The rising costs of living and long daily commute left these CT homeowners tired and scraping change to make ends meet until they decided they had enough. Realizing they would likely never pay their way out of the upside down home they decided to cut their losses and short sell their home to move closer to work.

Originally a Bank of America first and second mortgage, the week we listed the home the first loan got sold to Nationstar, making the process a little more complex than originally anticipated.

It took two months to find a buyer for this home in the dead of winter. A short sale package headed to the lender. Nationstar is hit or miss. They have been known to be on the ball and approve in a few short weeks, and I have also seen the…

Bloomfield, CT 06002 

Bloomfield is an interesting combination of suburban, historic and modern housing in a town that is as committed to providing natural open space as it is to expanding its commercial development responsibly.

The town of Bloomfield was incorporated in 1835 and adopted its current name.  Bloomfield was primarily an agricultural community but after incorporation, the town began to diversify its economic base. 

One of the first things you will note about Bloomfield is that it has the charm and beauty of a small Connecticut village with its location convenient to Hartford and Bradley Airport and is located halfway between Boston and New York.  Bloomfield is bordered by Windsor, East Granby, Simsbury, Avon, West Hartford and…

Mansfield, Connecticut

Mansfield, Connecticut is a diverse, cultural, prospering town in the heart of Tolland County that appeals to families, young couples and seniors alike. From rolling farmland, to parks and hiking trails, to the ever-growing community of shopping and casual nightlife, Mansfield is the perfect location to begin, raise and expand your family. 

Located right off exit 68 on Rte 84, just a short commute from Hartford, Mansfield holds a major appeal being the home of the prestigious University of Connecticut, smack in between of Boston and New York City.

Home to some of the most competitive schools in the state, Mansfield has several elementary schools for kindergarten through fourth grade students, a middle school, and high…

Should I short sell or just wait for my equity to come back?

While every situation differs I decided to take a very common scenario here in CT and run the numbers just to see how they look:

Lets say you bought (or refinanced) an average Connecticut starter home for $250,000 5 years ago.

Lets take an average overall 30% loss in values since those peak years.

The current value of your home: $175,000.

The current balance on the $250,000 loan with regular payments over the last 5 years (at 5% interest): $230,000.

YOU ARE NOW $55,000 UPSIDE DOWN

LETS ASSUME DEPRECIATION STOPS TODAY AND REAL ESTATE IN CT STARTS APPRECIATING IMMEDIATELY AT 4% ANNUALLY (THE HISTORICAL RATE)

SCENARIO #1: STAY AND PAY. You wish to sell your…

Windsor, CT is a diverse, culturally competent suburban town with gorgeous and expansive public open space, very desirable residential areas and an immaculate corporate area.

Windsor was the first English settlement in the state of Connecticut in 1633.  The coastal areas and River Valley were typical areas of settlement, relying on the rivers for fishing, water and transportation.  Windsor eventually became a farming community in the latter part of the 1600’s with seeds brought up from Jamestown Colony in Virginia.   Tobacco farming has a long history in Windsor as it was already being grown by the native population.  Windsor’s tobacco leaves are highly prized by fine cigar makers and are used as the cigars outer wrapping.

Windsor lies on…

Q: Will I still owe the difference after my CT short sale?

A: It all depends on what your short sale approval letter says.

Connecticut is a deficiency state. What that means to any CT homeowner is that your lender can pursue you for a monetary loss resulting from a foreclosure or short sale of your property - unless your short sale approval letter says otherwise. Many people mistakenly believe that letting the home foreclose, walking away or simply sending in the keys absolves them of their responsibility for their mortgage - however this is absolutely not the case.

When you signed up for the loan you agreed:

• To pledge the property as collateral for the loan
• To sign a promissory note to pay back the loan

IN A FORECLOSURE the…

This Colchester, CT homeowner was at the end of her rope as even FSBO efforts to sell while saving money had not ended in a successfull sale of her upside down property.

Little did we know that this particular short sale would be among the simplest and smoothest I have ever seen.

Since the loan was FHA (which offers short sale preapproval) we sent a complete short sale package at the same time we entered the market at an aggressive price. Just 18 days passed until we secured a strong buyer. Less than two weeks later we had the ATP - Approval to Participate - in the FHA short sale program.

We quickly sailed through inspections, appraisal and final approval...and this Wells Fargo FHA short sale closed 5 weeks later.

OWED: $180K

APPROVED…

East Windsor, CT 06088 is a dynamic and charming community derived from the agricultural land and open space.

East Windsor was settled in 1768, originally settled by farmers in the 17th century due to the even topography and fertile soils from the Connecticut River valley.  The town is situated on the east side of the Connecticut River.

The town of East Windsor is comprised of five villages:  Broad Brook, Melrose, Scantic, Warehouse Point and Wilsonville.  While combined for government and education convenience, each village is able to retain its own unique identity.  You can enjoy your time strolling through each village as they all have interesting and inviting places to experience. 

Broad Brook Opera House is located in the Broad Brook…

Although Bank of America is generally pretty easy and quick in their short sale processing as of late - there are always exceptions.

The property was well priced and agressively marketed and went under contract in just over 8 weeks. A full short sale package headed to Bank of America, where negotiators fumbled around with the file for several weeks - insisting my seller go HAFA even though he did not qualify for the program. My client was eventually able to pull out of HAFA and go with a traditional short sale.

It took another few months and two negotiators for Bank of America to reach a state of decision on the file. The property was considered an investment property and the loan had private mortgage insurance (PMI). This particular PMI company…

Bank of America is really on the ball lately with getting short sales approved rather painlessly ( for the most part anyway...) .

I originally listed the Mansfield, CT home after a fellow Realtor referred her foreclosing client to me. The property went on the market...and stagnated. The owner was reluctant to reduce the price of the property aggressively and as a result it took 4 solid months of marketing and 5 price reductions to finally secure a buyer.

It took Bank of America about 6 weeks to counter the purchase and ultimately the sale fell apart over a difference iof $2,500. We ended up back on market again.

A month later the buyer had second thoughts and agreed to up his offer by the required $2,500. Bank of America took just a few weeks…