Investing in Real Estate 8 - Condo Conversions This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, fix and flips, in the Cherry Hills Village area in Denver.   What this investment is:  A synthesis of the fix and flip and rental operations - purchasing an apartment building in a neighborhood dominated by owner occupants, then converting the building from apartment building to condominium.  Often requires renovation of the units to meet the expectations of owner-occupant buyers in that area.  Complex and time consuming, but has wonderful tax advantages compares to fix and flips and often has superior returns to all other asset classes.  Ideally suited for the sophisticated investor with extensive experience.    Equity needed:  Being able to document your income and your assets will ... 12/29/2008

Investing in Real Estate 6 - Lease Options This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, lease options, in the Cherry Hills Village area in Denver.                        What this investment is:  A lease option (L/O) is Acquiring control of a property (though not necessarily ownership), then leasing the property to a tenant.  The lease is bundled with an option, so the tenant can (but does not have to) purchase the property for a given price within a given time frame.  Again you are seeking a tenant for a property, but usually for a slightly longer term (12-18 months) and frequently (though not always) with the goal that the tenant purchase the property from you at the end of the lease.  If you purchase the property, then it's an easier process; if you find a highly motivate... 12/29/2008

Investing in Real Estate 3 - Rental Condo or Rental Home This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, rental condos or rental homes, in the Cherry Hills Village area in Denver.   What this investment is:  Purchase of a residential property to be rented out to tenants, usually on a 6-12 month lease term.  This is how most new landlords get started.  You can hire out all of the property management functions, but in many cases you will do many of them on your own.  There are smaller down payment requirements than for larger rental buildings.  The purchase process and financing process is very similar to what you experienced buying the home you live in now.  It's a great way for beginners to get started.   Equity needed:  Currently 20% - 25% Downpayment.  In some cases you might... 12/29/2008

Investing in Real Estate 2 - Assignments This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, assignments, in the Cherry Hills Village area in Denver.   What this investment is:  An investor who is interested in Assignments gets a property under contract for an attractive price then assigns the contract to another buyer, usually another investor.  The first investor will be paid a fee for the work.  If you don't have much equity to work with, and/or if your credit power is limited, assignments can be a way to get started in real estate investing.  You will need to have a strong "sales" personality to succeed at it, though.    Equity needed:  None, just earnest money.   Importance of credit:  Not important, since you are not purchasing the property yourself.   Importance of experienc... 12/29/2008

Recap of First Quarter 2008 Home Price Performance The average home price in Metro Denver increased +2% in the full year 2005 to the full year 2006, from $309,000 to $317,000. Comparing 2006 to 2007, the average home price across the metro dropped 2%, to $311,000. The first quarter of 2008 was $278,000 vs. the first quarter of 2007 was $296,000: a 6% decrease. Note that prices in the first quarter are usually a bit less than the rest of the year. This is because families that tend to purchase larger, more expensive homes tend to move in the summer months when their kids are out of school. The average price of a foreclosure or short sale dropped -3% to $188,000 from 2006 to 2007. The average price of a non-distress sale increased 5% to $370,000. Sales volume over the last twelve months i... 12/29/2008

Home appreciation near T-Rex light rail line stations have out-performed the marketOther cities such as Portland found that homes near light rail lines have out-performed the market in terms of price appreciation. The newest light rail line on the south east corridor (it was built during the T-REX I-25 expansion) bears this out. In the last two years, the average home within two miles has appreciated 4% while the metro Denver average is off 8%. We've shared this with our clients, and many decide to try to purchase homes near future light rail stops in anticipation of future appreciation. 12/29/2008

Investing in Real Estate 4 – Small (2-4 units) Apartment BuildingThis blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, small apartment buildings, in the Cherry Hills area in Denver.What this investment is:  Purchase of duplex, triplex or quadplex to be rented to tenants, usually for 6-12 month terms.  Usually what the rental home / condo landlords graduate to.  In most markets they cost a little more than a rental home, but are much more likely to cash flow on the average month.  Less cash flow risk; if one unit is empty you have other tenants that still help you with the mortgage payment so it doesn't all come out of your pocket.  Many owners will start to delegate some of the property management tasks to an on-site assistant (typically the most responsible tenant), such as yard mai... 12/18/2008

Investing in Real Estate 3 – Rental Condo or Rental HomeThis blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, rental condos or rental homes, in the Cherry Hills area in Denver.What this investment is:  Purchase of a residential property to be rented out to tenants, usually on a 6-12 month lease term.  This is how most new landlords get started.  You can hire out all of the property management functions, but in many cases you will do many of them on your own.  There are smaller down payment requirements than for larger rental buildings.  The purchase process and financing process is very similar to what you experienced buying the home you live in now.  It's a great way for beginners to get started.Equity needed:  Currently 20% - 25% Downpayment.  In some cases you might be able to do ... 12/18/2008

Investing in Real Estate 2 – AssignmentsThis blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, assignments, in the Cherry Hills area in Denver.What this investment is:  An investor who is interested in Assignments gets a property under contract for an attractive price then assigns the contract to another buyer, usually another investor.  The first investor will be paid a fee for the work.  If you don't have much equity to work with, and/or if your credit power is limited, assignments can be a way to get started in real estate investing.  You will need to have a strong "sales" personality to succeed at it, though. Equity needed:  None, just earnest money.Importance of credit:  Not important, since you are not purchasing the property yourself.Importance of experience with contractors:  ... 12/18/2008

 Topic:  Special considerations for Investor loans The talk around the water cooler these days is all about LOANS. Who can get them? At what price? What if I already have a few loans, do I still qualify?  A year or two ago the question was at what price do I get a loan (those were the days!).  Today it is "am I still in the game?"     Here's the deal:  if you have an owner occupied loan and 3 investor loans you cannot buy any more properties and get Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac financing, meaning you can't get a conventional 30-year fixed loan. Now, my hope is that someone reads this and tells me I'm wrong. That would be great!  But as far as I know that is the case.    Where does this leave you?  You can pursue loans that are warehoused by lenders, meaning they are not sold on the backend ... 12/18/2008

Topic:  Investor Series:  Why sewer scopes are important  A LOT of agents don't advise their clients to get sewer scopes when they purchase a property. This is a major mistake.  A broken sewer can cost between $3,000 - $10,000 dollars to repair and it only costs $99 ($99Rooter - others are more expensive) to have a tech put a camera down the sewer pipe and videotape the sewer all the way to the mainline. This will tell you  and the-buyer what the condition of the sewer is.    So let's see, we pay to have the furnace inspected but a new furnace will only be about $2,000. We pay to have the roof inspected but that's probably a $4,000 job. So why don't we always inspect the sewer?  One reason is because, let's face it,  Realtors want closings. Many figure if they keep their mouth shut and ... 12/18/2008

Topic:  Investor Series:  Estimating Rents A lot of clients ask me how to figure out what market rents are in a neighborhood. This is a critical input into the calculations an investor needs to make in order to determine what their return on investment will be on a rental property. So you don't want to screw this up!  Unfortunately, this is one of the many figures new investors get wrong.   One place people go to get rents is Rent-o-Meter. Rent-o-Meter is billed as an online resource to get accurate market rents. In my experience it is anything but!  However, I have a fairly simple solution. Multiply what you see on Rent-o-Meter by  80%  and you'll probably be close. I can't explain why but I find rents on Rent-o-Meter to be about 25% high, so multiplying their rents by 80% will get you... 12/18/2008

Topic:  Investor Series:  Things to look for when you look at roofs Have you ever driven through Aurora North looking for a rental property and taken a close look at the roofs?   Here's what you'll see: a bunch of 1950's ranches in varying states of repair or disrepair, lawns that are often grassless, old handcrank windows and roofs in almost perfect condition!  This surprised me at first and perplexed me for a long time.  Why, in a neighborhood devastated by foreclosures with properties with massive deferred maintenance are the roofs in such condition?  Really!  Stand in the middle of a typical street and looking at 10 roofs simultaneously, you'll be amazed. Well, it turns out the answer is pretty simple. There was a huge hailstorm in the mid-90's and most of the roofs were replaced by... 12/18/2008

Topic:  Investor Series:  Things to keep in mind when seeing a foreclosed home As investors we face a number of very real and very scary challenges. Making sense of this market is no mean feat and one has to be very careful with his or her investment. However, we usually think about danger as financial. Unfortunately, on rare occasion it can be even worse than that. The majority of the homes investors are buying these days are vacant and once in a while people break in and live in these properties illegally.  The last thing you want to do is walk in on someone camped out in a house, perhaps conducting illegal an activity.    This is no joke, you want to be HEARD when you walk into a property that is supposed to vacant. So make a lot of noise when you're at the front door. I always knock... 12/18/2008

Topic name:  Investor Series:  Understanding Egress Windows  A lot of investors ask what an egress window is and when one is needed. Technically, it's a window for a room below grade that a municipality has deemed large enough to be safe for exit in case of emergency.   While there are some variations, the window needs to be large enough that a firefighter with an oxygen bottle on their back could get in, then carry out an injured person in a fire.  Most often, it's associated with a basement bedroom window, making it a legal bedroom. Basement bedrooms without egress windows are illegal.  Installing an egress window makes them legal.    The confusion is that different cities, counties and agencies have different size requirements and height-above-floor requirements for these windows. Th... 12/18/2008

Topics for Investors:  Basement Kitchens You walk into a property you're looking to buy and rent and you walk down into the basement and voila! you find a full second kitchen.   Great!  You start calculating how much rent you could get if you could rent the downstairs separate from the upstairs and the cashflow is out of this world!  But wait, there are a number of very real problems with this scenario.   First of all, it's illegal unless the property is zoned for more than one tenant and the property has been converted to non-residential use. But there are even more practical reasons why having two separate tenants is often not a great idea. The first is the utilities. Since it's a house there will only be one bill for Excel and water. Who's going to pay it?  Can you really get the ten... 12/18/2008

    Luxury Colorado is intended to be a series of articles designed to educate consumers on the whereabouts/histories/real estate in Colorado's most luxurious communities.   The Luxury Colorado Series' will also proved its readers with information that may assist in a decision to move/purchase-real estate in one or more of the featured communities.   As a certified Luxury Realtor through Century 21 Fine Homes & Estates, I can assure you that by allowing me to represent you in the purchase/sale of your luxury home, you will receive the utmost in quality service.   I am certified to sell luxury homes through the prestigious Century 21 Fine Homes & Estates certification program. I have a vast knowledge of the many different luxury communities located throughout Colorado. Through my experi... 12/09/2008

Cherry Hills Village Colorado Homes and Real Estate In November five homes sold in Cherry Hills Village. Last November six homes were sold. Total number of homes sold year-to-date in Cherry Hills Village is 80 compared to last year 2007 year-to-date which was 87. The lowest price of the homes sold was $657,000 and the highest $2,863,000. The average days on market (DOM) was 182 for November. Address Beds Baths Square Feet DOM List Price Net Sold Price % of List to Sold Price Price/ sf 5720 Princeton Ave* 4 4 2268 1 $665,000 $657,000 98.8% $293 59 Cherry Hills Farm Dr* 4 4 4464 327 $1,500,000 $1,138,000 75.9% $255 5030 Albion Way* 3 4 4153 137 $1,549,000 $1,400,000 90.4% $337 5091 Oxford Ave* 6 7 5257 43 $2,300,000 $2,125,000 92.4% $404 5700 Charlou Dr* 5 8 5215 402 $4,550,000 $2,863,000... 12/04/2008

Cherry Hills Village CO Luxury Homes and Real Estate Market Report Oct 2008 In October 2008 nine homes were sold in Cherry Hills Village. 11 homes are currently under contract. Address Beds Baths Square Feet DOM List Price Net Sold Price % of List to Sold Price Price/ sf 1 Fieldstone Trl* 4 6 3962 188 $900,000 $855,000 95% $216 30 Sedgwick Dr* 6 7 5842 338 $1,195,000 $975,000 81.2% $170 6414 E. Startford Ave* 4 5 4089 0 $1,025,000 $1,025,000 100% $251 5390 Nassau Cir* 5 4 3365 15 $1,099,000 $1,047,500 95.3% $311 1 Gray Owl Rd* 6 8 4343 177 $1,199,000 $1,154,873 96.3% $270 1516 E. Oxford Ln* 4 4 3296 5 $1,385,000 $1,283,750 92.7% $389 4265 S. Bellaire Cir* 4 5 4245 0 $1,775,000 $1,761,000 99.2% $418 25 Cherry Lane Dr* 4 6 5514 168 $2,250,000 $2,250,000 100% $408 4850 Whitehall Dr* 8 9 56... 11/10/2008

Cherry Hills Village CO Real Estate and Relocation - Red Light - Green Light If you are driving along E. Belleview Ave in Cherry Hills Village be aware of the traffic lights, especially the RED ones! Of course you should be observant of traffic lights and obey the traffic rules everywhere and all the time, but running a RED LIGHT at the intersection of E. Belleview Ave and S. University Blvd can and will cost you! Cameras were installed to monitor traffic at this intersection in Cherry Hills Village 24/7. You run a red light and you will receive a ticket. A photo/video clip is taken of each and every car, truck, motorcycle, what have you  that runs a red light.  The fine is $75.00. If you receive the "suprising" news in the mail, you can login online to see footage of the "incident" and... 10/20/2008