For those of you living in greater Hartford, the Elizabeth Park Spring Flower Sale is today from 10 until 2. You can buy a pot of tulips or hyacinths in bloom at a budget price (last year's prices were between $5 and $10 per pot. Bring the scent of spring into your home or light up someone's kitchen or living room and support the park. The super savers will show up at 1 pm, when some flowers may be marked down by 50%!

For more details on all the activities available at Elizabeth Park, visit www.ElizabethPark.org.

To learn about homes for sale near Elizabeth Park, contact Brent Bell, CRS.

St. Patrick's Day is right around the corner... in 4 days. What better way to get into the spirit than a parade. In a matter of minutes.. so run out the door after you read this. Is the 38th annual Hartford's St. Patty's Day Parade in Hartford Connecticut.

The Parade will be Saturday, March 14th at 11:00 a.m. Come down to the parade route early, get dressed in green and get a good spot! The parade begins at Capitol Avenue by the State Capital. Then proceeds to take a left on Main Street, then a left on Asylum, a left on Ford Street, and commences by the Memorial Arch.

This event is being held rain or shine... so now is the time to get dressed in green, paint shamrocks on your face.. and head to Hartford.

Maybe you will be able to see yourself on TV. This year parade is being broadcast live beginning at 11:00 a.m. on WTIC-TV FOX, I believe this to be Channel 61.

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, Middletown, Wethersfield, Newington, as well as all other surrounding areas. Please visit me at www.CTrealtorMLS.com for all your relocation and/or local needs.

If you're thinking about buying a home in Cromwell CT there are plenty of great buys in today's market. There is no better time than now to take advantage of these homes while interest rates remain at an all time low. For more information on Cromwell CT real estate's homes and/or condos please visit Johnson Real Estate to access the newest listings.

Valerie Osterhoudt, ABR - Johnson Real Estate, Inc. - 860.635.0387 #2 - valerierealtor@sbcglobal.net.

Copyright © 2009 By Valerie Osterhoudt, ABR, All Rights Reserved...*38th ANNUAL HARTFORD ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE... TODAY!!!*

Credit Repair in Hartford 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.

How do you pick a credit repair firm? Interview them! Please give me a try - I have been doing credit repair in Hartford County CT for 13 years! I will do a good job for you at a very reasonable price. Call me and come in for a free consultation. We can sit down and go over your credit report and determine if I can be of assistance to you.

Matt Listro

Toll Free: 888-NCFIXER (623-4937)

Toll Free Fax: 888-FAX-4020 (329-4020)

Local: 860-282-6181

330 Roberts Street 4^th Floor

East Hartford, CT 06108

www.nationalcreditfixers.com

Saving money.... ouch... In today's market, not as easy for some depending on their situations. I know some people that make a good living, but that they have a large family to support. Sure, define a good living, which would be different for each one of us. But the bottom line is that many of us could use help one way or another when it comes to buying a home.

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about the tax credit for first time homebuyers and giving insight of what it was all about. Before I go further about this tax credit, let's define first time homebuyer. It is someone that has not owned a home in the last 3 years from July 2, 2005, through July 1, 2008. And just a FYI, this tax credit is still good for anyone that buys a home prior to July 1, 2009.

Now, did you realize that you could actually use this first time homebuyers tax credit prior to actually buying a home and filing your tax returns? That's right, you heard it correctly, you can actually tap into this tax credit prior to buying your new home. The 7500 Tax Credit can be a great tool in buying.

So, the main question is : As a first time homebuyer, is there a way that I can access the monies allocated for the tax credit sooner, prior to filing my taxes and buying the home?

The answer to this is YES.... But how? If you believe that you are buying a home prior to the deadline date of July 1st, 2009, you can actually reduce your income tax withholdings. You can actually reduce your tax withholdings, up to the amount of the credit allowed, which will allow you to accumulate cash. This is done by raising your take home income, in which the money accumulated can then be applied to the purchase of your new home.

I am not a tax accountant, so it is mandatory that you speak to your accountant. But you would need to adjust your withholdings amount on your W-4 through your employer or if self-employed, through your quarterly estimated tax payments. Here are the rules and guidelines for your income tax withholdings. IRS publication 919 in how to adjust your withholdings. Keep in mind, if you don't use this money, you will have to repay it back. Overall, the 7500 tax credit should be thought about when buying a new home.

FYI - The seller-funded DPA's are back on the talking blocks. For more information in obtaining your dream home, please read : Part 2 - Seller-funced down payment assistance programs might appear again.

Update March 28th, 2009 - $8,000 first time homebuyers tax credit

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For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. The FHA Expert

For more information about the 2008-2009 Tax Credit for First Time Homebuyers : 2008 Tax Credit

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags !!!!!

Copyright © 2009 by Jeff Belonger

In today's society, we look to each other for advice, for counseling, expert knowledge on a specific subject, etc, etc. In many cases, we just go to the internet and Google a specific subject and poof, there are many links that appear from different people explaining or expressing different ideas or detailed specifics. But how do we know what is actually right? How do we know what is fact and what is opinion?

My point to this is that I have been on several mortgage related sites in the last year and have found some information that is misleading or incorrect. Luckily I am in the mortgage industry. But how would a consumer know?

Kelly Sibilsky wrote this blog : Opinions are like belly buttons A very cute analogy, that talks about opposing view points and such.

My problem with the internet and many comments in blog posts is that when someone tells you that you are wrong, because they found someone else to agree with them, that should make their opinion or statement correct, making it right.

So it goes back to the fact, should two rights make a wrong?? As many, I love opinions and I especially love a good debate. I love when comments are thought provoking. But when you write a blog that is based on true facts, and someone or more than one come into that blog to attack your blog?? And then call you a liar and make a comment that you are not helping your clients? And then that person making comments comes back and says, "I have been validated." Okay, so they found someone to agree with them. But that they still can't answer my questions and or prove it with facts. Again, does two wrongs make a right? Who do you agree with then? My advice, read all of the comments then. What's sad is that it happened to me in this blog, FHA loans vs Conventional Loans, a real comparison with 5% down.

As you can see, people will actually verbally abused you and attacked you. In my case, I kept asking one simple question.... Do you have a large pricing hit to your conventional rates when you have credit scores under 659 and when you are putting 5% down. Not once did they reply to this question. But the funny, yet sad part of it, is that they still attacked me.

What should you do with those comments? Many would say delete the comments. In my case, I have no problem with these comments, once the reader reads every comment made. If you truly get to understand what took place, what was asked, and who never replied???? That should give you a big indication to what took place and probably allow you to assume that the author of that blog was actually correct. If I am going to debate someone that wrote something and I didn't agree with it, or that I thought their figures were incorrect, I will just debate back with facts.

The problem with this is that too many people confuse opinion with fact. I myself? I love stats and figures, because this will usually win most debates, as long as the correct figures or stats are being used.

For another piece on comments and possibly something that could open your eyes some, please read : How do you treat your comments? And my adice when it comes to reading other blogs and or trying to gather information.

• Research that topic. Gather your facts from reliable sources.
• If reading a particular person, maybe you should follow them for more than a few months. Maybe 6 months.
  

FYI : Just because it sounds good doesn't mean that it is correct.

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For more information on FHA loans, please go to this link. : The FHA Expert

For more information on how you can obtain your dream home, please click here : Mortgage Financing Options

For important mortgage insight to watch for, please read : Consumers need to be aware of these Red Flags

Copyright © 2008 by Jeff Belonger