Home Living CT

If you haven’t yet experienced the natural beauty of Connecticut, you’re in luck: the Home Builders Association of Connecticut is ensuring that the state remains pristine for future generations.  Founded in 1960, the HBACT has a lot of experience working with residential builders and suppliers, and their Build Green Connecticut initiative is helping those companies achieve a new level of environmental awareness.

The Build Green Connecticut Program was the first state program to include an ANSI-certified building standard.  ANSI (American National Standards Institute) accredits programs across the US.  Connecticut’s program was also one of the first to formally partner with the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) Green program. Read more…

The rates of violent crime in Connecticut are well below the national median, clocking in at only 2.83 annual violent crimes per every 1000 residents.  Across the country, the median rate is 4.7 per every 1000.  When it comes to property crimes, though, the rates are almost ten times higher, with 26.37 property crimes per 1000.  This doesn’t mean you should live in fear of a burglary, but there are a number of things you can do to protect your home.

Securitech Systems is a Connecticut company founded in 2002 by high-end security professionals.  Located in Newtown, they embrace their role as a smaller company and offer a start-to-end security experience, beginning with sending a technician to check out your home.  That same technician will be the one to install the system if you decide to buy one. Read more…

The housing market is on its way back up across Connecticut, which is good news for both first-time buyers and owners planning a move. The Warren Group CEO Timothy Warren says that the tax credits offered to buyers were a big encouragement to homebuyers.  The numbers reflect people’s confidence: the median price for a one-family home was 8.1% higher this March than it was last year, and sales for one-family homes and condominiums each rose more than 20% (37% for homes and 34.4% for condos).

If you’re looking to invest in a Connecticut home, now is a great time, and there are plenty of tools online to help you.  The website CT Homebuyer is a Connecticut real estate brokerage which can give you information about the many neighborhoods in the state, and help you decide which one is right for you.  CT Homebuyer (or another reputable Connecticut broker) will help you get pre-qualified by a bank, negotiate terms on your home, and close the deal. Read more…

No matter where you live in Connecticut, there’s sure to be something interesting going on close by in the near future.  For example, I bet you weren’t expecting a BBQ festival in New England, but the Blues, Views & BBQ Festival is coming September 24-26.  Now in its third year, the event will feature music on Friday night by Blues Traveler along with a professional BBQ challenge and cooking demos.  There’s even a Kids Q competition, where teams of 2-4 budding chefs team up to produce the tastiest burger, hot dog, and chicken.

The Norwalk Oyster Festival is perhaps a little more expected, but should still be well worth the time—especially considering it’s free.  Musical entertainment was provided by Wang Chung, 10,000 Maniacs, Still Alive & Well, Pimpinella, and more, all of which are sure to get your feet moving.   There’s also arts & crafts for sale along with international food vendors, vintage ships, and other exhibits honoring Connecticut’s illustrious marine past.  This event will take place September 10 through September 12. Read more…

If you’re planning on buying a new home in Connecticut, choosing an internet service provider might not be your top priority, but it’s still an important decision to make.  You need to trust your ISP to provide security for all of your most important data, whether it’s bank accounts or social security numbers.  For the Connecticut resident, there are a variety of trusted companies in the state.

Optimum Online (provided by Cablevision) provides high-speed cable broadband starting at $29.95 a month.  That low price gets you speeds ranging up to 5x greater than internet through a phone company.  For an extra $9.95 to your monthly bill, you can get Optimum Online Boost, with 30 Mbps downstream and 5 Mbps upstream as well as a professional set of web building tools. Read more…