Why Should You Be a Preapproved Buyer?

Why Should You Be a Preapproved Buyer?

Today I wanted to talk about the importance of being preapproved for a mortgage. With many loan programs like FHA, CHFA, USDA (the only 100% financing loan) and conventional (including fixed and rehab), this is all the reason why you should be preapproved for a mortgage!

If you are not preapproved for a mortgage before you go out looking for homes, you are at a huge disadvantage right now. We’ve had buyers get excited and go out, look at homes and walk into a $350,000 home thinking they can afford it. However, after talking to a lender or mortgage broker, they find out they’re only approved for a $250,000 mortgage. This is a huge letdown! On the positive end of it, we’ve had people thinking they could only afford a condominium and find out after preapproval that they qualify for a larger mortgage.

I just want to stress that if you are not preapproved before you physically go out looking at homes, you are at a huge disadvantage. You can either call or email me and we can get you preapproved for a mortgage. It only takes 5-10 minutes, its painless, there is no obligation and we can match you up with one of our fantastic lending partners with the best products and interest rates.

Thanks and have a great day!

We Need Your Home!

We Need Your Home!

Today I wanted to direct this video towards to potential sellers in New Haven County and Wallingford. The Wallingford inventory of “good” or desirable houses is ver y low and in fact, the current market action index is 31.0; which is excellent and still trending upward towards sellers. The market action index actually tells how the market is doing by measuring what’s for sale and what is actually selling. If a market action index score is lower than 30, it is considered a buyer’s market and if it is above 30, then it’s considered a seller’s market.

If you’ve got a house to sell and you want to put it on the market and upgrade or downsize, now is the time to do it. The buyers are out and are looking to take advantage of interest rates before the New Year. There is no reason to wait!

If you’re thinking about selling your home and you want me or one of my expert real estate advisors to come out and give you an honest, realistic estimate of what your home will sell for, please call me at (203) 980-6886. Thanks and have a great day!

3 Tips for Buying a Home During the Holidays

3 Tips for Buying a Home During the Holidays

Today I wanted to talk about holiday home buying tips if you are looking for a home. Number one, the market doesn’t stop during the holidays. We sell a lot of homes through Thanksgiving, Christmas and the New Year. Last December was one of the busiest home-selling seasons we’ve had. If you are looking for a home, understand we still sell homes through December.

Second, December is when you will get a good deal as a buyer because sellers tend to be more negotiable during the holidays. This can because they home may be on the market for two or three months already and will be very open to any reasonable offers. Finally, I want to make sure you are working for a real estate team that does not check out during the holidays. Many part time agencies shut down for the holidays. Here at the Carbutti Company Real Estate, we are a full time real estate team. Not only will be working with me, you will work with my entire team who will be available 24/7. We will make sure we show you properties, get you preapproved for a mortgage, negotiate on your behalf or do whatever needs to be done to get you into a home.

If you are looking for a home and would to set up showings, call me at (203) 980-6886 or email me at jonathan@carbutti.com. Thanks and have a great day!

I Want to Wish You a Happy Thanksgiving!

I Want to Wish You a Happy Thanksgiving!

The season of giving is upon us and I wanted to give thanks to you and everyone else that has touched our lives this year. I hope you also take this time to offer thanks to the people who have helped you through this past year. I wish you a safe and Happy Thanksgiving and you can watch my latest video to hear my holiday message!

Are you pricing your house to SIT or SELL?

Are you pricing your house to SIT or SELL?

Hey, everyone. Pricing properly is one of the most critical elements of selling a home. There are two approaches to pricing a property: you price it to sell or price it to sit.

Buyers today are more educated than ever. They want an up-to-date home in good condition with a reasonable price tag.

A couple of weeks ago we had a client whom had her home appraised. The appraisal value came in at above $300,000 and that is what she wanted to price the property at.

Now, the appraiser hadn’t taken into account all the work the home needed for it to be up-to-date in comparison with competing homes. We wanted to price the home lower. Because the client's independent appraisal came in above $300,000, against our better judgment, we agreed to list the home at that price.

The home had eight showings. We got feed back from six of the buyers and their agents. All the feedback affirmed what we had thought. The home needed too much work done and the price needed to be lower.

It’s important to listen to your real estate professional. They know the market; we work in a retail business. We want top dollar just as you do. There is a fine line, though, between overpricing your home and getting the most money out of your sale.

Thank you for watching. If you have any questions, please give me a call!

Is 2013 the Right Time to Buy a House?

Hi everyone. Welcome back to our video blog where we are bringing you relevant information to make informed decisions in the marketplace.

I’ve been getting asked a lot lately if now is the time to buy a home. First, let me start off by saying that question is a personal decision. Do you have a steady job that will cover all your living expenses? Do you have 3-6 months of cash reserves in the bank if I were to lose my job and cover housing payments, car payments, student loans, etc.

If the answer to that is yes, then, let’s move on to the next deciding factors when determining whether to buy a home now.

One of the other common themes you have been hearing about lately are interest rates. We are experiencing incredibly low rates. If you received a $300,000 loan at 30 year fixed rate of 3.5%, over the entire life of the loan, you would pay $484,968.

Now, if rates increase to just 4.25% that same loan will end up costing you $531,292. That’s a $46,327 price difference for that same $300,000 home.

Another common question I keep hearing is ‘are home prices the lowest now and are they starting to trend upwards?’

I can’t speak nationally, but here in Connecticut prices are starting to steadily increase. It is turning into a sellers’ market. Right now, with the lowest interest rates and all of the inventory, you are getting a lot of bang for your buck.

So, to answer your question about whether 2013 is the year to buy, in my professional now is the best time. You are getting the biggest bang for you buck and the lowest interest rate.

If you have any questions please give me a call or shoot me a quick email! Thanks for watching!

The Closing Costs of Real Estate

Hi everyone. Welcome back to our video blog where we are bringing you relevant information to make informed decisions in the marketplace.

Today, I wanted to speak more toward first time home buyers. I know a lot of you are excited to go out and look for homes and look online, but it’s really easy to find a home and fall in love with it. What some of you are forgetting, though, is about the financial aspect. The worst thing you can do is fall in love with a home and then be able to pay for it!

Most first time home buyers use FHA to purchase their home and only put 3.5% down. So, if you purchase a $200,000 home, you are only paying $7,000 out of pocket.

But what about the closing costs?

I wrote down a list of the typical fees during a closing. My numbers are a little on the high side, but it can give you an accurate view of how much things may cost.

·         Attorney fees: $650

·         Title Search: $225

·         Home Inspection (Which I highly recommend): $550

·         Appraisal/Credit App: $450

·         Tax Escrow: $3,600

·         Prepaid Interest: $400

·         Home Insurance (You will have to pay the first year upfront): $960

·         Bank Fees: $600

Now as I said, many of these numbers are only the higher side, but they total to be about $7,500. So when you are making your down payment you need not only the $7,000 for the 3.5% down but to also include those closing costs.

FHA does allow you to add closing costs to the loan through a credit from the seller. We’ve seen this many times before.

If you have any questions about closing costs or want to know more about what closing on a specific property will cost give me a call at 203.980.6886 and I’d be more than happy to help!

Video Tour of Milford, Connecticut

Hi everyone, welcome to our video tour of Milford, Connecticut!

Milford is located in the southwestern corner of New Haven County and it's and hour and a half away from New York City. This makes it a great commuter town!

Milford is known to be a small city with a big heart. There is so much going on and so many things in the downtown area whether it’s eating at one of the great restaurants, grabbing a cup of coffee or just reading a book at one of the beautiful parks.

We spoke with Darlene and Sue, owners of a local business. They said Milford is a warm and welcoming city with so much to do. There are young families and great family events on the weekends.

Sally, a student at one of the two public schools in Milford, says she loves being able to walk to school. She also enjoys all the music festivals and restaurants in the area.

Milford has an older established area known as Woodmont. Woodmont is a very popular vacation spot.

Besides all the events going on, Milford is also great for its affordable real estate. Whether you are looking for your first home, a beachfront property or a retirement community, Milford has it all!

I wanted to thank everyone for joining us in our tour today and if you have any questions about the real estate market in Milford, please give me a call at 203.980.6866 or shoot me a quick email at jonathan@carbutti.com

The Home Buyers Guide

Watch on your mobile device >>

A lot of first time home buyers are jumping into the buying process too quickly.  Many are attending open houses without representation, talking with agents who have the seller’s interests at heart, and not understanding how the home buying process works.

We invite first time home buyers or any buyers to come in and talk to one of our real estate expert advisors and we’ll go over the Home Buyers Guide.  We’ll explain what is expected of you and what is expected of your real estate professional.  The guide also covers buyers’ brokerage in the state of Connecticut.

The guide has a flow chart which helps you step-by-step from beginning to close in the home buying process.

At Carbutti Real Estate, we work our hardest from contract to close, negotiating with the seller, getting inspections, meeting deadlines, etc.  It’s our job to negotiate on your behalf, to get you everything you want out of the contract.

Whether you’re a first time home buyer or just have some questions, give us a call at 203.980.6886 and we’ll help you through the home buying process.

Wallingford Market Update

Watch on your mobile device >>

The Wallingford market has changed in the past 60 days.  Today, the median price of a home is $319,000, while just two months ago it was $286,000.  The market has shifted toward a sellers’ market.

While there are 173 homes currently on the market, those home are not necessarily the kind the buyer wants.

The fastest and most popular selling home is the 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath and master bedroom suite.  These kinds of homes are the quickest selling and receive multiple bids.

If you are looking to sell, now is the time. Do not wait. There are buyers and decision makers who will buy your home fast.

So if you want to sell and want an honest opinion on what your home could sell for, call me at 203.980.6886 or email me at jonathan@carbutti.com

Carbutti & Co. Plans to Restore Historic Victorian Home for New Offices

Watch on your mobile device >> 

As we continue to grow, evolve and thrive – we are fast finding it necessary to expand our physical boundaries to support our ever expanding and growing business. So when we set out to find the perfect future home for Carbutti & Co. Realtors we thought “what better way than to directly support our local community?” And that’s exactly how we feel as we take on the project of restoring to its original glory, the gorgeous Victorian estate that overlooks our Wallingford Town Hall.

With over 6,000 square feet we will comfortably settle in and gladly revel in the gorgeous facility’s grandeur. It reflects perfectly the New England charm of our region and more importantly, the personality and character of our community.

Come visit us today! We will happily give you a tour of the new future home of Carbutti & Co. Realtors. We look forward to seeing you!