Guilford, CT

Friday December 5th was the date of the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the Guilford Town Green. It was a huge success and drew hundreds of people to the Town Green for this event that is one of the highlights of the year.

Local businesses surrounding the Historic Guilford Green opened their doors during this festive event for the Candlelight Walk along Broad Street for shoppers providing raffles, decorations, wine, cheese, hot cocoa and popcorn.

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Contact Donna Bigda, ABR, SRES, e-PRO, Realtor®, RE/MAX Alliance Licensed Realtor® in the State of Connecticut at 203-488-1641, ext. 214 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Branford, Guilford, Madison, East Haven, New Haven and the rest of shoreline area in New Haven County Connecticut.

If you're thinking about buying a home in Guilford CT there are plenty of great buys in today's market and now is one of the best times to buy while interest rates remain low. For more information on Guilford CT real estate homes or condos, see Guilford CT real estate or sign up today to get access the hottest new listings here Guilford CT homes and condos.

To keep up to date on the current state of the Guilford CT Real Estate Market & other information about Branford CT, subscribe to my blog via email here or visit online at www.connecticutshorelineblog.com.

If email is your communication preference, email me at donna@donnabigda.com.

Disclaimer: All information provided by this author is strictly an opinion, is not guaranteed, may be based on information collected from several sources, which may or may not be deemed reliable at the time of researching this article and may be time sensitive.

Copyright © 2008 by Donna Bigda, All Rights Reserved ...*Guilford CT Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony*

Owning vs. Renting

Owning should be less expensive than renting
Here's a guideline that may change the way you view your seemingly cheap monthly rent. In order for you to see how expensive a home you could afford to buy while having the same approximate monthly cost as your current rent, simply do the following calculation:
Take your monthly rent, multiply by 200 = purchase price of home
Example: $ 750 x 200 = $150,000
So, in the preceding example, if you were paying rent of $750 per month, you would pay approximately the same amount per month to own a $150,000 home (factoring in tax savings). Now your monthly rent doesn't sound quite so cheap compared to the cost of buying a home, does it?
Even more important than the cost today of buying versus renting, what about the cost in the future? As a renter, your rent is fully exposed to increases in the cost of living, also known as inflation. A reasonable expectation for annual increases in your rent is 4 percent per year

The Guilford Chamber of Commerce will be sponsoring its annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony on the Guilford Town Green so mark you calendars and bring the entire family to this joyous community event which is scheduled for December 5, 2008 starting at 6:00 p.m. to ring in the holiday season.

Local businesses surrounding the Guilford Town Green particpate in this seasonal event which has become a yearly favorite for all the residents of Guilford to attend.

For more information call 203-453-9677 - www.guilfordct.com

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Contact Donna Bigda, ABR, SRES, e-PRO, Realtor®, RE/MAX Alliance Licensed Realtor® in the State of Connecticut at 203-488-1641, ext. 214 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Branford, Guilford, Madison, East Haven, New Haven and the rest of shoreline area in New Haven County Connecticut.

If you're thinking about buying a home in Guilford CT there are plenty of great buys in today's market and now is one of the best times to buy while interest rates remain low. For more information on Guilford CT real estate homes or condos, see Guilford CT real estate or sign up today to get access the hottest new listings here Guilford CT homes and condos.

To keep up to date on the current state of the Guilford CT Real Estate Market & other information about Branford CT, subscribe to my blog via email here or visit online at www.connecticutshorelineblog.com.

If email is your communication preference, email me at donna@donnabigda.com.

Disclaimer: All information provided by this author is strictly an opinion, is not guaranteed, may be based on information collected from several sources, which may or may not be deemed reliable at the time of researching this article and may be time sensitive.

Copyright © 2008 by Donna Bigda, All Rights Reserved ...*Guilford CT Christmas Tree Lighting*

Guilford Connecticut Real Estate
Market Report October 2008

Understanding the general direction of the current Guilford Connecticut real estate market is of vital importance to both sellers and buyers. In analyzing these trends, property absorption rates provide a good indication of whether the current real estate cycle is a buyer's market, a seller's market or a balanced market. There are currently 209 Guilford Connecticut homes for sale (single family). Below is the most up-to-date absorption rate analysis:

Photo courtesy of slack12 :

Featured below are Guilford Connecticut Real Estate Sales for the past three months. Statistics are broken down by price range for a better view of the current market which is showing a good balance of sales between $250,000 to $500,000.

Today I ran into a series written by an up & coming runner and a downhill racer by the name of Beth Forbes but the Re-Blog feature didn’t allow me to alter the title so I will do it my way and add the occupation of Realtor.

The Real Estate Agent plays many roles in a transaction involving the sale and or purchase of property and the duties vary during different stages.  Here I will use the example of a prospective Homebuyer that contacts the Realtor and would like to see one of the agent’s listings.

It is very rare that the prospective Homebuyer will love that first house and write up an offer but it is often the start of a three to six month relationship between the parties.  Initially the Realtor will ask some probing questions to determine how best to serve the prospect. The Real Estate Agent needs to know the type, location and price range of the property that will meet the buyer’s need.

If the Homebuyer has not discussed financing with a Loan Officer the Realtor will often provide a few recommendations of Loan Officers they know with a proven record of providing high quality service. For more information about the financing aspects of the transaction read Beth's series linked below.

With a Pre-Qualification or preferably a Pre-Approval Letter in hand the Homebuyer is ready to move ahead on the journey to become a Homeowner.  At this stage the Real Estate Agent will be sifting through hundreds of homes for sale in order to find the one that meet the Homebuyer's criteria.  The duration of the process can be a few days or a few months depending on market conditions and the Homebuyer's list of requirements.

Once a house is found the Realtor will write up the Purchase Offer and present it to the seller or their agent.  Assuming negotiations go well it ends with the Homebuyer and Homeseller agreeing on the terms of the sale. The Real Estate Agent will then get in touch with the Homebuyer's Loan Officer for a continuation of the process outlined in Beth's Series while concurrently coordinating other pieces of the deal.

Beyond financing most homebuyers will use a Home Inspector to provide a detailed physical report of the home's condition.  The Real Estate Agent can also provide recommendations if a buyer needs the names of qualified inspectors.

At this stage the Realtor has assisted the Homebuyer in finding a property, negotiated the deal, provided copies of the contract to the Buyer & Loan Officer, attended the inspection and ironed out any problems. The Real Estate Agent will also monitor dates to make sure everything remains on track for the closing which is usually 30-60 days after the Sales Agreement.

  Via Beth Forbes, Wholesale Lender:

Who does what and when? Loan Officer Who does what and when? Mortgage Processor Who does what and when? The appraisal Who does what and when? The title report Who does what and when? Underwriting Who does what and when? Closing

Beth Forbes, Wholesale Lender Center Valley, PA More about me… United General Mortgage Corp.

Anyone ready to undertake the adventures of searching for property in New Haven County can contact Dan Cummings - The Running Realtor via email or call my 24 hour access line : 203-672-2455