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Posts Tagged ‘denver real estate’

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Episode #30: The SEO Monster

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009 by Bob Connors

Are you an SEO expert? Sure, me too. And your Mom. Probably your brother too. Everyone seems to be an SEO expert. SEO (in case you don’t know) is Search Engine Optimization. This is the process whereby you, or a high-paid consultant, makes your website “friendly” to Google and other search sites. Anyone with a web-based business knows that they must be found on Google under a certain set of search terms. You want John Q. Public to be able to find you when they enter a certain set of search terms in Google…and there are plenty of people out there who will let you pay them thousands of dollars to figure out how your company can rank higher for certain search terms on Google. Our company, for example, should be visible for certain Boulder real estate and Denver real estate related terms. And we’ve had lots of solicitations from SEO experts claiming that they can help us rank higher on these terms. Because, truth be told, we don’t rank at the top for many of these terms…yet. But we’re continuing the “Good Fight” by cranking out relevant information on the Colorado real estate market, and by creating more and better MLS home search features on our site as well. It’s going to take us a lot longer to reach the top of Google results for many of these search terms, but that’s ok. We’re a small operation and simply don’t have $10,000 per month to spend on some SEO expert who will do whatever it takes to get us onto those top Google pages. But our slow and steady approach to SEO will, I think, give us much better long-term traffic. The logic is simple: you can pay someone to give you traffic by any means necessary; or, you can EARN the traffic by slowly and surely becoming the best resource for your particular area of expertise.

Email bob@realasave.com if you have any Denver/Boulder real estate questions, or simply visit us on the web at www.realasave.com

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Posted in Boulder, CO, Colorado Real Estate, Denver, CO, Louisville, CO, Our Company, Video | 1 Comment »

Episode #29: The Intangibles

Friday, October 2nd, 2009 by Bob Connors

One of the most important steps to putting your Denver or Boulder home on the real estate market is setting the list price. It’s certainly not rocket science, you just study the comps, right? Right. But make sure you take into consideration some of intangible items like view and backing to open space. It’s fine to start with a price per square foot analysis- truly, this is one of the BEST ways to begin your property valuation as numbers just don’t lie. But the square foot numbers don’t tell the complete story.

Sometimes a view is worth $10,000. Sometimes it’s worth $100,000. Sometimes backing to open space is worth $20,000. Sometimes 5 or ten times that amount. It all depends on the neighborhood trends. Now more than ever you need to have a good idea of what value your specific neighborhood puts on those items. And you need to have the comps in hand in order to back up your value claims.

Why do you need the comps in hand? I mean, just get the right buyer, right?? Right. But we’ve now got to deal with a possibly inexperienced appraiser. Lenders have gone from giving anyone or their pet dog a loan to making it very difficult for a qualified person to close. Many of these lending changes are good. Requiring buyers to put more money down is good. Requiring a higher credit score/history is good. Qualifying for LESS money is good. Sending inexperienced appraisers out to valuate properties is bad. And inexperienced appraisers are the name of the game now ever since the appraiser industry began to consolidate and contracts are being awarded to the cheapest (most inexperienced) appraisers. So be prepared. Have your comps in hand and assume the worst.

Email bob@realasave.com if you have any questions about Boulder or Denver real estate.

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Posted in Boulder, CO, Denver, CO, Louisville, CO, Real Estate Info, Video | No Comments »

Episode #28: Eight Grand from Uncle Sam

Wednesday, September 30th, 2009 by Bob Connors

Once in a while our government actually does something right. The bailouts are a complete joke imho. What do they do for the average citizen? Nothing. But the $8000 tax credit being offered to first time home buyers is putting money directly in the pockets of average Americans. And that is a good thing.

We’re hoping that they extend the tax credit into 2010 as it’s our belief that this will have a profound impact on the real estate market moving forward. Depending on where you’re looking in the Colorado Front Range region, the markets are either holding steady or fairly robust. The Louisville real estate market is red hot, and the Boulder real estate market is quite strong. Moving out into places like Aurora and the South Metro area shows a different story. But it’s safe to say that extending the tax credit would help to bring more buyers into all of these markets, reduce inventory, and get us a long way towards economic recovery.

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

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Posted in Boulder, CO, Denver, CO, Louisville, CO, Video | No Comments »

Episode #26: The Rebaters are Coming

Thursday, September 24th, 2009 by Bob Connors

So far, Real-a-Save has been providing services in the Denver and Boulder real estate markets, with the occasional deal in Colorado Springs, Summit County, and Fort Collins. But we have received some interest from agents in other states who would like to bring this concept to consumers in their area.

It seems inevitable that the real estate industry will undergo some serious changes over the coming years. I believe that the economic crisis will have a lasting effect on consumers in this country. People seem much more focused on saving money wherever possible. From groceries to gasoline to real estate fees. Our business seems poised to grow in this new economy.

When consumers are given the choice of two relatively similar products where one of those products offers significant savings, which one will they choose? There really is no difference between the services offered by a traditional Realtor and the services offered by Real-a-Save. Sure, we don’t hold open houses for our sellers. And yes, we ask our buyers to do some of the initial searching on their own. But that’s it. We offer an incredible level of service while simultaneously saving consumers thousands of dollars.

Let us know if you’d like to see Real-a-Save in your city or state. Email bob@realasave.com with requests or questions.

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Posted in Colorado Real Estate, Denver, CO, Fort Collins, Our Company, Video | No Comments »

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