Litchfield County real estate information, local events and more.

Then show me the money! If you are going to put in a cash offer for a property, you will have to prove you have the money to back up the offer!

Here in Litchfield County, CT we do often see cash offers. I have heard some agents say they won't ask their clients for proof of funds. They say the client will get offended, will refuse, it is not necessary, etc. Me? I disagree with that train of thought. I don't know about anyone else, but I have no idea how much cash someone has available because of who they are, what they drive, how they dress. And if that same person is selling a home, they would want to know the person putting that cash offer on their house can put their money where their mouth is!

Cash offers can be great, the time from offer to close can be greatly shortened. There will be no surprises from a lender at the last minute. But because there are no lenders involved there is no third party to appraise the house. Great for the seller, some buyers might consider that risky. A buyer does have a right to put an appraisal contingency in the offer, if the house doesn't appraise they don't have to go through with the purchase. (Buyer pays for the appraisal.) If a buyer is comfortable with the offer price, they don't have to do that. I recommend to cash buyers that they have an appraisal done in most cases.

Cash offers often turn into mortgages without the seller, the agents, the attorneys knowing. That can be a big problem. If you are not in contract yet, you have changed the terms of the original agreed upon offer which means... you may have nothing. The seller accepted the offer based on one set of criteria, and now it is a whole different game. If you are now under contract it can be a real problem. Real estate contracts, by nature, are bilateral, having consent of both parties. Making unilateral changes just doesn't work.

So before you tell your agent to put in a cash offer on a house in Litchfield County, CT, get all your ducks in a row. Make sure that is what you really want to do. Back up the offer with the proof that you have the available funds! And if you are a seller, don't get all excited when someone waves cash in front of your face. I have learned, more often than not, things can certainly change, without warning.

Cash offers in real estate, they can and do work. As long as the buyer shows, up front, they have the available funds to purchase the property at the agreed upon price. And as long as the terms aren't changed mid stream by the buyer suddenly deciding they want to get a mortgage after all.

Do you know a guy who can.....???

I hear this all the time. Yes, I do, I know a guy who... cleans up and out, paints, pulls oil tanks, is a master carpenter, plows, mows, is a fantastic electrician, great plumber, on and on, tried and true, tested over and over again.

As a side note, every time I hear that question "do you know someone...", I can't help thinking about one of my most favorite movies, "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels". The police chief says "A man owes me a favor. Rene the Knife. He is a master with a stiletto and a magician at hiding a body." Of course that just may illustrate how my mind works and might have been better left unsaid. As an example...

Andrea, do you know someone that can pull this oil tank? I remember saying exactly this, "I know someone who is a master with a backhoe and a magician at making the tank disappear!" Now do you see why I think of that movie?

Most real estate agents have a list of guys and gals, companies who are tried and true. I know I do. And they don't get on my list just because I know them. They get on my list because my clients love them, because they don't disappoint, because I know I can trust them. Getting on my list is not easy, getting off the list is easy peasy. Bad review from a client and they are off, off, off.

Why is this important? If you are thinking about selling your home in lower Litchfield County CT and your house needs work, you will want to have access to my list. Because if you don't clean it up and out it will cost you. Don't believe me? Read my story "I met a guy who sold a house". Or you haven't kept up with home maintenance yet you want to get as much as possible for your home, read this story "Why didn't my house sell?". (Pay close attention to the comments of other real estate agents, they know what they are talking about.) Then you will understand why it is so important that I have my "I know a guy/gal" list. They are masters of their trade, magicians at getting the job done. One of the THREE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS about GETTING A HOUSE SOLD in Litchfield County CT is the condition of the house.

• Priced according to local real estate market conditions
• Priced according to the condition of the house
• The marketing skills of the real estate agent

And by the way, my list is just as important for a buyer! Trusted mortgage professionals, home inspectors, local insurance agents, people who can help you make the home you want to buy the home of your dreams!

So yes, I know a guy...

You had your house for sale in Litchfield County... and it didn't sell. (You might be thinking.. why is she writing about that again?) In a nutshell, NO MATTER HOW MUCH I TALK ABOUT IT, WRITE ABOUT IT, WE STILL GET THESE PHONE CALLS!

We have some tough questions for home owners. It is our roadmap, so to speak.

• Did you have a dollar amount already set when you priced your home?
• Did your price reflect what you want to get for the sale of your home?
• Did your price reflect the current local real estate market activity?
• Do you understand the current local real estate market?
  
• Did your price reflect the actual condition of your home?
• Are you really aware of the actual condition of your home?
  

Next, a walk around the home. Have you learned to live with things that you no longer see? Do you really understand how a buyer will see your home?

Routine maintenance. A new roof is routine maintenance. Septic repairs are routine maintenance. How is your heating system? Is it new? That is routine maintenance by the way. Because if it is broken, leaking, not working properly it should be repaired or replaced. But here is the key.... and easy to remember.

1. If it was repaired or replaced, it is not going to cost you money off the price of the home! Yeah!
2. If it wasn't, if your roof is at the end of its life, if you need a new septic system, if any of your mechanicals are not working properly it will cost you.
   

If you did keep up with the routine maintenance of your home, you get a gold star, a pat on the back, an atta boy atta girl, but you don't get extra money. But you don't get money deducted!!! It is a great selling point though, something to be featured prominently in the marketing of your home.

Are you the nicest house on the block? Are you the only new colonial set in a field of 1980's raised ranches? Does your neighbor have a graveyard of dead vehicles in his back yard? These things also affect the price of your home, the desirability of your home.

Why didn't my house sell? Here is the real answer to that question. It didn't sell because buyers didn't find it attractive enough to make an offer. If it is not priced for condition, for location, according to the current local real estate market you will not sell.

And here is something you may not even realize. If it is overpriced they won't even consider it because it is off their radar in the first place!

When you call us and ask why your home didn't sell in Litchfield County we will let you know. The proper diagnosis will help you make the most important decision of all.

Are you really ready to sell your home in Litchfield County, CT?

Because if you price it ahead of the competition, if you price it according to the current local real estate conditions, if you price it according to the condition of the home, conditions of your neighborhood, you stand a far better chance of selling. If not, you will be asking that question over and over again.

"WHY DIDN'T MY HOUSE SELL???

I met a man who sold a house
He sold a house just like a mouse
Just like a mouse who sneaks around
He sold the house without a sound.

(OK, as a poet I am lacking... but stay with me here) And how did he sell the house without a sound? The story is rather odd, yet to me it was so telling I asked him if I could blog about it.

Blog? He had that look on his face... My business partner chimed in and said "blab, she wants to blab about it all over the internet." He shrugged his shoulders and said he didn't mind.

All day long yesterday I thought about his story, there are so many lessons, each time I think about it I think of yet another lesson. Let me get right to the story here.

He told me he sold a house at a tag sale... I love tag sales at listings I have. Let me do the open house on the same day you do your tag sale (We call them tag sales in CT, some may call them yard sales, garage sales, you get the point.)

A few years back he heard about a house, a couple who could no longer live in their home due to age and illness. The family had told the accountant they just wanted to get rid of the home because mom and dad were hoarders. The man I  met bought the house with all the contents in it. Bought it for a very low price I might add.

18 dumpsters later....

It took 18 dumpsters ... but the house was in good shape! He held tag sales there while cleaning it out. He was not intending to sell the house, but someone who came to the tag sale offered him what they thought was a low price for the house.

He took the money and ran. I mean, who wouldn't? So here is what ran through my mind.

Why didn't the family speak with a Realtor? He said because they were too embarrassed, didn't want to deal with it, on and on. That cost the owners $100,000.

Why didn't the family just hire someone to come in and clean the house out when the parents moved out? Did they have the resources to do that? Yes they had the resources, but felt it was too much trouble.

OK, now I am just shaking my head here in total disbelief. The moral to the story? I think there are many.

• Clean it up, clean it out.
• Speak to a Realtor if you are thinking about selling.
• Tag sales are a great thing, hold a tag sale and let your Realtor hold an open house at the same time.

I don't know about you, but I am still shaking my head here! I am sure I can come up with more lessons learned. It is a fantastic story. Will this gentleman use a real estate agent when he wants to sell another house? You bet, he knows this happened only because someone else didn't want to, he's no dummy!

I met a man who sold a house....

Located in the Northville section of New Milford, CT this great raised ranch is looking for its newest owner. Take a look here!

3 Bedroom Home in Northville, New Milford CT

Overview Maps Photos Features Description Neighborhood

$225,000 Single Family Home Main Features 3 Bedrooms 2 Bathrooms 1 Partial Bathroom Interior: 2,392 sqft Lot: 0.47 acre(s) Location 14 Cornell Rd New Milford, CT 06776 USA To get updates on open home dates and other property events, please click the "Like" button below:

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Andrea Swiedler, Swiedler & Adams Prudential Connecticut Realty (860) 355-2646 X 19 andrea@andreaswiedler.com http://www.andreaswiedler.com Listed by: Prudential Connecticut Realty

Our recent listings 3 Bedroom Home in Northville, New Milford CT Washington CT One Level Living, Great Condo Alternative! Country Estate in Roxbury CT In Town Rental, New Milford, CT 266 Chestnut Land Rd Home For Sale With Built In Pool Subscribe to our listing feed

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Help! I just got a pink slip, how am I going to pay my mortgage???  You may be entitled to some help, mortgage forbearance, or more to the point, deferring payment for a period of time. Of course you will have to repay the amount, and it won't be tacked on to the end of your loan. Rather when you get back to work you will have to pick up your mortgage payment again plus an additional amount to repay the amount that wasn't paid. They may also report your mortgage as delinquent and you should check on their specific policy on this.

If you find yourself unemployed (if your spouse/partner is on the mortgage too, but they are still employed, they still may give you a reduction or accept no payments for a time) you need to make sure you have a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan. If you are unsure, call your loan servicer and ask. The guidelines rule out assistance if you financed with an FHA, VA, or USDA Rural Housing mortgage. The home must also be your primary residence.

There are very specific rules and regulations. I strongly urge you to contact your loan servicer to find out if you qualify, and always a good idea to discuss loan forbearance with a real estate attorney to understand how it will impact you later on down the road. For some the program will help to keep them from losing their home. The initial time frame allowed is 6 months, in some cases it can be extended up to 12 months.

What is the first thing to do if a job loss is threatening your mortgage payment? Contact your loan service provider immediately, don't wait until you haven't made a payment. Ask if Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns or has guaranteed your mortgage. If the answer is yes, have them explain the mortgage forbearance program to you, go over the long term effects and ramifications with you. I also suggest you may want to speak with a real estate attorney to understand how this program might affect you in the long run. The initial time frame allowed is 6 months, in some cases it can be extended up to 12 months. This forbearance policy becomes mandatory for Fannie Mae loans on March 1, 2012, and for Freddie Mac loans is it February 1, 2012.

If you lose your job in Connecticut and have a Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae mortgage there is hope.  Contact your loan servicer to find out if you can participate in the loan forbearance program and save your home. If you don't qualify, if this isn't for you, give me a call to discuss a short sale of your home.

Sometimes I feel as if it is David vs. Goliath. Living in what I consider to be a rural area I have watched as large companies either force out local businesses or buy them out. Time and time again. And the sad part is, we lose. When it happens we often see job loss, we can see a loss of quality of service, we lose a sense of community. I know there is often no way to combat this tide, yet it doesn't make me happy.

A few years ago I was helping a dear friend find a company to replace his oil burner. A well known local family owned company had just been bought up by a company based out of Canada. I spoke at length with a sales rep there who insisted that the new company was committed to the same level of service. They were even thinking about keeping the old company name as it was so well known and well respected here. (they never kept the old company name, and a good thing or the old man would be turning over in his grave right about now)

Fast forward a few years.... I used this same company to set up oil delivery on a vacant home. NO, it is  not a foreclosure.... I received the first bill and called them immediately. They tangled all sorts of different homes on the invoice, from two different companies mind you, dating back to 2006. And there was no way to identify where the oil delivery was made and when. We went back and forth about this, each person I spoke to just couldn't understand why it made a difference. Or perhaps they just didn't care.

I was polite, but insisted that if they were going to be paid in a timely fashion they would have to provide me with a bill that pertained to this particular property only, or at the very least would have to identify the property in question as well as dates of delivery. I was also dealing with a global company I had to answer to, and plus I never thought my request was unreasonable.

They had their own take on the issue. They cut delivery off and never informed me. Thankfully no damage occurred, but we were close. And when contacted again, they were nasty, arrogant and were not willing to work with me to make the changes we needed on the invoice. Nor were they willing to deliver oil until the bill was paid. The attitude was amazing actually. And no changes were going to be made to the invoice. They would not remove the old balances (as I said, they had combined two separate companies on the invoice in the first place), we would play their way or no way. The only way I would have of identifying the delivery address would be the delivery ticket that was left outside at the house. Interesting...

Just to be clear, the overdue amount was not that overdue, we are talking weeks here, and I thought we were working together to resolve the issue at hand, to have an invoice that was acceptable to submit for payment.

So now I am preparing to move the account to one of the few remaining local companies. What was I thinking in the first place? Well, a long standing history of doing business with the original company, the thought that local people still work for the new company. The memory of the conversation I had with the sales rep a few years earlier. What is clearly apparent is the old company is long gone, the new company has a lousy sense of customer service and has lost my business for good.

Of course word will get out... if they happen to care or realize that local people yap. What was it I heard the other day? Oh yeah... the three fastest ways of getting something out there..

TELEPHONE, TELEGRAPH, TELL-A-REALTOR!

David will smash Goliath this time. David has a choice. I am calling a very local company today and setting up a new account. I know the level of customer service will be one that I can rely on. We may pay a few more pennies for the oil delivery, but I know if there is a problem I can actually speak to the owner. I also know if there is a problem he will work hard to resolve the issue because of a good work ethic, there is the sense of community, the realization that a satisfied customer means everything to the success of a business.

What is most unfortunate is that these larger companies just don't care. When they take over a smaller company they need to make sure they understand the lay of the land and make sure their employees are giving good old fashioned local customer service, as if it were a mom and pop operation.

I should have made this choice the first time around, live and learn I guess.

How is Washington, CT doing in the current real estate climate? There are no surprises here, most of our luxury market towns in Litchfield County are down from their heights of 2005. But people are still buying and there are plenty of homes to choose from in Washington, CT.

Currently there are 77 active single family homes for sale in Washington, CT. Average list price is $1,389,225, average days on market is currently at 253 days. In 2011 we saw an average of 2.83 homes sell per month. The year end, 2011 shows 34 homes sold in Washington, CT.

At the current level of activity it will take 27 months to sell what is currently on the market.

For anyone selling their home, or thinking of selling their home in Washington, Connecticut you have fierce competition. Pricing to sell, as well as an agent with an aggressive marketing program is necessary. Not to mention time and patience.


Washington, Connecticut is a beautiful town located in Litchfield County. I am especially fond of Washington as it was my home for a few years. Admittedly it is hard to pick from the area towns, each has a different flavor to it, just a bit of a different feel, all with the beauty of Litchfield County that I have come to love so dearly.

Let me show you a bit of what I think make Washington, Connecticut so special.

Roxbury, Connecticut, located in the southern Litchfield County, continues to be a highly desirable place to live for those seeking that spectacular weekend country estate as well as those who live here full time. Home sales in Roxbury, CT for 2011 were a bit slower with fewer homes selling at a lower average sale price. However, Roxbury is still showing large, pricey estates are selling.

The highest dollar amount in 2011 that sold in Roxbury, CT was for $7,750,000. A 10,775 square foot custom home, built by a designer, on 66 acres. In any market, that is a good sale.

Roxbury Connecticut Real Estate Statistics

Currently in Roxbury, Connecticut there are 57 homes for sale, ranging in price from a small antique on Church Street listed at $189,500 to a dramatic contemporary with walls of glass overlooking 9 beautiful acres, complete with horse barn listed for $4,800,000.

The average list price in Roxbury, CT is currently $1,427,376
The average market time for the active listings is 229 days

In 2011, 24 single family homes sold in Roxbury, CT.

Average List Price:         $1,067,027
Average Sale Price:        $930,842
Average Market Time:     264 days

What does all this mean? Sales of homes in the smaller towns of Litchfield County, CT are down, especially in the estate areas such as Roxbury. Yet Roxbury has had the highest recorded sale in the county and is still attractive to buyers. It does take time to sell a home, and there are some great homes to purchase in Roxbury. All in all, not to bad considering the market overall.

A bit about Roxbury, Connecticut

Located in the Shepaug River Valley in lower Litchfield County, Roxbury, CT is a wonderfully picturesque town. Covering 27 square miles of rolling Connecticut countryside, Roxbury is home to approximately 2,340 residents, some full time, some weekenders escaping the hustle and bustle city life. Roxbury is a unique little corner of the world in Litchfield County, the lure of the lifestyle here has attracted many. From the most famous to the people who grew up here. A great blend of people in the most amazing setting.

See Roxbury, CT through my eyes.

The Roxbury Land Trust works hard to preserve the character of the land for future generations. Currently 17% of land in Roxbury is conserved as open space. This makes
for some scenic hiking trails, the mines, fishing along the Shepaug along with other great outdoor activities!

We have all heard of the cuts made to heating assistance programs by the Federal Government. After what we went through in New England last year it doesn't make sense to me, but then again, nothing does. I know many who make hard choices lately because the cost of heating their homes has risen while their incomes have fallen. According to the town of New Milford, last year, $850,000 in heating assistance was given out to residents that qualified, this year, due to the cuts, they anticipate only $510,000 to be available. More people have less money these days, the costs associated with heating homes has risen.... it is a terrible situation.

The Town of New Milford is committed to raising money for our own Fuel Bank program. This Sunday, January 8th, is the Walk for Heating Assistance Fund Raiser, a 5K walk to raise money. The walk begins at 1:00 pm at the Richmond Senior Center on Main Street. To join the walk you need to give at least $10, but get people to sponsor your walk in order to raise more money! Registration begins at 12:30 in the Richmond Center dining room.

There will be prizes to the highest adult and youth pledge collectors! They are hoping to raise $20,000 with the walk, which is a drop in the bucket, all things considered. They want to load the streets of New Milford with walkers for this event, so come on down! (It was noted that this is a walk, not a run.)

This event is organized by New Milford Social Services, New Milford Senior Center and New Milford Parks & Rec department. The major sponsors of the event are ABC Fuels, Norbert Mitchell & Company and Marandola Fuel Service. Leahy's Fuels and Superior Plus Energy Services are also sponsors of the event.

So come on down, have some fun, join in and fill the streets of New Milford with people walking for a very worthy cause!!!! It might be your neighbor, a friend, a family member who goes without heat this year because of these budget cuts. No one should go cold, no child, no senior, no person in our town should go without heat. Yet many will, I have no doubt of that. Do what you can, even if it is just the $10 donation!

For more information and for pledge envelopes you can contact the New Milford Social Services Department at 860.355.6079 or New Milford CT Senior Center at 860.355.6075.

(Children under 12 need to be accompanied by an adult.)