Andrea Swiedler

Investors please remember, it is a hyper local market! With all the foreclosures on the market, I can't blame investors for diving in. I am convinced that this is a necessary thing, that these homes can re enter the market as healed properties and help us to move foreward. Investors are often looking at the homes that no one else can handle, or that no one else wants. Put some money into it, put it back on the market and bingo, a paycheck!

Scenario #1 thought process, let me use the listing broker to make an offer, I can probably get the broker to agree to a commission reduction, especially because they can make even better money by re-listing when I am finished with the simple renovations. Problem? Sounds good to me if I were on your side of the fence. However.... 9 times out of 10 the listing broker for foreclosed properties is from out of town, way out of town. Real estate is hyper local. So, you purchased this great deal, you spent a bit to put it in shape with the nod from your agent on pricing. And, lo and behold the house is now overpriced and not selling. Solution? Use a local Realtor® who is knowledgeable about the hyper local market conditions when you are thinking about purchasing the investment in the first place. Run the numbers with your local Realtor® and get the truth. Will you be out-pricing yourself with the improvements?

Prime example, and oh so true. A foreclosure in a very hyper local market. 2 bedrooms, 1 bath turn of the century home on a postage stamp piece of property.  Not the pricey neighborhood 2 streets over, historically far lower prices that those larger very beautiful homes a few blocks away. Purchase price I will put at $140,000. Based on information from the cousin who is a realtor 50 miles away, this is a great price! After all, it started $50,000 higher, so it must be worth at least $190,000 if it is fixed up!  Mr. Investor puts $50,000 into the house. That puts him $20,000 over the price of the house that sold across the street a month before he purchased his investment in this very hyper local market. A home that the town lists as a 4 bedroom home, it has 2 baths, larger kitchen. OK, so it doesn't have the garage, but, again, this is a very hyper local market, never mind the appraisal issues. Surprised that the CMA given to you by a local Realtor® puts you in the hole?

Scenario #2 thought process, buy a distressed home owner out of the mortgage. Leverage the home and pull money off it since the purchase price was below market value. Distressed homes are often not only distressed money wise, but distressed physically, or shall we say, compromised. Now it's time to sell. And now you find out the property was over leveraged.

This scenario is not so typical, but it is happening. Making decisions as an investor is no different than making decisions as a home owner. Both are large amounts of money that should appreciate in value over time. Should being the key word. Should if the purchase price was appropriate in the first place, should if the market continues to improve, should if regular maintenance is NOT deferred, should if updates are made. And you should have known what the market was all about if a local Realtor® had been contacted.

So, investors, please remember, it is a hyper local market.  You will be courting a local Realtor® to sell your investment at some point in time. It would be far wiser to use their expertise up front than to have to listen to your out of town Realtor® tell you that all of those hyper local agents don't know their stuff, they keep complaining the house is overpriced for the local market. If you are looking for an investment property in New Milford, CT please give me a call, I would be happy to assist.

New Milford CT, a study in colors. I grabbed the camera today to get some photos, but not just the leaves, I wanted the colors. We have some awesome colors around here in the fall, reds, oranges, browns, rusts, amazing eye candy. So off I went, winding down a few country roads, stopped in town for a bit, pulled over anywhere when the colors caught my eye. Capturing the fall colors of New Milford is always great fun, ever changing and very awe inspiring. I hope you enjoy the slide show as much as I enjoyed my trip around New Milford today! What a gorgeous place to live, all year round.

New Milford CT, Jaws of Life Demonstration and thank you to our fire department and ambulance volunteers!

Yesterday the Lions Club of New Milford put on a wonderful event, the very first annual Harrybrooke Park Car Show and Fall Festival, what a day it was! Good food, wonderful cars (I have pictures of some but not all of the cars, I was busy working), games and a demonstration of the Jaws of Life by Water Witch Hose Co #2, the Northville Fire Department and New Milford Community Ambulance Corporation. These people are amazing, they work so well together as a team.

New Milford has a volunteer fire department and ambulance service. The town is serviced by three fire companies, Water Witch Hose Co. #2, Northville Fire Department and the Gaylordsville Fire Department. The men and women who serve on these fire departments are awesome, and we in the town of New Milford and neighboring towns owe them a debt of gratidute. Add the New Milford Community Ambulance Corporation into the mix, and we are covered from all angles. I know many of the fireman and EMT's for the town, the dedication is amazing, they are true professionals who are the towns heroes and heroines, and make such a difference in our lives here.

I took pictures of the Jaws of Life Demo and made a slide show on Youtube as a way of honoring our many volunteers. Now I admit, this is my very first Youtube, and I hope you enjoy it. But mostly this is a way for me to acknowledge the fantastic job all these volunteers do as they go out on each and every call to save lives while putting their own lives on the line. Thank you to each and every one of you, you rock!

Speechless Sunday, fall comes to Litchfield County! I am looking forward to the next week or two with my camera. So many places are running through my mind, calling out to me for pictures to be taken. There are not enough hours in the day. I hope you enjoy my pictures, from my own back yard, the green in downtown New Milford to Lake Waramaug from a distance.

Happy Fall, and if you have a camera, happy hunting!

Prudential Adams & Associates Official Scarecrow, Harrybrooke Park Fall Festival.

Earlier today I wrote about the Harrybrooke Park Car Show and Fall Festival, sponsored by the New Milford Lions Club. Prudential Adams & Associates, REALTORS has an entry for the scarecrow contest. If this scarecrow Realtor® doesn't scare the crows away, I don't know what will! Mary Miller and I made this scarecrow, and I have to tell you, this is our first ever. So here he is, in all his glory, Mr. Prosperous Realtor® scarecrow.

I hope to see you there! Harrybrooke Park is located at 64 Lanesville Rd, New Milford, CT, the fair will be held on Saturday, October 10th, from 9 am to 5 pm rain or shine.

Let's just hope he doesn't scare away clients! And if he can't help you find the home of your dreams, give me a call, I would be happy to help you!