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We stepped outside after dinner tonight to witness the most beautiful rainbow. A full, double rainbow with
all colors strongly visible continued to dazzle us all the way home to Lone Tree. Traffic on I-25 actually slowed down to enjoy this natural sight.
It was a perfect ending to the week...I want to share it with the world.
Whether you are in need of a new home or not, the Home Builders Association Parade of Homes makes for an enjoyable afternoon. Checking out the latest design trends and getting to see Aurora's newest and hottest subdivision at Southshore is worth the trip.
The Parade is manageable this year with five homes being featured. The custom home builders are:
Not surprising the designs this year focused on integrating out door living, due to the site's unusual and lovely setting at the shore of Aurora Reservoir. Gracious decks, covered patio's complete with full outdoor kitchen's will encourage a homeowner to spend more time in the fresh air.
Media rooms and multiple flat screen TV's are still popular. Granite finishes are being replaced with styled concrete, glass and other finishes. White cabinets are making a reappearance (I question this, but then what do I know?).
My favorite feature are the wonderful closet finishes. The closet has grown into a classy dressing room experience. What gal wouldn't love to primp around in style with drawers and space for every cherished item and mirrors to help make sure "the look" is just right? Closets are now part of the luxury experience, not just a dark, dingy place to hide the laundry!
If you want to make a trip to the Parade, be sure to schedule enough time to peruse the many vendors offering services and samples. You can purchase a lunch or snack on site. Parking is plentiful.
If the Parade is not enough house looking for you, continue on to visit the many model homes offered throughout the Southshore area. Make it a day of Lookie Louing.
Denver Relocation Tips
Moving to a new area brings horrors of it's own. The biggest horror of all is having a Catch 22 problem you cannot solve.
The most common problem I see is when the transferee packs up all his belongings. As the moving van pulls away from the curb the Denver lender calls, asking for documentation for the new loan.
No problem the transferee says, I'll fax it to you, then he remembers...
OH NO! It's packed away in the truck!
What happens now? The moving van does not arrive until next week sometime, just after closing.
But closing can't occur until there is a loan. The loan won't occur until there the documents are delivered.
What a predicament.
The solution? Get your loan in place before you pack. Separate all your important back up data from the items to be moved. Keep them with you, this might even mean HIDING them from the moving guys, who have been known to be extra efficient in packing!
This Denver Relocation Tip works in every part of the country whether you are buying Denver Real Estate or not!
(Photo of Norway's most famous painter, Edvard Munch's emotional Primal Scream. Painted in th 17th Century were obviously the artist experienced a distraught moment in relocation!)
Cruising around the blogisphere this morning brought me to a very good post on Real Estate Undressed. Mr. Larry Cragin posted photos of bears playing on a children's playset. I loved the photos of the adorable bears having a wonderful time! They must have thought the playset was provided just for them.
Naturally I brain traveled back in a time to an earlier date this year when I was showing homes. My clients and I arrived at a lovely home on Bell Mountain in Castle Rock. The owners were home and proudly showed us around, describing every detail of their obviously loved home.
Our conversation turned to the large lot that backed up to open space. Mr. Seller shared with us his experience with a bear in his back yard. His exciting rendition of how the bear rambled across the back yard one morning triggered the fear factor in my clients.
Being from the city they failed to understand the beauty of having a large wild animal appear at random in their back yard.
Needless to say, without any question Mr. Seller talked himself out of selling his home. Oops!
The good intentions a seller may have many times are not received as intended.
In the past I've had sellers meet us at the house and droll on about home features my buyers absolutely didn't want. Of course the buyers would never be so bold as to tell the homeowner the feature was not their preference, they politely let the seller continue.
As an agent for the buyer, we seldom need the seller to step in for a tour. In fact, I would rather not have the seller there, at least the first time. Later when the transaction turns to reality, the buyers and sellers can and should get together to discuss the finer details of the home. But certainly not prior to the decision to buy.
To a seller letting go of your home when you feel so strongly toward it is difficult. Yes, you know it well, but the best thing to do is leave. The pain of not being able to say anything for fear it is the wrong thing may be too great to bare.
No pun intended...
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Colorado is home to many wild animals, having them in your back yard
is not a common occurence, but it does happen. When faced with a bear
the best thing is to not turn and run. The last thing you want to do
is look like food!
Bear cubs as adorable as they are, should never ever be approached.
Mama will be near by and she will most assuredly object to her babies
associating with a two legged creature.
Bear meetings should be avoided at all costs.
Denver has a humorous water conservation campaign going on now. If you would like to pledge to save water please visit the Use Only What You Need Site. (Even if you don't live in Denver visit the site, it's worth the trip! I promise!)
Some clients of mine have moved away. They closed on their home last week after a traumatic few weeks of house hunting. The story I am about to tell is real. The names will not be mentioned, but the facts are the facts. Take them for what they are worth.
They bought a very expensive home, the day before closing they learned the out of state mortgage broker neglected to tell them (probably because he didn't know) there was a "LUXURY TRANSFER TAX" of 1% and several thousand dollars of fees he forgot to list in the good faith estimate.
1% doesn't sound like much, but in this instance it all added up to $26,000! OUCH!
At the last minute they were calling family for a quick loan. Yes, they had the funds, but just couldn't access them by the next day.
Everyone makes mistakes, but why is it that mortgage brokers seems to make them more often?
Once again I must repeat, real estate is local. When you are moving from one area to the
next, never assume things are just like they are back home. Chances are you will be wrong.
Why blame it on the out of state/area mortgage broker? Well had they used a LOCAL mortgage banker, that person would have been more likely to be familiar with the local custom (the 1% tax was a STATE law!). It would have come up much sooner than the day before closing.
Using an out of area lender is always risky. Mortgage brokers often are licensed to do business in many states. More states than they could ever possibly know all the rules and regs. To most, it's a crap shoot, they win some they lose some. Mortgage brokers have NO VESTED interest in the consumer or getting the job done right. They take applications and send them off to investors and mortgage BANKERS to process. This means they do not control the process, even though they tell you they do. (that's another blog)
Why do I say that? Well time and time again mortgage brokers have ignored important dates in the Colorado approved contract. Dates that if missed could possibly mean the buyer would lose every penny of their hard earned earnest money.
The person held responsible is the real estate agent. The agent is required by law to represent the best interest of the buyer so he does. But when it comes to the mortgage broker who is responsible for meeting the dates and delivering the money, they have no fiduciary to the buyer. In fact many mortgage brokers refuse to even speak to the buyer's agent.
So the agent is left in the dark, writing extension after extension to be sure the buyer is covered.
The best strategy for a consumer is to use a tried and true mortgage banker who lives and works in the area. Don't rely on some friendly voice in a faraway state to handle the transaction. Go with a professional who knows what they are doing and can advise you from the beginning.
As my daughter quipped, "You don't want to be a casualty at their first rodeo!"
Yesterday I received a question via email from a consumer:
"I was told that one does not need a real estate agent to fill out a sales agreement on property, would like an honest answer from a licensed professional. "
The question is a fair one so I've decided to respond not just in person but in blog format too. Hopefully the response will influence buyers and sellers in their Denver real estate dealings.
Yes, whoever told you a real estate contract does not need to be filled out by a real estate agent is correct. Buyers and sellers get together all the time to do business without benefit or aid of real estate agents.
Of course like any answer there are always exceptions. For instance if you are collecting a commission for the sale of the property, you will need to be licensed. If you are not licensed you will be in violation of the law because you will practicing real estate without a license. That is a no-no.
In the State of Colorado real estate agents are allowed to fill in the blanks of the State Approved Contracts. They cannot write the entire contract. If they did, they would be practicing law without a license. Another no-no.
The consumer obviously asked me this question to confirm a truth already heard. I wish I could ask her a question or two to delve into the "why" and "why nots" of the transaction.
I've been selling real estate in Colorado for going on 24 years. I've come into contact with many a poor soul who got himself into a bad situation because he wanted to save a few dollars or felt he had all the facts.
Contracts are serious business, not "dress rehearsals."
The truth of the matter is buying real estate is not an exact science. The contract part of filling in blanks is easy. The problem arises when the blanks are filled out without deep consideration as to what it all means. Missing a blank, erroneous data can cause very expensive issues. A buyer's earnest money could be at risk, or lost entirely.
The lady who asked the question may not know that she could hire a Real Estate
Consultant to write the offer for her. A Consultant would quote her a price (considerably less than a co-op commission) and negotiate for her, on her behalf.
Many consumers are not aware there is such an alternative. We in the real estate industry call it "fee based services." Such services can be chosen from a menu of offerings, consumers can pick a choose what services they need, when they need them.
Paying a few dollars for the added protection is well worth the worry and expense it will save in the end.
How does the saying go? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
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