Maybe you don’t want to leave the house to get the paper. Not every Stratford CT open house is listed in there anyway. Most agents don’t list their open houses consistently on random internet websites that you might be looking for open houses on.

Here’s how to find open houses in Stratford and the rest of Fairfield County from the website that more agents visit to advertise homes for sale than any other website on the internet.

Instructions

1. Fill in the form below to enroll for access
2. Open your email and accept the invitation to enroll
3. On the left hand side of the screen click “upcoming open houses“

Enjoy,

Scott Jenkins

P.S. – It’s not unusual for there to be no open houses in the beginning of the week. Keep an eye on your email though. I’ll be sending them to your inbox as they show up on the site.

Do I qualify as a first time home buyer?

With different housing stimulus packages the federal government has defined the first time home buyer differently. What’s important to you however is what is the criteria for a first time home buyer with the latest tax credit.

The answer is simple and a little bit more lax than just someone who has never owned a home before. You can actually have owned a home in the recent past and still qualify for the first time home buyers tax credit.

Here’s the straight answer:

A first time home buyer is defined as anyone whom has not owned a principal residence in the last three years.

So if you have sold your home and been renting for the last three years you will qualify as a first time home buyer.

One word of advice however. Always check with a tax professional before taking any advice about the 8000 dollar tax credit from the internet.

Happy Home Hunting,

Scott

The name of the place that all of those site gets their property information from is the Greater Fairfield County Consolidated Multiple Listing Service. (GFC CMLS)

What I like about about the GFC CMLS is that you can access every single one of those properties all on your own through a back door.

Using this back door access to search properties for sale in Stratford you can see all that there is to see. THat is not a lie or an exaggeration. You can see:

• every property address
• every single picture
• school information
• recent property sales in the neighborhood
• and much much more

You can pretty much search like an agent by accessing the agents database of properties through the back door.

If you want to search properties like an agent I can set you up with access. That’s all I will do. I promise to give you the tools to search and leave you alone. I wont be calling you and harassing you. Heck, I don’t even need your phone number to hook you up with access. Just fill in the form below.

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Of the sixty or so surveys that you guys sent to me a large majority of them dealt with fear. The fear that whatever you buy will be worth less money the very next day after you purchase the house.

This is a very valid concern. I completely understand where you are coming from.

When I bought my first home it was near the height of the real estate market here in Stratford CT. The year was 2004 I believe.

We were so excited to be getting an affordable home in a good neighborhood. Prices were rising so quickly and with every passing month it seemed like houses in Stratford were getting more expensive.

We could have waited to buy a home. There were plenty of nice places to rent here in Stratford at the time. But we weren’t buying a house as an investment. If we were than the absolute worst time to buy a home was when we did. Prices were sky high and of course they came tumbling back down.

Our house is now worth less than what we paid for it! But, so what. We live here in Stratford. We don’t make money or lose money because the value of our home is down. We still own a great home and have a mortgage that we can afford.

We are not moving anytime soon. Sure, out home is a little small for the four of us by todays standards. But that’s ok. We bought and house and have a house that we call a home here in Stratford. Who cares what the value of the home is.

I know many of you wont agree with me. I’m not sure that if I was looking for a home in Stratford right now I would agree with me. I might keep signing six month leases and shop homes for the next eighteen months before I buy.

It’s a scary real estate environment for investors but I truly do believe that buying in a market downturn is a great strategy when you are looking for a place to live. Barring any catastrophes there’s no way that in ten to fifteen years your home won’t be worth more than it is today.

Any questions? Use the contact form below. If I don’t have an answer I’ll put you in touch with someone that will.

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NOTE: If you have no idea what I am talking about you can check out the survey right here.

Nearly sixty of you have responded so far with more survey submissions still trickling in.

You have given me some great insight into what your biggest real estate related concerns are. Many of you shared the same concerns with one another. As a matter of fact most of you were either concerned most with either getting financing on a home or having a decrease in property value soon after you buy a house.

Both of these concerns are very valid ones and I intend to address both of them at length over the next few blog post. Some of your other concerns were the quality of the home, choosing the right documents to complete a real estate purhase, and the economy. I’ll address those concerns as well.

If you have any concerns you would like me to address personally than send me those questions using the contact form below. I’ll answer your questions for you to the best of my ability.

Happy Home Hunting,

Scott

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Grab 8000 Follars In Free Money!

The first time home buyers tax credit is a great opportunity, not just for Stratford CT home buyers but for home buyers across the country.

Not what you’re looking for? Try these.

How To Successfully Make An Offer On A Home

Three Easy Tricks To Slash Your Electric Bills

What makes the $8000 tax credit so great is that unlike the $7,500 tax credit done last year, the 8k credit does not need to ever be paid back. It’s totally free money!

Here are four more facts you should know about the 2009 home buyers tax credit that first time home buyers here in Stratford must take advantage of:

1. The credit is worth either 10% of the homes value or $8,000. You are entitled to the less of the two.
2. There is an income limit of $150k adjusted gross income for couples and half that for those single home buyers.
3. If you are married but file separately you can each file for half of the tax credit.
4. The 8000 dollar tax credit applies to purchases from January 1 to December 31.

If you have any other questions about the first time home buyers credit use the comment box below. I’ll answer all of your questions here on this page.

I’m available to help anyone looking for a house in Stratford and the surrounding areas. There’s also a second half to this blog post coming in the next few days where I will outline five more important facts about the $8000 tax credit.

Stay tuned and happy home hunting,

Scott

P.S. – I’m getting a lot of questions from you guys about the tax credit by email. I’ll be answering many of them in upcoming posts so don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS feed.

Every house here in Stratford CT will sell for a different percentage of asking price. Trying to put a blanket, “You should offer 96% of asking price on every house in Stratford CT” just wont get the job done. It’s too vague of an answer.

Have Your Agent Give You A List Of Comparable Homes To Target The Right Price

What your Stratford real estate agent should do for you is look for similar homes in the neighborhood that have sold recently. Have your real estate agent give you two or three comparable homes that are very similar in features, square footage, property, and location.

Now you’re armed with the knowledge you need to make a strong offer and negotiate confidently in your best interest.

When you get a list of recently sold homes in Stratford that are similar to the one you are considering making an offer on you may be very surprised. Often a seller and their agent have the home priced way above what comparable homes are selling for. If their asking price is $400,000 but very similar homes in the neighborhood have sold in the last few month for $350,000 you will be able to make a strong case for an offer of $340,000.

If you had decided ahead of time to offer a blanket percentage of 94% on every house you like you may be flushing money down the drain. Always ask your agent for a few comparables in the neighborhood.

Always have your agent create a list of comparable homes to help you make strong offers on homes. Not only will it help you decide on what the home is worth but it also will put your agent in a much stronger bargaining position. If you would like a list of comparable homes on a house that you are interested in here in Stratford or the surrounding communities your agent should be happy to do that for you. If you don’t have an agent I would be happy to recommend some good ones to you. Use the contact form below. I’ll get back to you ASAP.

Happy Home Hunting,

Scott

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• The MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is the real estate database that every
  home that is for sale in Stratford CT is listed on.
• Every home that is being listed as for sale in Stratford CT by a real estate
  agent can be found on the MLS.

Yes, I did say that twice, backwards and forwards, because it is that important.

Now the best part about the mls is that the information on it is not just available to real estate agents. You can access every home for sale in Stratford CT by tapping into the information on the MLS.

When accessing MLS information for Stratford CT or any other town be sure that you are getting complete information. Don’t let anyone withold key information like property addresses or all of the pictures. And you especially don’t want to waste time looking at homes that are already sold because you are accessing mls information that is weeks old.

Do you want to access:

• property addresses?
• every picture on the mls?
• listings that are updated every 24 hours?
• and never get a phone call from an agent?

If you answered yes to all of those questions than use the sign up form below. I will get you all set up immediately to access mls information for Stratford CT.

There are more than one hundred homes for sale in Stratford with a one car garage and another one hundred homes for sale in Stratford with a two car garage.  The other hundered or so homes for sale have at least a three car garage.

• 100 Stratford homes for sale have at least a 3 car garage
• 100 Stratford homes for sale have a 2 car garage
• 100 Stratford homes for sale have a 1 car garage

Can A Garage In Stratford House All These Treasures?

I can quickly generate at list for you of all of the homes for sale in Stratford that have a garage. The list will include tons of pictures, property addresses, and lots of other useful information that you may not be getting on other sites.

I’ll email a pdf that you can read on your computer without ever talking to an agent. I promise not to call you for any reason unless you call me first and request more information about one of the homes on the list. Just fill in the form below and let me know exactly what you are looking for.

Even some of the smaller homes for sale in Stratford CT have garages. One of the things to watch out for is how the garage is built. I have seen many garages in Stratford that were built on concrete slabs that are nearly flush with the ground.

The problem that creates is that the wood on the lower part of the garage constantly gets wet and starts to break down over time. When the bottom of the structure of the garage gets wet it invites termites and other wood eating insects. Just something to watch out for when looking for a house with a garage in Stratford CT.

I can help you identify problems like that before hand. It’s one way that my degree in architecture and experience building and designing homes can be an asset to you.

Happy Home Hunting,

Scott Jenkins
203.218.3109

Find All The Houses In Stratford CT In One Place

You’re in the right place if you are looking for houses in Stratford CT. Do you want access to every house that is on the market?

Do you want access to just houses or do you want to see:

• Stratford houses that just came on the market within the last 24 hours
• houses that are in foreclosure
• Stratford CT houses that have just had their price reduced into your price range

You can get all this housing information and more without ever talking to a real estate agent.

There are hundred of houses in Stratford CT for sale at any given moment. These houses range in price from as low as $100,000 all the way up to $10,000,000 in some of the most exclusive housing communities. The style of houses in Stratford run the gamut from your most basic cape that was built in the 1950′s to intricate shingle style houses down by the waterside.

There are also a number of historic houses is Stratford CT. Many of the houses are on the National Register Of Historic Homes and are wonderful monuments to Stratford’s history. It takes a special person to own one of the historic Stratford homes. These historic houses in Stratford need a lot of special care to be sure that they maintain their historic nature.

I’m only scratching the surface here with the types of houses in Stratford CT. As you tear through the housing listing that I send you and go out and see houses for yourself you will begin to see the extraordinary variety of houses that Stratford has to offer its residents.