25 Criteria that Influence Mortgage Rates.What every home buyer wants to know is “what is my mortgage rate?” To get the correct rate for each individual’s situation requires many parameters. Here is a list of 25 criteria that would influence your mortgage rates. Loan Size ~ are you getting a Conforming loan, a Conforming Jumbo loan or a Jumbo loan? LTV ~ Loan to Value ratio. CLTV ~ Combined Loan to Value ratio when more than one loan is used to purchase property. Credit Score ~ Your FICO score will determine if you pay a higher interest rate. Check your FICO score at myfico.com. Credit History ~ Having you been paying all your bills on time??? Escrow Preference ~ Let the mortgage company escrow your taxes and insurance payments. Closing Date ~ You can lock in a mortgage rate for only a ... 10/20/2015

Amazing September Weekends Events in Lower Fairfield County, Ct. ~ 2015.September here in lower Fairfield County, Connecticut are always packed full of fun family events for everyone to enjoy. Here are a few of our favorite annual events. The 8th Annual Blues, Views & BBQ Festival on September 5 & 6th at the Levitt Pavilion in Westport. Two stages of live music all day, local Chef’s demo’s, BBQ contest along with various eating contests, games and activities for kids along with plenty of food and drinks available. Highly recommend you buy your tickets in advance at http://www.bluesviewsbbq.com/buy-tickets/ . The 38th Norwalk Seaport Assoc. OYSTER FESTIVAL on September 11, 12 & 13 at Veteran’s Memorial Park in Norwalk. This event really gets packed so recommend using one of the many FREE... 09/02/2015

Open House Sun, 7/19, 1:00-3:00, 32 Wolfpit Ave in Norwalk, CT! Reduced Price!!Move right in to this beautiful, meticulously cared-for home close to everything in Norwalk. Great natural light, and lots of new features and freshly painted throughout - even the basement floors! Huge, level, fenced-in yard with patio and gardens, great new masonry entrance, new kitchen appliances, two new driveways. It's all ready for your family to move in this summer! Take a look inside: This is a wonderful property that is priced to sell!   07/12/2015

COME TOUR THIS FABULOUS HOME!!$480,00017 THISTLE ROADNORWALK, CT        Great house on a great street - LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION! Motivated seller needs to relocate. Beautiful new kitchen,  - lots of NEW! Nice large living room with large windows and open to the spacious dining room, which is connected to the big sunroom loaded with windows. Downstairs - a huge family room with adjoining bath to help entertain the restless. Two car garage, pool, all situated on a beautiful .5 acre of level gorgeous professionally landscaped land. Pink and white dogwoods, azaleas, hollies, and split leaf maple adorn the property. Lower level sf is included in square footage.  06/18/2015

Open House Sun, 6/14, 1:00-3:00, 32 Wolfpit Ave in Norwalk, CT!   Reduced Price!! Move right in to this beautiful, meticulously cared-for home close to everything in Norwalk. Great natural light, and lots of new features and freshly painted throughout - even the basement floors!  Huge, level, fenced-in yard with patio and gardens, great new masonry entrance, new kitchen appliances, two new driveways. It's all ready for your family to move in this spring!   Take a look inside:   This is a wonderful property that is priced to sell!   06/08/2015

Open House Sun, 4/26, 1:00-3:00, 32 Wolfpit Ave in Norwalk, CT! Move right in to this beautiful, meticulously cared-for home close to everything in Norwalk. Great natural light, and lots of new features and freshly painted throughout - even the basement floors! Huge, level, fenced-in yard with patio and gardens, great new masonry entrance, new kitchen appliances, two new driveways. It's all ready for your family to move in this spring! Take a look inside: This is a wonderful property that is priced to sell!   04/19/2015

Connecticut BBQ Korean Pork & Pineapple with More Summer Recipes Below.It is always nice to try something new and here is a favorite recipe that works well in the summer with pork or chicken. Cut two to three pounds of pork butt or shoulder (or boneless chicken) into one inch cubes. Cut pineapple into same size cubes.Make marinade by combining all ingredients below. Marinate meat for 8 hours and then make kabobs by alternating meat and pineapple on skewer.Cook over wood charcoal for best results or gas bbq will do fine.Marinade. ½ onion chopped ¼ cup Korean red pepper paste (gochujang*) ¼ cup brown sugar    ¼ cup white wine 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 tablespoons fish sauce ½ teaspoon sesame oil 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds 3 green onions chopped 3 cloves garlic minced ¼ teaspoon minced... 04/15/2015

Open House Sun, 4/12, 1:00-3:00, 32 Wolfpit Ave in Norwalk, CT!   Move right in to this beautiful, meticulously cared-for home close to everything in Norwalk. Great natural light, and lots of new features and freshly painted throughout - even the basement floors!  Huge, level, fenced-in yard with patio and gardens, great new masonry entrance, new kitchen appliances, two new driveways. It's all ready for your family to move in this spring!   Take a look inside:   This is a wonderful property that is priced to sell!   04/06/2015

New Listing: 32 Wolfpit Ave in Norwalk, CT!   Move right in to this beautiful, meticulously cared-for home close to everything in Norwalk. Great natural light, and lots of new features and freshly painted throughout - even the basement floors!  Huge, level, fenced-in yard with patio and gardens, great new masonry entrance, new kitchen appliances, two new driveways. It's all ready for your family to move in this spring!   Take a look inside:   This is a wonderful property that is priced to sell!   03/30/2015

Learn About Energy Efficient Homes @ Norwalk Stepping Stones Museum. ~March 19, 2015. Free seminar & event about Energy Efficient & Sustainable Homes on Thursday March 19th, 2015 at the Stepping Stone Museum in Norwalk, Connecticut. Sponsored by the Connecticut Green Building Council Homes Committee, B.E.S.T. program of NCC and the Mayor Energy & Environment Task Force. This is a part 1 of a two part series that will help homeowners to start improving their homes with energy efficient tips & technologies, green and sustainable products & practices as well as creating a healthier home environment for the family. To register for this FREE event click here.     To read more about the event click here to go to Norwalk Hour article. DMK Real Estate in Fairfield County, Connecticut specializi... 03/12/2015

Home Insurance Companies Ratings ~ 2014.Feb. 10, 2015.By DMK Real Estate, Fairfield County, Ct.Protect your home; both Consumer Report and J.D.Power came out with separate homeowner insurance reports and ratings in May 2014 and September 2014. The reports are based on responses from home owner and overall satisfaction.Both reports and ratings have Amica Insurance, USAA, Auto-Owners and Erie in the top ratings. To see how the customer satisfaction index was determined please visit each article.Bundling your auto and home insurance package together under one insurer can save you up to 15% with some companies. Insurance companies are using more and more now your credit score to help determine rates, the higher your credit score (that is good) the lower rates you could get. Click here for 1... 02/09/2015

Norwalk, Ct Real Estate Report Year End 2014. Jan 29, 2015. Norwalk, Connecticut average homes sales prices have seen an uptick in value in 2014 of 3% when compared to 2013. In 2014 a total of 597 single family homes were sold with an average sales price of $580,310 up from 2013 average sales price of $563,221 but in 2013 had 4.8% more units sold at 627. Currently on the Norwalk market are 222 single family homes ranging in price from $155,000 up to $10,995,000 for Tavern Island with 3.5 acres off of Rowayton (6th taxing district of Norwalk). Currently on the market are 85 Condominiums for sale from $107,250 up to $2.3 million.   Norwalk Single Family Home Sales 2014.   Norwalk in Fairfield County, Connecticut has a population of 85,603 (2010 census) which makes it the third largest cit... 01/28/2015

Coming soon! - The Perfect 3 Bedroom Cape in Norwalk This perfect 3 bedroom cape will be coming on the market soon in west Norwalk.    The master is on the first floor, it is on a cul-de-sac, and is updated.    What a great house!  Everything has been updated recently by the present owners, and it is ready to bring to the market and sell to the next buyer who is ready to fall in love with this treasure!   There are fabulous shining hardwood floors everywhere in this house.   The appliances  in the kitchen are gorgeous stainless steel, and there are beautiful granite counter tops.   The two full baths are recently totally renovated .    Call me, Dagny Eason, at 203-858-4853 if you would like to have a sneak preview of this gem before it hits the market!  It has been marketed nowhere but ... 01/22/2015

Energy Efficiency & Green Home Course in Fairfield County, CT ~ 2015. Advance courses for builders & architects, real estate professionals, homeowner, landlords and any other professional seeking to enhance their knowledge of Sustainable Building Practices, Energy Efficiency and Green Home Principals now offered at Norwalk Community College (NCC).  These courses are offered this winter through the Extended Studies & Workforce Education Program with many of them starting in February, 2015. These courses are taught by experienced, highly trained professionals that can present the information in an easy to understand way. Some of the courses offered under the NCC Sustainable Building and Energy Programs are: Understanding Green Building Certifications ~ a half day course explaining the dif... 01/21/2015

Light My Fire!     Ha, got you!  There's nothing like getting the morning chill to dissipate than a roaring fire in the fireplace!!  One of the reasons my husband and I bought our Circa 1900 house;  it has three fireplaces!  Oh, to decide which one to use today!    All kidding aside, I have been very remiss in my blogging.  Hence, this is my attempt at beginning once again and to let you know that the topic, for awhile, will be the progression of remodeling and updating our home.   My husband, George, is a contractor who is an awesome fine trim carpenter.  With a bit of time on his hands between jobs, he looked at our ugly, old, dreary kitchen and said to me, "I'm going to finally remodel our kitchen; it should be completed by April."  All righty then .... I figured April was coming, re... 01/15/2015

Improve Your Credit Score Can Save You Thousands $$$. WSJ weekend article tell us that with higher credit scores you can general borrow more money with lower rates on mortgages, get better rates on car loans, better deals on credit cards and even lower home and auto insurance rates. The three main credit reporting agencies are Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Experian Credit Reporting agency is now tracking rent payments that can help increase your credit score. FICO credit scores are on a scale from 300 to 850 with most lenders considering that 720 and higher being prime borrowers. Five factors go into a FICO credit score: Payment History accounts for 35%, so simple paying your debt on time is key. Over all amounts owe accounts for 30% of your score, the less you owe the higher the sc... 01/12/2015

A FREE Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings ~ACEEE Thinking about building new, remodeling or just looking for some easy and cheap ways to save energy at home then the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy, ACEEE should be your first stop. American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy is a Free Online Consumer Guide to Home Energy Savings that explains how you can save money by improving energy efficiency of your home, help with the environment and create a more comfortable home to live in. Use links from this website to improve your homes: Building Envelope  What is an energy audit and how does it help. Where to find air leaks and how to seal them. Describes pros and cons of different insulations. What is the correct window for your region of the country. Heating Pros an... 01/07/2015

Three FREE Simple Real Estate Business Plans 2015. Business plans help you determine how effective you are working, what your expenses are and your return of investment is. Here are three easy to use business plans that are FREE.   1. The Tom Ferry Coach Group provides lots of useful tools to agents for free and their multiple page business plan is an excellent one to use.     2. The second business plan is called the 1-3-5 BUSINESS PLAN FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS.   This easy to use system is called the 1 – 3 – 5 Business Plan and can be used for any business and/or personal achievements goals to be reached. A user friendly, easy to change plan that will help you set your goals and lead you in the right direction on what to do for the next twelve months. This business plan guide line is ma... 12/17/2014

FHA Mortgage Limits for Fairfield County, CT ~ 2015. By David Popoff Realtor® FHA mortgage loan limits are now out for 2015. The maximum amount allowed changes from state to state and even county to county depending on the Median Sales Price of homes for that region. For the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk region the Median Sale Price is $506,000 as of Nov 2014 that allows FHA mortgage maximum of: $601,450 for a one family. $769,950 for two family. $930,700 for a three family. $1,156,650 for a four family. To view what the FHA mortgage limits are for your region click here. To find out more about FHA Loan requirements and guidelines for borrowers click here.   2015 FHA Mortgage Limits for Connecticut Chart.       For step by step guidance on home buying and selling in Fairfield County, Conn... 12/10/2014

32 Wolfpit Avenue is a wonderful three bedroom colonial with a big back yard!   The current homeowners have taken meticulous measures to update and care for this home. An exceptional feature is the wealth of storage space. There's even a bonus third floor with a bedroom/study and a bathroom. Join us for our open house this Sunday and see for yourself!  11/13/2014