Regards,

Bob Connors

Managing Broker, Real-a-Save

Give me a call or email to discuss what we have to offer, but the bottom line is that you’ll be working for the absolute BEST rebate and discount broker in the Front Range.  I love this company and am excited beyond belief to share what I’ve learned over the past 4 years with our new recruits.

Give us a call!  Can’t wait to hear from you.

Warm Regards,

Bob Connors

Managing Broker,  Real-a-Save

They were nice enough to take our tax dollars offered up so quickly by “American Hero” Paulson and company, and then they quickly stopped lending money to small businesses and homeowners alike.  Any rookie Realtor could have negotiated a better deal with the Big Banks than these mutts did.  They basically gave away our money with no strings attached.  Nice job, guys.

And last year we come to find out that the Big Banks may have committed Mortgage Fraud and have generously given us yet another iconic phrase to add to our collective vocabulary to go along with derivative, mortgage-backed security,  and Madoff: enter Robo Signing.

Since all real estate is local I’ll get tot he point: I’m still seeing some fallout in the Denver and Boulder real estate markets from the latest rotten gift from our banking buddies.  Where I was previously seeing some first-timers jump into the market and gobble up a foreclosure or two, I’m now seeing that trend grind to a halt.  Experienced investors are tentative as well.  There are so many unknowns when you buy a foreclosure property that when we now add chain of title to the mix it’s just too much for some to handle.

So, thanks Big Banks.  We’re basking in your generous dividends.  Part of me really hopes that The  Aussie has something up his sleeve for you.

Congratulations to Ken Moyle and the entire DocuSign team for leading the charge.  It was a long battle, but the good guys have prevailed!

Here’s the link to the mortgagee letter if you’re interested.  We loves us some DocuSign here at Real-a-Save.  They’re simply the BEST digital signature company on the planet.

If you’re a Realtor and you’re still using one of those cheesy free digital signature providers which look like you used your feet to sign your name, then I’d encourage you to give DocuSign a try.  In my humble opinion, DocuSign is a vastly superior product for a very low price.  Here’s a link to their site if you’re interested: DocuSign.

Feel free to email bob@realasave.com if you have any questions about Denver or Boulder real estate.

The consensus seems to be that Congress will not renew the tax credit.  I’m torn between wanting our country to pursue responsible fiscal policy and reducing the national debt, and wanting this tax credit to continue as I’ve seen first-hand the effect it’s had on the market.

Buyers I’ve been working with are quite aware of the tax credit.  It remains to be seen what happens to the market after the tax credit expires.

The good news is that we’re entering the traditional busy season in real estate, so it’s likely that the tax credit expiration will not have a measurable effect on the number of contracts given that we’re entering the spring/summer strong season.  Final analysis will likely have to wait until next year.

Call or email bob@realasave.com if you have any questions about the tax credit, or Boulder or Denver real estate in general.

If you are a home seller with their house currently on the market in Colorado, be sure that you have carbon monoxide detectors installed within 15 feet of each bedroom, or in a location as required by the applicable building code.

If you’re buying a home and notice that it does not have carbon monoxide detectors, you should understand that it’s the sellers obligation to install the detectors at their cost.  You should not be tricked into thinking that installation of carbon monoxide detectors is one of those negotiable items on your Inspection Objection Notice.

Search the available Peloton listings here, and feel free to call or email bob@realasave.com if you’d like more information, or to schedule a showing.

Like many homeowners I like to take on a good remodeling project once in a while. I recently completely demolished our master bathroom as the first step in what is likely to be a many-month project to reconfigure and update this room.

I was careful to salvage as many of the working parts of the bathroom as possible: the sinks, copper pipe, faucets, shower pan, and toilet. Why? Because Boulder County has the wonderful Center for Resource Conservation. This is a great place for construction folks and home renovators to pick up salvaged construction items. And it’s a great way for us to keep our landfills from being clogged with these usable items.

The NAR announced a recent take over of Cyberhomes assets and data, and is revealing an interested long-term strategy to compete with these new kids on the block.  Will it work?  Maybe.  Who does it benefit?  See this awesome article on 1000 Watt Consulting for an in-depth analysis.

This news made me recall another incredible article/piece of news by the ever-entertaining and brilliant Notorious ROB where he discusses how a little guy (think local real estate agencies) may have suddenly delivered a potential knock-out punch to the tech-heavy real estate start-ups of the last 4 years.  In a nut-shell, ROB comments that a particular local real estate company has just unveiled a new website which competes and possibly exceeds the user experience and amount of data delivered by these tech start-ups.  Big deal, right?  Maybe not.

One thing is for sure: it’s an interesting time to be in the real estate industry.  Who will survive?  I’m not sure.  I know that I’m constantly amazed by some of the tech start-ups like Redfin and the now bankrupt BuySide Realty/Iggys House who receive all this VC money and ALSO offer deep discounts.  How can these companies be soooo top-heavy and programmer heavy and also offer deep discounts and also survive?  I don’t know.  I know that the only way we’ve survived while offering deep discounts is by offering a level of service that the above discounters don’t or can’t.  We’re basically offering the same service as a traditional agent, AND we offer discounts.  How?  Our overhead is almost non-existent, no multi-level management, no VC money, no standing staff of programmers.

But that’s not enough, is it?  No, I don’t think so.  I think that we also need to provide great service AND a great user experience on our website.  Which brings me back to the above point made by Notorious ROB: if little guys can deliver a big, satisfying punch on their websites then what will drive people to keep using the large tech sites?  The answer to that question remains to be seen, but if the age-old adage that “all real estate is local” is true (which i think it is), then the answer is: nothing.  If, in the near future, there’s no significant difference between the average local agent’s site in regards to data and user experience when compared to the big non-local tech sites, then there’s really nothing but recent momentum to keep carrying new users to those tech sites.  And momentum can change.

1. First-time home buyers are eligible for an $8,000 tax credit.
2. Current homeowners who have lived in their current home for 5 consecutive years are eligible for a $6,500 tax credit if they purchase a NEW home.
3. If you have bought a home previously but have not owned a home in last 3 years then you’re eligible for the $8,000 tax credit.
4. Income limits: $125,000 for an individual, $250,000 for a couple.
5. The home must be $800,000 or less and cannot be a vacation or second home.

Pretty generous overall.

I’m torn about this tax credit.  I’ve come out pretty consistently in favor of the tax credit as it appears to have a direct effect on the buying habits of my Denver and Boulder clients.  It’s clearly one of the issues they’re considering when making their decision to buy at this time.  So expanding the tax credit will likely continue to help buyers get off the fence and jump in to home ownership if they were considering it in the first place.

But I just can’t help but to wonder what is going to happen with all of our debt in this country.  Tax credits like this equal lost revenue for the Fed.  God knows we’re already in hock up to our necks with China holding most of the purse strings.  What happens if the Chinese decide to transition out of the US Dollar and into other currencies as suggested by this article?