Dan Cummings - Connecticut's Running Realtor

Hartford Connecticut showed up at number three on the list of America's Ten Dead Cities.

3. Hartford

The city was once the “insurance capital of the world.” In 1950, the city’s population peaked at more than 177,000 and has dropped to 124,000 recently. Hartford was, beyond being an insurance center, also home to a number of manufacturing and publishing businesses. Hartford lost some of its insurance firms as they moved to new locations, primarily because of consolidation in this sector. Five large financial firms have downsized their workforces. These include Met Life, Cigna, Lincoln Financial, Mass Mutual, and, perhaps most depressing of all, The Hartford.

The Great Falls Balloon Festival comes around this time every year and I recall my title line from the series F-Troop that aired in the mid 60's. The character Chief Wild Eagle would yell "It is Balloon" quite often when he saw a hot air balloon.

We travel to Maine quite often during the summer months but I have only managed to get to the Great Falls Balloon Festival once to see them successfully launch a sky full of balloons. This weekend the forecast is looking good so if you're in Maine swing into the Lewiston / Auburn area at 6am or 6pm to catch the launch or spend a few hours wandering around the Great Falls Balloon Festival.

Thimble Islands are scattered throughout the Harbor in Branford Connecticut. In the heyday after the turn of the century and leading into the Roaring 20's this series of rock formations known as the Thimble Islands in Branford was considered the Newport of Connecticut. This summertime playground for the wealthy has now been transformed into a private sanctuary for the well-to-do.

At the end low end the Rock known as Cocktail Island closed for a mere $150,000. Since the stone is to small to allow major improvement with today's building code the main function is bragging rights.

Back in the spring of 2007 a Rock with a Gazebo & Dock was for sale by owner for just under 400k. If you are in the market to purchase a piece of the prestigious Thimble Islands you will be happy to know that Cedar Island with the Gazebo is now listed with a real estate agent with a reduced price of $285,000.

There is another property currently availabile off the coast of Branford offering a bit of savings compared to the original asking price of a few years back.

The six room Victorian with a deep water mooring & dingy dock is no longer on the market but the 3 bedroom Cape that was $2.5 is still being marketed with a price adjustment.

Contact Dan Cummings - The Running Real Estate Agent for information about any homes for sale in the Connecticut Shoreline towns of Branford, Guilford or Madison. In addition to waterfront properties we have an abundance of year-round homes or condominiums at all price levels.

Call Dan at 203-672-2455 or send email to Dan@CummingsTeam.com if you are interested in one of the Thimble Islands or a more traditional home along the Connecticut Shoreline.

A Simple Guide To Home Ownership

The first step to Home Ownership is to meet with a local Real Estate Agent. A good agent will listen to your needs and concerns, will put you in contact with local lenders, will help you seek out the properties that will suit your needs and your budget and will guide you through the entire process from searching for your dream home to making it yours at closing. Your agent will protect your interests along the way. Find an agent that you’re comfortable with, someone who will listen and someone who will communicate with you in a fashion that works for you. Remember this…the seller has their own agent working for them make sure you have your own agent working for you! Don’t worry about compensating your agent, in most cases your agent is paid from the seller’s proceeds of the sale.

The second step to Home Ownership would be to get together with a local lender. I stress the word local here because the local lenders have a really good idea of what your local real estate market looks like and they can often times point you in the direction of local first time homebuyer programs and mortgage loan products specific to your area. Meeting with your local mortgage lender early in the process to home ownership allows you to shop within your means and positions you to be ready to make an offer the minute you’ve found your dream home.

Once you’ve chosen your REALTOR® and you’ve secured your mortgage pre-approval, it’s time to begin the search that will end in home ownership. You’ll need a list and your list needs to be broken down into “wants” and “needs”. Be honest with yourself and your agent about what these wants and needs are and together you’ll work towards your goal of home ownership.

Don’t get discouraged if you don’t find your dream home in the first week or even in the first month. Every home buyer is different and so is every house. It may take some time to find the right combination of your wants and needs. Home ownership is a huge investment and responsibility and it’s important that you don’t settle for just anything. There may be times when you are convinced that the house you’re looking for doesn’t exist when the truth is it just might not be on the market yet.

Don’t be afraid to look “outside the box”. Sometimes the path to home ownership can take you in a direction you might never have considered. I’ve worked with buyers who insisted they only wanted to look at capes but then discovered they really liked the raised ranch. Also, when you’re looking at properties, it’s sometimes hard to see past the obvious. Maybe you find a house that meets all your wants and needs, but it’s painted in a garish combination of colors. Try to see past that and imagine what it would look like painted in your color choices.

Once you’ve found your dream home, the next step in the process to home ownership is to make an offer. At this point in time, you’ve got a pretty good idea of what your local housing market looks like and with the help of your agent you should be able to nail down a reasonable market value for the house you’re ready to buy. Take into consideration if it is a foreclosure property or a short sale listing but keep this in mind…under no circumstances can you assume that you are the only buyer for the property and that the seller will accept any offer you make. If this is truly your dream home and home ownership is your goal then your offer needs to be within a close range of current market value for the property.

If your offer is accepted, the next stages of the home ownership process can get pretty tedious. Negotiating the contract, conducting inspections, requesting repairs, obtaining repairs and securing your mortgage financing will all be done in a matter of weeks to months depending on the condition of the property you’ve decided to purchase. Try not to worry, the path to home ownership is a path that many have traveled before you and your REALTOR® is well equipped to hold your hand and help you along the way.

Your path to home ownership can be a daunting journey. But, remember this most important tip. During your journey, communication is the key to success! The better your communications with your agent the more successful and rewarding your journey to home ownership will be! Be certain that you choose an agent that you can work well with and who is working for YOU! Decide early on how you and your agent will communicate and your path to home ownership will be successful and rewarding!

Julianne Krutka is a Professional REALTOR® who specializes in working with first time home buyers who are searching for the best path to Home Ownership. No matter what your geographic location, I can help you find the REALTOR® who will help you find your dream home and reach your goals of Home Ownership. Contact me today to get started! http://www.juliannekrutka.com/web/pgcnfID_66956/Contact

Julianne Krutka
Park Square Realty - Westfield MA
Western MA and Northern CT REALTOR®
Cell: 413-297-6718
Email: Julianne.Krutka@gmail.com
Website: www.JulianneKrutka.com
Follow me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/JulianneKrutka
Friend me on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/JulianneThibodeauKrutka

A wise person once said..the only stupid question is the one you don't ask! I am never to busy to answer your questions about Real Estate...ask away!

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Note: Hopefully you realize this post was not written by the Running Realtor but is a re-blog with Julianne's permission as we experiment with various formatting techniques.

PodCamp comes to Connecticut in October this year! Since stumbling into ActiveRain a few years ago I have had the opportunity to travel to many great events. It was only fitting that my first experiences included a great AR Party in NYC and a follow-up function a few months later that got a bit wilder in a Princeton Bar.

Since that time many from my crowd including me ventured out of the Rain to experience the world of REBarCamp,Twitter and Facebook where some honed their social networking skills and others spent hours playing games.

After trips to Philadelphia and several outings in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine to meet on-line friends and learn the cutting edge techniques of this fast changing world PodCamp comes to Connecticut.

Mark your calender for October 16, 2010 for what I believe will be the first major social networking function to come to the New Haven Area.

You can find updates as the event get closer on the Connecticut PodCamp Web Site