According to Jeff Jensen of Connecticut Home Mortgage current mortgage interest rates are as follows 1/30/09
Conforming 30 Year fixed rate is 4.875%
Jumbo 30 year Fixed rate is 5.875%
5/1 ARM @ 5.00
3/1 ARM @ 4.375
5/1 Adjustable I/O rate is 5.25%
Jumbo 15Year Fixed rate is 5.375%
Friday, January 30, 2009
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Current Mortgae Rates Jan. 23, 2009
According to Jeff Jensen of Connecticut Home Mortgage current mortgage interest rates are as follows:
Conforming 30 Year fixed rate is 5.00%
Jumbo 30 year Fixed rate is 5.75%
5/1 ARM @ 5.00
3/1 ARM @ 4.625
5/1 Adjustable I/O rate is 5.25%
Jumbo 15 Year Fixed rate is 5.375%
Conforming 30 Year fixed rate is 5.00%
Jumbo 30 year Fixed rate is 5.75%
5/1 ARM @ 5.00
3/1 ARM @ 4.625
5/1 Adjustable I/O rate is 5.25%
Jumbo 15 Year Fixed rate is 5.375%
Friday, January 16, 2009
Staples #1 in CT Again !
Business Week.com names Staples High School the #1 High School in CT for Best Overall Academic Performance, and awards a 10/10 from, an independent, nonprofit organization that empowers and inspires parents to participate in their children's development and educational success. Click on the link below to read all about it:
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/01/0115_best_schools/8.htm
http://images.businessweek.com/ss/09/01/0115_best_schools/8.htm
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
The ABC’s of Closing Costs
You’ve found your dream home, the seller has accepted your offer, your loan has been approved and you’re eager to move into your new home. But before you get the key, there’s one more step—the closing.
Also called the settlement, the closing is the process of passing ownership of property from seller to buyer. And it can be bewildering. As a buyer, you will sign what seems like endless piles of documents and will have to present a sizeable check for the down payment and various closing costs. It’s the fees associated with the closing that many times remains a mystery to many buyers who may simply hand over thousands of dollars without really knowing what they are paying for.
As a responsible buyer, you should be familiar with these costs that are both mortgage-related and government imposed.
· Appraisal Fee: This fee pays for the appraisal of the property. You may already have paid this fee at the beginning of your loan application process.
· Credit Report Fee: This fee covers the cost of the credit report requested by the lender. This too may already have been paid when you applied for your loan.
· Loan Origination Fee: This fee covers the lender’s loan-processing costs. The fee is typically one percent of the total mortgage.
· Loan Discount: You will pay this one-time charge if you have chosen to pay points to lower your interest rate. Each point you purchase equals one percent of the total loan.
· Title Insurance Fees: These fees generally include costs for the title search, title examination, title insurance, document preparation and other miscellaneous title fees.
· PMI Premium: If you buy a home with a low down payment(less than 20%), a lender usually requires that you pay a fee for mortgage insurance. This fee protects the lender against loss due to foreclosure. Once a new owner has 20 percent equity in their home, however, he or she can apply to eliminate this insurance.
· Prepaid Interest Fee: This fee covers the interest payment from the date you purchases the home to the date of your first mortgage payment. Generally, if you buy a home early in the month, the prepaid interest fee will be substantially higher than if you buy it towards the end of the month.
· Escrow Accounts: Your mortgage lender will usually start an account that holds funds for future annual property taxes. Taxes equal approximately to two months in excess of the number of months that have elapsed in the year are paid at closing. (If 6 months have passed, 8 months of taxes will be collected.)
· Recording Fees and transfer taxes: This expense is charged for recording the purchase documents and transferring ownership of the property.
Make sure you consult a real estate professional, to find out which fees—and how much—you will be expected to pay during the closing of your prospective home.
Also called the settlement, the closing is the process of passing ownership of property from seller to buyer. And it can be bewildering. As a buyer, you will sign what seems like endless piles of documents and will have to present a sizeable check for the down payment and various closing costs. It’s the fees associated with the closing that many times remains a mystery to many buyers who may simply hand over thousands of dollars without really knowing what they are paying for.
As a responsible buyer, you should be familiar with these costs that are both mortgage-related and government imposed.
· Appraisal Fee: This fee pays for the appraisal of the property. You may already have paid this fee at the beginning of your loan application process.
· Credit Report Fee: This fee covers the cost of the credit report requested by the lender. This too may already have been paid when you applied for your loan.
· Loan Origination Fee: This fee covers the lender’s loan-processing costs. The fee is typically one percent of the total mortgage.
· Loan Discount: You will pay this one-time charge if you have chosen to pay points to lower your interest rate. Each point you purchase equals one percent of the total loan.
· Title Insurance Fees: These fees generally include costs for the title search, title examination, title insurance, document preparation and other miscellaneous title fees.
· PMI Premium: If you buy a home with a low down payment(less than 20%), a lender usually requires that you pay a fee for mortgage insurance. This fee protects the lender against loss due to foreclosure. Once a new owner has 20 percent equity in their home, however, he or she can apply to eliminate this insurance.
· Prepaid Interest Fee: This fee covers the interest payment from the date you purchases the home to the date of your first mortgage payment. Generally, if you buy a home early in the month, the prepaid interest fee will be substantially higher than if you buy it towards the end of the month.
· Escrow Accounts: Your mortgage lender will usually start an account that holds funds for future annual property taxes. Taxes equal approximately to two months in excess of the number of months that have elapsed in the year are paid at closing. (If 6 months have passed, 8 months of taxes will be collected.)
· Recording Fees and transfer taxes: This expense is charged for recording the purchase documents and transferring ownership of the property.
Make sure you consult a real estate professional, to find out which fees—and how much—you will be expected to pay during the closing of your prospective home.
Friday, January 9, 2009
The Board of Ed is Listening!
Well, I guess all of our complaints were heard. The Board of Ed responded to our cries to stop the early morning calls. Here is what they said in a town email:
To have your home telephone number removed from our non-emergency calling list, or if you wish to have non-emergency calls transmitted only to your mobile phone or your work number, you must contact each of the schools your children are attending to have the changes made.For those who elect to remove their home telephone number from our non-emergency communication system, you will continue to receive weather-related information through our Connect-ED E-mail service. Weather-related information also will be available through our SNO-LINE, 341-1766.Individual families electing to receive non-emergency information through their home telephone number will receive weather-related telephone messages only once on each such occasion at 6:00am in the morning.
To have your home telephone number removed from our non-emergency calling list, or if you wish to have non-emergency calls transmitted only to your mobile phone or your work number, you must contact each of the schools your children are attending to have the changes made.For those who elect to remove their home telephone number from our non-emergency communication system, you will continue to receive weather-related information through our Connect-ED E-mail service. Weather-related information also will be available through our SNO-LINE, 341-1766.Individual families electing to receive non-emergency information through their home telephone number will receive weather-related telephone messages only once on each such occasion at 6:00am in the morning.
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Westport Emergency School Closing Calls
Many of us longtime residents are used to calling the snow hotline (341-1SNO or 341-1766) to see if school is cancelled or delayed. It's quick, easy and most of us can dial it with our eyes closed! Now the Town of Westport has implemented a new emergency call center, that calls each school age child's home with a pre-recorded message telling us that school is cancelled or delayed. Great idea..right? Not for some !
The week before vacation, Westport had a big snow storm, and school was cancelled. Now we know everyone relishes "the" snow day. We get to sleep in ! So when the pre-recorded message called us all at 5:30 am...many of us were less than pleased.
Today, there was a school opening delay of 2 hours. We all received not one but 2 calls at 6 and then 6:20 am. Many have cried foul...and want to know how to get their number off the list. The school maintains that they do not want to take anyone completely off the list, because then they won't get other emergency calls either.
So now what?
I spoke with Marge Cion, Assistant to the Superintendent, and here is her response:
Hi Linda,
We have been working with our technology staff and ConnectEd to find a manageable way to remove people from Community Outreach phone calls such as these and other informational items, while keeping them on the list for true emergency calls.
Dr. Landon is hoping that we will be able to send out a communication to parents within the next couple of days outlining these options.
Hope everything else is OK.
Marge
Marjorie Cion
Assistant to the Superintendent
Westport Public Schools
110 Myrtle Avenue
Westport, CT 06880
The week before vacation, Westport had a big snow storm, and school was cancelled. Now we know everyone relishes "the" snow day. We get to sleep in ! So when the pre-recorded message called us all at 5:30 am...many of us were less than pleased.
Today, there was a school opening delay of 2 hours. We all received not one but 2 calls at 6 and then 6:20 am. Many have cried foul...and want to know how to get their number off the list. The school maintains that they do not want to take anyone completely off the list, because then they won't get other emergency calls either.
So now what?
I spoke with Marge Cion, Assistant to the Superintendent, and here is her response:
Hi Linda,
We have been working with our technology staff and ConnectEd to find a manageable way to remove people from Community Outreach phone calls such as these and other informational items, while keeping them on the list for true emergency calls.
Dr. Landon is hoping that we will be able to send out a communication to parents within the next couple of days outlining these options.
Hope everything else is OK.
Marge
Marjorie Cion
Assistant to the Superintendent
Westport Public Schools
110 Myrtle Avenue
Westport, CT 06880
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Happy New Year
Thanks to all of you who responded to the "Best Deal in Westport". The article will be in "The Westport News" this Friday, January 9 . I am so glad you all had fun with it. Some of you told me your ideas but didn't want them printed....so I will keep your secrets too!
More soon!
Linda
More soon!
Linda
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