The Obama Administration unveiled the final details of its “Making Home Affordable Program,” which is designed to help up to 9 million American families refinance or modify their loans to a payment that is affordable now and into the future. One of the initiatives in this program is aimed at [...] Continue Reading… To keep in the loop about Denver Real Estate Market Information, make sure and sign up for our feed.     04/11/2009

The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a new regulation designed to empower borrowers in the mortgage process. HUD has dictated a change in the good-faith estimate (GFE) form and the settlement form (HUD-1). These forms are part of the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, a [...] Continue Reading…   To keep in the loop about Denver Real Estate Market Information, make sure and sign up for our feed. 04/11/2009

Here are 10 FREE things to do in and around the Denver area.  Please make sure and call or check the organizations website to confirm dates and times for free admission.  Enjoy! United States Mint. Free daily from 8am-3pm.  MAKE A RESERVATION!  320 W. Colfax Ave., Denver.  303.405.4761.  http://www.usmint.gov Denver Art Museum. FREE on the first Saturday of each month.  10am-5pm.  http://denverartmuseum.org Denver Botanic Gardens.  FREE on the first Friday of each month.  9am-5pm.  720.865.3500.  http://www.botanicgardens.org Denver Museum of Nature and Science. FREE Days: Monday Feb. 2, Weds. March 18, Sunday April 19, Sunday May 31, Wed. June 10, Monday July 13, Wed August 12, Sunday Sept. 13, Sunday October 4, Monday Nov 2, Sunday Nov 22.  2001 Colorado Blvd, 303.322.7009.  http://ww... 02/02/2009

Xcel Energy provides electricity and natural gas to the majority of the Denver metropolitan area.  The utility company recently announced four rebate programs for residential customers in an effort to decrease energy demand, thereby reducing their costs for production and transmission of electricity and natural gas.  The energy efficient program rebates include: Gas furnaces and boilers up to $120; Gas water heaters up to $100; Evaporative coolers (aka swamp coolers) up to $500; Addition insulation to your home up to $300. The size of the rebates varies and there are important dates and conditions to follow.  Go to www.xcelenergy.com and look for the program details under Colorado and Residential>Programs & Resources>Heating & Cooling Rebates. If you are thinking it is time to replace a... 02/02/2009

OPEN HOUSE SAT Jan 31st 11am to 3pmStop on by SAT at our OPEN HOUSE in a bank owned property / foreclosure in Greenwood Village Colorado. This BANK OWNED property has 4 bedrooms / 3 baths Two-car-attached garage 3594 total finished square feet Lot size ~ 0.71 acres Year Built 1978 Cherry Creek Schools Also available for you at the Open House: FREE financing and loan information FREE list of area foreclosures FREE list of other area houses for sale Map View - Location:7 E. Belleview Drive,Greenwood Village, CO 80121Foreclosures in Greenwood VillageHomes for sale in Greenwood VillageCondos / Town homes for sale in Greenwood VillageSign up for automatic e-mail updates you get an e-mail when new foreclosures/listings hit the market.Brian & Rita Burke Kenna and Co. Real Estate303.955.4220 Of... 01/28/2009

Greenwood Village CO Real Estate Market Report Dec 2008 In December five homes sold in Greenwood Village and 10 homes are currently under contract. More homes sold in 2007 (161) compared to 122 in 2008. This report includes only detached single family homes in Greenwood Village. The average percent of listing price of homes sold in December was 88.7%. The average days on market (DOM) was 201 which was higher than in November (160). Sold in December 2008 Dec. Averages Orig. Listing Price $1,611,600 Net Sold Price $1,430,199 % of List Price 88.7% Price per sqft (psf) $372/sf Days on Market (DOM) 201 Currently there are 115 homes for sale in Greenwood Village. Then new listings came on the market in December. There are four bank owned homes on the market (one of them is an attached single ... 01/07/2009

Hall of Leaders The following individuals have been recognized for their distinguished and long-term service to the relocation industry. Initiation into the Hall of leaders is automatic when an individual earns four Distinguished Service awards. The following individuals are members of the Hall of Leaders. Posthumous Inductees: Theodore D. BellNRI Relocation, Inc.Buffalo Grove, Illinois USA Lawrence W. Binger3M CompanySt. Paul, Minnesota USA Thomas J. DownsThe MITRE CorporationBedford, Massachusetts USA Richard ShillingerAluminum Company of AmericaPittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA Paul E. Taylor, SCRPPaul Taylor Associates, Inc.Canton, Massachusetts USA   Retired Inductees: Charles W. DeuserThe Procter & Gamble CompanyCincinnati, Ohio USA Vin Doyle, SCRPVin Doyle RealtorsNorth Scituate, Mas... 12/23/2008

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 Greenwood Village 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 yar... 12/17/2008

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 Greenwood 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 be able t... 12/17/2008

Investing in Real Estate 2 – AssignmentsThis blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, assignments, in the Greenwood 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 experience with contracto... 12/17/2008

 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 ... 12/17/2008

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 ... 12/17/2008

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... 12/17/2008

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... 12/17/2008

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... 12/17/2008

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... 12/17/2008

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... 12/17/2008

There are many opportunites to see light show around the Denver Area.  Here are some of our favorites! Symphony in Lights - 6pm to 9pm on the hour, through December 31st.  Located at The Shops at Northfield Stapleton, 8430 Northfield Blvd., in Denver.  There are more than 250,000 LED lights choreographed to the sounds of the Trans-Siberian Orchestra.  Call 303.375.5475 for more information, and check out the video below.   Click here to see the other Denver area Lighting Shows! To keep in the loop about Denver Real Estate Market Information, make sure and sign up for our feed.   12/13/2008

Cherry Creek Schools is hosting it's third annual "Empty Bowls" fundraiser to benefit the Food Bank of the Rockies. The event  will be held December 11th from 4-7p.m., in the West cafeteria at Cherry Creek High School located at: 9300 E Union Avenue, Greenwood Village.The Empty Bowls are hand painted by staff and students from Cherry Creek High School, West Middle School, Belleview Elementary and Homestead Elementary.  The bowls sell for $10 and up and each purchase includes a tasty soup, bread and a dessert donated by Spicy Pickle and Whole Foods.In the past two years, the project has raised more that $12,000 to help the Food Bank of the Rockies, which in turn provided more than 48,000 meals to people in need.What a great way to buy a Christmas gift while helping those in need at the s... 12/02/2008

Greenwood Village CO Homes and Real Estate Market Report Oct 2008 In October 2008 eleven homes sold in Greenwood Village and Three homes are currently under contract. One of the homes sold was new construction builder home. Address Beds Baths Square Feet DOM List Price Net Sold Price % of List to Sold Price Price/ sf 6068 S. Clinton Ct* 4 5 2378 3 $680,000 $695,000 102% $292 10426 E. Powers Pl* 4 5 5176 102 $800,000 $760,000 95% $147 5315 Preserve Dr* 6 5 4307 81 $1,400,000 $1,100,000 78.6% $255 6067 S. Clinton Ct* 5 4 2984 58 $880,000 $750,000 84.1% $251 6042 S Paris St* 4 6 3950 242 $945,900 $670,000 70.8% $170 35 Silver Fox Cir* 5 4 2592 10 $925,000 $875,000 94.6% $338 5251 S. Steele St* 4 5 5361 341 $3,890,000 $3,100,000 79.7 $578 4690 E Perry Pkwy* 4 5 3955 93 $1,595,000 $1,450,000... 11/12/2008