Life in Newtown, CT

Bob and Richelle Ward Named Realtors of the Month  Bob and Richelle Ward, Realtors, were named Sales Executives of the Month for November 2009.  This is a regional award that is given out monthly to Realtors who have demonstrated committment to Prudential Connecticut Realty's core values while providing extraordinary service and sales results.

Bob & Richelle Ward, Realtors, ABR
Prudential Connecticut Realty
www.connecticuthomesforsale.com
Cell - (203) 470-9818

Newtown, CT's Wednesday Night Poetry Series  Here is some great localism!  Found this little ditty today while searching the web and I found it to be pretty interesting.  Many non-residents think that Newtown is in the sticks and that we have limited exposure to "culture and the arts".

Newtown's Wednesday Night Poetry Seriesis a fine example of what Newtown has to offer.  Here is an except from their website:

"The Wednesday Night Poetry Series (WNPS or Wedpoetry)  meets at the Blue Z Coffeehouse, 127 South Main Street (Route 25) in Newtown CT.  For 14 Years and counting: poets, spoken-word artists, monologists and storytellers, acoustic performances by songwriters and musicians are welcome!  Read your own work or works by your favorite writers. OPEN MYK SIGN-UP starts at 7:30 PM   / OPEN MYK - 7:45 PM /FEATURED READING - 8:45 PM

We are a warm, friendly environment for 1st-time readers!"

So, if you're looking for something different to do on a Wednesday night, stop by the Blue Z Coffeehouse and check out Newtown, CT's Wednesday Night Poetry Series.

Bob & Richelle Ward, Realtors, ABR
Prudential Connecticut Realty
www.connecticuthomesforsale.com
Cell - (203) 470-9818

Tidbits of PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance)  So today, we sat down for a PMI (Personal Mortgage Insurance) lesson with our in-house mortgage broker, Dan Ianniello of Connecticut Home Morgage.  We learned a lot about PMI or MI (mortage insurance) as it's sometimes referred to.

Here are the tidbits of PMI that we learned:

1. There are six (6) companies that provide PMI to consumers and these companies provide different types of PMI products to consumers.



2. The premium for PMI is based upon many factors with the amount of money a buyer is putting down as one of them.  For instance if you are putting down 10%, the PMI rate would be around .62.



3. Your credit score is one of the criteria used to price PMI.



4. If you are only putting down 5% and your credit score is under 680, you may want to consider an FHA mortgage.



5. PMI only insures the difference between what you put down on the purchase and 20% of the purchase amount.  So if you put down 10% to purchase your home, PMI insures only the next 10%.

PMI isn't an exciting topic of conversation and most homebuyers don't really understand it.  What they do understand is that it costs them more money every month when they pay their mortgage.

These are just tidbits of PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance).  If you have questions about PMI, your mortgage broker should be able to answer them for you.

Bob & Richelle Ward, Realtors, ABR
Prudential Connecticut Realty
www.connecticuthomesforsale.com
Cell - (203) 470-9818

Cash for Caulking  This is a rather new item that few people have heard about.  We thought it interesting and felt it was something you should know about.  President Obama has proposed a program that would reimburse homeowners for installing energy-efficient appliances, windows, and insulation.

Under what has been dubbed "Cash for Caulking," homeowners would get a 50 percent rebate on items like energy-efficient air conditioners, heating systems, washing machines and dryers, refrigerators, replacement windows, and insulation up to $12,000, meaning a household could spend $24,000 and get $12,000 back. There will likely be no income restrictions. 

There has been speculation about how this program would pay the rebate - some have suggested that when you purchase an item covered under this program, that you'd only have to lay out 50% the amount of the cost and the retailer would get the other 50% from the government.

Cash for caulking could be a winner - lets hope it becomes more than a proposal!

Bob & Richelle Ward, Realtors, ABR
Prudential Connecticut Realty
www.connecticuthomesforsale.com
Cell - (203) 470-9818

Newtown, CT Holiday Tree Lighting  Last night, the Newtown, CT Holiday Tree Lighting at the Ram's Pasture took place.  This is an annual event that usually takes place on the first Friday of December.  It's truly one of the most beautiful evenings in Newtown.  The roads leading to Rams Pasture are all lined with lighted luminaries (small paper bags with cutout on them with candles inside).  Town residents attend this event in great numbers.

Click here to view a slideshow of the Newtown, CT Holiday Tree Lighting.

If you ever have an opportunity to attend the Newtown, CT Holiday Tree Lighting, you should take advantage of it.  It doesn't get too much more New England than this one!

Bob & Richelle Ward, Realtors, ABR
Prudential Connecticut Realty
www.connecticuthomesforsale.com
Cell - (203) 470-9818

Does Unplugging the Toaster Really Lower Your Electric Bill?  If you are like us, when you were a child and you left the lights on in your bedroom when you left the room, did you father say, "Turn the lights out, I don't own stock in the electric company"?

A few years ago, our daughter was leaving the lights on in every room in our house.  We found ourselves sounding just like our fathers (as much as we said we would never do that).  The more we carried on about the electric bill, the more lights she left on.  Finally, she went off to college and that's when our little experiment started. 

Richelle created a spreadsheet.  The spreadsheet shows each electric bill we've received since January 2007.  2007 is a full year of electrical usage with our daughter living at home.  2008 is the transition year and 2009 is a full year of usage without our daughter living at home.  The spreasheet shows our monthly usage of kilowatt/hour (kwh) and the amount of each electric bill.  Then we went around the house and unplugged everything that is not used every day:

• cell phone chargers
• ipod chargers
• charger for our Realtor keys
• table lamps
• toaster
• the printer
• electric toothbrushes
• laptop cords

Every month, Richelle updated her spreadsheet.  The results were incredible - unplugging all this stuff and no child living at home really lowered our electric bill!  Have a look for yourself.

You can clearly see from Richelle's spreadsheet that we have cut our electric bill almost in half.  Just the savings alone from 2007 and 2008 was $527.87!

Does Unplugging the Toaster Really Lower Your Electric Bill?  The answer is a resounding YES!  The changes we made in what is plugged in and what isn't plugged in hasn't affected our lives too much.  And, we no longer sound like our fathers.  Over the 2 year period shown in the spreadsheet, we've just about cut our electric bill in half.  Any suggestions on what we should do with our extra money?

Bob & Richelle Ward, Realtors, ABR
Prudential Connecticut Realty
www.connecticuthomesforsale.com
Cell - (203) 470-9818