My New Blog

Parades, picnics and fireworks are coming this week to mark the nation's birthday. Here's a list of Fourth of July celebrations around the region.

Beacon Falls

The annual fireworks display will be July 11 at the Pent Road Complex. Shuttle services will be available starting at 6:30 p.m. from Woodland High School, Ideal Manufacturing and the fire house. Fireworks begin at dark. Food and entertainment will be available.

Bristol

Lake Compounce will celebrate the Fourth of July with a fireworks presentation set over its 23-acre lake on Saturday. The park opens at 11a.m.; fireworks start at 9:45.

Litchfield

The Historical Society's annual pet parade takes place at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at the Litchfield History Museum, 7 South St. Free registration begins at 2:15; owners are asked to bring a rabies certificate and their own leashes or cages, if they so choose. The Turn-of-the-Century Fest will follow, complete with ice cream and old-fashioned games, including a sack race and a sunflower seed spitting contest.

Middlebury

Lake Quassapaug Amusement Park will be holding their fireworks on Sat evening starting at 10:15. Guests coming early will pay $7 for parking. All ride admissions are separate. Special 3-D glasses are available for $1.00 with proceeds going to Prevent Blindness.

Naugatuck

The free Fourth of July celebration begins at 6 p.m. Saturday at Naugatuck High School, featuring D.J. Roberto Velez, Prinkles the Clown and an opening ceremony hosted by the Veteran's Council at 6:45 p.m. Fireworks start at 9:15. Donations are still being accepted; send them to: 4th of July Fund, Naugatuck Savings Bank, 251 Church St., Naugatuck 06770.

Oxford

The Quaker Farms Fire Company Carnival continues through Saturday at Quaker Farms School, 30 Great Oak Road, with fireworks at 9:45 p.m. Friday.

Thomaston

Resident Mary S. Reynolds is organizing the 44th annual Children's Parade on Old Northfield Road on Saturday. Children dress up and decorate their bikes in patriotic colors; lineup is on Perritt Drive at 10:30 a.m. and the parade steps off at 11 a.m.

Torrington

Fourth of July festivities and fireworks will be held on the grounds of Torrington Middle School. Gates will open at 6 p.m. Saturday. Fireworks will begin at approximately 9:15. Parking is limited and first-come, first served; visitors are encouraged to arrive with a full car. There will be food concessions and entertainment will include stilt walkers, interactive jugglers, balloon artists, face painters, inflatables, carnival games and climbing apparatuses. Admission is free.

Waterbury

A free celebration will be held at Municipal Stadium, 1200 Watertown Ave. Dave Gardino and the Swing Shifts began their set at 6 p.m. Fireworks will begin at dark. Rain date is set for Sunday.

I will be hosting an Open House at 4 Birchwood Terrace, in Prospect, Ct on Sunday Aug 2 from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM.

This is a completely redone 3 or 4 bedroom ranch home featuring all new windows, roof, siding, re-done hardwood flooring, 2 full baths, redone kitchen, upgraded electricals, and much more. Asking price is $239,000.

Whether looking to buy or sell, we service the Greater Waterbury towns of Beacon Falls, Bethany, Cheshire, Naugatuck, Middlebury, Thomaston, Waterbury, Watertown and Wolcott 

Ed Silva  RE/MAX PARTNERS,  www.edwardsilva.com  203-206-0754

There are 138 days left to take advantage of the $8000 tax rebate on purchases by first time home buyers. This may seem like a great deal of time but it really isn't. The rebate deadline is November 30, 2009. By that date, the home transaction must close in order to qualify for the rebate.

While it may seem like a lot of time, in reality that clock ticks away rather quickly. If you have found a home, and are going through the mortgage process, then good luck to you. If you haven't found a home as yet, and have not even started, here is a quick look at a typical timeline for a purchase:

Contact a lender and go through the pre-qual process. No sense looking at houses if you really don't know how much home you can buy. This process takes about 7 days.

Even though it's supposed to be a buyer's market, currently there is a low inventory of quality homes. Assuming you can find the right home in the right area, this will still take about 30 days. The contract approval and signature process willl add another 7 days.

With the new appraisal laws and lender rules, final loan approval takes an average 30-45 days. 

If you're keeping score so far we have taken up 89 days, which leaves a 49 day cushion, plenty of time to get the deal done.

But wait, the bank is requiring a second appraisal, which is getting to be more common with some of the FHA requirements. So let's pad those 89 days with another 10 days just to be on the safe side which brings us up to 99 days. Okay, now that leaves us a 39 day window to relax and enjoy our new house, well before the November 30 deadline. Not so fast, the sellers weren't going to just pack up and move out once the contract was signed. How could they know if the bank was going to give us the mortgage? They insist on an additional 2 weeks to get their move lined up and to vacate the premises. So add another 14 days to the 99 and we're up to 113 days out of the original 138 days. Not as simple as it might sound anymore.

For those of you who still have questions and would like to read the highlights of the rebate bill on your own, here is the link to the reader friendly site: http://www.federalhousingtaxcredit.com/

Are you still thinking about whether the market might decline a bit more making your dream home just a bit more affordable? Or are you waiting for the interest rates to come down to 4.5% again? If you are then every day you wait is one less day that you have to deal with any issues in your schedule. If you are serious about buying a new home this year and are eligible for the $8000 tax credit then time is of the essence. Don't sit on the fence much longer or you may find yourself looking at the calendar on December 1st and wondering what you were waiting for.