MB Loves Denver!!

There’s a saying in the real estate world that “buyers are liars.” I don't necessarily like this particular phrase, because it sounds like we're saying that buyers are somehow dishonest.   And that's not at all what it means.  It’s not that buyers walk in and deliberately tell lies to their real...

If anything is going to go wrong in a home purchase, it’s very likely going to have something to do with the loan. Borrowing money to buy property in today’s environment is very, very complicated. Buyers -- for your sake, for the sake of your realtor and the sake of everyone’s sanity -- please c...

A while back, a real estate agent’s flyer showed up in my mailbox. In it, Mr. Agent announced that if anyone referred a client to him, he would pay that person $300 when the transaction closed. Three hundred bucks. That’s a lot of money — enough to make anybody want to start combing through thei...

I just read the annual “Cost vs. Value” report for 2008. It shows how much common remodeling projects cost, and how much they increase the value of a home. Results are divided by region, with some particularly common projects broken down by metro area. Guess what? In the Mountain Region, not a s...

So what happens if you have to sell you house in a down market? Say you’ve been transferred. Or you got married, and two houses is one more than you need. Or your family is growing, and more square footage is now a necessity instead of a luxury. Or you need to downsize your home to meet your new...

What self-respecting Denver-ite would be crazy enough to hang out at an ice cream shop in the middle of winter? I would, for one.  But the funny thing, I'm not alone.  Even now, in February, this place is frequently packed.  But then again, this is no ordinary ice cream shop. It’s called Red Tro...

I have a buyer who’s trying to decide between Thornton and the northwest Denver Highlands area. Well, he’s actually pretty well decided, but I did some research anyway, to demonstrate that all real estate is TRULY local, right down to the neighborhood. I checked sold statistics for each area ove...

Before I was a Realtor, I was a “realtor-wannabe.” I was always the one volunteering to help friends (and sometimes total strangers) look for a new home. When somebody new moved into town, I was the “chamber of commerce” — giving them tours, showing them neighborhoods, talking through their hous...

You’ve probably seen the “We Buy Ugly Houses” billboards. They’re done by a company called Home Vestors, which buys houses for below market rates, for cash, with quick closing times. It’s a set-up that appeals to people who are so desperate to get out of a house quickly that they’re willing to t...

Part of being a good realtor is to negotiate well on behalf of clients. That, after all, is supposed to be the reason we exist as a profession — to look out for what is best for those clients when they’re buying or selling real estate. But being a good negotiator is more than just the ability to...