Supermarkets in Newtown, CT. When we first moved from Long Island to Newtown, the previous homeowner told us very proudly that "there is a big "y" in town". We asked her how much it cost (being from NY - "Y meant YMCA to us). She looked at us with an incredulous look on her face & said "Cost??" We, thinking she didn't understand us, replied, "How much does a membership to the "Y" cost?". Again, she replied, "Cost??" At that point, we realized that we weren't communicating too well with her and asked "YMCA??" She started to laugh and told us that the big "y" was a supermarket. Who knew?
Being Realtors, we always point out the local supermarkets in Newtown, CT as we drive around town showing homes to buyers. There are three now in town and they are:
Some people in town like to do their shopping outside of Newtown. Some favorites are the newer Big Y in Bethel and the Big Y in Monroe. Depending on where in Newtown you live, these stores could be closer to your home than the one on Queen Street.
Other local shopping favorites are;
Of course, this blog post has not covered all the grocery stores and supermarkets in the area - just the supermarkets in Newtown, CT and the places where others will tell you are their favorite out-of-town places to shop. We hope this is helpful to you :-)
If you have any questions, please Email us!
Bob & Richelle Ward, Realtors, ABR
Prudential Connecticut Realty
www.connecticuthomesforsale.com
Cell - (203) 470-9818
Walk the Dog is Not a Just a YoYo Trick So your family has a dog, you live in Newtown, CT and you'd like to take your dog for a walk. Let Riley, the Real Estate Dog tell you about his favorite places. Riley should probably have his own blog! He's always working hard at real estate and when he's not, he likes to go for a walk. The good thing about a dog walk, is that it's pretty portable and you can do it just about anywhere. Riley does have his favorite places to walk - some in Newtown and some not.
We've heard that Newtown is working on creating a dog park of their own over at Fairfield Hills. As we find out more about this, we'll let you know.
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Photos above are of Riley on a walk at Fairfield Hills - up behind the Newtown Youth Academy, Newtown's premier indoor sports and fitness center.
Bob & Richelle Ward, Realtors, ABR
Prudential Connecticut Realty
www.connecticuthomesforsale.com
Cell - (203) 470-9818
There are many moving parts to purchasing a home - two of them are the purchase price of the home and the mortgage rate. Mortgage rates change every day, but recently they went from 4.85% to 5.75% and are now back down around 5.25%. We have had a few first time homebuyers who have only been concerned about "the bargain" price on their purchase. When we pointed out the variation of the mortgage 
rate and how it affected their purchasing power, they didn't get it at first. This got us to thinking ...
We're going to post a few tables with lots of numbers on them. Numbers can be intimidating, so for you non-numbers people - get ready!
Here are the constants: If you were to purchase a $400,000 home and put down 20%, you would be left with an 80% mortgage or a $320,000 mortgage. We have set the taxes and home owner's insurance at $550/month. Debt to income ratio is low and you have a high credit score (FICO score).
This table shows how the monthly mortgage payment and the Total Payments for the Life of the Loan change as the mortage rate increases.
|
Mortgage Amount |
Mortgage Rate |
Monthly Payment Amount |
# of Payments |
Total Payments for Life of the Loan |
| $320,000 | 4.50% | $2,171.39 | 360 | $781,700.40 |
| $320,000 | 4.75% | $2,219.27 | 360 | $798,937.20 |
| $320,000 | 5.00% | $2,267.83 | 360 | $816,418.80 |
| $320,000 | 5.25% | $2,317.05 | 360 | $834,138.00 |
| $320,000 | 5.50% | $2,366.92 | 360 | $852,091.20 |
| $320,000 | 5.75% | $2,417.43 | 360 | $870,274.80 |
| $320,000 | 6.00% | $2,468.56 | 360 | $888,681.60 |
Now, how much income do you need to purchase your $400,000 home? The mortage interest rate affects the amount of income you need to qualify for a mortgage. The next table will show you.
|
Mortgage Amount |
Mortgage Rate |
Annual Income to Purchase
$400,000 home |
| $320,000 | 4.50% | $78,960 |
| $320,000 | 4.75% | $80,701 |
| $320,000 | 5.00% | $82,467 |
| $320,000 | 5.25% | $84,256 |
| $320,000 | 5.50% | $86,070 |
| $320,000 | 5.75% | $87,907 |
| $320,000 | 6.00% | $89,766 |
Some people want a monthly mortgage payment at a set amount to fit their budget. This last table illustrates a set payment amount with varying mortgage rates and how your purchase power changes.
|
Monthly Mortgage Payment |
Mortgage Rate |
Your Purchase Power
|
| $2,267.83 | 4.50% | $423,791.15 |
| $2,267.82 | 4.75% | $411,635.86 |
| $2,267.82 | 5.00% | $400,000.19 |
| $2,267.82 | 5.25% | $388,857.86 |
| $2,267.82 | 5.50% | $378,184.06 |
| $2,267.82 | 5.75% | $367,955.34 |
| $2,267.82 | 6.00% | $358,149.55 |
We just threw out a lot of numbers and a lot of information to you. If you have any questions, please feel free to email us!
Bob & Richelle Ward, Realtors, ABR
Prudential Connecticut Realty
www.connecticuthomesforsale.com
Cell - (203) 470-9818
Prudential Connecticut Realty's Newtown Office will be holding an informative seminar for anyone who would like to know more about foreclosure and short sale properties. Attorney Frank Lieto of Lieto & Greenberg LLP will discuss short sales and Attorney Larry Riefberg of Reifberg, Smart, Donohue and NaJame, P.C. will talk about foreclosures.
What is a short sale? Short Sale is a term that we hear quite often these days. A short sale is when there is not enough money in the transaction to satisfy all the obligations of the seller. These obligations can include the payoff of any and all mortgages, any loans collateralized by the property, transfer taxes, legal fees, real estate commissions and any outstanding property taxes or liens against the property. A short sale is often a better alternative for the bank and the seller to avoid the foreclosure process.
What is a foreclosure? A foreclosure is legal proceeding whereby a property that has mortgage on it is taken back by the bank or lender due to non-payment of the mortgage. The bank or lender has taken back ownership of the property - sort of like a repossession.
Stop by for a visit and while here, you can learn about these types of distressed properties.
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We have posted on www.LifeinNewtown.com about short sales in the past. Here are the most recent:
http://activerain.com/blogsview/1094706/newtown-ct-of-short-sales-as-of-5-31-09-
http://activerain.com/blogsview/995075/newtown-ct-of-short-sales-as-of-3-21-09-
http://activerain.com/blogsview/904961/newtown-ct-of-short-sales-as-of-1-28-09
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Bob & Richelle Ward, Realtors, ABR
Prudential Connecticut Realty
www.connecticuthomesforsale.com
Cell - (203) 470-9818
A while ago, the Realtors in our office compiled this list of 50 Things to Like About Living in Newtown, CT. We thought it was fun and a great post for our blog, www.LifeinNewtown.com! If we missed something, please let us know :-)
Bob & Richelle Ward, Realtors, ABR
Prudential Connecticut Realty
www.connecticuthomesforsale.com
Cell - (203) 470-9818
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We service homebuyers and homesellers with real estate in the Greater Danbury, CT area. This includes the towns of Danbury, Bethel, Brookfield, Newtown, New Fairfield, New Milford and Southbury.
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