Archive for January, 2008
4 Things You Can Do To Sell Your Home In 2008!
January 10th, 2008 categories: Redding, Ridgefield, Selling Your House, Talking Real Estate, Wilton
You’ve had your home on the market for some time and it hasn’t sold yet…
Why hasn’t your home sold?
Assuming your Realtor has done everything in their power to market the house effectively on the Internet, print and on the MLS to get qualified buyers to visit your home either virtually or physically, what else can you do?
If the web”traffic” has been consistent, (ask your agent how it is monitored) there is just one reason left that defines why your home has not yet sold:
“The buyers in the marketplace have determined that they believe that the value of your home does not match the current asking price”.
What can you do about this?
There are 4 options you have to try to get the house sold quicker:
(Two won’t work) 
1) Make expensive alterations (i.e. new kitchen, baths) to the house that will bring the value up to the current asking price.
2) Lower the price of the house incrementally over specified periods of time until it sells.
3) Wait as long as it takes to find a buyer that feels the value matches the current asking price or the market shifts, and the home appreciates up to the current asking price.
4) Find a different Real Estate Agent that is willing to tell you exactly what you want to hear and will go through the entire process all over again.
Your Realtor’s job is to market your property effectively, advise you on pricing, and negotiate a purchase through to closing.
You have the power to decide (almost) exactly when your house is going to sell.
If you have an unrealistic view of what your house is worth in the current market, that is the reason your house hasn’t sold.
Once you have accepted that, you will be able to free yourself and decide to sell your home when you want it to sell. Moving on to your next goal is usually more valuable than the amount you are holding out for.
Shift your thought, change your life.
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Why 2007 Was A Great Year for Ridgefield, CT Real Estate
January 10th, 2008 categories: Buying Your House, Market Data & Statistics, Ridgefield, Selling Your House, Talking Real Estate
We’ve all been reading this horrible news about the “real estate market”, the “sub-prime mess”, “buyers market”. Now, it’s time to look back at 2007 to see what really happened and gather the facts so that we can stand firmly in 2008 knowing that the Ridgefield real estate market is strong enough to weather any national real estate storm.
Ridgefield Real Estate Market 2007
No matter what the media presents, the Ridgefield real estate market remains robust. Mortgage rates are still at historic lows enabling home-buyers to move to Ridgefield or existing residents to trade up to a larger home. Here are the important stats for single family houses:
Read the rest of this entry »
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Tips for Sanity when Traveling With Your Children
January 8th, 2008 categories: Keep Your Kids Busy
Whether you are traveling to your new home in Ridgefield, or just taking a family vacation, keeping your kids happy and busy is the key to keeping yourselves happy and sane in the car, bus or plane with them. Use these tips to keep from short circuiting throughout the trip:
The Goody Bag
Buy some inexpensive toys before your trip. (No lead please) Introduce them at key moments of boredom (use your instincts) to your children as surprises as the trip unfolds . A new plaything adds fun and excitement to a tedious journey. Duct tape is cheaper, but you’ll find this method much safer, and your kids will enjoy it more.
The Travel Documentary
Provide your children with disposable cameras and have them make a record of the trip. If they are up for it, have them keep a travel journal record of all the interesting places you visit and adventures they have.
Allow them to save one or two mementos, a ticket stub or coaster to put in a scrapbook when you return home.
The Staples: Old Faithful Travel Items
Many of the most popular board games have travel versions. Get a few different games for the trip. Simple is good, but try to get some that are somewhat intricate to learn. This will take time in addition to playing.
If you do not have a travel DVD player, get one for the trip. They are not very expensive these days and will provide hours of entertainment for the kids. Hand-held video games do the trick as well, but make sure they turn the sound down so you don’t go crazy!
Since they can’t move around a lot, let them exercise their minds with activity books filled with puzzles, crosswords, and word games. Trivia cards can also be hours of fun and not too noisy.
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What Everybody Ought to Know About Ridgefield, Real Estate Taxes.
January 7th, 2008 categories: Buying Your House, Ridgefield, Selling Your House, Talking Real Estate
2007 Ridgefield Tax Assessment
You live in Ridgefield, CT, you own property here, and you just recently got a notice in the mail alerting you to the change in your Ridgefield property tax assessment for 2007.
What the shrek?!! Did you run to the phone to request an ”informal hearing” to protest your new higher tax assessment? If so, you were not alone. Everyone is nervous about what their higher assessment means to their bottom-line tax bill.
ATTENTION: Just because your assessment increased, it doesn’t necessarily mean that your taxes will go up.
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What You Need to Know About Ridgefield’s 300th Birthday Celebration
January 6th, 2008 categories: Cultural Resources, Eat, Drink and Be Amused, Keep Your Kids Busy, Ridgefield, Talking Real Estate
Join in the fun as we celebrate Ridgefield’s 300th Birthday! Our very own Tercentennial party just started and the celebration will last the throughout 2008. Settled by a small group of settlers in 1708, our 35 square-mile section of the world offers a rich history of war, agriculture, architecture, art and business. And for the next 12 months. well be reliving it!
Ridgefield’s 300th Anniversay Celebration
There’s an entire website devoted to the celebration, Ridgefield’s 300th Anniversary. The 300th Anniversary Committee has produced an unbelievable calendar of eventsfrom January through December with more than 5 dozen events, performances and exhibitions to commemorate this great birthday. Giftware and souvenirs will be available to accompany the fun. A Ridgefield Tercentennial Letterboxing Adventure has even been created. Letterboxing workshops will start in March and this adventure will provide fun and joy throughout the spring.
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