Brent Bell, CRS, e-PRO, GRI, Hartford County

You are invited to our Home Buyer's Seminar

Learn 9 Secrets to make your Home Purchase easier (including the $8,000 Tax Credit)

Where: Elmwood Community Center, 1106 New Britain Avenue, WH

When: August 5th, Wednesday, from 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm

Cost: FREE

For more information, contact your home ownership professionals below.

Limited seating, courtesy RSVP requested (882-0414). Attendees who pre-register will receive coupons to save $500 towards the purchase of their next property!

What You Will Learn: · What is the home buying process? Will I qualify for the first

time home buyer $8,000 tax credit? How much should I budget for closing costs? How do I

apply for a loan? How can I buy a home with little to no money down? Do I need a Home

Inspector? How does a Home Warranty protect me? What are the next steps to

Home Ownership? How does a Buyers Agent protect my interests? These topics and more will be discussed in detail. There will also be time to address your specific questions.

Douglas Firtel, Esq. Patricia Vautour

Closing Management, LLC Mortgage Master, Inc.

(860) 561-8800 (860) 231-0500

dfirtel@closingmanagement.com pvautour@mortgagemasterinc.com

Paul Colasanto Brent Bell, Certified Residential Specialist

Allied Home Inspections RE/MAX Premier, Realtors

(860) 525-2727 (860) 614-8927

pcolasanto@sbcglobal.net BrentBell@remax.net

www.OurNextCThome.com

NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY YOUR OWN HOME

To qualify for the $8,000 First-time Homebuyer Tax Credit, you must complete your purchase (have the closing and take title to the property) by December 1, 2009! Even if you do not owe the federal government any tax, you can file and receive a check for $8,000 if you meet the requirements. As long as you own your home for at least 3 years, this $8,000 is a gift to you!!!

Other program details:

• The tax credit is for first-time homebuyers only. (A first-time homebuyer is someone who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase.)

• The tax credit is equal to 10% of the home's purchase price up to a maximum of $8,000.

• The credit is available for homes purchased on or after January 1, 2009 and before December 1, 2009. (For purposes of the tax credit, the purchase date is the date when the closing occurs and title to the property transfers to the homeowner.)

• Single taxpayers with incomes up to a maximum of $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to a maximum of $150,000 may qualify for the full tax credit.

• Buyers must live in the house for at least three years, or they will be obligated to pay back the credit.

• The tax credit can be claimed on your federal income tax return. Homebuyers should complete IRS Form 5405 to determine their tax credit amount. For more information and to determine your eligibility, please talk to your tax advisor. Additional information about the First-Time Homebuyer Tax Credit is available at: http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/2009/home2.html

Improve your long-term financial health today. Contact me for more details on the advantages of this program. For more information on the home buying process, order free buyers reports delivered to you on-line.

The Glastonbury market is looking better in May 2009 compared to May 2008 (but still is far behind year-to-date numbers for 2008)! There were 46 deposits taken during the month of May. The activity varied by market segment, with more sales of homes priced under $450,000 (28 this year versus 16 for the same period last year). During May 2008 there were only 37 deposits taken for single-family homes.

Under $200,000 5

$200,000 to $250,000 0

$250,000 to $300,000 7

$300,000 to $350,000 6

$350,000 to $450,000 10

$450,000 to $550,000 7

$550,000 to $650,000 2

$650,000 to $750,000 7

Over $750,000 2

The number of houses which have closed for the first five months of the year is down significantly! Through the end of May 2009, there were 71 closings, with buyers paying between $101,000 and $950,000 to live in town. The median sale was 521 Tall Timbers Road. This 4-bedroom, 3-bathroom Ranch is situated on a .57 acre lot and was marketed as having 2,066 sf including the finished lower level. The home entered the market at $339,900 and was reduced to $324,900 while on the market for 86 days and finally sold for $310,000.

In contrast, during the first five months of 2008, 145 houses closed in Glastonbury, with prices paid ranging from $165,000 to $2,100,000. The median sale was 351 Marlborough Road, a 4-bedroom, 2 1/2-bathroom Colonial offering 2,062 sf of living space situated on 1.62 acres. This property sold in 4 days for $405,000 (asking price was $399,900).

As of June 10, there are 170 single-family homes available to purchase in town (up from 133 at the end of January). The highest-priced is 392 Woodland, with an asking price of $5,999,000 (12,872 sf). The median is 439 Foote Road, priced at $539,000 (4 bedrooms, 3 baths, 3,208 sf). The lowest-priced is 489 Chestnut Hill, asking $179,900 (780 sf).

For more information on the value of your home in this market, contact Brent today by cell (860-614-8927) or by email (brentbell@remax.net). You can find this blog directly by visiting www.MyCTRealEstateBlog.com.

If you want the approximate value of your home, and are not ready to be contacted by an agent, visit www.MyHartfordAreaRealtor.com . Fill out as much detail as possible about your house. Brent will respond by email only (unless you request a phone call) with an estimate of your home's current value within 24 hours of your request!

Overall, West Hartford homes sales (measured by deposits taken) are on pace with one year ago (83 in May 2009 compared to 80 in May 2008)... If we look back to last month, we had 70 deposits taken in April 2009 (so activity is up, as expected, from April to May of this year).

Looking within price categories, sales were up versus last year with homes priced below $450,000 (75 last month compared to 62 one year ago. For properties priced above $450,000 the decrease was dramatic (8 last month compared to 18 one year ago). Check my earlier blog for April sales details.

Note that homes on the market are up to 299 as of June 9 (up from 274 one month ago). Your home needs to stand out in the market!

May 2009 deposits taken for West Hartford Single-Family Homes:

Under $200,000 11

$200,000 to $250,000 19

$250,000 to $300,000 13

$300,000 to $350,000 16

$350,000 to $450,000 16

$450,000 t0 $550,000 3

$550,000 to $650,000 2

$650,000 to $750,000 0

Over $750,000 3

For more detailed sales data which applies to your personal situation and your individual neighborhood contact Brent on the web or call his cell at 860-614-8927.

After choosing the right home & negotiating a sales contract successfully, most buyers next look at protecting & maintaining this important asset. The quality of your home inspector is key to learning how to care for you new home.

Home inspectors should fulfill three important functions:

1) to perform a general physical examination of the home (like going to your doctor for a physical) and create a report for you, including specific tips for you which will help you to maintain the home. Just like regular oil changes for your car, your home will need regular maintenance so that it functions well. Regular maintenance will help you prevent more costly repairs at a later date.

2) to answer questions you have about caring for your new home, including "How long can I expect this hot water heater to last?" or "How many layers of shingles are on my roof?" or "What is the current level of radon in my basement?" It is important that you attend the home inspection. There is no substitute for picking the inspector's brain while you are both looking at the house. This allows the inspector to provide specific answers which apply to your home (i.e. That 120 gallon electric water heater was manufactured in the 1940s and may never wear out, however it will really boost your electric bill so you may want to consider replacing it).

3) to help you determine if any of the major operating systems (electrical, plumbing, heating) or the structure of the home itself need major repairs, especially if those repairs could not have been determined by you and/or your real estate agent before you made your offer to purchase the property. Every so often, there are homes that require major renovation or repair before they are safe and sound. You want to know this before you take title to the property! The Property Condition Disclosure Report completed by the seller is no substitute for a good home inspection.

So how do you choose a home inspector?

In the State of Connecticut, home inspectors have only needed to be licensed and fufill minimal requirements (graduating from high school, taking a course on home inspection, passing a test, performing supervised inspections) since the year 2000.

It is a crime to perform a home inspection if you are not licensed. The question for you is "How qualified should my home inspector be?" As an agent who appreciates the value of having more education and experience than the average agent, I recommend home inspectors who are members of the American Society of Home Inspectors and have the right to use the ASHI designation.

In most cases, your real estate agent will give you a list of inspectors to choose from. Do yourself a favor and visit the ASHI website to learn more about home inspections and make a wise choice:

ASHI Home Inspector Directory

or paste this into your browser: http://www.ashi.org/find/