How To Get Rid of Pet Odors

We love our pets but do not love the smells they may leave in our homes. When selling your home, it is important that these odors be removed before buyers view your home. For your clothes, rugs and other washables, mix in ¼ cup of apple cider vinegar in with your wash and regular detergent. As for the hard wood floors in your home, mix in white vinegar with warm water and soap (3:1 ratio) in a bucket.

Hands Off Dog Training Formula for just $37.77 – including potty training dogs

When it comes to those tell tail brown spots in your lawn, you might want to visit:

Bring Back The Green (how to repair the dead patches on the lawn)

YES, Nobody Sells More Real Estate Than RE/MAX

Take a look at one of our recent national television commercials. We can help you get out from under your present home and help you find your next home as well.

You can also see 100% of the listed homes on our web site or by visiting my visiting my web site. You can use the Simple MLS Search method including typing in individual MLS numbers if you like or you can sign up to receive daily, weekly, monthly... Automatic Up-dates of new listings the meet your specific needs.

Let me know whenever I can assist you. I am just a click or a call away. It is a great time to buy a new home!

Lenders Getting Tougher – Blackball Many States

Whenever home loan borrowers put down less than 20% of the purchase price, they are required to purchase mortgage insurance to protect the lender in the event they happen to stop making payments on their loan. Companies who insure mortgage loans recently refused to insure home loans in California, Florida, Arizona, Michigan, Ohio and Nevada. Each of these state apparently have been experiencing too many foreclosures and decline in home values. Nearly 25% of the zip codes across the nation have been targeted as having too high of risk for the mortgage insurance companies to continue issuing insurance. The largest mortgage insurer, MGIC, just put metro Denver and Weld County on their “restricted” markets list. They now will only cover 95% loans with the borrower being required to put at least 5% of the purchase price down at the time of closing. If the borrower’s credit score is lower than 620, they must put at least 10% down. Radian and MGIC as well as most other mortgage insurers are also increasing their premium rates for all customers.

Buyers in the future will be required to have much larger down payments – (at least 5% to 20% down payment depending on the insurer in these blackballed zip code areas), a higher credit score and pay a higher mortgage insurance premium. This will result in far fewer buyers being able to qualify to purchase homes. In the affected areas, it will likely mean a continued decline in property values since there will be a decrease in the number of buyers. The old economic supply and demand equation will be hard at work for many months to come. Less demand equates to lower prices.

Be sure to have your Realtor(r) identify which areas are showing appreciation v. s. decline in values before you purchase your next home.

Does Your Home Have GREAT Curb Appeal?

Lets face it, we all initially judge people, communities, buildings and your future home by their appearance. So, when you are selling your property, improving your home’s “Curb Appeal” is an easy way to attract buyers to your home.

Start by standing on the opposite side of the street and take a real good look at your home - as if you were a buyer seeing the property for the very first time. Pick out features of your home or landscaping that, if improved, would increase your home’s “Curb Appeal”.

Want to try going for the maximum benefit to yourself? Drive around your entire neighborhood and find the top three homes that have the very best “Curb Appeal”. Needless to say, copy as many ideas as you can for your home. Can you imagine the improved desirability your home would have if it was one of the top three homes in your neighborhood?

The real end result is that by improving your home’s “Curb Appeal” you not only increase the demand for your home, you also will find a buyer quicker and sell your home for more money.

Here are a couple of web sites that might help you with some additional ideas on how to improve your home’s “Curb Appeal”.

.

197 Ways to Improve the Curb Appeal of Any House.

Turning Bland Homes Into Showplaces - easy ways to increase your curb appeal.

If you are thinking of selling your home, I might be able to help you with some additonal ideas too. After showing thousands of homes over the past 30 years, I have had the chance to not only see many homes with great "Curb Appeal" I have had the benefit of listening to thousands of comments from buyers in the market. Would it be helpful to you to know what they see and what their comment will likely be about your home?
Give me a call - 303-796-0957

XXX Rated Sewer Lines Will Cost Someone Money

Buyers be ware when it comes time to have a home inspected. Be sure you have all of the home’s systems, especially sewer lines in an older homes.

A recent buyer of mine just went under contract on a 1942 vintage home. One of the inspections I recommended was to have the sewer line scoped since sewer lines of that period frequently have problems since they were typically made out of clay. The sewer inspector said his video had to be rated X X X for how bad the line appeared. It had seven areas where tree roots were entering the line. The line also had so much standing water in it that the inspector could not tell if the line just needed to cleaned out or if it had actually failed and collapsed.

Needless to say, my Inspection Report required the sellers to have the line cleaned and then re-scoped to determine the condition of the line. This sewer line actually failed in one location and that section of line needs to be replaced. My clients saved thousands of THEIR dollars by having the sewer line inspected before they became the owners of this home.

Most home inspectors do not have the equipment to inspect a sewer line. They typically test the sewer line simply by filling the bath tub with water, as it drains, the inspector turns on all of the sinks and flush the toilets. This adds considerable amount of water to the sewer line. If it is clogged up badly, the water will not drain quickly. This procedure can not determine if the line has been damaged or if the sewer line is starting to collapse. It will only show major sewer problems.

The water drained a little slower than normal on the home my buyers are purchasing. Since the sewer line scope inspection was suggested on this home, my buyers saved thousands of dollars worth of repair expense. The defective line, rightfully so, will be repaired at the seller’s expense.

Consider having the sewer line scoped as a part of your home inspection. Typical sewer inspections will cost you $99 to $275. Send me an email if you want the name of the $99 inspector.

Under Contract Numbers Are Increasing

Denver residential homes in February of 2008 had an average sold price of $278,871. This represents a 4.54% drop as compared to the same month in 2007. The average time it took to sell a home in Denver dropped from 123 days in Feb. 07 to 111 days in Feb. of this year.

In Feb. 08 there were 25,037 active home and condo listings on the market in Denver. This represents a .8% increase from the same month one year ago.

Last month 5,126 buyers wrote acceptable contract offers on Denver area homes and condominiums. This represents an increase of 12.66% in accepted contracts than there were in January. It is also a 4% increase in buyer activity as compared to February of 2007. So, more buyers are out there finding homes this year than last year. My prediction is that we have seen the bottom of the decline and 2008 will prove to be better than 2007 in the numbers of homes sold.

You might as well consider buying now too – before the prices start to go up.

Attract Butterflys & Birds

Here are a couple of links that you will find interesting and useful. One is a resource for finding native plants. Native plants conserve water and reduce the time required to maintain landscaping. Some native plants also attract birds and butterflies. This site http://www.wildflower.org/ is Ladybird Johnson's project.

The National Wildlife Federation sponsors another site http://www.nwf.org/backyard/ that can show you how to attract butterflies and birds to your yard. What a fun project to share with a child or grandchild!

When Is The Best Time To Buy Denver Real Estate?

One investor I know is buying his third home in the same block. He apparently thinks the time to buy Denver real estate in now. My guess is that he has considered the following facts about our market.

* Interest rates are extremely affordable.

* The Denver market is flooded with too many sellers and not enough buyers. (We are experiencing a strong “Buyer’s Market”)

* Most sellers that have been listed on the market for more than 30 days consider any offer seriously. * Many sellers are willing to sell below their properties “fair market value” when a seriously qualified buyer shows up with an offer to buy.

* Many sellers are initially pricing their homes below recent appraised values.

* Denver numbers for homes under contract are increasing again. (For the first time in months, we just saw an increase in the number of under contract properties in February 2008 as compared to February 2007. - An increase of nearly 12% throughout metro Denver.)

* Our metro Denver market was more stable than many other major city markets. Although we did not see run away appreciation in the last five years as did many other cities, we also did not experience the bottom falling out in the past couple of years either. Denver is a safe place to own real estate.

* Property values have stopped declining in the better neighborhoods throughout metro Denver.

* Buyers, as a general rule, are still quite nervous about buying. (When buyers across the board believe the water is save, home prices will have already appreciated in Denver by thousands of dollars on each home. - The buyers are always behind the market.)With 30 years of Denver real estate experience, I have seen several cycles in the Denver housing market. What I see happening today in our market makes me believe that today is the right time to be buying homes in Denver. My prediction is that today you can buy Denver real estate at the lowest prices we will see. Prices in better Denver neighborhoods will go up, not down, from here. Let’s see how accurate I am as I quote home values as shown in the MLS system in future blogs.

How NOT To Price Your Home When Selling

Denver area sellers can become frustrated with today’s strong “Buyer’s Market” conditions. Last week I was at a listing presentation of a high end home and the seller wanted to be sure he priced his home aggressively to ensure the home sells within a 90 to 120 day maximum marketing period. His suggestion was to price the home right at “fair market value”. – He just did not have the time to “play around”.

Most listing agent would be excited to hear this from a potential seller. How easy can this be? But, my advice was NOT to price his home right at today’s “fair market value” for the home. My reasoning is simply that ALL buyers today know the market if flooded with anxious sellers. They and their agents also know there are deals to be had out there. Any agent worth his/her commission will want to prove that fact to his/her client when it comes time to negotiate the final contract price.

So, assuming the property is priced at exactly the “fair market value” and at the seller’s absolute bottom price, how do the selling agent and buyer negotiate a better price? One that feels like they won in today’s strong “buyer’s market” conditions. Forget the fact that the buyer would actually be getting the home at a great price with no effort with my seller’s approach to pricing. The real problem here is that the buyer and the buyer’s agent just won’t have a good feel about the negotiation process if they don’t know they won. Anytime a buyer pays the full asking price in our market, the buyer will never feel like they won. Can you imagine the reaction the buyer would get when they told their family, friends and office acquaintances that they paid the seller's asking price on the home they just purchased?

So, how should a seller price his metro Denver home? My answer was to allow enough negotiating room on the price that the eventual buyer AND the buyer’s agent could feel like they won in their negotiations. The percentage amount the asking price should be above the seller’s absolute minimum acceptable price will depend on the condition of the home and the number of competing listings in the immediate area.

As a seller in the Denver market place, just be sure to factor in the “good feeling factor” for the buyer and the buyer’s agent.

You can find excellent negotiation strategies articles on my DenverRealEstateOnline.com web site.

Spring Forward Into A Season of Summer Fun

Yes, today we all move our clocks forward one hour. (spring forward) and get ready for warmer spring temperatures.

Winter is coming to an end and the warm beautiful months of summer are just about upon us. The state of Colorado has a lot of summer activities to offer. Downtown Denver hosts many events as well. It does not matter if you are looking for an event to take the family to or a special someone, it is all offered in Denver. Whatever your desire, get out and enjoy our beautiful spring and summer weather.

Your family will enjoy the numerous rides, attractions, and water park that Elitch Gardens has to offer. The Colorado Rockies are back after making it to the World Series last year! Let's get out and encourage them to do it again this year! The Pepsi Center and Invesco Field are normally home to the Nuggets, Avalanche and Broncos. On the off season, the facilities are used for many different events - top on the list are concerts. Keith Urban & Carrie Underwood are in concert tonight at the Pepsi Center. Many musicians come through Denver to perform, especially in the summer months. Check out this Denver concert schedule to purchase tickets on-line! You'll want to experience a concert or Easter sun rise services at Red Rocks.

Enjoy All Colorado Has Offer.

How Does Denver Compare To Your City?

There are all kinds of city comparison calculators on the internet theses days. One that is especially helpful when considering a move from one part of the country to another is to compare salary requirements necessary to afford your same cost of living. This calculator answers how much income you will need if you move from your city to another. For example, if you live in Los Angles and are considering a move to Denver.
It is 31.7% less expensive to live in Denver, Colorado than in Los Angeles, California.

Therefore, if you make $200,000 living in Los Angeles, California
You will need to make $136,694 living in Denver, Colorado
You can find this calculator on The Moving Coach web site.

Other excellent city comparison calculators can be found on this page of my DenverRealEstateOnline.com web site. You can compare housing costs, climate, economy, crime, health, cost of living, housing, people…

Have fun comparing your community to Denver.

It’s Still A Strong Buyer’s Market – With Deals Abound

Recently I had a buyer under contract to buy a new construction home from an area builder. The buyer originally wrote the purchase offer on the home as a dirt start nearly eight months ago. My buyer ran into some unexpected problems and could not close when the home was ready. The builder quickly agreed to extend the closing by 30 days with no penalty to the buyer. Then, my buyer confessed that she had to spend about $15,000 of her required $20,000 down payment. The lender suggested a different loan program that would allow the buyer to close with her limited down payment. This presented another problem. The buyer’s monthly payment would increase above what she was comfortable paying. So, it was the builders turn to again to decide how badly they wanted to keep my buyer happy and see her at the closing table. Unbelievably, the builder ended up contributing 6% of the purchase price toward buying down the buyer’s interest rate to allow the monthly payment to be tolerable to my buyer’s budget. In thirty years of selling homes, I have never seen builders so "cooperative" in their business decisions.

The first rule of successful negotiations is: “He who cares least, wins.” In my recent example, the buyer clearly cared least. After all, the most she had at risk was a very small $2,500 earnest money deposit. (This is a topic of a future Denver Real Estate Blog). On the other hand, the builder had thousands and thousands of dollars of lost profit at risk because our "buyer's market" would not likely produce another buyer in a timely manner.

Nothing should be considered out of the question when writing or negotiating a contract. The point is, we really do still have a very strong “buyers market” in the Denver area.

How To Find A Great Home Inspector

When you purchase a home, you should always have it inspected by a qualified home inspector. Currently, only 27 states have home inspection regulations. Colorado is not one of those states. In Colorado, anyone regardless of training or background can claim they are a home inspector. So, how do you find a qualified home inspector?

Start by asking lots of questions. You might ask your Realtor to recommend home inspectors he/she have found to be knowledgeable.
Then, begin your interview process. The obvious question of how many homes he has inspected in his life-time is a good place to start. A word of caution: be sure you talk with the actual inspector who will be conducting the inspection on your home. Many of the large national inspection firms with the 800 numbers require their receptionist to assign an inspector for you. You have no way of knowing what that inspector’s background and competency might be until you meet that person at the front door. They will boast of vast experience their inspectors have: and some may actually have that experience level. Just be sure you are getting the person. Please do not assume all home inspectors are created equal. They are not.

The next way to assure you are hiring a quality home inspector is to inquire about their advanced designations. American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) is one such designation. You might also ask if they are Certified Master Inspectors (CMI) certified inspectors. Other professional home inspectors belong to NACHI the National Association of Certified Home Inspectors. Another is the National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI)

Each of these organizations requires extensive training and competency of their membership. Be sure your inspector belongs to at least one of these professional organizations.