************************************************************** Info about the author: George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
Comments 11
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
I have been trying to blog about many of the changes going on in the Lending Industry, so that we can all stay on top of changes that are happening in the laws, as well as changes that investors, and PMI companies are implementing on their own.  These changes are critical to all of us because they are key to our survival these days. Not to long ago investors were focused on increasing the volume of loans they had on the books, but today this philosophy has been replaced with loan quality.  Loan quality has become so much of a focus that investors are increasing their requests (demands) for Lenders to buy back their loans.  This is happening because of loan compliance failures that are what could be an all-time high.  Investors are also beginning to direct more of their attention towards...
Comments 13
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
I keep hearing about Buyers getting last minute surprises before their loan closes, and this is something that should not happen if everyone does their job during the loan process.  The reason why there are surprises are because the necessary steps were not taken, someone tried to take a shortcut along the way, and those involved in the transaction did not pay attention to conditions that needed to be met in order for the loan to close. It all starts with a Buyer being Pre-Approved for a loan correctly.  You can read a blog that I wrote recently "It Is A Great Time To Buy ........... Get Pre-Approved Today!!!!", where I identify the necessary steps that must be taken from the very beginning.  If a Buyer is Pre-Approved correctly it will eliminate most of the surprises along the way, and...
Comments 15
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
  ****************************************************************************************************************** Info about the author: George Souto is a Loan Officer who can assist you with all your FHA, CHFA, and Conventional mortgage needs in Connecticut. George resides in Middlesex County which includes Middletown, Middlefield, Durham, Cromwell, Portland, Higganum, Haddam, East Haddam, Chester, Deep River, and Essex. George can be contacted at (860) 573-1308 or gsouto@mccuemortgage.com
Comments 16
By George Souto, Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert
(George Souto NMLS #65149 )
The effects of slow sales in the last two quarters of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009 are beginning to be felt more and more on recent sales. Despite all of the recent changes by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and PMI Companies, the biggest obstacle that I am having with getting loans approved recently is appraisals. Because of the slow sales in the last two quarters of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009, Appraisers are having a difficult time in finding Comp's to support recent sales.  I wrote a blog at the end of last month "Slow Sales Causing Appraisal Problems", in which I shared this problem on a property that I was doing a refinance loan on.  But this issue is becoming an even bigger problem with recent properties under contract, especially if the property happens to be unusual in an...
Comments 14
By Brent Bell, CRS, e-PRO, GRI, Hartford County
(RE/MAX Premier, Realtors)
Brent Bell, CRS | RE/MAX Premier, Realtors | 860-614-8927 111 DeKoven Drive, Middletown, CT Visit # 206 Saturday, May 9 from 1:00 until 3:00 OPEN HOUSE 2BR/2BA Condo offered at $155,000 Year Built 1989 Sq Footage 1,041 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking Unspecified Lot Size Unspecified HOA/Maint $373 per month DESCRIPTION Updated kitchen & bathrooms plus fresh paint make this move-in ready! Visit the Open House on Saturday! Great southern views from the unit. Enjoy a convenient location--walk to the Connecticut River at Harbor Park, restaurants, shopping and Middlesex Hospital. see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES Central A/C Central heat Walk-in closet Living room Office/Den Dining room Dishwasher Refrigerator Stove/Oven Washer Dryer COMMUNITY FEATURES Gu...
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