Did you know that the Colorado Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate specifies in paragraph 10.8 that carbon monoxide detectors must be installed in the subject property?
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.
There have been so many cool real estate sites popping up in recent years (Trulia, Zillow, Redfin, etc) that it seemed as if the monsters like Realtor.com were destined for obsolescence just as soon as the average consumer started trusting the new techno sites for their real estate search. But not so fast.
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.
Uncle Sammy has agreed to keep his pockets open through April 30, 2010. And now, even more home buyers will be eligible to reach in and grab $8,000. Here are the details:
First-time home buyers are eligible for an $8,000 tax credit.
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.
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.
Income limits: $125,000 for an individual, $250,000 for a couple.
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?
While paying attention to dates in a purchase agreement/contract has always been important, over the last few months some new regulations have thrown other timeline issues into the mix. Realtors and borrowers should be aware of this new potential for delay.
Conventional appraisals (and soon FHA as well) now have to be ordered through an Appraisal Management Company (AMC) in an effort to completely separate the loan officer from the appraiser and eliminate any sort of influence. As a result of ordering through this new system, most lenders require that the loan officer collect the fee for this appraisal up front upon ordering. However, as per the new regulations, a lender cannot accept monies for anything (appraisal, credit report, etc.) until a minimum of three days after taking a loan application. This can be an issue if the dates in a contract do not allow for sufficient time from application to when the appraisal is due. Most good Realtors are aware of this and allow for enough time.
Many homeowners are familiar with the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) that discloses the costs and rate for their loan. Related to this is the Truth-in-Lending (TIL) which discloses the Annual Percentage Rate (APR). If for some reason (such as increased title costs or a change in fees and/or rate) this APR moves by more than 0.125% then it must be re-disclosed to the borrower a minimum of three days prior to closing. Often times when figures get sent to a title company they come back with figure changes for a variety of reasons. While these adjustments are normally minor it’s important that a lender work closely with the title company to insure this is done in a timely manner and does not delay a closing.
A less common time issue involves the transfer of a loan to another lender because the current one can’t get it done. New regulations now require a minimum of seven days until that new lender can close the loan. Often times it would take a new lender this long to get it processed and approved by underwriting.
When I’m originating a loan and in control of the process, I am always sure to check the dates and confirm it’s realistic for an appraisal to be done in time. It’s also standard practice for me to re-disclose a new GFE and TIL when the loan’s interest rate is locked-in and again if I notice any changes in costs/fees that could impact the APR. While the lender costs on my GFE rarely change much (and if anything are typically lower than my estimate) in some cases a borrower may elect to add an origination fee in order to reduce the rate, or they may elect to use seller-paid concessions, both of which may be enough to require a lender to re-disclose. I always work closely with the title company to ensure we’ve gotten figures to them well before close so they can get them back to us with their changes and we can confirm our APR is okay.
Questions or comments about Denver mortgage lending? I can be reached at mupdike@ulc.com or 303-898-6203. Or if you’d like prequalified for a new home loan or refinance please go to http://mupdike.ulc.com and click on the Apply Online Now link in the left column. You can also check out my own blog at www.denverloanracer.com.
Wow, 2009 is certainly going out with a bang. Lots and lots of contract action in the Denver/Boulder region right now in what is traditionally a very SLOW time of year.
It’s possibly a reaction to the 8k tax credit from Uncle Sam, but I don’t think so. It seems like buyers are snatching up bargain properties once they hit the magical correct list price.
It just proves that when it comes to pricing, it’s better to SET the market than to CHASE the market. Yes, it’s honestly better to be a just slightly low and to get a quick sale and/or multiple offers than it is to be over priced and to linger on the market.
The reasoning behind this is many-fold. But if you simply factor in your carrying costs, you’ll see that holding on to your property for 6 months while it lingers on the market has costs associated with it. It can easily cost a seller thousands of dollars a month, for 6 or more months, to sit on a slightly over priced property. We’re talking 10′s of thousands of dollars. Why not just drop the price to begin with and generate multiple offers over a very brief time frame (with low or no carrying costs), the result of which could be a bidding war (higher sales than list price) as well as a quick closing?
Not to mention that properties which sit on the market tend to attract low-ball offers as buyers seem to sense blood in the water.
Email bob@realasave.com for any questions about the Boulder or Denver real estate market, or if you’re interested in getting 50% of our paycheck via our Buyer Rebate Program.
ConocoPhillips is our big, new neighbor up the Denver/Boulder corridor just off of Hwy 36. You probably know that they purchased a 400++ acre campus from Storage Tec a while back, and there’s been lots of news and some considerable speculation as to what their plans are.
Well, it appears as if they’re going to use the site as the research and development center on renewable energy. Good news for this area. Even better news that over the next 20 years or so they’ll ramp things up to around 7,000 employees or more. Very nice for the real estate market, and wonderful to have this type of company in the area.
I hope this acts as a draw for other renewable energy companies in the same way that Sun Microsystems and IBM have helped give us a good foundation and big draw in the technology department.
Won’t you be my….neighbor.
Shoot me an email at bob@realasave.com if you have any Denver or Boulder real estate questions, or if you want some more info about our Colorado commission rebate program where we give you 50% of our paycheck.
Uncle Sam is indicating that he’d like to use a few of our tax dollars to finance billions in loans. Great. Now, I’m all for the current $8,000.00 tax credit as I’ve seen first hand benefits for buyers I’ve been working with in the Denver and Boulder markets. But this is a much different creature.
The program I’m referring to is the one announced today by the Obama Administration whereby the Federal Government will become the new buyer in the previously evaporated mortgage-backed security market, thus allowing state agencies to fund millions of mortgages. What? Basically, when the economy and housing market imploded last year the bond market for mortgage backed securities disappeared. This caused various HFA’s (housing finance agencies) to cease giving loans or raise rates considerably. So now Uncle Sam is Subprime Sammy!, your mortgage backed security expert and buyer extraordinaire.
All kidding aside- how is the potential of this program any different than what subprime lenders did over the last decade or so to “encourage” first time buyers to jump into the market? Aren’t we currently living through the aftermath of the collapse of just such a program?
Part of this program would allow first-time buyers to use the future $8,000 tax credit as part of their down payment. Another bad idea. This means that this new round of buyers will have the same amount of skin in the game as the subprime borrowers who got 100% financing in 2003. None. So there is no incentive to stay in the game, and we might as well look forward to another massive wave of foreclosures 3-5 years from now when some of these new homeowners realize that this is not their cup of tea.
I’m all for helping first-time buyers…we do it all the time at Real-a-Save. But if a potential buyer has ZERO dollars, then maybe, just maybe, they’re NOT a potential buyer after all. FHA loans require 3.5% down right now. That’s a pretty darn good deal. Why are we looking for ways to require zero down? Isn’t that exactly what got us here in the first place?
Email bob@realasave.com if you have any real estate questions, or if you would like to know about our Colorado commission rebate program. And no, you cannot use a commission rebate towards your down payment;-)
Real-a-Save is a full-service, licensed Colorado real estate company. We offer services to both buyers and sellers.
We feel it’s very important for home buyers to have someone on their side when negotiating a contract, and so we offer exclusive Buyer’s Agency. Many buyers just want to be left alone at the start of their home search- and that’s fine. The Internet has certainly put a ton of information at the savvy buyer’s feet. But when you are ready to look at a home, or if you have some questions about a particular property, then that is the time to give us a call and let us help.
It’s best for buyers not to simply start calling random real estate agents and asking questions. The listing agent is trying to sell that lovely Denver condo that you fell in love with. And his/her job and loyalty is clearly on the side of the seller. So it seems wise that you have someone on your side.
Let us be on your side. No only will you be hiring a local Realtor with tons of experience, but you’ll also receive significant savings from our Colorado Commission rebate program. We basically split our paycheck for you. Sound too good to be true? Well, the US Department of Justice supports companies like Real-a-Save. Just take a look at what the US DOJ has to say about rebate real estate companies like ours.
For more information about our commission rebate program and how you can receive 50% of our commission, you can email bob@realasave.com, or simply go to our website at www.realasave.com and join the scores of Denver/Boulder real estate consumers who have taken advantage of the great savings we offer.
Your 7-year-old kid could come up with a better short sale process than the ones currently being implemented by some of the largest banks in the country. Any kid who ever traded baseball cards knows what it’s like to have a hot commodity. Ask your kid which of these strategies he’d use if he had a baseball card that 4 of his friends wanted: would he a) ask one friend at a time what they’d trade him for without checking what the other friends would be willing to trade, or would he b) ask all of his friends what they’d like to pay/trade, gather all the bids and THEN make his decision.
The answer is obvious. What good does it do to have a hot commodity if you don’t allow the bidders to feel the heat? But banks are currently employing strategy “a” from the stupid example above. No kidding. I was dealing with a bank today, let’s call them Schmank of Unmerica, and the short sale property in Denver had 3 interested parties. But the bank would only CONSIDER one offer at a time. And they go all the way with that offer. Meaning, it takes weeks/months for that single offer to make it through to someone in negotiations/review and then they make a decision on that single offer without considering any of the waiting offers. And if that offer does not work, well, then our genius bank moves on to offer #2…and ONLY offer #2. And maybe that one works out.
Why wouldn’t a bank simply go back to all 4 interested bidders and ask for their best and highest by 4pm tomorrow? And then go with the best offer? Isn’t that the best thing for their bottom line?
Short sales are the monster just below the surface of our economy. These monsters are having an awful impact on property values, and are accounting for substantial losses at banks. Losses that our government has shown it’s willing to use our tax dollars to rectify.
Email bob@realasave.com if you have any short sale questions, or if you just want to discuss Denver/Boulder real estate.
…we’re moving to Colorado. If you’re thinking of making a big move to Colorado then we can certainly help. There are some really nice resources on this website to help you get a feel for this wonderful state right from the comfort of your home.
Thinking of looking at some Louisville real estate? Check out our Louisville information pages here. You can also search for all of the homes for sale in Louisville on our cool map search.
Maybe you’re taking a job in Denver. Again, we’ve put together some good information about the various Denver neighborhoods. And you can search the entire Denver MLS right here.
Moving can be expensive, so our nice cash rebate will come in handy once you close on your new home. Feel free to email bob@realasave.com with any questions.
