First Time Homeowner Credit Stirs Milford Real Estate Market

The Obama administration introduced many capital injections into our economy. From "Cash For Clunkers, Unemployment Extensions, Banker Bailouts, and the First Time Home Buyer Credits."

The "Home Buyer Credit" gives $8,000.00 to first time home buyers who have decided to purchase a modest home. Realtors have been pushing otherwise unwilling buyers to get into that first house and quit renting. The $8,000.00 credit has been a great selling tool and we have seen "ups and downs" in the property transfers here in town.

The property transfers seem to have either less than ten properties sold or in some cases 20-30. Their seems to be very little consistency in the numbers from week to week.

This is especially true on the lower priced homes that have become more affordable thanks to the homeowner credit. This program, although a great program for a new buyer has had a significant effect. This effect has resulted in artificially skewing real estate numbers in Milford and putting our Real Estate marked into an uncertain future.

If anyone looked at the stats they will see that smaller energy efficient homes have retained their value much better than larger three and four bedroom homes that have actually declined significantly in value.

A local realtor I spoke with said that the "First time home buyer credit" has been a stellar program and has helped sell many homes that otherwise may have not been sold. She fears that when the program ends and without additional incentives or improvement in the overall economy home sales may return to being sluggish.

This is an assertion that is, some what contradicted by a Yale New Haven professor who said this months increase was good news, and that the uptick in markets is better news. However, we should not go and celebrate a rebirth in the Real estate market just yet because the economy is still on shaky ground. He believes that we may be entering a new bubble and confidence may be the answer not the First time Home Owner tax credit.

Robert Schiller was formerly a quantitative forecaster of the real estate market indexes and he said that the monumental shift in the index to the upside has caused him to put his expertise aside. Shiller states the numbers are beyond what he was taught as a forecaster and until we see solid momentum we may be looking at the beginning of another bubble.

While we all instinctively know things in the Real Estate market are different, those out there looking to develop property for profit, or relocate to a new house should consider their actions much more carefully. The Real Estate Market will continue to be volatile, and since for many buying a house is likely to be the largest financial transaction in a persons life, the extra due diligence could not hurt.

(Photo of quantitative forecaster Robert Shiller of Yale University)

Link on this page goes to video

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Schiff Adds His Thoughts On Real Estate
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This Weeks Property Transfers

75 Jasmine Cir Unit 75, Lawrence and Patricia Burnagiel to Thomas and Lori Vazzano, $565,000.

308 Meadowside Rd Unit 301, Malcolm C. Nicholson to Indymac Federal Bk, $1.

1564 New Haven Ave, Robert Steven Sipos and Phyllis Morlando to Jeffrey and Tina M. Andranovich, $190,000.

85 Viscount Dr Unit 8a, Richard Ramah to Johanna Pagliaro, $277,500.

47 West Ave, Darlene A. and Finn J. Macdaniel to Jennifer Macdaniel and John J. Patterson, $206,000.

FOR ASSESSORS DATABASE CLICK HERE

No2Dems, Republicans Launch Attack Campaign

Anyone who has been driving around town lately could not help but notice the bright red signs with the words "The Dem's Copped Out" printed across them. The term "Copped out" is referring to police budget cuts alleged by the Republican's.

This is also followed up by a website www.no2dems.com with a detailed description of the the Republican grievance with the Democrats.

As a side note is important to mention that the site is registered to the Milford Republican Town Committee, and its Technical contact is party boss Tom Jagodinski. The Milford police, or its officers, are not responsible for the quality or creation of its content.

Sorting out fact from fiction during the political season can be a bit challenging, because misinformation, blame, stealing credit and bogus exaggerations are what the two party political system has become in town.

This week was no exception, especially when a Republican national icon and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed a third party conservative. Palin did so after she had an epiphany and finally realized that the National Republican and Democratic Parties are essentially the same.

To get to the root of this public safety issue, and to really determine what is real and what is not, lets rewind a bit. Thus far the FBI crime statistics that I printed on this blog show a real decrease in violent crime. However, that decrease is accompanied by an increase in petty crime. Some can allege that this petty crime is theft due to the economy, others could argue that because we fail to secure our belongings that these crimes are really carelessness on the part of the victims but in reality I tend to agree that it is really a bit of both.

Being a former law enforcement person myself, I can honestly say that a reduction of petty theft will not be resolved by more security cameras like the ones that were the topic of "Solitaire Night" at the Republican GOP HQ, or more police officers.

The solution is an educated public, signage, and a public awareness program to remind people to LOCK THEIR CARS if they contain valuables. Common sense should dictate not to leave cameras, cell phones, wallets or purses unattended at restaurants while you wander off. Every time something is lost or stolen, and the police are called, the crime is reported, and the FBI enters those statistics into a database. However, by their own admission this database does not "reflect the quality of life in our community."

So yes, its true petty crime is high, but what does this have to do with police cutbacks? and when did the police cutbacks begin?

To answer this question I can go back to my own recollection of the facts. This started with Peter Spalthoff's press release. It is also important to mention that Peter was a former Trumbull police officer as well as this years Independent candidate for Mayor.

Peter hosted a poll on his website that favored not having police officer positions eliminated, and he also put out a press release on 5/25/2009 warning Ben Blake the Democratic leader of the Board of alderman to respect the wishes of Chief Mello and not cut the police budget or eliminate police officers.

About two months later Brian McReady published this article clearly reiterating the Board of Alderman's involvement in the police cuts, as well as Jim Richetelli working with the Alderman to make cuts, and negotiate police contracts to save the city money. One of those positions cut by this process was the downtown bike patrol.

Richard Smith the Chairman of the Democratic party, recently said that "Three vacant positions are still on the books and unfilled." This was also verified by the McReady article and then again by Chief Mello who said "the money is there and it will take time to get properly trained officers who have cleared their background checks into those vacant positions."

What becomes clear here, is that one Officer was "temporarily eliminated" that officer was a "bike patrol officer" who certainly will not be riding his bike this winter in the snow. Also it is true that we have the same amount of police officers as we did a decade ago, but crime has also decreased and by admission of Chief Mello the response times to serious crimes have "not been jeopardized." He did admit that if you are a the victim of a "petty crime you may have to wait a little longer."

This entire debacle by the Republicans to instill "Fear" in our citizens appears to be a rude political ploy to win votes. As peter Spalthoff said "this is not meant to be a "the sky is falling" hysterical warning" but unfortunately and much to the discredit of the Republican Party they have turned it just into that a political ploy to paint a weak face on the Democrats.

The Milford Police are doing a fine job with the resources they have and certainly are not being made weak. From the above mentioned articles it should be clear that both parties, and the Mayor's contract negotiations are the only things currently impacting the police department.

The simple conclusion to this post is that the entire "The Dems Copped Out" campaign is a baseless scare tactic, hopefully Milford's citizens have more faith in our police officers abilities than the Republicans do.

This Weeks Property Transfers

38 Prindle Dr, Glenn A. and Hilary A. Duhaime to Wallace F. and Carol A. Gantter, $450,000.

8 Alana Dr Unit 8, River Brook LLC to Michael Arnone, $250,000.

104 Carriage Path S Unit 104, Robert Sicignano to Tracie Dinette-Caselli, $172,500.

14 Chesterfield Ct, Woodstock Dev LLC to Dana Stournaras, $265,000.

101 E Broadway Unit C, Miller Jeanne Est and Kirk Benn Crocco to Matthew Sisti, $162,000.

8 Julia Ct, Daryle J. and Ronna M. Hiltz to Mark E. and Amber M. Bishop, $400,000.

180 Melba St Unit 201, Ocean Point LLC to Judith L. Stevens, $285,000.

450 Naugatuck Ave Unit 450, Southwind Cove LLC to James G. Savastano, $275,000.

1 Sand St, Richardson Margaret C Est and Michael S. Richardson to Cedar Properties LLC, $75,000.

FOR ASSESSORS DATABASE CLICK HERE

Weekly Property Transfers

229 Lookout Hill Rd, George T. Hewriah and Pamela A. Morrow to Elizabeth Nemergut, $442,500.

565 Acorn Ln, David and Emily Luxeder to Amy M. and Vincent Bugge, $365,000.

4 Albert St, John and Carol Ann Zampedri to Brandon Macing and Erin Nemeth, $270,000.

77 Broadway, Harry Londono to Catherine L. Hoda, $304,000.

129 Foxwood Close Unit 129, Mindy Ploof to Diane I. Romonosky, $177,000.

19 John St, Walter Regula to Carol E. Knight and Andrew B. Starkweather, $238,000.

83 Kent St, Karen Sando and Countrywide Home Loans to Countrywide Home Loans, $1.

436 Milford Point Rd, Rui F. Goncalves to Christopher J. Piatt, $205,000.

179 Robert Treat Pkwy, Michelle K. Schmidt and Indymac Bank FSB to Indymac Bank FSB, $1.

485 Woodruff Rd, Elaine Marie Fogler to Rachel and Scott Gaudet, $369,000.

SEARCH THE ASSESSORS DATABASE

Rosetti Bros. Hold "Rally 4 Charity" At Milford Indoor Tennis Club

The world-record-breaking Rossetti brothers will be running the third annual “Rally 4 Charity” Saturday at the Milford Indoor Tennis Club.

But unlike in past years, the Rossetti brothers won’t be the ones rallying this time.

Consequently, Isidro Martinez and Paul Coorssen, teachers at the Milford Tennis Club, will be competing for a new world record. If they are able to beat the Rossettis’ “longest tennis rally” world record of 25,944 continuous strokes, set Aug. 9, 2008, they will win $1 million from the Odds On Promotions Co.

“They’ve had the dedication and stamina to come in first,” says Angelo Rossetti about Martinez and Coorssen.

On Aug. 1, teams were able to compete until midnight in one-hour tennis rallies, to try to accumulate the most continuous strokes. In order to qualify to win $1 million, each team made a minimum donation of $100.

The teams were from Milford Indoor Tennis, Trumbull Racquet Club, Kings Highway Tennis, Shippan Racquet Club, Fairfield Indoor Tennis and Oak Hills Tennis. Martinez and Coorssen came in first by amassing 5,916 consecutive shots in a mere hour. With much perseverance, they were able to surpass the other teams of William Boe-Wiegaard and Peter George; Michael McManus and Adam Mirsky; Chris Gaudrea and Jim Malesko; Jackie Visinski and Shelley Visinski; and Devon Jerome and Tom Boe-Wiegaard.

In preparation for Saturday, they have been practicing their rallying technique.

The $1 million challenge is only one part of the Rally 4 Charity Event, which will be taking place from 9 a.m. until midnight. The main goal of Rally 4 Charity is to raise money for four charities, including Save the Children, The ALS Association, Susan G. Komen Rally for the Cure, and the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation.

The Rossetti brothers’ goal is to raise $25,944 for charity to match their world record number of volleys.

As of Tuesday, they had raised between $13,000 and $14,000.

“Our goal to raise $25,944 became a symbolic cause,” says Ettore Rossetti. “So many children die of curable diseases, and we want to reach a symbolic mark.”

Thus all day long there will be different activities to raise money for charity. For instance, from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m. there will be a silent auction, including items from professional tennis players Maria Sharapova and Andre Agassi. There will also be a car wash, starting at 10 a.m., from which the profits will be donated to the charity funds.

Throughout the day, there will be free hour-long tennis clinics, cardio tennis classes, and grassroots clinics offered; people will be encouraged to make a donation for the cause.

If individuals donate a minimum of $10, they will receive either signed tennis balls or a signed poster.

Moreover, if the donation is a minimum of $30, they will receive a copy of the DVD “Tennis Begins with Love,” which the Rossetti brothers created.

It tells their story and aims to inspire others to follow their goals.

It is available at www.rossettibrotherstennis.com/movie.

Police Seeking Missing Teen

MILFORD — Police are seeking the public’s help in finding a 14-year-old city girl who has not been seen since Sunday.

The teen, Maria Iabone, shown, is described as a white, 5 feet 3 inches tall and about 115 lbs. She has long brown hair, brown eyes, and is wearing braces. She was last seen wearing leopard print tank top, dark colored sweatshirt, and jeans, police said.

Maria is possibly in the company of Nicholas Thiel, 18, who operates a 1998 green Chevy Camaro, bearing the Connecticut temporary plate 448K6, police said. Maria was last seen Friday at her home in Milford. Police did not provide the location of the home. Anyone with information on her whereabouts is asked to call Sgt. A. Vitti at the Milford Police Department Special Investigations Unit, (203) 878-6551 or 783-4766.
posted by Helen Bennett Harvey

Predatory Banks Go Agressive On Fees

With the credit markets dried up, and losses to banks mounting to the tune of 9000 foreclosures a day, banks are getting more aggressive. One of the ways I personally experienced banks raising money is on their "fee income." These fees come in the form of Late Fees, Unavailable Funds Fees, Over Draft Fees, Service Fees, Etc.. These banks could also care less that you are unemployed, on welfare, or just lost your home.

No fee, however is more profitable than the predatory Bank Fee, and employees at at branches are being trained in public combat. When the public complains about a Fee often bank tellers have a system of keeping their money down pat, it's called "No, No, and No" again and again to any refund of their predatory fees.

My personal experience at my own bank had to do with a check that was bounced to me, due to an honest mistake by a friend of mine. The unmentioned bank I no longer deal with, has a policy of maximizing their predatory fees. They do so by clearing the bigger checks first and then ratcheting up lots of overdraft fees on all the smaller checks that did not make it.

Sadly the photo above is true I ended up paying an exorbitant amount for a simple pizza. That aside, keep in mind that banks expect us all to be perfect. They know this is impossible, so they take advantage of our mistakes, they embarrass you, and then keep even more of your money. Peoples, bank keep in mind, recently lost many of their customers personal information and you got nothing for their mistake.

Anyone who feels their bank has been abusive does have some recourse by contacting the Banking Commissioner in Hartford. If your bank is desperate for money and has begun criminal and unethical fee practices call the Banking Commissioner and file a complaint.

Click HERE for the official website.

From Capitalism To Creditism Have We Lost Our Way?

The Federal Reserve System, a giant quasi-government privately owned corporation was empowered in 1913 under the Federal Reserve Act. The bill passed Christmas eve in the dark of night when many American Patriots were on Christmas vacation with their families.

Supporters argued that the Government is not suited to handle complex banking issues and would ultimately devalue the dollar and wreck the American economy. The irony today is monumental because from 1913 to today the system of credit to bankers for money has failed to the "N-Th" degree. If a dollar in 1913 bought a dollars worth, today that same dollar purchases about .02 Cents worth of 1913 goods.

This problem was the direct result of inflating the dollar supply and issuing credit to Americans who have lost a record amount of industry and productivity since then to now. Our entire economy rapidly moved from a manufacturing based economy to a service based economy where our nation is now dependent on slave labor from other nations who produce the inexpensive oil based products we love so much.

The crux today is that we have become completely dependent on credit in America, and of course I call this way of doing business "Creditism" where a majority of Americans cannot afford a home, a car, Furniture, a refrigerator, or stove. Bankers solved this problem for us with credit cards, consumer cards, and payment schedules that can drag on for 5-30 years.

As long as "Creditism" is alive and well and cheap affordable interest rates exist Americans continued to shop for new cars and invest in homes for profit. What we are seeing today in the global credit markets is the failure of these banks not only in America but across the world. Fear is rampant credit markets are frozen and investors are are scared.

The biggest fear is that Creditism is dead and now Capitalism is back, the party is over there is no borrowing money from foreign banks to live large off of small payments. Americans may now be forced into even greater productivity, and will need to reinvent the notion of trade and trust.

One thing I always believed is that in order for America to succeed in the world, and as a nation, we must take education seriously. Other nations, and especially China, graduate more scientists and engineers than the United States this poses what many experts have agreed is a "Brain Drain" that impacts the competitive nature of our country. Without a highly educated and skilled workforce America will be left in the dust globally. Big corporations, mostly those in science and technology here in America are increasing moving their companies off shore, or importing highly skilled workers from other parts of the world to solve their employee problems.

Without a highly educated and skilled workforce America could expect increased competition among unemployed workers for unskilled labor. This workforce, once more appreciated than today, does not yield the wages required to maintain the high standard of living that Americans were accustomed to. Moving into the next decade is going to be challenging, and without taking education in America seriously it will be even more difficult, if not impossible, to compete in the world wide global village that has been created.

Self serving bankers have historically steered clear of Capitalism. They still favor the concept of Creditism and it still continues to be promoted by the banks. Americans, many not knowing any better, embrace the idea that we can own things by borrowing money, paying interest and making payments on those items. Some may disagree but I personally believe that credit is the illusion of ownership, I dare call it a Ponzi scheme that caters to our consumer desires rather than the nurturing of sound economics. Sound economics being what Americans desperately need right now Savings, low credit card debt, more income, more education, and competitive skills to compete in the global economy. Until we make this as important as fighting the war on terror, than the growing group of despondent Americans will take to the streets in crime sprees to create an economy not based on productivity but criminal enterprising. This is something that any big city Mayor in Connecticut knows real well. This is something prison wardens know real well, and ignoring the millions of American's in prison, homeless and broke is not the answer.

Farmers Speak At Durham CT Fair

This evening I attended the Durham Fair up in Durham Connecticut. These types of dairy and livestock fairs have become somewhat more routine over the last few years as My step daughter is a member of the 4H club and is actively involved in competitive cow showing.

The experience has been enlightening, and my travels far as last month I found myself up at the Big E in Agawam Massachusetts. This was an opportunity for me to have several conversations with farmers, and also to learn the wisdom behind Ghandi's famous words that "Life is one indivisible whole" every action in our lives affect others and today that realization has made me even more aware than just a month ago.

While in Durham I met with some of Connecticut's top dairy farmers, and I asked them what they thought were the main concerns facing farmers in our state. One thing immediately came up, and that was that sales are down but only because of the low fat, diets that Americans have undertaken. Since the advent of video games, and our sedentary lifestyle more of us than ever have developed weigh issues that consequentially eliminate fat from our diets. This reduces the demand for our dairy farmers fatty products limiting what they are able to sell.

Another issue they mentioned was the broader economic competition from farms across America. While most farmers here in Connecticut get tax breaks on their land that equate to an average of $400.00 per acre in tax, they do not have the undocumented workers that other western farms use to gain a competitive advantage. One thing I personally know for certain, from my endeavors in trading produce at Hunts Point in NYC price and quality is everything when it comes to trading food. Connecticut just cannot compete with the rest of the country on many products, except Milk and some dairy.

The cost of gasoline is making imported products more expensive, so the less distance they travel the better the price. Many farms here in our state receive federal grants and subsidies to ensure their continued operation during difficult times.

When I asked about the food situation relative to the National economy, both these gentlemen felt that America has more than enough food to feed ourselves and other nations like China who purchase many of the high fat products we snicker at here in the states. It was their opinion that there is no cause for concern that America will run out of food anytime soon.

One question I had in particular was the use of GMO foods, or those that are genetically modified. Both these gentlemen were well aware of the debate surrounding GMO's but defended them on the grounds that they were good for our farmers. They indicated that GMO's result in more robust higher yield harvests, are more resistant to pests and deliver a good looking highly marketable product. When I asked about how the nutritional aspects of these products relative to us the consumers he did admit that little consideration was given to that as a matter of fact that was secondary to increasing profits. He also said that most farmers here in our state are receptive to the products developed by the "Big Agra's" like the Mosanto Corp.

In summary both these people felt that the overall health of the industry in our state appears to be vibrant, with lots of interest from many facets of our state including great clubs like the 4H clubs and several agribusiness/science programs. The overall feeling about farming here in our state is that their is plenty of room for improvement but for now, even though its not highly profitable, things are looking good.

Spitzers Mess And Our LNG

With Gov Spitzer announcing he is going to resign today in lieu of his incredible scandal, the Liquefied Natural Gas Barge will now be the decision of his Lt. Governor David A. Patterson.

As of last Feb. yet another extension, and a barrage of big oil propaganda was being spread to convince New Yorkers that a LNG is somehow in their best interests, despite the fact that most every important key leader in CT does not wish to have it here including our Governor Rell who told Spitzer to object to it.

Now the cards are completely askew, with the decision going to Patterson, who is going to be NY states first blind governor. It is important to note that Patterson's blindness came on as a result of a recent infection, and he is of the opinion that it has not impaired his ability to lead the great state as its newest governor.

One thing that Patterson has been known for is his surprise leadership, whereas he takes positions on legislation and issues that surprise his constituents. With the future of CT and the LIS now in his hands lets hope that come the expiration of the LNG extension he will surprise all of us who are against it by "killing" any chance it has of ever coming to our area.

Photo above is of NY States soon to be New Governor Patterson.

News 3 Connecticut has been tracking this story as well click here for their take on the LNG.