Finally some relief and extended help to people who are buying homes aside from record low interest rates.

The tax credit set to expire yesterday has been kept alive by Congress helping CT homebuyers as well as the rest of the US. Initially drawn for a potential home owner to be under contract to purchase a home by April 30^th and a deadline to close by June 30^th the heavy pressure from consumers and Real Estate Associations to extend the deadline to close has been granted.

Congress drew up a plan and passed it along to President Obama to extend the closing date three more months until September 30, 2010 and qualify for tax credits up to 8,000. Legislation in the senate passed the bill with unanimous consent. It does however apply for those home buyers already under contract and not new purchase agreements going forward.

So aside from mortgage rates being at record levels the home buyers have a little more breathing room to close and reap the benefit of a tax credit as well.

We have made it to Facebook. Eversley Capital Mortgage has its own fan page. The official page is http://www.facebook.com/eversleycapital

As always we strive to offer Connecticut residents the best and lowest mortgage rates and fees. We offer conventional fixed and arm loans as well as jumbo, conventional jumbo, USDA and VA loans as well as second mortgages both fixed and adjustable. We are located at 3 Everlsey Ave in Norwalk CT.

For the remainder of 2010 if you are purchasing or refinancing and read this blog or come across Everley Capital via Facebook mention either this blog or become a fan on Facebook and at the closing of your loan we will credit you back the cost of your appraisal a value up to $500 dollars. So become a fan today!

Buying your first home is a wonderful experience.  The purpose of LoanClassroom is to help the homeowner stay informed and provide them with information to help them through their purchase or refinance transaction. I would hope that I am the one helping you obtain your mortgage through Eversley Capital Mortgage LLC but by chance that I am not this information is useful for everyone.

As joyous and at times overwhelming your first home purchase can be there are some pointers that I want to point out that you need to be aware of that often times go un-thought of or mentioned to the home buyer. I think back to my first purchase and can honestly say it was a certainly a learning experience.

UTILITIES

·         Electricity will need to be switched over

·         Water will need to be switched

·         Sewer if applicable will need to be switched

·         Gas if applicable will need to be switched

·         Phone, cable etc. needs to be activated

SERVICE CONTRACTS

·         Furnace- look into a service contract. Ask the previous owner who they used

·         HVAC- same as the furnace see who was used and get a contract

·         Septic Tank- if there is one when was it last pumped out

·          Fireplace- if you have one when was it last cleaned

OTHER THINGS TO THINK OF

·         Having your mail forwarded

·         Change of address at DMV

·         Replace the batteries in all the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors

·         Read the newspaper? You will need to get home delivery set up

·         Find out what the trash days are. And does the town or city collect it or do you need to get an outside company. Also recyclables, what will they take and what day is the pickup? Not all towns in Connecticut provide trash pickup. In some towns you pay local companies to pick up the garbage weekly.

·         Change of address for your bills i.e. credit cards and bank statements etc.

Hopefully this helps. If you have any questions or need to get qualified please feel free to fill out the “apply” part of the website. I look forward to helping you purchase your home.

In this day and age Americans crave info and we head to the internet to find it. For those that read this blog I hope it is informative for you. LoanClassroom is among many other things a place for people to go and find info on Connecticut, its real estate and mortgage news and its economy. If you are reading this and are moving to the state when you are done reading my article, contact me at Eversley Capital Mortgage LLC and I will be happy to help you with a mortgage for your home purchase.

Now on to the state, Connecticut is comprised up of eight counties. The median home price for the entire state is $236,559 dropping it in the top 10 in the U.S. and the annual family or household median income brings Connecticut in at # 2 in the country. The unemployment rate for the state is presently at 7.3% as of February 2009.

When looking at specific figures on homes in the state I want to point out several that I feel are of importance to know. Just over 70% of the homes in the state are owner occupied. So other than apartment buildings which would be more common in the urban areas of the state such as Waterbury, New Haven, Hartford, Stamford, Bridgeport or Danbury there is not a huge amount of rental opportunity in the suburban or rural areas of the state. A small percentage of homes built before 1939 are still standing, roughly 24%. The main heating source of the homes in Connecticut is oil heat, just over 50% and gas stands at 33% as a main heating source.

Education is important to anyone with children who are re-locating. Connecticut as a whole is the second best educated state in the U.S. it also ranks high with an elementary & secondary school pupil to teacher ratio for grades K-8 of 13.6 pupils for every teacher.  There are 105 private schools in the state grades K-8 and there are 46 colleges and universities.

Connecticut from a size comparison is a quaint and small state. There are only three other states that are smaller in the U.S. The biggest city from a population standpoint is the City of Bridgeport with a population of roughly 140,000. For being such a small state you will find it to be extremely diverse, and when I say that it is not a bad thing and it is hard to explain. For being such a small state it takes on so many different characteristics as you travel through it. From suburban to rural to urban and back to rural and then urban again, well you get my drift. You can dress to the nines and head out as if you were in Manhattan or throw on some boots and heard the cows at farm. I think that the state takes on so many different characters because it borders three very different states. Connecticut borders New York, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

The close proximity of the three bordering states I feel adds to the characteristics and persona of the state. Living in Connecticut sort of puts you smack dab in the middle of everything. You can head into Manhattan for an evening on the town, you can take a couple hour drive up to Boston, and you can play on the beach along the shore on Connecticut’s large coastline or trek up to Vermont on a short 3-4 hour excursion and ski. As many sights and attractions that there are just over the border of the state there are as many in the state too.

The climate of the state is typical “New England”. A full four season climate with warm summers and cool winters along with breathtaking fall foliage add to the states seasons and characteristics. I have been a lifelong resident of the state and although I have traveled much of the United Sates and had the privilege to experience other states I still feel and enjoy the State of Connecticut as my home and if you are moving here I hope that you will too.

Rent vs. Own is an age old question. And the answer differs depending on where in the country you want to live. Connecticut is LoanClassrooms backyard so a comparison into CT real estate is what we are going to do.

I recently read an article in the local Norwalk Citizen newspaper. It was an article on rents in the Stamford-Norwalk area. It is what intrigued me to do this comparison.  I read the article and thought it was good stuff.

I was shocked to learn that in the entire US the Stamford-Norwalk area of Connecticut now requires the highest hourly wage to be able to afford to rent an apartment. In a recent report from The National Low Income Housing Coalition they detailed a report on hourly wages needed to afford two bedroom apartments by state, county and metropolitan area. The Stamford-Norwalk area was the highest in the country. Danbury Connecticut ranked 8^th. As a state Connecticut was sixth in the country overall.  The study pegged the required annual income at nearly $70,000 a year to rent a two bedroom apartment in Fairfield County based on a monthly rental amount of $1,750.

Now let’s look at what $70,000 would get you if you were looking to buy a home as opposed to rent in Fairfield County. According to Zillow.com the median price for a 2 bedroom single family home in Norwalk, CT is $375,000. Let’s say you have saved enough to put a 10 percent down payment for a purchase. You put down $37,500 for your down payment and take a mortgage for the balance, $337,500. Based on your mortgage payment of principal and interest, your property taxes, your home owners insurance, an interest rate of 4.875% for a 30 year fixed mortgage and applicable mortgage insurance or (PMI) the housing payment is $2,400. To put that in perspective on an income of $70,000 that is pre-tax $5,833 a month. With a mortgage payment of $2,400 that leaves food, utilities, taxes, insurance, cell phone, food, car credit card, general living expenses yet to be paid. Assuming you are in a 28% tax bracket your take home pay less taxes is roughly $4,100. Meaning $1,700 a month needs to cover all the rest. That is living pretty tight. Not impossible but darn tight.

In summary the old question here is rent vs. own and based on the numbers renting for a while might be the answer at that income level and purchase price. Keep in mind we used 10 percent for a down payment. The average median price for a 1 bedroom single family home is $265,500 in Norwalk, CT. So if you want to own and are in that income level buyers market or not you will have to look hard to find something in your price range in Fairfield County. It is understandable why Fairfield County is the highest income requirement to rent in the country.

The snow is gone, the ground is wet and the smell of spring is in the air. That means the Spring Real Estate Market is here. If you are in the market to buy a home you will certainly come across homes that have been foreclosed.  In February there were roughly 291,000 filings alone. Here are some things that you need to know when buying or putting an offer on a foreclosed home.

·         First of all there are several stages of buying a foreclosure. You can actually go to the auction and bid on the house. You need to be aware that the standard requirement is posted in the paper for the down payment. It is typically 10 percent of the estimated value and the funds need to be certified or a cashiers check.

·         If you are the highest bidder and have your funds ready, you have typically 30 days to close on the purchase. Make sure your mortgage is good to go or you could be at risk

·         Aside from going to the auction, nowadays it is more common for the lender to foreclose and then list it with an agent. He takes your offers to buy and works on behalf of the bank or lender.

·         Buyer beware, foreclosure sales are as-is. So if you are putting an offer on a home that was foreclosed and bank owned make sure you get an inspection before-hand. If not you may be in for more than you bargained for.

·         If you are looking at a foreclosure as an investment think long term. This is not a “quick” flip market. Six months minimum, if you know what you are doing you may be able to make a good profit. But the key is being able to hold the property for a while.

·         Often times there are liens or back taxes that are due on foreclosed homes. Have your attorney do a search to make sure that you are not stuck with the previous owners tax debt.

·         Do your homework with the bank or the real estate agent representing the bank to find out depending on where you live if the home was “winterized” before the utilities were turned off. You may also want to make sure the utilities are in working order before buying. Besides most lenders or banks want the utilities in working order before they lend you money for a mortgage anyway. However if by chance that is not the case you should investigate.

The stories that you hate to read about are the ones where you have hard working citizens that because of the real estate downturn and the mortgage crisis end up getting hurt. The real estate boom brought with it a flurry of new construction. It was not just one town but everywhere. From Maine to Connecticut to Virginia to Nebraska and the West coast. The story that I am referring to are the people that have fallen victim to the boom in construction.

Real estate prices kept appreciating as they raised the builders kept on building. Brand new condominium complexes kept going up. In some parts of the country they were selling faster than they could build them and this is where the problem started.

Selling a condominium pre-construction became a normal practice in the real estate world. I personally bought a condo pre-construction back in 2007. Builders would accept offers and down payments often times before ground even broke. In some of the more speculative areas like Vegas, Arizona and Florida units would be sold out before a project was even complete.

The people who bought pre-construction had down payments and were left waiting for the condo’s to be finished. The problem lies where people purchased these units and had financing but amidst the mortgage crisis a lot of the programs do not exist anymore. So the people who put 10 percent down payments on these condos thinking that they had financing for the other 90 percent of the purchase price are realizing that they in fact have no financing leaving them and their down payments at risk.

I had a client that lost his deposit on a new condo complex in Stamford, Connecticut. He put his down payment down almost two years ago and had financing from a lender. The lender told him that they no longer offer the program he was approved for. He needed stated income financing. He came to my office at Everlsey Capital Mortgage in Norwalk, Connecticut to see if I could help him. Unfortunately stated income loans are no longer around and there was nothing I could do to help him. He ended up losing his deposit.

There was an article in the New York Times Real Estate section on this very topic. It featured stories just like the client that came into my office looking for a mortgage. These are the stories that you hate to hear about and it is unfortunate that these people are victims of the financial crisis. To read the New York Times article click here:    NY Times Article

When we are in the market to purchase a home we often focus on the basics. You need to secure a mortgage, then you need to find a good Realtor and finally we go out on the joyous journey of finding a place to hang our hat. Seems simple right? Well it does not have to be difficult.

It is true that getting a mortgage that suits your needs is the first step and that will lead you to find a Realtor and start the search to find a home. Those are extremely important and should be first. However we often get wrapped up and enthralled with finding a new home that we do not think of the “other” important things to consider. We will refer to these other things to consider as the “nuts and bolts” of the home purchase.

·         Look for potential red flags in your home inspection.  Most used homes are in some way in need of repair. Minor issues are just that but you need to be cautious of major issues such as major house settlement, foundation cracks, high radon levels, lead paint, underground storage tanks, insects etc.

·         Check out the neighborhood and surrounding area. Look and see what is around your new home. Is a school around the corner? Are there any transfers or dumping stations that could cause a funky odor?

·         When you find a home you will know what the current taxes are on that home. Always check with that town or city tax assessor’s office to see if there are already approved tax increases. Sometimes tax hikes are phased in so checking this out is important. You may also want to see when the last time the town or city had assessed their property values to determine if a new assessment is coming up.

·         If you find yourself looking at a home and envisioning a remodel or addition it is prudent to contact the building department or planning and zoning. You may find out that the home you are looking at is on a variance and no additions can be made.

·         Be aware of the demographics of the neighborhood. Are you buying a cape style home in a neighborhood full of colonial style homes? It may affect your re-sale value in the future

·         Try and get the “history” so to speak of the house. Are the sellers the original owners? How many owners have there been? Asking these questions will also give you an idea as to what changes or renovations have been made to the home.

·         Make a list and anticipated time frames of upgrades or repairs that will need to be done. Will you need to paint the house in the next couple of years? How old is the furnace or the hot water heater? What kind of condition is the central AC unit in? How old is the roof? Is there extra cost associated for upkeep of a pool or Jacuzzi? You need to think of the other expenses that will or may arise soon after buying a home.

·         Take a drive by the home at different times of the day. Depending on where you are buying you may want to see what the traffic situation is. Obviously if you are looking at a home on a cul-de-sac the it is not an issue

·         Last but not least. You need to remember that when you are buyer at some point you are a seller. This is simply enough said. If the home you are looking at has been on the market for a long time look into why? As of now we are in a financial crisis so long listing times are more normal but just keep in mind and inquire if the home has been listed for a long time because we are in a buyer’s market or are your inheriting someone else’s problem?

Applying for and shopping mortgage rates is a click away www.EversleyCapital.com

It has certainly been a rare event to say that there is positive news in the Real Estate world but yesterday was that day. The National Association of Realtors released the February existing home sales figures and bucking the steady downward trend that we have been in we saw an increase of 5.1 percent in February.

The news is something to pause and reflect on. I would not get overly exuberant on the report. It is a good sign that finally we are seeing buyers coming into the market. Home prices are cheap. I think the movement in sales figures has a lot to do with the fact that interest rates are low, as are home prices and you are getting a lot of buyers that for the past year have been on the fence. At my mortgage company Eversley Capital Mortgage LLC Norwalk, Ct I have seen a stream of first time buyers entering the market and looking to get pre-approved for their mortgage. The $8,000 tax credit, low rates and good deals out there are bringing out first time buyers.

While the existing sales figures are a good sign we still have hurdles to jump. The key to a somewhat stable housing market is jobs. The job market is the key, I have said it repeatedly. We still have a large foreclosure inventory of homes to work through. The current figure in the report of unsold homes suggests an almost 10 month supply of inventory and the job market is still retracting which in my opinion will not lead to a huge follow through in future months existing sale figures. I would anticipate that if the job market can stabilize somewhat by midsummer we could see a steady increase in existing sales figures to round out the year. Time will tell but in the meantime I will take some positive news.

Applying for and shopping mortgage rates is a click away www.EversleyCapital.com

Selling real estate today in my opinion means that you as the seller need to be creative. There are some factors that are on your side. For one, interest rates are the lowest they have been in six years. Secondly there is an $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers. It is a buyer’s market out there so you need to find ways to differentiate your home from your neighbors.

The first step is finding a good realtor. With as many homes as there are presently listed for sale you need to get a realtor that knows the market and has experience. He or she will tell you what will help your house sell. I had a recent conversation with Carlos Perez with Re/Max Right Choice in Trumbull, Ct who is a seasoned Realtor and asked him what his advice has been for his clients who are looking to list and sell their home. His response was “It is obviously a buyer’s market out there so pricing your home correctly is extremely important. You need to price the home right. Also getting your home in the best condition possible to show is extremely important as well.”

Some other suggestions to be creative would be to hire and pay for a home inspector to come out and do an inspection. Odds are the potential buyers are going to do one anyway so if there are any potential issues you can address them and have them corrected ahead of time. You may want to offer to pay for some of the buyers closing costs or look into buying a one year home warranty that can be passed along to the buyer. Pricing the home correctly for sale is the most important but if you find your home up against your neighbor’s at the same price some of the creative extras I mentioned may help you close the sale.

Applying for and shopping mortgage rates is a click away www.EversleyCapital.com