Jessica Beganski, REALTOR {Newington,West Hartford,Glastonbury,CT}

I posted this last week on my other blog at CTRealEstateUnleashed.com but thought it was worth it to share with everyone on Active Rain.

Last year, I read From Baghdad With Love: A Marine, The War and a Dog Named Lava. It is a war memoir centered around a Marine's struggle to adopt a stray puppy he found in Iraq and bring it home to the US.

Since then, I've been following the stories of other soldiers who've rescued stray dogs in Iraq and then try to bring them home. Unfortunately, the military has a policy in place forbidding soldiers from keeping animals. Despite this, many soldiers have grown attached to pets they've found or saved from starvation and neglect. Their bond with these animals not only helps the pet but provides immeasurable comfort to soldiers who are far from home. Furthermore, the miltary makes it impossible for soldiers who rescue pets to transport them back home, which is where the SPCA has stepped in.

The SPCA has been working to help soldiers bring home pets from Iraq. Their Operation Baghdad Pups (the slogan is No Buddy Gets Left Behind) has successfuly helped rescue dozens of soldiers' pets and there is one more to report.

From the SPCA via the Furry Paws Chronicle,

"Yesterday, a U.S. soldier’s dog arrived in Connecticut after a long journey from Iraq. Wayne and Susan Szmyt welcomed their son’s dog, Kindi, to their Trumbull home this weekend. Kindi arrived in the U.S. at Dulles International Airport Saturday afternoon along with 3 other soldiers’ dogs thanks to SPCA International’s Operation Baghdad Pups program. The Szmyt’s son, Derek, will be returning home from Iraq soon to be reunited with Kindi."

To read more of Kindi's story, click here.

The YouTube slideshow shows pictures of some of the pets rescued by soliders.

Mark Harrington, a mortgage lender with Horizon Home Mortgage in Windsor, shared this information with me recently:

The USDA provides 100% financing for mortgages on homes in "rural" areas, including many in Connecticut. Towns like Burlington, Avon, Granby, Canton, East Windsor and Suffield in Hartford County and towns such as Marlborough, Hebron, East Hampton, Colchester and Ellington in surrounding counties.

There are income limits - for Hartford County the current limit for a 2 person household is $73,150 and the program is only available for owner occupied, single family homes.

But there are also some significant benefits for qualifying properties and buyers:

-Seller may contribute closing costs.

-No down payment required.

-Competitive rates.

-No minimum credit score.

-No monthly mortgage insurance premium.

Looking for the perfect home for a USDA Rural Development Loan? This home at 124 Gates Road in Lebanon is located on 4 acres and qualifies for this program.

To check availability in your area, click on this link: USDA.

Status	Address	List Price	Style	#Bd	#Bth	SqFt	#Gr	Days on Market	MLS#
DEPOS	32 CHAPMAN ST	129,900	CAPE	3	1	1204	2	17	G500810
DEPOS	5 MARVIS ST	135,000	BUNG	2	1	864	1	15	G486479
DEPOS	168 NICHOLSON ST	139,900	CAPE	3	1.1	1857	0	7	G506316
DEPOS	51 COMMONWEALTH AVE	149,900	COL	2	1.1	825	2	82	G498824
DEPOS	482 NEW BRITAIN AVE	159,900	CAPE	2	1	1222	1	56	G498343
DEPOS	54 HIGHLAND STREET	163,999	CAPE	3	1	1187	0	11	G498683
DEPOS	17 FRANCIS AVE	164,900	CAPE	3	1	1428	0	3	G506183
DEPOS	51 SADDLE HILL RD	169,900	RANCH	3	1	1008	1	5	G502254
SHOW	461 MOUNTAIN	169,900	OTHER	4	2	1896	3	84	G498436
DEPOS	100 MAIN ST	175,000	CAPE	2	1	825	2	93	G495144
DEPOS	169 CEDAR RIDGE RD	185,000	RANCH	2	2	1056	2	23	G500660
SHOW	189 BACK LN	189,900	RANCH	2	2	1006	0	168	G487792
SHOW	103 BROOKDALE AVE	193,900	RANCH	3	1	1434	0	28	G503130
DEPOS	38 GROVELAND TER	199,900	COL	4	2	1904	1	19	G502327
SHOW	31 DARTMOUTH PL	199,900	CAPE	3	1	1587	1	91	G495659
DEPOS	42 WOODMERE RD	204,900	RANCH	2	1	1000	1	56	G496203
DEPOS	301 CEDAR ST	209,900	RANCH	3	2	1448	1	55	G494894
DEPOS	168 CONNECTICUT AVE	210,000	RANCH	3	1.5	1161	1	66	G495391
DEPOS	291 WALSH AVE	219,900	RANCH	3	2	1462	1	63	G496473
SHOW	62 CEDAR RIDGE RD	219,900	COL	3	1	2200	1	85	G496180
DEPOS	343 LLOYD ST	224,900	CAPE	3	2	1428	1	12	G501059
SHOW	15 BARNARD DRIVE	224,900	RANCH	4	1.1	1302	1	10	G505337
SHOW	111 DOWD ST	242,900	CAPE	4	2	1526	1	25	G503687
DEPOS	100 NORTHWOOD RD	249,900	RANCH	3	2	1233	1	18	G502672
SHOW	19 KELSEY STREET	249,900	RAISE	3	1.1	1158	2	63	G495497
DEPOS	101 MICHAEL LN	269,900	RANCH	3	2	1400	1	8	G504497
DEPOS	81 GRANDVIEW DRIVE	279,900	CAPE	3	2	1827	2	6	G504469
DEPOS	19 GREAT OAK LN	285,000	COL	4	2	1757	1	105	G493421
SHOW	52 FRANCIS DR	289,900	COL	4	2.1	1968	2	18	G503918
SHOW	24 LAURENCE LN	289,900	COL	3	1.1	1750	1	9	G504730
SHOW	66 WELLES DR. N.	299,000	COL	3	2	2000	1	39	G502326
SHOW	165 EAGLE DR	299,900	RAISE	3	2.1	1964	2	28	G502032
DEPOS	34 PEPPER BUSH LN	307,000	COL	3	2.1	1644	2	65	G496865
DEPOS	189 HARTFORD AVE	309,900	COL	4	3	2500	0	142	G480198
SHOW	47 HEMLOCK ST	329,900	COL	3	2.1	2680	2	110	G495165
SHOW	108 KIMBERLEY RD	379,900	COL	3	2.1	2264	2	2	G498712
SHOW	220 KIMBERLEY RD.	379,900	COL	4	2.1	2810	2	42	G500383
DEPOS	35 RED ROCK CIRCLE	389,900	COL	4	2.1	2146	2	12	G490204

Do you dig real estate news, tips and advice? Sniffing around for pet-related information in Connecticut? Get Unleashed - the blog that's helping to find homes for people and pets.

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When is Actve not really actively on the market? This and your other burning questions about the data contained in listing sheets in Connecticut are answered.

Here is a sample listing sheet:

Status

ACT or Active - the house is for sale and is available to view. It is not yet under deposit but that doesn’t mean that offers have not been presented.

SHOW or Under Deposit/Continue to Show - The house is under deposit but the contract has contingencies that haven’t been met yet.

DEPOS or Under Deposit - The house is under deposit and is no longer available to be seen by other buyers.

HUBRD - The house in question has a hubbard clause on it, meaning that a buyer has a contract on the property but it is subject to the sale of their own home. If the seller receives another offer on the house, the original buyer may either release the hubbard clause and buy the house or the seller may cancel the contract and accept the offer of the second buyer.

EXP or Expired - The listing agreement with the brokerage has expired and has not yet been renewed.

WITH or Withdrawn - The house has been withdrawn from the market and is probably not available for showing. The seller may let the listing expire or may put the house back on the market.

CANCL or Cancelled - The listing agreement was cancelled and the house is no longer “officially” on the market.

TEMP or Temporarily off the Market - This one is funny. An agent has taken a listing and for some reason, the agent or seller doesn’t want the house shown for a period of time - a few days, a week, etc. Now, in a heavy sellers market, I used to see homes come on the market TEMP status and then two or three days later, go under deposit. The house “went on the market” but not really - it was probably sold to a client the agent had already lined up or was sold “in house.”

Square Feet

2000/Town - This means the town has the square footage of the property at 2000 sf.

2000/Agent - The agent took the measurements, possibly because the town is inaccurate or because the seller feels that the square footage in the basement should also be included.

2000/Owner - The seller says its 2000 square feet and there will be no arguments.

Agent Comments

Cozy - small rooms.

EIK - Eat-in-kitchen.

As-is - the owner is making no representations about the home so “buyer beware.” Before putting in an offer, be sure to carefully examine the home and get an inspection, although the seller may very likely not make any repairs you ask for.

Bank owned - Known as an REO or real estate owned property, bank owned properties have been taken over by a lender for some reason such as foreclosure. Special addenda are required with bank owned properties.

Short sale - The seller owes more on the property than they can expect to sell it for. The bank and the buyer both have to agree to any offer you submit which will probably take longer.

Clean - if that’s best that can be said, then the house probably needs some other things like updates to kitchen and baths.

Must see inside - the outside is a mess, so don’t judge a book by its cover.

Priced to sell/motivated sellers - the seller or agent is desperate to move the house but that doesn’t always mean they’ll sell it for a bargain.

Just reduced - this doesn’t necessarily mean the house is priced accurately. Nor is it always 100% truthful. I just saw a listing where the price started at $269,900 in the summer, went up to $274,900 and then was reduced again to $269,900 - Just reduced!

Dates

Listing Date - This is the date the listing went on the market - with this MLS number. It’s not always the date the house originally went on the market. Your agent should do a check in property history in the MLS as well as do an address search for all occasions the listing may have been on the market under another MLS number.

Days on Market - Same thing here. The Days on Market is the number of days the listing has been on the market with a particular MLS number.

Tax Information

Assessment - This is the value on which the town bases property taxes. It is supposed to be 70% of the town's appraisal. Towns are mandated to do revaluations every 5 years so the assessed value and the appraisal may not be anywhere near the market value.

GET UNLEASHED -Subscribe to CT Real Estate Unleashed By Jessica Beganski by Email

GET UNLEASHED - Subscribe to CT Real Estate Unleashed By Jessica Beganski by Feed

Tour pre-screened bank-owned single families and multi-families in New Britain, Connecticut with licensed Realtors, Jessica Beganski and Leslie Bajorski of RE/MAX Precision Realty, Kelly Meuser from McCue Mortgage, Pillar to Post Home Inspections and Attorney Will Watson. Meet and talk with industry pros without obligation and for no charge.

You don't have to buy a home at the end of the tour. This is a no-pressure classroom on wheels.

Not only will you tour up to five properties, you will learn how to buy foreclosures, what financing is available, what legal pitfalls to avoid and how to evaluate the condition of properties. Ask questions about the real estate market in Connecticut, how to deal with banks, and what red flags to look for.

In addition, you will receive a packet including a detailed analysis of property value, a breakdown of financing options and notes from our presenters.

Why are we doing a free foreclosure tour and what's in it for us?

We want folks to know as much about buying foreclosures as possible, either so they decide to buy one or so they decide NOT to buy one. In addition, helping these homes get exposure helps them sell faster and help neighbors who would be adversely affected by them. We're all local New Britain area real estate professionals and there are some good deals out there. We'll help you find them!

Haven't signed up yet for this tour? There's still time.

Space is limited. Register today at www.mccuemortgage.com/openingdoors.htm or call 1-888-576-2283.

To read more about the tour, visit http://berealct.wordpress.com/2008/05/13/a-peek-at-homes-on-the-real-estate-foreclosure-investment-road-show/