Archive for the 'West Hartford' Category
Adventures in Recycling
This past Saturday’s electronics recycling event in West Hartford was a big hit. Traffic was at a virtual standstill for blocks around the Public Works facility off Oakwood Ave, where the Connecticut Resources Recovery Authority (CRRA) set up their collection point. People waited for over an hour to get rid of their old tvs, computers, dvd players, and all sorts of other random junk.
I made the mistake of trying to sneak in just before they closed at 1:00. At first I thought the long line of cars backed up New Park Ave past Flatbush was due to an accident or some random car trying to make a left turn. But when I cruised down the right lane, and approached the intersection with Oakwood, the cops directing traffic made it clear that all of these people were actually waiting in line.
Unable to make the turn onto Oakwood, my next idea was to sneak around to the event the back way – through Hartford. The plan was good in theory, since nobody was approaching the Public Works from that direction, though it failed in practice. Access was blocked by aggressive use of traffic cones, again making it impossible to join the queue. I was forced to backtrack up Oakwood Ave until I found an acceptable place to join the line.
It was now about 12:30, and the recycling event was scheduled to last until 1:00. As soon as I got into line, the whole thing stopped moving. Five minutes … ten minutes … fifteen minutes … nothing. Then the truck in front of me shifted out of park, through reverse, to drive. We crept forward about half a car length. Then it was back to park.
By 1:00 I had still not made it into the Public Works facility, which only started about 400 yards away. In the first good break of my adventure, they decided to keep the event open for all the cars in line by 1:00. I didn’t know this at the time, but it seemed like a safe assumption when 1:15 came and went and I was neither inside nor chased away by someone official.
I finally made it inside at about 1:30. There was a crew of probably 15 guys working through the rain to haul junk out of a never-ending line of cars. Much of it was tossed into the trailer of an 18-wheeler to be taken away and processed. TVs were piled precariously on pallets and secured in plastic wrap. They were also shredding paper in a different area.
The event collected an incredible amount of electronic junk. It was scary how much there was, but at the same time wonderful to see that so many people made the effort to recycle rather than getting rid of it in some other way. Keep an eye out for future opportunities to recycle electronics. They have been held at least twice a year in the area, and the current schedule can always be found on the CRRA website.
One final word of advice – plan to go early.
Homebuyer Tax Credit Update
The Senate has overwhelmingly passed an extension to the hotly debated homebuyer tax credit. The updated version of the program has larger scope and is more generous than its predecessors. Note that the extension is not official until it is also passed by the House and signed by President Obama.
The new program offers people that have lived in their home for 5 years or more (move-up buyers) a $6,500 credit. It also increases the income cap to $125,000 for single return filers and $225,000 for joint return filers. Just like the previous incarnation, first-time buyers receive an $8,000 credit. Purchases must either close by April 30, 2010 or be under “binding contract” by that date and close within 60 days of April 30th. Homes must cost less than $800,000 to qualify, and buyers must be at least 18 years old to take advantage of the program. Once the final version is passed, we’ll link to all the specifics and details – this is a summary of the main points and changes.
Observations
1. “Move-up” buyers do not need to be buying a more expensive home. In fact, it seems likely that there will be lots of “move-down” buyers that take advantage of the program. Just imagine how many homeowners there are out there that have lived in their home for 20, 30, 50 years and are ready to downsize.
2. The expiration of the program is not very convenient for families with children in school, who often prefer to move over the summer. The absolute latest that a deal could close and qualify for the credit is 60 days after April 30th, which is Tuesday, June 29th. The last scheduled day of the West Hartford school year is Thursday, June 17th, with three snow make-up days taking the possible last day to Tuesday, June 22nd. If school did extend to the 22nd, then families would either have to move during the school year or try to move within one week of school ending.
3. In the Greater Hartford area, the “move-up” clause may be more effective in spurring real estate activity than the “first-time buyer” clause. We’ve already reported that we did not encounter many first-time buyers that were only making a purchase because of the credit. Nearly all were going to buy anyway and simply accelerated their purchase. The “move-up” credit, and the short window to claim it, could create a flurry of activity for people who were considering a move in the next year or two.
4. The “move-up” clause seems like it will encourage current homeowners who want to take advantage of the credit to put their home on the market early in the new year. They would need to find a buyer for their place, and then successfully bid on a new home to move to by April 30th.
5. The credit has been encouraging buyers to accelerate their purchases for the past year. At some point that trend will reverse and there will be a period in which real estate activity is unusually low. The most likely time will be just after the credit finally expires for good, though it’s possible it could happen while the credit is still available. The summer of 2010 seems like a good candidate.
6. Do we know how much this program is expected to cost the Federal government? I have not seen any projections as to how many “move-up” buyers are out there that could claim the credit. We know that over 1.8 million first-time buyers are expected to claim the credit in 2009. Presumably the shorter window of opportunity will be the main way in which the program’s costs are contained.
A Halloween Tradition on Four Mile Road, West Hartford
For the past 16 years, Lisa Campo has been putting on a Halloween show in her front yard. She spends much of the month of October decorating, with her impressive collection of horrible creatures and terrible scenes. Each year there is something new added to the mix. The whole production comes to life on Halloween as live actors join the props for an evening of scares. Kyle and I joined the cast last year and are looking forward to dressing up again. In fact, we’ve had the day circled on our calendar for months and went over last week to pick out our costumes. I guess we are still kids at heart.
Hundreds of visitors come through on the big night, and the players work hard to spread the scares around. Even those in cars driving by sometimes get a surprise or two. You never know which of the characters are real and which are fake – at least not until we jump out.
Stop by to experience the event at 161 Four Mile Rd in West Hartford, the festivities get under way after dark.