A real estate deal is a bit like the 100-meter high hurdles at a track meet. Once you go under contract, you’ve got a few barriers to get over before you can cross the finish line and finalize the transaction. The typical home sale contract has contingencies that allow the buyer to do inspections, check out the HOA, make sure the …
Situation: You’re not relocating out of metro Denver (Yea!) but you need to make a move. You may be a growing family that needs more space. You may be an empty nester that wants to downsize. You may need to change your geographic location due to jobs or schools. The elephant in the room, however, is the fear of being homeless. …
Wait a minute!! We’ve got the hottest seller’s market anywhere in the country right now – truly epic proportions – and sellers are getting hurt? Can’t be! Actually … it could be. A recent Denver Post article has us thinking that up to 20% of metro Denver home sellers may be leaving money on the table when they sell their houses. Why? The …
We’ve got a strong seller’s market in metro Denver at the moment. Houses sell quickly and often with multiple buyers fighting to be the successful bidder. This raises a question: Is it worth taking any time and effort to get a house in tip-top showing condition – to do what agents call “staging”? Isn’t a house going to sell even …
No. That’s not a typo. Everyone knows that LEAD is bad for the environment, which is why we got it out of gasoline. Did you know, however, that an LED (lightbulb) is good for both the environment and your pocket book? You want to get LEDs out of the store and into your light fixtures. LED stands for “light emitting diode”. LED technology has …
Everyone knows to winterize sprinkler systems when cold temperatures arrive. However, did you know that your landscaping could benefit also from some winterization and tender loving care during the winter? It is worth spending some time and effort on your landscaping. We did a recent blog post about the fact that landscaping can contribute greatly to your property value – …
“Inman Connect” is a semi-annual national conference for real estate agents. At the most recent gathering in June of this year, held in the beautiful city by the bay (San Francisco), we heard a lot of discussion about the luxury home market. What is a luxury home? Are different strategies required when you are buying and selling in this market segment? Is …
Solar energy is HOT, pun intended. It’s getting lots of attention these days. Solar is also COOL! A bit of a status symbol & statement to the world that you are “going green”. We’re big fans of solar, in theory. We’re sure that 100 years from now the world will largely run on solar power. It’s the wave of the future. However, it may not …
What Does a Good Agent Do For You? You’ve probably never heard of “disintermediation” unless (1) You’re an economist, (2) A complete nerd or (3) You attended the big Inman real estate agent convention in San Francisco earlier this year. We learned about it through option 3 with maybe a dash of option 2 thrown in. Disintermediation is when intermediaries are cut out of …
Why does the public think of real estate agents as salespeople? Why does the industry think of itself that way? I suppose it is because we imagine that real estate agents sell houses in the same way that car dealers sell cars. In contrast, we don’t think of lawyers or doctors or accountants as salespeople. Why? When it comes right …
Inventory is low … blah, blah, blah. Home prices are rising rapidly … blah, blah, blah. This is the news you’re probably hearing about the current real estate market in metro Denver. We’ve commented on these well-known trends ourselves over the last few months. Here is another current market trend that has received less attention: fewer sales have occurred so …
Real estate prices may continue to go up. They may retreat. However, you don’t have to be the victim of market whims. There are strategies you can employ to protect your property value. Our favorite strategy is landscaping. Why? Landscaping is unlike any other improvements that you do to your property. Improvements like new kitchens or window coverings get dated …