Connecticut Property Tax Mill Rates, Towns A-C

I had hoped to be able to announce a new updated link to the State of Connecticut’s list of property tax mill rates by now.  Although I’ve checked the site numerous times, the data is still old- from the 2005 Grand List.

I can’t find a list elsewhere so I’m going to do a series of posts and put the info directly on this site.  Eventually, I’ll put the data all together somewhere an make it available.

Here are the most recent mill rates for towns beginning with letters A-C.  Call the town hall to verify.

Andover-26.3

Ansonia-32.32

Ashford-33.7

Avon-25.55

Barkhamsted-Call Town

Beacon Falls-22.68

Berlin-28.74

Bethany-29.3

Bethel-28.15

Bethlehem-23.04

Bloomfield-34.33

Bolton-30.97

Bozrah-25.00

Branford-22.33

Bridgeport-41.28

Bridgewater-15.5

Bristol-34.71

Brookfield-17.96

Brooklyn-22.12

Burlington-27.82

Canaan-29.5

Canterbury-21.95

Canton-Call Town

Chaplin-35.5

Cheshire-27.6

Chester-23.12

Clinton-20.26

Colchester-23.31

Colebrook-22.59

Columbia-20.9

Cornwall-11.9

Coventry-27.59

Cromwell-33.24

Foreclosure Rescue Companies in CT – Scams or Legitimate?

According to a recent edition of the New Haven Independent, a couple in New Haven are suing a real estate investment company for allegedly scamming them out of their home. 

In short, the rescue company, just days before the home was to be sold at auction, approached the owners and offered to buy the house to help the owners avoid foreclosure.  In return, the owners would become renters and agreed to buy the house back within a year for considerably more than the sale price after getting their credit back on track.  The owners were able to buy the home back but were shocked at the cost – and decided to sue. 

Suit Reveals Foreclosure Rescue Scam

The company in question has several websites including:

Temperley Investment Group

123CTHomes

This story illustrates just one technique used by real estate investors to “help” homeowners in foreclosure.  Depending on whether the homeowners actually understand what’s going on, the “help” may be seen as a scam and sometimes is actually a scam.

 

Have you been approached by a foreclosure rescue company?

Short Sale – What Buyers Should Know

In my last post, I gave homeowners a quick explanation of short sales.  This time, my post is for potential short sale buyers.

What’s a short sale?

A lender agrees to accept a sale of a property for less than the mortgage owed plus the expenses for having a short sale (realtor, appraisal & attorney fees, e.g.).   The homeowner owns the property and is selling it, but before the sale can occur, the bank needs to approve.

How do I know it’s a short sale?

If you’re looking at properties that have descriptions such as “subject to bank approval,” “subject to lien-holder approval,” or “as is,” these may be short sales.  Some listings will say, “short sale,” but not all.

How is a short sale different?

In a traditional real estate transaction, there are two parties – the buyer and seller.  With a short sale, add one more -the bank. Like any other real estate purchase, a buyer sees a property they like and submits an offer to the seller.  If the seller likes the offer, they accept it, contingent upon the approval by the bank.

The buyer can still perform an inspection, but since the sale is “as is,” neither the seller nor the bank are likely to make any repairs.  In addition, most lenders will not permit closing cost credits for repairs.

The buyer still pays for their own appraisal via their bank but the seller’s lender also has an appraisal done and it is this appraisal that matters.  The bank will base its decision to accept or reject the short sale based on their appraisal – and they have been known to reject offers that are lower than the appraisal.  They may even come back to the buyer and ask for the buyer to increase their offer before approving the short sale.

The time to close in a short sale is also different.  A bank can take anywhere from 4-6 weeks (possibly longer) to approve the sale and once they approve, they generally want to close ASAP.  So, before the sale is even approved, the buyer will have already had an inspection and had their appraisal done.

What are the risks for buyers?

An Alternative to Foreclosure – Short Sale

One alternative to foreclosure for homeowners is a short sale.  Here’s a quick explanation:

What’s a short sale?

A lender agrees to accept a sale of a property for less than the mortgage owed plus the expenses for having a short sale (realtor, appraisal & attorney fees, e.g.).   The lender may or may not absorb the entire loss – the lender may choose to go after the owner for all or some of the difference.  And the lender will expect that the homeowner can prove that they can no longer afford payments – and that the inability to pay is a recent development, not that the homeowner lied on the loan application

Why should a seller consider a short sale?

A short sale is an option when foreclosure or bankruptcy are the other alternatives.  A short sale is still a negative mark on a sellers’ credit but not as bad as either foreclosure or bankruptcy. 

What are the downsides of a short sale?

If the lender absorbs the loss and allows the homeowner to walk away, the IRS looks at the value of that as taxable income.  And as mentioned above, a short sale will affect the sellers’ credit.  There is also the fact that the seller will not be able to stay in the home – it is a sale.  And, a seller may still owe the lender money after the short sale.

How does a short sale occur?

A homeowner would contact their lender and if no other options are available (negotiating a different payment plan, e.g.), the lender may agree to a short sale instead of foreclosing.  A lender may still choose to foreclose if foreclosure would result in a better outcome for the bank.  However if they agree, the lender would then require the homeowner to sell the house.  The homeowner hires an agent, who agrees to sell the house for a lower commission generally. 

If a buyer can be found for the property, the buyer submits an offer to the seller who, if accepts the offer, then forwards the offer to the bank.  The bank then either accepts the offer or does not depending on what the offer amount is and what the appraised value is determined to be, taking 4-6 weeks.   If the lender accepts the offer, a closing usually takes place very quickly. 

Reading Room – Tuesday, Nov. 13

Here are some articles worth reading today:

Taxes When You Sell Your Home at a Loss – Ouch.

Texting Getting More Expensive – Good.  I can’t stand sending or receiving text messages.

Is Raising Kids a Fools Game? – The message of this piece disturbs me slightly – it’s almost nostalgic about the days when children were used as farm hands or worked in mills and contributed to the economy.  However, the writer does point out that raising children is unbelievably expensive, asking whether having children is worth it. 

Pastor Puts Faith in Fixing Blighted Lots - A little initiative goes a long way.

First-time Buyers With Subprime Mortgages May Get Relief With CHFA

The Connecticut Housing & Finance Authority is offering to help some borrowers with sub-prime loans by refinancing their adjustable rate mortgages into 30-year, fixed rate loans.  Starting December 1oth, CHFA will begin taking applications.

I don’t know the particulars of the program, other than it is geared towards first-time buyers of owner occupied housing, so if you have an adjustable rate mortgage and want to refinance, you will want to call the hotline at 860-571-3500. 

According to the Hartford Courant, CHFA expects to initially help about 300-400 people.  That doesn’t seem like a lot but it is when you think about how many people typically get CHFA loans – only 4,000 last year. 

Related to this story, the New York Times has an interactive map on their website of percentage of subprime mortgages by county nationwide. 

Also related, CHFA’s interest rate is currently 6%. 

Hebron, CT Residential Real Estate Sales for 2007

Everyone is talking about housing prices in Connecticut.  Here’s a look at the numbers for single family homes in Hebron.

Sales Price Is Important, But So Is Square Footage 

The often reported sales prices and the comparison between one month to another or year to year do not take into consideration the size or type of house sold.  For real analysis, I think its important to look at the the sales price, the original list price and the median square footage for homes sold in any given month.

If you look at Hebron’s sales, you’ll see that month to month, there were fluctuations in sales price.  However, is that caused by a softening market or the fact that the median square footage for houses sold was not the same month to month?