Hamden, CT

EARTH DAY is just around the corner - April 22, 2009!

HERE ARE SOME LINKS TO EARTH DAY HISTORY/CELEBRATIONS/EVENTS.

Earth Day History http://earthday.envirolink.org/history.html

Earth Day TV Videos http://www.earthdaytv.net/

The Green Generation http://www.earthday.net/earthday2009

CT DEP 'Celebrate Earth Day' Events http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2688&q=322374&depNav_GID=1511

National Earth Day Events http://earthday.envirolink.org/calendar.html?special=yes&city=blank&state=blank&country=USA

How do you celebrate? Large or small, share your ideas for what we can do as individuals or as a community to make your neighborhood a greener place. Let us know any Earth Day events/activities in our area which we can post on our website.

And beyond Earth Day, what can we do every day in our home, neighborhood, town, state, nation, world?

Prior to legislation creating Buyer Representation, the adage 'Buyer Beware' was in full force. When a Buyer was shown a property by a real estate Agent, the Buyer may have assumed that the Agent was working for him or her; in fact, the Agent was looking out for the Seller's interest.

On June 1, 1997 Connecticut Real Estate Agency law changed to address this fundamental inadequacy of the existing law.

In order to protect Buyers, the law allows the Buyer to be represented by an Agent. The Agent's responsibility to the Buyer is based on state law and the REALTOR Code of Ethics. The relationship between the Agent and Buyer is a fiduciary relationship - the Agent owes the Buyer confidentiality, loyalty, disclosure, diligence, obedience, accounting, and reasonable care.

The Agent can show a represented Buyer any Connecticut property, point out material problems, research recent comparable home sales, give advice on offers, and negotiate terms and conditions on the Buyer's behalf.

While the advantages of being represented are significant, some Buyers just want to see a property without obligation to work with a single Agent. In that case, the Buyer may sign a one day/one property agreement limiting their obligation while being represented for that showing.

In the event that a Buyer opts to be unrepresented, they may sign an Unrepresented Person form with the Agent. That Agent may show the Buyer homes listed by that Agent's Broker, however, the Agent will be representing the Seller.

Buyer Representation gives the Buyer the benefit of working with an Agent who will represent the Buyer's interest.

Looking for a William Raveis Real Estate Professional covering the Town of Hamden?

Dan and Sandra Cummings live in North Haven so they are often working in Hamden. As lifelong residents of New Haven County they have invaluable knowledge of the area and are happy to share their market knowledge with local home sellers or provide tours for relocating clients.

You can learn more about Sandra Cummings by reading her stories on The Shoreline Blogger or just Google Sandra Cummings Realtor to find one of her many sites.

Dan has become an avid runner in the area and may be spotted at any number of local 5k events. He also spends weekend mornings running with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training or lending a hand with the New Haven Runners. Of course running is just a hobby so he is always available to discuss Real Estate, just google Dan the Running Realtor.

After a long and trying winter, this breath of warm, fresh air is most invigorating. It is wonderful to feel good and positive again, if only for a day. Now let's try to keep this feeling going. There is another big headline today that may impact Hamden in a positive way. The Economic Stimulus bill finally was passed by Congress. If this opens the spigot of money for municipalities and consumers, we may soon be singing a happier tune.

Before we get too ahead of ourselves, winter is by no means over, and neither is this recession. There are, however, signs of change in the air. In the macro economic picture, the distressed real estate market in southern California may be bottoming. Money is starting to flow through our banking system, if slowly. That's the positive side. On the negative side, the shoe has yet to drop on the commercial real estate market and on consumer loans and credit cards. That could slow the recovery. This uncertainty and insecurity was reflected in gold closing at $943 per ounce today, nearing a record high. All is not lost, however. We are thinking creatively about how to turn this economy around. There will be hits and misses, but it will happen eventually.

Locally, I am seeing a glimmer of hope in that the bank owned properties are starting to sell. This will have an immediate positive effect on our neighborhoods. Our inventory is low, only 227 single family homes for sale in a town of nearly 60,000 people. According to our local Greater New Haven Association of Realtors, 201 homes sold in the past six months at an average sale price of $257,350. It took an average of 71 days to sell a home. Let's see what $789 Billion does for our economy. Wise use of these funds will go a long way towards restoring faith in our economy and raising our spirits.

The Whitneyville Civic Association (WCA) is a neighborhood association which provides residents and business owners in the Whitneyville community with a voice in civic matters concerning our neighborhood. We organize to maintain and promote the unique social, ecological and historic character of Whitneyville. Members and friends of the WCA meet 6 times each year to share ideas and hear about issues affecting our neighborhood. Please visit our website at www.whitneyville.org for news and meeting schedules.