Existing Homeowners and the Tax Credit

I’ve been getting a lot of phone calls and emails from existing homeowners during the last two weeks. They want to know if they qualify for the $6,500 home buying tax credit that was recently signed into law. The new rules for current homeowners regarding this credit are: 1. You must have lived in your current home consecutively for 5 of the last 8 years. 2. You must have a written, fully accepted contract on

What To Do With That Koi Pond

You bought a house. As part of the landscaping, it has a Koi pond in the back yard. It’s nice and all, but you’re really not that interested in taking care of the Koi and you’ve got small kids that are going to use it alternatively as a swimming pool. Not good. So, what are you going to do with these fish? And then what are you going to do with the resulting hole that’s

Real Estate Karma

“You reap what you sow.” “What goes around comes around.” “Do unto others as you would have others do unto you.” And my personal favorite, “You’ll get yours…” Before I got into real estate, I never really gave much thought to these sayings. Karma was something that I was aware of, but didn’t pay much attention to. I mean, I watched Earl on Thursday nights. That was my level of involvement with giving thought to

Choosing a Real Estate Agent

There are something like 350 real estate agents based out of the five main offices in West Hartford Center. The number grows rapidly as the rest of the towns in Greater Hartford are also considered. Most people know at least one agent, and some know many. With so many agents out there, how do you choose an agent to use for your purchase or sale? We believe that the three main criteria should be activity

Dear GHREB

I recently received this message, and wanted to share it in hopes of preventing similar situations in the future.   Dear GHREB, Like you, I am a real estate agent working in the communities of Greater Hartford. I recently had an experience that has left me sad and upset, and wanted to get your take on the situation. Over the summer I sold the home of someone that I have known for many years in