When your clients say they won’t bid on the house until hell freezes over or HGTV gives them a free makeover. 🧐
Although buyers might not have the same level of negotiating power of yesteryear, there is still some opportunity to negotiate on a case by case basis. It depends on
🟠how much demand there is for the property,
🟠the motivation level of the seller, and
🟠how much concession the buyer is asking for.
If you are a buyer who will only consider a jackpot deal, you could luck out, or you could be waiting a very long time. 🤷♀️
Just kidding (about the photo, not the commentary)!
My clients just came across the picture and sent it to me. It looks so ‘retro’ I had to have some fun with it. I wasn’t waiting for my clients to decide on an offer. They had actually already bought the house and were about to cash in on a free makeover from HGTV when we filmed the show, HGTV House Hunters Renovations. We were on a break during filming in the kitchen. Below is their gorgeous renovated kitchen thanks to HGTV. Sometimes things just work out perfectly! 🏡 🌳 🌞
Here are a couple more snapshots from behind the scenes at some other properties we browsed for the show.
If you have questions about the market, moving process, or would like to talk about your plans. Drop me a note below!
As part of your prime homeownership experience, you want to have some great getaway options that are not too far away, right?
Living in Fairfield Connecticut, one of my favorites is Okemo Mountain in Ludlow Vermont! It’s just about two and a half hours away and it always refreshes your body and soul. You can leave home in the afternoon and check into your condo rental early evening, just in time for a glimpse of the slopes and a bite to eat in town. Then wake up and hit the ski trails. The beauty and peacefulness of the mountaintop views is just what the doctor ordered!
Finally, after a fun few days of fresh air and exercise, be sure to stop in at the Vermont Country Store as you head out of town. It is scenic, quaint, and super charming! Here are some snapshots of the full experience. If you would like to look into a home in the Fairfield or Westport Connecticut areas as well as homes near Okemo, DM me today. We have offices in each of these locations!!
If you would like to look into a home in the Fairfield or Westport Connecticut areas as well as homes near Okemo, DM me today. We have offices in each of these locations!!
Did you know there 35 points of negotiation in a Fairfield real estate sale? These terms can go your way…or not.
As a home buyer, you likely feel it’s a challenge to find a home in this market. As home seller, you may find it daunting to prepare your home for the market and you want to ensure your home is priced, presented, and marketed strategically so that you get the highest return and the best terms. Your trusted agent will help you accomplish both monumental endeavors.
Yet the process from contract to close can be the most challenging and vulnerable phase of your transaction.
Your agent must navigate and negotiate all the details and variables, both the anticipated and the unexpected, when working toward your successful sale.
There are 35 points of negotiation!
Price
Proof of funds, pre-approval
Timeline
Possession
Occupancy
Deposit money
Appraisal
Financing
Contingencies
Deadlines
Inspections
Repairs, remediation, or credits
Closing agency
Closing costs
Title search results
Survey
Permits
Property lines
Fences, trees, sheds
Easements, wetlands
Elevation certificate, elevation
Personal property
Insurance, property, flood
Home warranty
Other warranties- roof, mechanicals, builder
Water systems
Septic or sewer systems
Utilities
Prorations- oil, water, taxes
System or service leases- solar, water heaters, pest treatment
Assessments
Associations
Property disclosures
Walk-through
Closing!
There are many things that can go your way or not in your Fairfield real estate sale! You don’t want to pay the price without getting the value. With more 80 online testimonials and over $73M in sales, rest assured I will work tirelessly for your successful move just as I have done for all my other clients. Reach out to me today, and let’s discuss your plans.
Finally, the home you love just came on the market and you want to buy it.
But your existing house won’t be closing in time for you to make a competitive offer. In this market of tight inventory you need to be able to act quickly and come in with a complete and solid offer for the new home that you want to buy.
Did you know you can secure your mortgage pre-approval before you close on the sale of your home? Here’s a great tip you should know about!
If your dept-to-income ratio doesn’t allow for you to carry two houses, but you have an accepted offer for the sale of your house, this could be good news for you!
Have your downpayment ready.
Get the contingency-free loan commitment letter from the buyers for your house.
If the buyer for your house is financing and will give you their contingency-free loan commitment letter, you may be able to get your mortgage pre-approval to buy before you close on your sale.
With your buyer’s contingent-free loan commitment letter, your lender does not have to include your existing mortgage debt when figuring your debt-to-income ratio for your new loan. All you need is your down payment, and you are good to go.
It’s January 2023 and you are wondering, are home values falling? As a potential home buyer or home seller, you want to know where the values of your Fairfield County house are now and where they are likely heading.
I will keep you abreast of Fairfield County house values in Fairfield and Westport each month here on the blog. Reach out to me for values in additional towns.
Below is a comparison chart for each town showing the year-to-date change and an estimated forecast to address the question, “are home prices falling”.
As you can see, we are still in a seller’s market. Home values are up 12-25% in Fairfield and Westport at the end of 2022 compared to 2021. Inventory and new listings are down, and market time is down year over year.
Yet, in favor of buyers, unit sales and contracts are also down. And months of supply was up in December in both towns (data not shown). So this offers some opportunity for buyers to possibly have a little more time, choice and negotiating ability in the coming year. This leverage is on a case by case basis though. Due to the tight inventory, many homes are still selling very quickly and some still with multiple offers. So buyers should be prepared with a mortgage pre-approval or proof of funds so they can make an offer quickly if they see a home that they like.
On a national note, the experts have not projected home prices falling in 2023. They expect to see prices remain relatively flat followed by continued appreciation beginning in 2024. So more equity should be there for the taking for home buyers this year!
Reach out to me anytime with your questions about the market and to talk about your plans.
Ever heard this before- “The housing market is crashing and prices will soon be free-falling”?
You’re waiting to make your move because the media is sending constant mixed messages…but don’t get discouraged because here are 5 ways to define our NEW NORMAL and what to do about it!
Slides
1. Low supply- housing inventory remains extremely low and is not likely to catch up soon. We have been hovering at about 2-3 months of supply for almost a year now, when we had 7-9 months of inventory before the pandemic.
2. High demand- There is pent-up demand from buyers who still want to find their new home and seller longing to make a change. (You know who you are!)
3. Values are up- Most economists forecast stable home prices in 2023 followed by continued moderate appreciation starting in 2024. Low supply + high demand = upward pressure on prices.
4. Rates went up, but already moderated- Rates reached the 6-7% level after we all embraced the anomaly of extremely low rates during the past two years. Experts project rates to moderate downward to the 5% range by the end of 2023.
5. Environment is stable- Of note: – Foreclosure levels are low. – Unemployment levels are low. – Homeowner equity levels are strong compared to 2008. – Lending regulations have been stringent
So now is a good time to reset expectations. We are in a new normal, it’s a good a year as any to move on with your plans! 🏡 🏃♀️
Happy Holidays! Our family tradition of doing a craft after dinner (and maybe a few drinks) was born in 2006 when my family and my husband’s family celebrated the holidays together for the first time.
My mother, @niki_ketchman is a professional artist and made the suggestion that we all make our own ornaments together. She brought a big box of miscellaneous items and materials from her studio and poured them out on the table for everyone to browse. What came naturally to her caused everyone else complete anxiety at first! We all just stared at the pile drawing a complete blank and glancing side to side to see if anyone else knew what to do. Then gradually we each picked up a button, a piece of fabric, a glittery thread, a shiny piece of metal, a section of wire, etc. and the creative process began to evolve. To everyone’s amazement, we each created something special that we never expected.
It turned out that the ornament pictured above that Mark’s mom created that night was the one and only ornament she made before she lost her battle with pancreatic cancer.
Ever since then, Mark has carried on the idea and made it a tradition. So we have painted ornaments, wine glasses, dinner plates, and this year, aprons! We have had a blast doing it, (now that we’ve gained some confidence). The best thing about it is that we incorporate the items from previous years into each year’s decor and festivities, and it enriches the ambience while bringing back the fun memories of holidays past!
What is your favorite holiday tradition and how did it start?
Below is November’s Local Housing Data for Westport, CT. Click the image to open the interactive report.
With the report open, use the menu in the upper left to search different towns and pull up more reports…like the Market Forecast tool! This is a screenshot of the expanded menu view:
Reach out to me anytime with questions about the market and your plans.
You may not be aware of this, but real estate agents make referrals for their clients all the time, and you should too! You will help your friends and your REALTOR® when you do!
Did you know?
Sixty-five percentof home sellers choose an agent they know or one who is referred by someone they know and trust (National Association of Realtors). This means that any friend of yours who is thinking about moving may be looking for a recommendation from you!
When I’m guiding you through your move, I don’t stop at the town line. I get you where you want to go.
Maybe you want to sell your Fairfield condo, move back west, and get a vacation condo in Saint Martin.
Perhaps you want to move from downtown Westport to a waterfront home an hour up the coast.
Or maybe you want to move out of Connecticut to New York or Florida.
When I help you make your big move, I work with you to get the top dollar and optimal terms for the sale of your Fairfield-Westport area home, and if your desired destination is beyond my direct service area, I refer you to an expert in the place you want to buy in. I oversee the process and ensure you are happy with your other agent. I coordinate timing and work together with the other parties to make the process as seamless and stress-free for you as possible.
Let me get you to your happy place.
I have helped many of my clients sell their homes and move locally or out of the area. With William Raveis, we have 140 offices with 4,400 agents in eight states (Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, Maine, New Hampshire, and Florida). We are also proud to partner with the invitation-only Leading Real Estate Companies of the World global network spanning 55 countries with 4,000 offices and 128,000 overseas sales associates. Your luxury listing is represented with over 200 selected luxury affiliates through our membership with Luxury Portfolio International, the global gold standard in luxury real estate. Tap into my extensive network of elite local, regional, and global brokerages to help you move around the corner or around the world.
Referrals? Yes, Please!
Most of my business comes from referrals from clients and repeat clients. If you want to help a friend make a successful and low stress move, refer them to me. As always, I promise to take excellent care of them. They will be grateful to you, and so will I.
Referrals are a win-win, so share the love! ❤️ ….Did I mention that referrals are a win-win?
During a recent meeting of the Greater Fairfield Board of Realtors, a panel of town officials from several departments presented updates and information for discussion among the group. I was struck by the new Conservation Director’s announcement that the volume of inland wetland violations has skyrocketed recently with all the new homeowners moving into town and being unaware about the presence and importance of wetlands. He asked if we could help him get the word out to people.
So (on an unseasonably hot day in November!) I met with Fairfield’s new Conservation Director, Tim Bishop over coffee to talk about how I can help homeowners in town learn how to protect our precious wetlands. Tim is an expert environmentalist with almost two decades of experience. He is an excellent resource for our town and truly wants to collaborate with homeowners to help them get their home improvements done while protecting our fragile natural resource, the inland wetland areas.
When meeting with Tim, I learned that most people are not aware of the importance of protecting wetlands. I learned that protecting our inland wetlands is critical to controlling flooding and stormwater run-off, maintaining our water quality, and preserving natural ecosystems that need still (vs. flowing) water to breed and live. Healthy wetland areas hold onto water which allows a natural cleaning process to occur and provides the environment necessary for wildlife survival, while controlling flooding.
People don’t realize that their actions could be permanently destroying this critical natural resource, and they don’t realize that what they do in their yard impacts other people. So I assembled the information below to address the key issues and also put it in a handout for people to use and share.
HOW DO I KNOW IF MY PROPERTY IS REGULATED?
Call the Conservation Department. Ask your REALTOR® to check your deed.
Your property may have a water course, wetland soils, a buffer zone from adjacent wetlands, or a conservation easement to preserve another fragile natural resource.
Your property may have wetlands and be regulated even if it appears to be dry. Regulated activities include any “digging” (even 1 inch down) and “dumping” (depositing any material in wetland areas)
WHAT SHOULD I DO IF ACTIVITY ON MY PROPERTY IS REGULATED?
Call the Conservation Department to learn what impact your future plan would have on the environment and how it can be done safely. They will tell you if your project needs a “staff level permit”, a “commission level permit”, or no permit at all.
Be sure to come in for a Concept Review before submitting a permit application online! After your Concept Review, you can submit your online permit application.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME?! Water Quality: Healthy wetlands hold onto water & enable a natural cleansing process for clean water. Flood Control: Healthy wetlands control flooding & prevent storm run-off.
Ecosystems: Healthy wetlands hold onto water that is critical to wildlife’s ability to breed & survive. Prevent Permanent Loss: Once a natural wetland area is damaged or destroyed, it can never be restored to its original natural integrity. Prevent Violations: Conservation violations are costly to the department, to you, and to the environment.
Resource to Help You: The Conservation Department is led by expert director, Tim Bishop who is here to help you plan your project and protect our inland wetlands.
Just Give Them a Call!
CALL BEFORE YOU START. Learn whether your property is regulated, what you can do, and where you can do it.
Tim Bishop, NEW Conservation Director 203-256-3071
FAQS:
Q. I’ve heard horror stories about getting Conservation involved in any projects. Why should I jump through hoops and pay the town extra money?!
A. Good news! There is a NEW director of conservation and new staff, all of whom are experts at protecting the inland wetland environments. They want to collaborate with Fairfield residents to ensure we can all enjoy the benefits of preserving healthy wetlands. They are very reasonable and are streamlining pricing, guidelines, and the way they work with homeowners. They truly want to connect with you to help you get your project done in a way that is safe for the environment and protects it for generations to come.
Q. Why would activity on my property be regulated by the Conservation department?
A. There are three possible conditions: 1) There are watercourses or wetland soils on your property. 2) There are wetlands or wetland soils on a nearby property with a protective buffer zone extending onto your property. 3) There is a conservation easement on your property deed (I.e. to protect a meadow). If any of these conditions exist, activity on your property is regulated by Conservation. This does not mean you will always need a permit or that you can’t implement your plans. It means that the experts in the department need to work with you on a plan that is safe for the environment.
Q. Why does conservation regulate my land?
A. The department only regulates activity that has an impact on the environment in regulated areas. It does not regulate your land. What you do in your yard impacts other people and the environment.
Q. What activities are regulated?
A. Any activity that involves digging (even an inch down) and dumping (depositing material in a wetland area) that disturbs wetlands. Some examples are: Installing pools, fences, patios, generators, sprinklers, koi ponds, dumping branches, brush, animal waste, etc.
Q. Can I plant stuff?
A. Check with conservation first if you have a regulated property to learn which species are native vs invasive. A permit will be needed for anything requiring trucks or heavy equipment, but manually planting native species might not even need a
Q. How long will it take to get a permit?
A. There are two types of permits, the CWC (Certificate of Wetland Conformance), and IWP (Inland Wetland Permit). CWC is a “staff level” permit which takes 1 to 1.5 months. It includes a 15-day waiting period for the public to weigh in on the applicant’s posting in the newspaper regarding their proposed activity. The template for the post is provided by conservation.
IWP is a ”commission level” permit which takes 3 to 4 months. The inland wetland commission is a self-managed group that adheres to regulations from the state. They meet monthly. Some projects may need discussion in more than one meeting.
Q. How much will it cost me to get conservation involved?
A. The new director, Tim Bishop is in the process of revamping the fees to make them much more cost effective. There will be a simple menu of activities, each with a very reasonable associated fee.
Q. How can I stay informed about inland wetland information?
A. Tim posts new information each month on the department homepage at Fairfieldct.org/conservation. But you can always call and ask your questions directly. Tim says, “Just give us a call!” Of course you can also stop in during office hours and visit the wetlands map.
If you are thinking of buying and/or selling a property and have questions, you can reach out to me below.
It’s just about two and a half hours away and it always refreshes your body and soul. You can leave home in the afternoon and check into your condo rental early evening, just in time for a glimpse of the slopes and a bite to eat in town. Then wake up and hit the ski trails. The beauty and peacefulness of the mountaintop 
views is just what the doctor ordered!
as you head out of town. It is scenic, quaint, and super charming! 
Fairfield and Westport CT Real Estate Guide 