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CENTURY 21 CT Realty Associates Announces Certified Agent Relocation Specialists

jen — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:10:05 +0000

CENTURY 21 Connecticut Realty Associates announces the following Agent Relocation Specialists have completed the Cartus Certified Agent Advantage Program. This program is a professional standard available exclusively to principal brokers of the Cartus Broker Network- the leading network of real estate brokers serving clients and customers of Cartus.

Cartus requires qualified Network agents to become certified as relocation experts by participating in one or more Certified Agent Advantage courses and passing a written exam upon completion. The course work completed in April 2010 included the following:

Cartus Network Marketing Specialist (CNMS Designation) – Instructs the agent how best to market the transferee’s old house, how to decrease administrative burdens, and the aspects of the Amended Sale Program and the Broker Market Analysis.

Cartus Network Referral Specialist (CNRS Designation) - Covers issues surrounding the purchase of a destination house, as well as the most effective techniques for helping clients research communities, locate their new homes, and settle into their new areas anywhere in the United States.

Cartus Network Inventory Specialist (CNIS Designation) - The CNIS course includes tasks for safeguarding and selling the transferee’s vacant property after his or her move and meeting client performance metrics.

Cartus Network Affinity Specialist (CNAS) - Course covers performance metrics and goals to address critical-to-quality elements of successfully servicing affinity clients and their customers.

“As members of the Cartus Broker Network, our agents strive to deliver excellent service to every client” said Larry Palmer, Vice President and Relocation Director. “The Certified Agent Advantage program helps to differentiate our agents and provides them with a wider range of resources and career growth opportunities.”

The following agents comprising our A-Team of fully trained and highly experienced Relocation Professionals have successfully completed the Cartus Certified Agent Advantage program:

Senior Relocation Specialists

Rick Berkenstock (CNAS, CNIS, CNMS, CNRS)
Nancy Brown (CNAS, CNIS, CNMS, CNRS)
Grace Carlson (CNAS, CNIS, CNMS, CNRS)
Tracy Henry (CNAS, CNIS, CNMS, CNRS)
Elaine Holman (CNAS, CNIS, CNMS, CNRS)
Abby Krist (CNAS, CNIS, CNMS, CNRS)
Frost Krist (CNAS, CNIS, CNMS, CNRS)
Joe Krist (CNAS, CNIS, CNMS, CNRS)
Karen Martin (CNAS, CNIS, CNMS, CNRS)
Tom Williams (CNAS, CNIS, CNMS, CNRS)

Relocation Specialists

Mary Arnold (CNAS, CNMS, CNRS)
Maria Colacicco (CNAS, CNMS, CNRS)
Tom Currier (CNAS, CNMS, CNRS)
Lynn Guerriero (CNAS, CNMS, CNRS)
Louise Hanson (CNAS, CNMS, CNRS)
Wendy McDonald (CNAS, CNMS, CNRS)
Maria Menendez (CNAS, CNMS, CNRS)
Robin Perschel (CNAS, CNMS, CNRS)
Nancy Weiner (CNAS, CNMS, CNRS)

About the Cartus Broker Network
Cartus Broker Network is the nation’s leading network of more than 425 Principal and 600 Associate brokers – market-leading real estate companies that serve the clients and customers of Cartus. Cartus Corporation is the premier provider of global mobility management and workforce development solutions serving the corporate, government, and affinity markets. Through its industry-leading outsourcing, consulting, intercultural, and language training, Cartus helps the mobile workforces of organizations of all sizes achieve success worldwide. With more than 50 years of experience, Cartus helps clients achieve their service performance goals to enable them to accomplish their organizational objectives. Cartus, formerly known as Cendant Mobility, is part of Realogy Corporation, the world’s leading real estate franchisor whose diversified business model also includes real estate brokerage, relocation, and title services. Headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, Realogy has more than 15,000 employees worldwide. Visit www.cartus.com and www.realogy.com for more information.

Contact for this release

Larry Palmer, Relocation Director
(860) 429-2116 or lpalmer405@aol.com

Things to Consider When Searching for a Home

jen — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:36:01 +0000

Before deciding which house to buy, think about your lifestyle, your current and anticipated housing needs, and your budget. It’s a good idea to create a prioritized list of features you want in your next home – you’ll soon discover finding the right house involves striking a balance between your “must-haves” and your “nice-to-haves. ” To start, consider your lifestyle. If you love to cook, you’ll want a well-equipped kitchen. If you’re into gardening, you’ll want a yard. If you’re planning your office at home, you may want a room for a separate library or work space. If you have several cars, you may require a larger garage. Use this list as your search guide. Next, think about what you might need in the future. As you consider your housing needs, it’s important to consider how long you may live in your home. If you’re newly married, you might not be concerned with a school district right now, but you could be in a few years. If you have aging parents, you may want to look at homes that offer living arrangements for them as well as you. It’s important to think about your new home’s location just as carefully as you do about a house’s features. Location is a huge part of any move. In addition to considering the distance to work, you need to evaluate the availability of shopping, police and fire protection, medical facilities, school and day-care, traffic and parking, trash and garbage collection, even recreational facilities. Perhaps the most important decision is deciding on the type of home you want. Do you want a condominium or a co-op? A town house or a detached single-family home? Do you want brick, stone, stucco, wood, vinyl siding, or something else? Do you prefer a new home or an older one? Through all of this, make sure to talk to your real estate professional about where you want to live. While more buyers now use the Internet to gain access to listings, or available properties for sale, it is still a good idea to use an agent. The agent brings value to the entire process: he or she is available to analyze data, answer questions, share their professional expertise, and handle all the paperwork and legwork that is involved in the real estate transaction. CENTURY 21 professionals have the expertise to help their clients narrow down their choices by sharing market trends and local information.

What Can You Afford?

bonnie — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:44:22 +0000

Now that you know what you’re looking for, the next step is figuring out what you can afford. A review of your income, savings, monthly expenses, and debt will be necessary. Early on in the process, you’ll want to get pre-qualified for a mortgage loan, which helps determine how much you can afford. It enables you to move swiftly when you find the right home, especially when there are other interested buyers. It also indicates to the seller that you are serious and can afford to buy the property. A pre-approval is a simple calculation done by a mortgage lender that tells you the amount you’ll be able to finance through a loan and what your monthly payment will be. When you find a home to buy, a pre-approval also reassures the seller that you have the financial means to purchase his or her home. Know what you can afford is the first rule of home buying, and that depends on how much income and how much debt you have. It pays to check with several lenders before you start searching for a home. The price you can afford to pay for a home will depend on several factors, such as: gross income the funds you have available for the down payment, closing costs and cash reserves required by the lender your debt your credit history the type of mortgage you select current interest rates.

Making An Offer

chriscarvache — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:03:05 +0000

Once you’ve found your dream house, it’s time to get started with the financial and contractual side of the purchase. Let your CENTURY 21® professionals guide you through this process. Purchase contracts vary in length and terms from state to state, and within a state, from locality to locality. Because you and the seller have different goals, rely on your CENTURY 21 agent’s experience and expertise. He or she can bring order and calm to the process and will know what questions you may not know to ask to help you reach a favorable outcome. Multiple offers on the same home are not uncommon, so you may only get one chance to make an offer that the seller will consider. That’s why it’s important to think carefully about your strategy. In most cases it is better to have your real estate professional negotiate the offer. If you have any personal interaction with the homeowner, don’t give out any information about your move, your current housing status, financial status or your feelings about their property – positive or negative. This could hurt you in future negotiations.features.