February 9, 2010
Posted by Michael Hughes February 9, 2010
Reasons for an Investor to have a Buyer’s Agent:
Reliable advice and information is perhaps the key factor in making a “good decision”. As your buyer agent, they will provide you info such as, but not necessarily limited to the following:
- The original purchase price of the house. The Starting price, how long on the market,etc
- Evaluating improvements that the sellers may have made to the house and how those figure in to the price
- Comparative market analysis for similar houses in the neighborhood. Active, Expired and recently Sold.
- The average closing concessions paid by sellers of other similar houses in the neighborhood.
- The average drop from list price to sold price and in what time frame.
- How many days the property has been on the market for sale.
- A velocity pricing of supply and demand for this type of property in this price bandwidth.
- Best time of year to buy the property (if any)
- Computerized what if scenarios on spreadsheets to allow you to make sound financial decisions.
- Introduction to reliable mortgage lenders, home inspectors, settlement attorneys etc.
- Let the buyer’s agent worry about finding the perfect house – and they will help you take care of all the small details.
How Exactly Does a Real Estate Investors Buyer’s Agent Get Compensated?
Buyers agents are compensated by the seller of the property. The listing agent will have made a commission arrangement with the seller for a set amount and the listing agent will offer a co-op fee for the buyer’s agent. This is paid by the seller. People who do not wish to pay co-op fees are sometimes FSBO’s (notorious for pricing too high), unscrupulous builders and people that are underwater with their mortgage. Always work with a reputable investor buyer’s agent. It pays in the long run.
To read the entire article Investors: Why you should use a Buyer’s Agent By Rob Barney.
If you have questions regarding this article or Boulder Real Estate please call me 303-359-6627 or e-mail Michael Hughes at Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty in Boulder, CO
Filed under Buying Property, Fuller Sothebys International Realty, Real Estate Investing, boulder real estate, buyer agent, investing in real estate, investors, realtor
Tags: boulder, Buyers Agent, Colorado, Investing, real estate
February 8, 2010
Posted by Michael Hughes February 8, 2010
Fannie Mae has announced a discount for buyers purchasing bank owned properties listed on HomePath.com. The discount can be applied by qualified buyers toward closing costs or the purchase of home appliances.
Fannie Ma will provide a 3.5% discount to those purchasing a real-estate owned (REO) property listed as part of its HomePath division, according to a company notice.
The discount can be used for closing cost assistance or the buyer’s choice of appliances. The offer applies to any owner-occupant who closes on a property listed on HomePath.com before May 1, 2010.
Eligible properties are listed on www.homepath.com . Other financing through Fannie Mae offers home buyers opportunities to purchase with up to 3% down. Now Fannie Mae is giving average home buyers a shot at those foreclosure bargains, through a program called “First Look.” The program limits offers on Fannie Mae foreclosed properties to potential owner-occupants and public-fund buyers for the first 15 days the property is on the market, meaning they get first shot ahead of the investors. Michael Hughes a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty in Boulder, CO said “this is a huge step forward in taking the control out of the hands of a few (investors) and putting control in the hands of actual new owners.”
- As little as $500 down as earnest money
- You can have the property appraised before finalizing the purchase and you can renegotiate your original offer after the appraisal!
- You have up to 45 days after your offer is accepted to close on the property – 15 days longer than with other Fannie Mae owned properties
Listings of available properties can be found on the Fannie Mae web site at www.fanniemae.com. Additional information can be found on those sites or by contacting a local realtor who works with Fannie Mae.
If you have questions regarding this article or Boulder Real Estate please call me 303-359-6627 or e-mail Michael Hughes at Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty in Boulder, CO
February 7, 2010
Posted by Michael Hughes February 7, 2010
You may be an environmentalist if you…A Test
Scoring:
Give yourself 1 point for each of the following where you can agree with the statement made.
1. You use cloth wipes instead of toilet paper and dream of getting a composting toilet
2. You line dry your clothes even though you own a brand new dryer
3. When your family visits your house they claim that you can hang meat in there it’s so cold
4. You spend your free time fantasizing about getting solar panels and LEEDS models
5. You’d rather live in a small cabin off the grid with no plumbing than in a mega-mansion on the beach
6. You know all about raising chickens and may have some in your backyard
7. You have a huge stash of gardening porn that you hide from your significant other
8. You think that sweating over a hot canner for hours on end is super fun!
9. You follow everyone around the house, turning off lights
10. Greenpa’s suggestions sound totally reasonable
If your total is:
0 – 3: What are you doing reading this post? You better start from the beginning.
4 – 6: Not a bad start. Review the Low Impact Week suggestions to increase your score.
7 – 8: You are a nut job in training! Move to Nederland for more training at the recycling event of the year “Frozen Dead Guy Day”
9 – 10: Congratulations! You are a hard-core environmentalist! And may continue to live in Boulder, Colorado
Great green blog you might want to read Elliott Lemenager
If you have questions regarding this blog or Boulder Real Estate please call me 303-359-6627 or e-mail Michael Hughes at Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty in Boulder, CO
Filed under #1 place to thrive, 2010, Boulder County, Green Built, Green Food, Sunday Morning Blog, biodiesel, green, recycle, relocating to boulder
Tags: environmentailist, green, relocating to boulder
February 6, 2010
By Michael Hughes February 6, 2010
I love Boulder County*I love the people*The private chic clubs*The billionaire that lives next door*Nitro*82 Medical Marijuana dispensaries *The floor area ratios*The Boulder Creek path*Mt. Sanitas Trail* Chatauqua Park*Brunch on the porch at Chatauqua Dining Hall *The view from the Flagstaff mountain turnout*Cocktails and Appetizers on the Flagstaff Restaurant patio*The annual lighting of the Boulder Star*The climbers in Eldorado Canyon*Margaritas on the roof of the Rio*The azure skies, *The shops, *Sherpa’s restaurant*The chef (Josea) who won Top Chef but lost a girlfriend over a televised kiss*Spruce Confections outdoors on a warm day with a view of the flatirons*Vics on a Sunday afternoon with live jazz at around 1pm*The Trident where you see everyone you know but they look older*Hazel Miller at Bands on the Bricks*The Farmers Market*University students*Salt Bistro*The Kitchen*Frasca*The Med*Brasserie Ten Ten*The Boulderado*The St. Julien*The entrepreneurs like Russell McDougal visual artiste turned iPhone app developer*The Wine Merchant*Moe’s Bagels*Sprouts*Whole Foods*Vitamin Cottage*McGuckins*The eclectic and varied real estate**I love Jared Polis and his partner Marlon Reis’s Halloween Party*I love the cause: Blue Sky Bridge*The fact that Google has an office here*I love nearby hiking, cycling and running and climbing*The high intelligence level*Salsa Dancing at the Avalon*Walking on the Pearl St. Mall*Live Jazz The Trattoria on 3rd Wednesday of every month*The Ranchers and the farmers*The Boulder Theater*Lucille’s*Live Music at the St. Julien*Art shows at BMOCA*Open Studios*Flowers in front of the UFO guy’s house*Chamber of Commerce Business After Hours*Fiske Planetarium*CU-Boulder Campus and University*Showing up to events and meeting incredible and intelligent people*300+ days of sunshine*Low commute times*Japango*Hapa*Sushi Zanmai*Corepower yoga*Boulder International Film Festival*Mork and Mindy’s House on Pine*World Affairs Conference at CU*Buddhists*Naropa*Foreign Film Series at CU*Tulips on the mall in the spring*Jax Restaurant*Zip code guy on the mall*The view at night when coming in on Highway 36*The Shakespeare Festival*The Chatauqua Music Festival*Open Space*The Outdoor Cinema*The Rumble of thunder against the foothills *Enchanted Mesa trail*Bear Mt. Trail Hike*Boulder Falls*Ice Skating downtown*Tubing/Kayaking in Boulder Creek*Live music at Nissi’s*Oskar Blues & Dale*Watching kids play in the fountain on Pearl St.*Boulder Beer’s Porter*Sunrise on the flatirons*Moonset over the flatirons*Eagle Trail*Marshall Mesa Trail*Walker Ranch Trail*The Bolder Boulder and the feeling I get when the guy parachutes in to Folsom Field with the American Flag*Boulder Backroads ½ and full Marathon*Celestial Seasonings and Moe Siegel*Case Logic*Spyder and Go-Lite*The Polar Bear Plunge*Boulder Creek Festival*Master Tran at Trans Martial Arts Longmont*Spontaneous drummers in City Park*Friendly people who run the Post Office Boulder and Niwot*The rope swing over Boulder Creek in Eben G. Fine Park*Most of all the wonderful people I have met and continue to meet and make a circle of friends known as community
If you have questions regarding this blog or Boulder Real Estate please call me 303-359-6627 or e-mail Michael Hughes at Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty in Boulder, CO
February 5, 2010
By Michael Hughes February 6, 2010
March 2nd has been set as the beginning of the hearings on a broad scope of issues and will review the future of Fannie and Freddie. It will be the roller coaster ride of the century. Barney Frank Chairman of the House Financial Services Committee has said maybe we would be better off without them (Fannie and Freddie). In fact Frank said he will push to “do away with them in favor of a different model.” OMG a government model of efficiency. I can’t wait. Keep in mind almost every home loan, (possibly) including yours, written today is guaranteed by Fannie, Freddie, or the FHA. Congress is about to decide nothing less than the future of housing.
Why on earth would you want to reinvent the wheel. Put some new guidelines in place for Fannie and Freddie and place some people with management cojones and make it work. What doesn’t work is the government attempting to create/manage most anything. And in all fairness I mean this in the most bi-partisan way.
Frank to Recommend Replacing Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Bloomberg
Frank Sets March 2nd as Smackdown date with Freddie and Fannie
If you have questions regarding this article or Boulder Real Estate please call me 303-359-6627 or e-mail Michael Hughes at Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty in Boulder, CO
February 5, 2010
By Michael Hughes February 5, 2010
It’s simple and follows perfect logic. The strongest housing markets will be the markets with the highest job growth or the highest job growth potential in the country. Strong local economies and good prospects for job growth are also great indicators and great investors markets. College towns tend to thrive during recessions as more people enroll at universities.
Employment is the leading economic indicator for a strong housing market, and the best ten markets are strong in those areas. Boulder Real Estate is seeing a renewed market. Job growth is good with a great potential and we have the University of Colorado-Boulder as well.
Best 10 Investors Housing Markets 2010
Rank Real Estate Market
1 Huntsville, AL
2 Austin, TX
3 Little Rock, AR
4 Lawrence, KS
5 Auburn, AL
6 Raleigh, NC
7 Monroe, LA
8 Billings, MT
9 Loveland, CO
10 Las Cruces, NM
In the current economy it will take at least a couple of years to see a good return on investment,read the entire story Investors Markets.
If you have questions regarding this article or Boulder Real Estate please call me 303-359-6627 or e-mail Michael Hughes at Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty in Boulder, CO
February 4, 2010
Studies Show Staging Increases Selling Price
By Michael Hughes February 4, 2010
Showing activity is the strongest the first few weeks get all these things done first, then show your home in its best light.
- Have a pre-inspection done. Fix any problems on the inspection list. This will alleviate many problems up-front.
- Set the right price. A seller may think she’s just testing the market with a high price tag, assuming buyers will at least make an offer, but buyers may assume she’s unreasonable and move on. Your goal should be a fair price — something that’s reasonable given the price of other homes in your area. Buyers who are actively searching for a fairly-priced home will aggressively pursue what they perceive as fair market value.
- Use a buyer’s point of view to make your analysis. How desirable is it? Truly? Take a buyer’s view.
- Look through listed properties in your neighborhood that are similar to yours. Make yours better.
- Make sure when you walk through your property that it flows easily and that the rooms are not congested with furnishings, family photos or knick knacks.
- Properly staging your home will ensure a quick sale at a higher price than an un-staged home. The property needs to look good starting at the street. Attractive, inviting and well cared for. In other words neat as a pin, good colors, fresh paint and a trimmed attractive front yard.
- Odors are a huge turn-off to potential buyers. Do not cook with heavy garlic or spices during this period also take that cat box out of the laundry room and get some odor controlling kitty litter. Keep air fresh in closets and bathrooms. Bake cookies to give an inviting aroma.
- Windows especially with views need to be washed inside and out.
- Install the brightest bulbs possible to light rooms. This is no time to be “green.”
- Make sure you have sorted and donated unnecessary items, clothing and furnishings you no longer use. Get a tax receipt for these to deduct.
- Containerize off-season clothes, shoes and coats and store.
- Clean like you have never cleaned before. Trim, mow and clean the outdoors for drive-bys. Clean the closets, the bedrooms, the bathrooms, the kitchen and the oven(s). Bathtubs and sinks should be spotless and freshly caulked. Put fresh towels and soap in bathrooms. Replace shower curtains if necessary.
- Noise and toys to a minimum. Keep toys in one area. Keep televisions, radios and music off. Get pets outdoors or confined to their area. While some of us love our pets not everyone shares the same feeling.
- Keeping your home showing ready will be money in your pocket. Develop a routine. Before each showing. Pick up every room! Turn on all lights! Open all drapes, shades and blinds. Baking cookies or a coffee cake in the oven has a long lasting inviting effect. Television and Radio off, less is more. Fireplace in winter may be on, otherwise off. Air conditioning if the weather is warm have you’re a/c on to bring the house to a comfortable temperature if cold have the home heated to a comfy temperature. Entryway; This is the first and last impression made. Make it clean and inviting. Open all interior doors to give an inviting feeling
When you leave your house for the day, feel good knowing you have done everything in your control to make your house stand out from all the competition.
When you have questions about this list or any Boulder Real Estate question please give me a call at 303-359-6627. You may also e-mail Michael Hughes.
February 2, 2010
By Michael Hughes February 2, 2010 |
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While the usual states are seeing the same number of foreclosures in 2010 there is an interesting twist. States that have thus far, had few to no distressed properties are starting to see more and more.
It’s no surprise after having spoken, last week, to asset managers (who spoke only with a guarantee of anonymity) at several large mortgage lenders, that there will be large waves of foreclosures hitting the market. A Tsunami as it were. Legal changes and a lengthening of the redemption period skewed the foreclosure numbers downward for 2009. When these numbers catch up there will no longer be an artificial number applied to foreclosures and that is part of what we will be seeing in 2010.
Boulder County Business Report said in 2009 that foreclosures in Boulder County rose 39% the only worse showing in Colorado real estate was Mesa County with a 139% increase in foreclosures. To read the entire BCBR story go here.
The most foreclosure filings will still go to the city of Las Vegas, Nevada where more than 12% of housing units received a foreclosure filing in 2009. The “sand states” continue to lead in foreclosures. States new to increasing foreclosure rates are parts of Utah, Arkansas, Oregon, Honolulu, Minnesota and Washington state.
When it comes right down to it the areas with the most unemployment problems will be the areas with the increasing numbers of foreclosures. It just makes sense. While the house market has contributed to the economic crisis, the extent of the decline is still unknown. This will reflect on the speed and the sustainability of the recovery.
If you have questions or need help with a foreclosure, short sale or just have a general comment or question you can reach me at 303-359-6627 or visit my website or email me. Please leave a comment.
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Filed under #1 place to thrive, 2010, Boulder County, Boulder Economy, Fuller Sothebys International Realty, REO, bad credit, bolder real estate, boulder, boulder real estate, economy, employment, foreclosure, relocating to boulder
Tags: boulder, Colorado, for, foreclosures, real estate, Sand States
February 1, 2010
By Michael Hughes February 1, 2010
This is fiction but not totally implausible. Michael Ruddy a builder turned writer has turned in a pretty good first effort. Michael has built some 400 homes in and around Boulder in the past 40 years. To read the entire story go here. Much like doctors with malpractice lawsuits now its builders with defect litigation. Claims have increased over the years and have been included into the price of building a house.
This book is about when a buyer buys a home from a builder and there is a defect. In our litigious society a homeowner can sue the homebuilder if the house has a flaw in it. The homebuilder in this case is T.R. Morgan and his son Ryan Morgan. T.R. is mourning his wife’s death. Enter “a ruthless Bay Area lawyer” who persuades a couple to sue the builder in lieu of talking and to sue T.R. Morgan for an imperfectly built house. Read a customer review.
So we have the ‘white hat’ builder T.R. Morgan, and we have the ‘black hat’ lawyer Sanderson, who has an equally greedy associate whose main attributes seem to be her breasts and her ability to procure illegal aliens for Sanderson’s ranch. There are many sub-plots as well that get lost in the swirl. This is a good first effort and a valiant effort to try to inform not only builders, but the public about unnecessary litigation.
If you have any questions about buying or selling real estate in Boulder please feel free to call Michael. You can also visit my website. Please feel free to leave a comment.
