The Importance of Pre-Listing Building Inspections

Seller's Pre-Listing Inspections - a very relevant  article contributed by Nick Gromicko, FOUNDER. www.nachi.org International Association of Certified Home Inspectors.

Eventually, your buyers are going to conduct an inspection. You may as well know what they are going to find by getting there first.  Having an inspection performed ahead of time helps in many other ways:

    It allows you to see your home through the eyes of a critical third party.
    It helps you to price your home realistically.
    It permits you to make repairs ahead of time so that ...
    Defects won't become negotiating stumbling blocks later.
    There is no delay in obtaining the Use and Occupancy Permit.
    You have the time to get reasonably priced contractors or make the repairs yourself, if qualified.
    It may encourage the buyer to waive the inspection contingency.
    It may alert you to items of immediate concern, such as radon gas or active termite infestation.
    It may relieve prospects' concerns and suspicions.
    It reduces your liability by adding professional supporting documentation to your disclosure statement.

    It alerts you to immediate safety issues before agents and visitors tour your home.

Never hire an inspector who is not a member of InterNACHI, which provides the most trusted and rigorous training for inspectors in the industry.
 
Copies of the inspection report, along with receipts for any repairs, should be made available to potential buyers.

Nick Gromicko, FOUNDER. www.nachi.org
International Association of Certified Home Inspectors (InterNACHI) is the world's most elite, non-profit inspection association.
President, ComInspect, www.cominspect.com
Director, Master Inspector Certification Board, www.certifiedmasterinspector.org
Author, 15 books and Co-Host of  www.NACHI.TV

What is a Walk Score?

What is a Walk Score?

In the past year or so , you may have noticed  that more and more properties for sale are featuring a WalkScore. The company defines it as the walkability factor  to area shops, destinations, schools, and amenities of any given location. If you use the drop down menu when you check your walk score, you will see a list of those destinations and exactly how far they area away from the property you are inquiring about.

Keep in mind that this is a subjective number. Someone from a big city who is accustomed to having everything extremely close will want a higher number, and someone from a small town probably would be more comfortable with a lower number.And remember, what some people deem walkable, others do not.

Additionally, a lower walk score is not necessarily bad- some buyers want more privacy, which would mean that walkable amenities are not close.  If you don't want to be so close to your neighbor, a lower walk score would probably be a prerequisite. It all depends on your level of comfort with the housing density and the importance of nearby amenities. This is just another tool, and a very helpful one at that. Find the "walk score" range that fits your needs as best as possible. There is no wrong Walk Score- just one that is right for you.

Click here to determine the walk score for your home.

Today's Mortgage Rates and Financing update 6/17/11

Another Mortgage rate and financing update courtesy of Jennifer Buchanan of MetLife Loans.

After experiencing a scary setback earlier in the week, home loan borrowing costs improved again today as a "flight to safety" continued to benefit bond yields.

A "flight to safety" happens when investors are nervous about owning risky assets like stocks, but do not want to miss out on earning a return on their funds, so they allocate their money into risk-free government guaranteed U.S Treasury debt to provide a safe-haven and an investment return. As benchmark Treasury yields fall on "flight to safety" buyer demand, prices of mortgage-backed securities move higher in unison. This allows lenders to reprice their rate sheets for the better and gives originators an opportunity to offer fence-sitting borrowers lower mortgage rates or more competitive closing costs.  

 The "Best Execution" conventional 30-year fixed mortgage rate is 4.50%. Some lenders may be quoting 4.50% with increased closing costs in the form of origination fees. Some lenders may also be quoting 4.375%, but those offers will definitely carry additional closing costs.  These costs could be worth it to applicants who plan to keep their new mortgage outstanding for long enough to break even on the extra up front costs. 

30 year fixed - 4.50% - 0 points for rate
20 year fixed - 4.250% - 0 points for rate
15 year fixed - 3.625% 0 points for rate
10 year fixed - 3.250%
5/1 ARM - 2.75% - 0 points for rate
7/1 ARM - 3.250% - 0 -points for rate
Jumbo - over 729,000
30 year fixed - 4.99% 0 points  for rate
15 year fixed - 4.50% - 0 points for rate
5/1 ARM - 3.50% - 0 points for rate
7/1 ARM - 4.00% - 0 points for rate

About Jennifer Buchanan:

    Jennifer Buchanan,  Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist at MetLife Loans is a seasoned veteran of the Mortgage, Banking and Broker Industry and specializes in mortgage loans throughout Fairfield County, Connecticut.
   Her attention to detail is unsurpassed, and her understanding of the marketplace makes it easy to find the right loan to fit her clients specific needs .  Jennifer's local processing and closing team are also known for their exemplary service.
   Understanding that the vast majority of mortgage brokers never discuss the long or short term  financial needs or goals with their clients, she set herself apart from the rest by obtaining the coveted CMPS  designation. (Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist)
    She is a member of the National Association of Responsible Loan Officers, and her commitment to ethics, understanding of the marketplace, and business acumen have earned her the respect of her peers and clients alike.

Jennifer Buchanan
Metlife Loans
203-341-6949

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A detailed market analysis in today's real estate market is NECESSARY!

It's time.... You've contacted an agent to do a price analysis of your home, and they bring you a nice little "fluffy" CMA  that has a few homes that are on the market, a few that are under deposit, and a few more more that sold, all spiral bound, in full color, with the marketing plan built right into it.

All great, but is it enough information to price your home correctly? Probably not. First of all, those pre-packaged market analyses are completed at the touch of a few buttons on a computer program without a lot of thought process going into it. Furthermore, some of thesse programs only allow three to six comparables per listing status.  (active, pending, and sold)

Even if the agent hand picks the comparables for you, the program itself has its limitations. The whole presentation might look lovely, but the accuracy of pricing may be a whole other ball game- and then there's the standard marketing plan that will sell every house in town which is nicely included in your presentation with pretty graphics.  Even a novice knows that the marketing plan that is used to sell the house next door cannot be correct for your home, too.

A market analysis that shows just five or so listings in different status categories does not indicate a price for your home. Rather, it indicates some kind of average for the listings chosen.  I do not consider those a real pricing analysis, sorry.

Real CMA's are kind of boring, face it- unless it's my animated self going over all of the information for you!  If you happen to have an agent come over who gives you one of these fluffy CMA's, use it as a placemat. It's not worth anything else.

A market analysis should be so detailed  that even YOU don't have to guess as to what the price of your home should be. It will be inherently obvious- no guessing required. If you want to know the true price of your home in today's market, contact me. No fluff unless you want it, no hard sales tactics, just correct information. :)

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Spotlight on Southport, CT

The Village of Southport, Connecticut is located along Long Island Sound between the Mill River and Sasco Brook, which is on the Westport town line.
There are approximately 2,200 residents in Southport, and 1,000 households.   Officially named the Borough of Southport in 1831, it was disbanded as a borough  by 1854. Southport remains rich in agricultural and american history, as some of southwestern Connecticut's first families had homesteads here.

With a land area of less than three square miles, Southport has its own railroad station and zip code (06890). Southport is bordered within the town of Fairfield, which was settled in 1639. The downtown area is  listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and boasts an area where buildings from three centuries are protected with strict historic regulations. The historic district boundaries are the railroad on the north; the Mill River and Southport Harbor on the south; Church Street;  Old South Road on the west, and Rose Hill Road on the east.

RECREATION & THE ARTS

Wakeman Boys & Girls Club; Southport Racquet Club

Sasco Beach - 9.9 acres, this nicely tucked away beach has free access, although is for residents only.  Sasco Beach is located  just to the south of Southport Harbor and the Country Club of Fairfield on Long Island Sound.

Southport Beach is approximately 2. 5 acres in size- a small beach that includes bathroom facilities and a concession stand.

The Country Club of Fairfield on Sasco Hill Road. (Members Only) Founded in 1914,  the country club includes an 18-hole- par 70 golf course. Officially opened in 1921, it consists of 143 bucolic acres on Sasco Hill Road reminiscent of an Irish countryside, and borne of  of onion fields that sloped down to the marsh. The course rating is 71.6 and it has a slope rating of 133, and  features 6,358 yards of golf from the longest tees for a par of 70. Other amenities include a club house and private beach, swimming pool, tennis courts.

Pequot Yacht Club on 669 Harbor Road - open only to its 250 members. (There is a  municipal boatyard)  and anyone can picnic on Perry's Green, or fish for bluefish.

The Pequot Library opened in 1894 and is  well known throughout New England for its old and rare book collections, its Audubon elephant folios, its near perfect auditorium, and its antique book sale which features upwards of 120,000 volumes on sale every summer. The library is quite a landmark, and  an outstanding example of Romanesque architecture. Built in 1887, this beautiful pink granite building has a Tiffany window and was designed by H.H. Richardson. (The Library is also on the National Register in the Southport Historic District)

A LITTLE HISTORY:

The Pequot War:  "The Great Swamp Fight" occurred  here in 1637 and it is widely understood that it was quite a violent scene. The Pequot Indians fled westward  to Southport to take refuge with about 200 Sasqua Indians who lived here after their village in Mystic (Missituck), Connecticut was  set ablaze by  the English, led by Captain John Mason and Roger Ludlow. In the massacre, hundreds of women, children and older men perished by the English setting their village ablaze. Nearly three hundred Pequot and Sasqua Indians perished in the battle in Southport that followed..

.....AND THE GLOBE ONION

Southport was once referred to as the "Onion Capital of America". The Southport White Globe Onion, ( also called the "Silver Ball" and "White Rocca)  is an "heirloom vegetable" known throughout the country still  for its firm and pungent flavor, which is great for cooking It was developed here in the late 1800's, and was a major export until the onion blight.  You can still buy seeds for this famous onion variety

For future reference, see this page under our Fairfield Section in the left hand side bar, and visit our new Southport Facebook Page, too!

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