The Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce will be holding its next Business After Hours on Thursday, April 23, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m at the Galleria Design Center in Middletown.  This will be the second time that the Chamber has held a Business After Hours at the Galleria.  The first was last year and the turnout was outstanding, as well the food that was provided. If you have never been to the Galleria, this will be truly a treat for you.  Their selection of bathroom, and Kitchen fixtures are amazing, and I have never seen a larger display of Granite Counter tops anywhere else.  You will also find several displays of cabinets, tile flooring, decks, windows, doors, window treatments and a whole host of other things. There will be complimentary hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, wine, beer, and ... 04/07/2009

We are starting to see the first signs that Spring in Connecticut.  It is not here yet, but today the weather was warm and I saw for the first time this year buds on the maple trees in my back yard.  This to me is a good sign that warmer weather will be here real soon.  Spring is my favorite time of the year, everything just seems fresh and new.  The birds have not returned yet, but now that the trees are beginning to bud, they will, and will begin to build their nests. We have been know to still get snow at this time of the year.  We have had so much snow this year that I hope I do not see another snow flake until December.  I don't mind it then because it is nice to have a White Christmas. Several types of flowers have been coming up in my front yard for a couple of weeks, and this we... 04/05/2009

The third Bill that was covered up at the Capitol on Wednesday was HB 6600 which would establish the SustiNet Plan, which would finally provide affordable Health Insurance for Realtors as well as other self-employed, and small businesses.  For years Realtors as independent contractors, along with self-employed people, and small businesses have not been able to get comprehensive affordable health insurance.  This is because they do not usually have access to group plans, which others are able to get through their employer, or government entities.  Without being able to get group coverage, members are limited in what coverage they can get.  Furthermore they are underwritten as individuals which results in much higher costs for restricted coverage. I found some figures that we given very i... 04/04/2009

Yesterday I wrote about my visit to Hartford for Realtor Day At The Capitol, and the first issue that I felt needed to be brought to everyone’s attention, and that those of us in the Real Estate Industry need to come out in opposition of this Legislative session, was House Bill HB 6349, Tax On Professional Services. The second Bill that I feel everyone needs to aware of, and to strongly oppose is House Bill HB 6397, which has been proposed and defeated the last two years, which would create a new 1% Real Estate Conveyance Tax on Buyers on properties with a sales price over $150,000. This means that here in Connecticut just about all houses would be affected by this new conveyance tax, as well as many Condominiums. This Bill as well as HB6349 that I wrote about yesterday, flies in the fa... 04/03/2009

I spent Wednesday morning in Hartford for Realtor Day At the Capitol, where we were given details on issues that we should consider supporting, and issues that we need to come out enforce against. I plan on covering a couple of the issues that we need to strongly oppose, and one that should be supported.  I will start with the one that probably ticked me off the most House Bill HB 6349, and cover the other two in their own posts. It was no surprise to learn that Connecticut like a lot of other States is hurting for money right now.  It was also no surprise that our State Legislators are trying to come up with creative of ways of coming up with the money to meet their budget, instead of making tough decisions to cut back on spending.  As a result the minds of of our State Legislators hav... 04/02/2009

I am fairly new to USDA Loans, because in the past they were limited in where they could be done here in Middlesex County, Connecticut, where I do about 90% of my business. However, this loan program is now available in all of Middlesex County except Middletown, and Cromwell. In fact this Loan Program is now available in most of Connecticut. There are only three Counties that now have limited number of towns that it can be done in, Hartford County, New Haven County, and Fairfield County. The rest of the Counties in the State, there are only one or two towns in each County that it is not available. Here in Connecticut my main go to Loan Product for First Time Homebuyers has been Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) which I have blogged several times in the past about. But the USD... 03/31/2009

The Middlesex Chamber of Commerce will be conducting a workshop on Social Networking on Wednesday April 22nd from 9:00 to 10:30 a.m. The workshop will actually be conducted by an ActiveRain member in Middlesex County, Connecticut, Diana Bartolatta. This was actually discussed at our monthly Middlesex Realtors Council meeting a couple of months ago, and everyone present felt that this playing a big part in the way we do business today. The goal of the workshop is to help us expand our business, and should benefit all who attend. The workshop will be tailored specifically for the Real Estate Industry, and presented in a way that those who are new to Social Networking will be able to understand. This workshop is free to all who want to attend and will demonstrate methods that we can all us... 03/29/2009

              When we hear someone say CHFA here in Connecticut, we automatically think Mortgage Program for First First Homebuyers. But mortgages for First Time Homebuyers are not the only programs that CHFA provides. One of those programs that is provided by CHFA that is not well know is “The Emergency Mortgage Assistance Program (EMAP)”. This program offers financial assistance for up to five years to Connecticut homeowners who are going through a temporary financial hardship, who have fallen behind on their mortgage payments, and have been given a foreclosure notice by their lender. This program does have strict requirements, and was not designed to assist everyone that has fallen on hard times. It is meant for a specific group of people that meet the following requirements: The de... 03/27/2009

On Wednesday April 1st Realtors as well as other Real Estate professionals will be gathering at the State Capital in Hartford for the 25th Realtor Day At The Capitol. This event has always been well attended in the past, and it is an opportunity for Realtors from all over the state to raise their concerns to their State Senators, and House Representatives about proposed legislation. By coming together like this Realtors have been able to prevent the passage of legislation that would have negatively affected Buyers and Sellers. This year as in the past there is legislation that is being proposed once again that would have an negative impact on the Real Estate Industry.  Legislation that Realtor Boards across the state will be apposing include: HB 6349 which expands the sales tax to profe... 03/26/2009

THIRD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH MILITARY WHIST 94 MINER STREET MIDDLETOWN, CT I received a call from the 3rd Congregational Church to see if I could blog about the card game Military Whist.  They are having this at the church this Thursday, tomorrow, March 26th starting at 6:30pm.  I personally am not familiar with this game, but it seems like fun once they told me about it. So, if you are looking for something different to do stop by and check it out.  I'd love to hear what you think of the game.     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 Rocky Hill, Berlin, Middlet... 03/25/2009

Connecticut is an Attorney State, which means that Attorneys are the ones that conduct Residential Real Estate Closings.  This also means that Attorneys besides preparing the Closing Paperwork are the ones that do the Title Search, take out the Title Policy, and prepare the HUD-1. Here in Middlesex County most Attorneys follow a similar procedure to one another, but when it comes to preparing the HUD-1 and funds needed for Closing, like oil tank adjustments, and special assessments. they do not follow one set procedure.  This can be a problem for those of us who try to give our Buyers/Borrowers a close estimate of what kind of funds they might need when we first meet with them. Realizing that having different methods of arriving at the Closing Costs on the HUD-1 presents a problem for t... 03/22/2009

Credit Repair in Middletown CT National Credit Fixers: 330 Roberts Street 4th Floor East Hartford CT 06108 phone: 860-282-6181 www.nationalcreditfixers.com National Credit Fixers boasts of 12 years experience repairing low FICO scores. Whether your credit has been damaged by a foreclosure, bankruptcy, slow credit, collections, judgments, repossessions, etc. we can help. We are the experts in credit restoration and credit repair.  National Credit Fixers is a reputable company that can legally remove negative items off of your credit reports and help you qualify for the best rates possible! Information contained in your credit file must be reported according to a law called the Fair Credit Reporting Act (F.C.R.A.). If the information isn't accurate or verifiable then it must be deleted.  ... 03/22/2009

The Middlesex County Chamber of Commerce will be holding their 25th Annual Business After Hours Taste of Downtown & Auction, on Tuesday, March 24 2009, 5:00pm - 8:00pm at the Sons of Italy Hall in Middletown.  This is a great event to not only help to raise money for the community by bidding on items that have donated by Chamber members, but to also to taste delicious food from 18 downtown restaurants,and network with others in the community. I have attended this event in the past, and have always had a great time, and made new business connections.  So mark you calendars and plan on coming.  You might even have more fun if you plan on coming with a group of Friends and really make a fun evening of it.   ***********************************************************************************... 03/21/2009

Buying a house can be one of the most stressful experiences that anyone will ever go through. For many this stressful experience is even more stressful, because they are First Time Homebuyers, and have no idea of what to expect. Buyers will stress over: Whether their offer will be accepted or not. Obtaining a loan. Downpayment & Closing Costs. New monthly payment. Home Inspection. Where to obtaining Homeowners Insurance. Selling a house is no piece of cake either, especially these days with all of the inventory out there, Sellers have lots to stress about. Sellers stress about: Whether they will get an offer on the house. Will the offer be near what they need to be able to purchase their new house. Will the house sell in time for them to have the money to buy the new house. Will the hou... 03/20/2009

Yesterday I wrote the first of two parts on the Homeowner Affordability & Stability plan that was released by the Obama administration on Wed March 4th. Which contained two major parts they hoped would have an impact on assisting homeowners with troubled mortgage. The first part of the plan which I blogged about yesterday is a modification program that Servicers will offer to borrowers with high debt-to-income ratios or who are at risk of foreclosure. The second part of the plan which I am blogging about today, a refinance program for existing Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loans. As I stated yesterday our Executive Vice President at McCue Mortgage, Kim Neilson and others are still assessing the details of the Homeowner Affordability & Stability plan to determine our next steps, but in the m... 03/11/2009

On February 25th as a result of the new stimulus package FHA announced their new high loan limits in their Mortgagee letter 2009-07.  The new loan limits were the same as the 2008 TEMPORARY LIMITS. I say TEMPORARY because these limits will only be in effect until December 31, 2009, unless FHA extends them. I wrote a blog the next day "FHA New TEMPORARY Loan Limits 2009" announcing this.  But I also stated in that blog that just because FHA was implementing these new loan limits, it did not mean that Lenders were going to be able to lend up to these amounts, because their investors still needed to accept them or a form of them. Well I am happy to announce today that McCue Mortgage the lender that I work for is now able to lend up to the n full new FHA Loan Limits.  Hopefully investors fo... 03/09/2009

CONGRATULATIONS to the Middletown High School Wrestling Team. In what was supposed to be a rebuilding year after having graduated 12 of its 14 varsity wrestlers, the team really stepped up and achieved beyond expectations. The graduating wrestlers left big shoes to fill, having won Conference for the past 3 years, and were State Class L Wrestling Champions for the last 2 years. Coach Mark Fong, and assistant coach Brandon Souto (my youngest son) knew that this year’s team had great potential, but were expecting a down year while they gained experience. Middletown has a tough wrestling schedule in which they wrestled most of the top wrestling teams in the state. So the 17-10 record for the regular season was beyond expectations. But the surprises did not end there, the team improved with... 03/07/2009

 THIRD CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH 94 MINER STREET MIDDLETOWN, CT REMINDER... THIS EVENT IS TOMORROW, SATURDAY, MARCH 7TH... PUT THIS ON YOUR CALENDAR. The Third Congregational Church on 94 Miner Street in Middletown, CT is holding its annual Corned Beef Dinner.. just in time for St. Patrick's Day.  This event is being held this Saturday, March 7th from 5:00pm to 7:00pm.  The menu will feature nice lean corned beef with cabbage, carrots, potatoes.    Vanilla Ice Cream with Green Spritz for dessert.  Coffee and Tea, or milk for the children.   Price:  $9.00 for adults; $4.50 for children 10 or under.  As usual, this is ALL YOU CAN EAT.  Last year this corned beef just melted in your mouth... I can taste it already.  Hmmm.  Yes, I'll be there, and my oldest son will be too.  He likes corned bee... 03/05/2009

As I stated in my previous blog, last week I posted a blog updating some of the changes to Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) since my previous post. This post covered most of the requirements for CHFA Loans as well as additional programs that they have. The danger, as I stated before, of writing a post like this is that it covers so much, that it is very easy to miss some very important points that most do not know, or have a misconception about. The reason why I included so much in that blog is because I wanted a blog that a Borrower could go to, and read all about CHFA in one place without having to search around and jump from one screen to another. The first CHFA feature that I tried to clarify was the misunderstandings that CHFA is JUST for First Time Homebuyers.  In thi... 03/03/2009

                Last week I posted a blog updating some of the changes to Connecticut Housing Finance Authority (CHFA) since my previous post. This post covered most of the requirements for CHFA Loans as well as additional programs that they have. The danger of writing a post like this is that it covers so much, that it is very easy to miss some very important points that most do not know, or have a misconception about. The reason why I included so much in that blog is because I wanted a blog that a Borrower could go to, and read all about CHFA in one place without having to search around and jump from one screen to another. The purpose of this blog and possibly others to follow, is to just pull out one of the features of CHFA that is commonly misunderstood, or not know, which could ha... 03/02/2009