Archive for the 'Hartford' Category
Surviving the October Storm
First, we hope you are all safe and warm. The last few days have been not fun for the majority of people in the Greater Hartford region and the un-fun will likely continue for a while longer.
We live in the West End of Hartford and somehow have power. Many of our neighbors do not, as a lot of the legacy trees in our neighborhood took a beating and brought the power lines down with them when large branches fell. We lost a large branch from one of our trees, which barely missed our house, a large weeping cherry tree and several smaller tree limbs from another large tree in our yard. We were lucky that no one was hurt and nothing was damaged.
Many of the streets around us are not passable because of downed trees and live power wires. We’ve gone on several walks around the neighborhood and are, well, I guess the best words would be horrified and saddened at the amount of tree damage that’s occurred. Here are some pictures from neighboring streets taken on Sunday October 30, 2011…
While our dog seems to be happy with the storm and the new amount of chewing material it’s provided her, we can’t say the same for people. Neighbors are helping each other out where they can. We’ll most likely have some friends come stay with us tonight and for the next few days as they will not have power for several more days.
Many of our homeowner clients are dealing with tree cleanup and no power. Showings have really slowed down and we’ve had some closings delayed. We think that the storm is going to really slow the market down for November and we’ll enter the slower winter selling season a little bit earlier this year. When Irene came through a few months ago it had a similar effect.
Biking to Work
It would be great to be able to bike to work. Amy almost had to do it on marathon day because of road closures, but we found an open route from our house to the office so it was unnecessary. That’s the most recent time it’s come up, but by no means the only time. We know lots of people in the area who use their bikes for transportation, so this isn’t breaking new ground or doing something dramatic and radical.
Basically, it comes down to the old Nike tagline – “Just Do It.” Making excuses is easy, here’s a sample. I don’t want to get all sweaty since I’m meeting clients. My bike’s chain is exposed and tends to get grease on me and my clothes. My showings are in distant towns, or there are long distances between homes. I don’t have a good way to carry my stuff. My house doesn’t have a garage, so I have to haul my bike out of the basement each time I ride. I could go on all day.
Rather than focusing on why I can’t ride a bike to sell real estate, I’m going to start focusing on opportunities when it is possible. And it’s not always going to be possible. I’m not going to ride in bad weather. I’m not going to ride long distances. I’m probably not going to be riding on weekend days in the spring when we’re busiest.
I’m going to start small, and I’m going to start today. I’m writing this on a Tuesday in October. It’s a relatively slow day, so I’m going to go on broker’s tour on my bike. There are only a few houses I need to see, and they’re all in Hartford and West Hartford, so it’s manageable. Moderate distance, no time constraints, no client interaction. Just do it.
We’ll see how it goes…
Revaluation Countdown
Are you in a Revaluation 2011 town? If so, then it’s just about time for the new fair market values to be distributed. Have you been checking your mailbox daily? Exciting, right?!? What’s the number going to be … how much is your home worth as of October 2011? There a good chance it will be a lower number than from the 2006 revaluation. Which is sad, but that’s the reality these days.
So the question is how much has your (and my) market value decreased versus the rest of the property in town. Properties that decrease more than average are actually the “winners” in this competition. Sure, you’ve lost more value, but your share of the town’s expenses (paid through property taxes) decreases. Owners of properties that weathered the weak real estate market better than average are rewarded with more of the tax burden. Note that it’s unlikely anyone’s taxes will go down a meaningful amount.
Both Hartford and West Hartford are doing a 2011 revaluation with interesting complications. For Hartford, residential owners are protected from the full tax burden by split assessment ratios. The new rules were passed by the State Legislature this spring, and have recently been revised every five years. Please see our Hartford Property Taxes page for more information. The main unknown in Hartford is the starting point for the coming five year cycle, which will be determined by how far the commercial market values fell relative to the residential market values.
West Hartford has a more subtle issue to address. By 2006, property values had increased dramatically from the previous revaluation. The town initially implemented a phase-in to cushion the blow for homeowners who were most impacted, giving everyone an equal assessment step up in the first year and then spreading the remaining assessment increase over four years. West Hartford then reversed course after the second year and froze the phase-in until this year. Prices have come down since 2006, one of the key arguments in favor of the freeze, so it will be interesting to see if the problem has fixed itself or if further intervention will be required. Back in May we did a 2 part piece on West Hartford’s upcoming revaluation (Part 1 and Part 2).
Market values for all towns participating in a revaluation are as of October 1, 2011, so homeowners should be receiving their updated numbers in the near future. Both the Hartford and West Hartford Assessor’s offices report that they are planning to send them out in the second half of November. Once those letters are in hand, we’ll head directly into the “informal hearings” portion of the process, where owners can challenge their new values.
This is exciting stuff for real estate dorks like us, so you’ll no doubt be subjected to the gory details over the coming months … stay tuned!
91 Girard Avenue, Hartford’s West End
Steps from the UConn Law School and Hartford Seminary, this West End home has 4 bedrooms and 1.5 baths over 2,230 square feet.
This classic Scoville Victorian offers original architectural charm and a bright, open floor plan. The foyer with its turned staircase opens into the formal living room with fireplace. The formal dining room has plenty of space for entertaining and leads to an office. The remodeled kitchen features great cabinet space, granite counters, stainless steel appliances and an eat-in area. A renovated half bathroom and mudroom complete the first floor.
Upstairs the master bedroom has a dressing room space with built-in storage. The second floor has three additional bedrooms and a remodeled bathroom.
The third floor has a finished room and plenty of unfinished space which could be completed for additional square footage, if needed. Skylights make this a bright, welcoming space with great possibilities.
Outside the backyard offers privacy, a slate patio and 1-car garage.
91 Girard Avenue is offered at $272,000. If you’d like to see this home, please have your agent arrange a showing, call me at 860-655-2125 to schedule a visit, or stop by the open house on October 23rd between 1:00pm-3:00pm. More details and a photo tour are available.
Marathon Parties
Marathon Parties are one of my favorite types of parties to throw and attend. When we first moved to Hartford, mile 24 of the full marathon passed right by our home. We invited friends over and had a blast yelling and making noise to support the runners for a few hours that morning.
Sadly, race organizers changed the route. The runners were apparently dissatisfied with the course passing the finish line at mile 20 (too demoralizing) and weaving through the West End (prefer longer straightaways) among other things. So we adapted our marathon weekend celebration to include participating in the half-marathon.
Last year the route for the half marathon was changed again, separating it from the full marathon. There are now more opportunities than ever for homeowners to throw a marathon party – check out the current routes for the full and half to see if anyone you know lives along a route.
Marathon organizers made an effort to reach out to residents along the route this year. This year’s slogan seems to be the ever popular “More Cowbell!” so they passed out little cowbells door-to-door. They have also put up lots of signs at intersections so residents will hopefully be prepared for the traffic impact of closing roads.
Hopefully if you live on the route you know that this coming Saturday morning (October 15, 2011) is going to be more exciting than most. Now it’s time to take the next step – invite some friends and have a party! And even if you don’t live on the route, there’s nothing wrong with encouraging friends who do to throw a party. Think of it like a tailgate if you like. Some would argue that it’s a little early for beer and smoked meat, but they would be wrong.