I have been happily surprised over the last few days to see that many of the bank-owned listings on the market are - wait for it - nice!

I have several buyers looking in a comfy first-time homebuyer price range under $140,000.  There has been no shortage of listings to show them, but most of them were vacant, dirty, full of trash, etc.  It may be easy for a seasoned investor to see beyond the yuck and envision what a few thousand dollars and some sweat could do for a place, but for first-time homebuyers looking for that first step onto the property ladder, it’s more difficult.  They are used to looking at and living in tidy little rental units that are professionally cleaned for showings and move-ins.  It’s got to be a bit discouraging to look at house after house filled with the foreclosees left-behinds.

But, just in the last couple of weeks, I have seen a DRASTIC improvement in new bank-owned listings in this price range.  Are banks and their listing agents finally realizing that spending a few hundred dollars to have the house cleaned up and the trash hauled away is well worth it?  I bet they are - because several of these shiny new listings have only been on the market a few days and they already have multiple offers.

Hopefully the rest of these lenders will get on board, because even if a house is really out-dated and missing appliances, it’s way easier for Buyers to picture new paint and carpet if the house isn’t knee-deep in garbage!  

If you are a Buyer stuck in a price range with nothing but bank-owned properties, try to keep the following in mind:

- One rough day of clean-up might save you thousands of dollars off of the purchase price!

- Prices in a lot of areas right now are 25% lower than they were at this time last year.  That savings will buy a lot of paint!

- Go look at some Open Houses in the area that have been “flipped” or that are at least in great shape - this will help you see what that little foreclosed on, outdated house can look like with a little time and money!

Doors Open Denver 2008: Don’t miss this 2 day free event April 12th and April 13th all over town.

Tour amazing public and private buildings of architectural interest during this absolutely free event. That’s right…zero cents! Take self guided or professionally guided tours of over 80 sites including Daniel’s & Fischer Tower, Malo Mansion and the Paramount Theatre. This events runs 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on both days. For a complete schedule, maps and to sign up for professional tours visit the Doors Open Denver website.

Heres’ a quick glance at select urban Denver neighborhood sales statistics for 2007. Contrary to what you might read in the national media, many of Denver’s urban neighborhoods saw an increase in value in 2007. Remember, all real estate is local. Want to know about your ‘hood? Let us know. We have sales stats for all of urban Denver.

East Washington Park
Boundaries: Alameda Ave. – Louisiana Ave. and Marion St. – S. University Blvd.
Total # of Solds Jan ‘07 - Dec ‘07: 114
Avg. Sold Price: $641,671
Avg. Finished Square Feet: 1826
Avg. Price/Finished Foot: $352
Avg. Days on Market: 72
% Orig. List Price Rec’d by Sellers: 95%
Lowest Priced Sale: $213,500
Highest Priced Sale: $2,280,000
% Appreciation change ‘06 to ‘07: +9.5%

West Highland
Boundaries: 29th Ave. – 38th Ave. and Federal Blvd. – Tennyson Street
Total # of Solds Jan ‘07 - Dec ‘07: 135
Avg. Sold Price: $342,693
Avg. Finished Square Feet: 1339
Avg. Price/Finished Foot: $257
Avg. Days on Market: 57
% Orig. List Price Rec’d by Sellers: 96.8%
Lowest Priced Sale: $112,000
Highest Priced Sale: $665,000
% Appreciation change ‘06 to ‘07: +7.06%

Congress Park
Boundaries: 8th Ave. – Colfax Ave. and Josephine St. – Colorado Blvd.
Total # of Solds Jan ‘07 - Dec ‘07: 109
Avg. Sold Price: $391,783
Avg. Finished Square Feet: 1461
Avg. Price/Finished Foot: $269
Avg. Days on Market: 77
% Orig. List Price Rec’d by Sellers: 89.2%
Lowest Priced Sale: $190,000
Highest Priced Sale: $859,900
% Appreciation change ‘06 to ‘07: +2.3%

Sales data is from Metrolist and may not reflect all home sales, and is for residential sales only. Square footage figures do not include basement footage. Information should be used for comparison purposes only.

There are a few things you need to put on your schedule no matter how busy, how overscheduled, or how hassled you are. 

 I’ve been going to the Red Cross Breakfast of Champions for the last few years and now I wonder how I could NOT go.  It’s a great morning and one full of emotions, (as evidenced by the packages of Red Cross tissues at each place).  The breakfast on Friday morning gave me some time to think about why we need to schedule an hour or two on a regular basis and let the “better angels of our nature” take over.   It’s not the Breakfast that I think we should put on our schedules…although if you get a chance it’s a great event.  What we need to put on our schedules is some time to give back.  Whether it’s to neighbors, our community, or the wider world. 

 Several years ago the Mile High Chapter of the Red Cross was looking for ways to honor the people and organizations that really brought the ideals of Red Cross and it’s founder Clara Barton into the communities where they live and work.  In 2002 they held the first Breakfast of Champions as a way to celebrate people giving back, in large ways and in small ways.  This year the Red Cross honored among others; a school cafeteria worker who saved a student’s life because she took the time for some Red Cross training, a boy scout who used his head and saved his sister from choking to death after he took the time to learn the Heimlich maneuver, a firefighter on vacation in Mexico who saved 3 people from drowning…in separate incidents on the same day !, using a lifetime of training.  And to a person these everyday angels say that they didn’t have time to think, they just did what needed to be done, and they knew what needed to be done thanks to the Red Cross.

Those small moments are the heart of the Red Cross,  an organization that not only provides lifesaving training, but responds to literally hundreds of disasters large and small in Colorado. Small moments in the big picture but huge moments in the lives of the people involved.  Everything from a hot meal and a blanket when your home is on fire, to support for the families of military folks on deployment, to training hundreds of people in basic lifesaving techniques.   All of that because individual people take the time…to learn, to volunteer, to train.

 That’s what this 2 hours on my schedule does for me.  It reminds me that I have to take the time…no matter how busy I am…to give something back.  Once a year I get to see the effect of taking the time, on the people involved and on the 800 or so people reaching for the tissues. 

Visit the Mile High Chapter of the Red Cross…take the time.  http://www.denver-redcross.org    

I’m going to be on TV! It seemed it was bound to happen. With all of the home-improvement, real-estate, fix-and-flip, decorating, and get-rich-in-real- estate shows on the tube, I had to end up in one of them. And as luck would have it, I was chosen to be the guest “expert Realtor” on the an episode of the DIY Network’s “Sweat Equity” home improvement show.

But apparently, something happened when I wasn’t around. The show’s online synopsis teased me the other day. It read… “Charlie and Julie Buchanan drop more than $20,000 finishing their attic bedroom. But a surprise mid-construction costs them thousands more. Will their dramatic choices help or hurt the homes value?” Hmm. I guess I’m in for a big surprise.

Now, way before I got involved in giving homeowners advice on television, I used to think that all of this stuff was planned out in advance. Surprises? What surprise? I don’t know anything about any surprise. It all seemed so predictable. Isn’t television production supposed to be rigorously scheduled, perfectly planned, and specifically timed to the second.

It certainly seemed that way. I filmed two separate segments at the property in northwest Denver’s Berkeley neighborhood. Once last spring, and again in the fall. I came prepared with market research, comparable sales, and renovation budget numbers dancing in my head from the current fix-and-flip project I was doing at the time. And I oohed and aahed on cue. The homeowners, who I only knew as aquaintances, were very nice, and had big plans for the house. The crew were professional and confident in their duties, and deftly directed us amateurs to “…say that one more time, but don’t look in the camera” and “…can you pick that lint off your shoulder”. Most impressive was the on-air host of the show, Amy Matthews. What a whiz. This gal can seemingly do it all. Wield a saw with finesse, grout tile with grace and speed, and I bet even mix and pour concrete like a home-improvement-crazed Martha Stewart.

But I still don’t know what the big surprise was. Did Julie paint Autumn Red instead of Buttermilk Yellow and have to start over? Did Charlie improperly reinforce the rafters and fall through the ceiling on second floor? They certainly didn’t give me any clue to what had happened. When I returned to film the second session in the fall, I got to do the “big reveal” to see their finished product. I don’t want to spoil it for you, but I was truly impressed with the result. You’ll have to tune in for yourself to see how their hard work paid off. Meanwhile, I’m going to watch very close for what I missed! And maybe make a few calls.

Check out “Sweat Equity” on the DIY network, in Denver on Comcast 277. My episode, titled “Attic Attack” debuts on Wednesday, March 26th at 7pm, and again that evening at 11pm. And if you miss it that evening. Don’t worry, its on A LOT in the next few weeks. You can find out the complete schedule at http://www.diynetwork.com/diy/shows_dseq/episode/0,3110,DIY_27280_54490,00.html.

The annual Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade is this Saturday at 10 am!  The largest parade west of the Mississippi, this event is always a great time!

Ah, Multiple Offers. It’s a phrase I haven’t heard used in a while…and one that I have missed deeply, from the bottom of my heart.

Now that Spring is here, the birds are chirping, daylight savings time starts tomorrow, and Multiple Offers are back!!!

I feel like I have been showing the same sad foreclosed on, vacant, lonely homes for months now - buyer after buyer walking through and pondering the obvious questions - why hasn’t anyone bought this place (it’s been on the market for a year) - and why should I (when there are 4 more just like it within 100 yards)?

But now, in the last week, I have had buyers write offers on 3 different properties that have been on the market for months only to learn that they already have Multiple Offers.

Explanation please, Robin.

Here’s my take:

1. The market is finally picking up. People are figuring out that they CAN get a mortgage that will work for them - and that prices really ARE as unbelievable as they seem.

2. Banks are taking FOREVER to process offers, so the offers on foreclosed homes pile up while lenders crunch the numbers and take their sweet time responding.

3. Life is good.

It really is starting to look up in the DM (Denver Metro) - but learn a lesson from my disappointed buyers - if you are interested in a home, make an offer before it’s gone!

One of the best deals in town is free admission to featured plays at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts each season!  The Scientific & Cultural Facilities District (SCFD) provides the free admission, funded in part through the 0.1% sales and use tax.  There’s no catch.  Just come on down to the DCPA and get in line around 4:00 pm the day of the play, pick up your ticket when the box office opens at 4:30, go grab a bite to eat at one of the great restaurants in the area, and then enjoy the play at 6:30.   This week’s play is Gee’s Bend, description below.  Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to enjoy an evening at the theater for FREE! 

This week’s play is Gee’s Bend.

The women of Gee’s Bend – an impoverished and isolated community on the Alabama River – created unique, bold and sophisticated quilts out of necessity and materials at hand. Now world-renowned, their brilliantly innovative quilts are featured in leading museums across the country, including the forthcoming Gee’s Bend: The Architecture of the Quilt exhibit at the Denver Art Museum. One critic dubs Wilder’s new play “a glorious piece of theatrical handiwork that uses the Civil Rights Movement as a thread for stitching together the rich emotional material of a close-knit family of quilters. With echoes of Alice Walker’s The Color Purple and Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel, Gee’s Bend is both a work of art and a bona fide crowd-pleaser.”

Additional FREE plays offered this season include:

The Merry Wives of Windsor
March 20 · 6:30pm · Stage Theatre
Doubt
April 3 · 6:30pm · Ricketson Theatre
3 Mo’Divas
May 8 · 6:30pm · Stage Theatre

A few rules, please:

• Available the day of the event at the theatre box office only
• Box Office opens two hours before performance
• House opens ½ hour before curtain
• No reservations
• First-come, first-served
• One ticket per person
• Seating is General Admission
• No children under six

If you want to grab a beer with friends in the neighborhood, the new Alley Bar, Zio Romolo is great. Attached to the back of Pasquini’s at 2400 West 32nd Avenue up in the Highlands, it has a great barstools-only bar and an attached room with tables and TV’s. Order off the Pasquini’s menu. We walked from the house on a Thursday night and it was festive, easy, and cool. We’re thinking it might be a great place for a LIVE Happy Hour.

Why do they call it a short sale if it takes so long?!

It’s true - the short sale process can get you the deal of a lifetime, but you have to have the time and patience to wait out the process. 

In a traditional home sale, the buyer makes an offer to the seller.  The seller might counter-offer, the buyer and seller might go back and forth for a couple of days negotiating the terms and arguing over the basketball hoop, but the entire process really only involves the buyer and the seller, along with their respective agents.

A short sale is a whole different game.  There is no face to the negotiation - only a frustrated buyer and a person, or team of persons, sitting in an office somewhere, crunching numbers and apparently taking very long lunch breaks. 

The buyer is hoping to move in, make the house their home, and live happily ever after.  The seller is hoping to get out of a mortgage they can’t handle, for whatever reason.  The lender has to figure out how much of the orignal loan(s) to swallow.  This situation is even further complicated when there are second and third mortgages with different lenders, each of whom wants their piece of the pie.

It’s a mess, but I do have to admit that I have seen short sales get approved with increasing speed lately.  Some lenders have figured out ways to expedite the short sale approval process, and some are letting properties go for unbelievable prices, and even offering concessions including down payment and closing cost assistance!  Every situation is different, and when you make an offer you will have no idea how long you will have to wait for an answer to your offer, be it a counter, an approval, or even a rejection.

I had one listing agent tell me the other day that I should avoid all short sales, including her listing, which I had called to submit an offer on!  This doesn’t make sense, even in today’s mortgage meltdown aftermath!

So, go ahead, shop the short sales - there is certainly no shortage of them in the Denver Metro area - but be prepared for a lengthy, sometimes frustrating process.  It’s the process that could lead to your next home.