Interestingly enough, foreclosures in the Denver Metro area under $200,000 are moving fast, with banks pricing their properties to sell quickly, usually at WAY less than market value.  In fact, we are finding that properties end up with multiple offers and a bidding war in the first weekend more often than not lately.  Apparently, the same isn’t true for higher-end properties, which of course have smaller buyer pools and a pickier target market.

According to today’s Rocky Mountain News, there are a ton of homes in the million-plus range that are now listed as foreclosed properties, so if you are in a position to move up the property ladder, now might be as good a time as any to get a great deal on a ton of square feet in a really tony hood. 

Today’s rant. I’ve been working with buyers who are in that “affordable” price range of under $200K, and we’ve been looking at those ever-popular bank-owned/short-sale “deals.” There are lots out there these days! But beware, DO NOT just take the MLS status of “Active” as the truth. Make sure your Realtor calls the listing agent directly before setting showings. I have shown quite a few properties recently that are shown as “Active” in MLS, as well as with the showing desks, but come to find out (after my buyer fell in love with the place) that the bank had 20 offers and had already verbally accepted one weeks ago. But since they do not having anything in writing, they can’t put it as “Under Contract” in MLS, or even add it into the comments field. Unbelievable! So, basically, buyer’s agents need to do unnecessary double work, and/or waste time, and resources and contribute to global warming by driving to Aurora to show properties that are already under contract.

This sounds like a great event for a great cause!

When: July 19th, 3p.m.
Where: Highlands Square (32nd and Lowell)

100% of the proceeds from bidding will benefit Dress for Success - The mission of Dress for Success is to promote the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in work and in life.

OK, we all know it is a serious pain in the booty to have your house on the market.  Real estate agents call at the last minute and want to show it, sometimes they are even sitting outside, waiting for the lockbox code with buyers in their backseat - while you are trying to get the kids breakfast and clean up after last night’s supper.

But, you know what?  Those might be the buyers that BUY your house.  Then you can move on, move up, move over - whatever it is you are trying to do, and you won’t have to keep the place tidy and the personal photos packed away anymore! So, even though it might be a bit embarassing to admit that your house is not always Open House Perfect, let them in!   Gather up the kiddos, take breakfast to go, and smile as you open up the door on your way out, because those buyers are on their way in, and you want them to know that you LOVE living in your house, and they will, too!

The moral of this little rant?  Never, ever turn down a showing.  Those buyers won’t be back another day.  They are going to look at one of the million other houses just like yours that are for sale in your neighborhood that WOULD allow a showing, and they are going to buy one of those. 

P.S., it’s a great idea to rent one of those little temporary storage boxes that can sit outside your house with all of your clutter inside.  That way, you can keep your stuff close by for easy access, but potential buyers don’t have to step around the baby’s bouncer to see your gorgeous, newly remodeled kitchen - toast crumbs and all.

Houses aren’t free in Denver.  You can’t even find very many for $1.  But there are certainly crazy good deals to be found if you are looking to buy a fix-up and hold for at least 2-3 years. This article in CNN Money does a good job of explaining the best strategy for today’s investors:

Rock-bottom home prices have finally begun to lure vulture real estate investors into the fray.

Sharon Restrepo, a broker in South Florida, where home prices have dropped nearly 27% over the past 12 months, recently bought a three-family home in Cape Coral from a very motivated seller for a mere $65,000. It listed for $195,000.

She can rent the three apartments out for about $1,500 and turn a profit, while she holds on to the property until the market recovers.

“The savvy investors here,” she said, “are buying up everything they can.”

Read the rest here.

It’s a really unique time for Rehab and Rent-ers in the Denver Metro Real Estate game:  vacancies are at an all-time low, and home prices continue to drop.  I really think that now is a great time to start or build your Real Estate portfolio - whether you have a long or short-term strategy for the properties. 

In Denver, flipped properties continue to sell, but only if they are priced reasonably - those investors who are buying bank inventory at rock-bottom prices and renovating SMART - meaning that they are not over-improving for today’s market, no matter what price range they are in.

The same goes for Rehab and Rent-ers — if you can snap up a cute little property that looks like crapola, and put only enough money into it to make it a nice little rental, you are playing the game SMART - in a couple of years, when the market stabilizes and buyers outnumber renters, you can always make a few more improvements to get top dollar.

Ready to start looking for Denver Real Estate?  Connect with your inner vulture and get in the game!

Well, guidelines continue to change for Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac associated loans…this time, the change has a direct affect on how you might be able to qualify for the purchase of a new primary residence while retaining and converting your current residence into a rental property…as of August 1st, 2008 buyers who are interested in pursuing this route to build their wealth will need to provide their lender with the following in order for their newly acquired “rental income” to count towards the financial qualification of their new home mortgage: a fully executed lease agreeement, a receipt of deposit from the bank for the tenant’s required security deposit, and the big kicker, the newly converted rental property must contain at least 30% equity. If not, you guessed it, the “extra rental income” is not able to be used as part of qualifying for your replacement home purchase. You may ask why such a harsh equity requirement, well, the speculation consists of the banks’ attempt to prevent home owners from having the “new rental property” slip into foreclosure. If a home owner has substantial equity in their property, they are more likley maintain their property and have pride of home ownership. So, the morale of this story is check with your local lender about the ever changing guidelines that may affect your next home purchase.

As gas prices continue to rise on a daily basis, harried commuters are increasingly looking at moving closer to their place of work. Denver is seeing the same shift in home buying that is occuring across the country, urban communities are the place to be! Recent statistics show that home buyers are placing more importance on gas prices and commute times than any time since the energy crisis of the 1970’s.

While the appeal of urban living in communities such as Highlands and Wash Park have been attracting scores of buyers for the last several years, the latest economic conditions have started to making a move to the city more of a necessity and less of a luxury. Housing starts are at record lows in the suburbs, while building of new high-rises and townhomes continue to boom in the downtown area. Leaving the car parked while they walk to work, restaurants, the theater and shopping is looking better and better to a wider demographic of home owners.

Buyers are becoming more environmentally conscious as well, realizing that smaller can indeed be better. Heating and cooling rooms that go unused the majority of time, watering huge lawns, and commuting several hours a day are becoming a thing of the past for many living in the Denver metro area. We urbanites knew it all along, city livin’ is easy!

Zillow.com, a real estate valuation website, receives more than 4 million visits each month. In Denver, 54 percent of the homes listed on Zillow have been viewed. Zillow allows consumers to see what their home is valued at, their neighbors’ homes or even their boss’s. Just go to Zillow.com, type in an address and a wealth of information pops up. But some experts, in Denver and across the country, say they have doubts about some of that information.

“Some of the estimates offered by Zillow.com only claim to get within about $100,000 of the true price,” wrote Elizabeth Razzi in her book, The Fearless Home Seller. “Well, a Magic 8-Ball has that kind of precision. Is $435,000 the right price? Shake, shake, shake. My reply is no. How about $535,000. Shake, shake, shake. You may rely on it.”

The biggest differences appear to be in older Denver neighborhoods. “They’re probably very good in the suburbs, where you have several models that are identical, it probably is very good,” say local brokers who say its frustrating because Zillow estimates have led to low-ball offers.“They think that Zillow is so authoritative, when the truth is individual properties are so different.”

A spokeswoman for Zillow said the company is only as good as public records. Homes in older Denver neighborhoods are notorious for being inaccurate, especially since many people 25 years ago did things such as add living space to houses without pulling permits. “Obviously, no one from Zillow has ever been in these houses,” she said. “We don’t know that you might have put in a new kitchen or bathroom, for example.”

Zillow created My Estimator so a homeowner can input improvements and correct errors. Some brokers don’t like that feature because they think homeowners could exaggerate. Zillow emphasizes it is a “starting point” and is no substitute for a real estate agent or some other expert who is familiar with a particular market.

John Skrabec, principal of Live Urban Real Estate, said some house hunters trust Zillow to be more accurate than it is. “I hate Zillow,” Skrabec said. “It has gotten so much positive press, but the truth is, their estimates are often way off. Some buyers will say, ‘But Zillow says it is only worth this much.’ It can be very frustrating and is another obstacle Realtors have to deal with.”

Also, some people might not even consider a home because by Zillow’s estimate it is vastly overpriced, even though it may be very reasonably priced for that specific street and neighborhood, he said.

Excerpted from an article original published in the Rocky Mountain News.