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October 29, 2009
Senators announced yesterday that they have agreed to extend the First Time Tax Buyer Credit and extend the benefits to select current home owners. The tax credit would be extended, with buyers having to have a home under contract by April and closed by June. And if you have lived in your home for the past five years, then you would be eligible for a $6,500 credit if you close in the same time frame on a new home. This is a great step forward and now just depends on the House to approve.
In addition to extending the tax credit, the bill also pushes to extend unemployment for those whose unemployment is ending soon. Also, the bill would allow significant tax breaks for business losing money. There are no guarantees yet, but lets keep our fingers crossed. For the entire article, click here.
October 21, 2009
I’ve been thinking for a while now about writing a post about some neighborhoods near Downtown Denver that have SO much potential - and what do you know, Westword has gone and done it for me, complete with corresponding Google street view links!
Everybody knows I love Northwest Denver, and I believe in its future development and potential with all my heart. I just have a soft spot for the place where I had the MOST fun bartending (at Three Dogs Tavern when it first opened) and the office that I now call my second home (at LIVE Urban Real Estate) - I have seen this area grow and evolve in the coolest, most organic and honest way, and I just can’t wait to see what happens next. Of course, the closer to Highland Square you get, the pricier the properties get, as well - but there are some areas that have yet to cross that jumbo-loan barrier, and I think that there are some great investments to be had - in Sunnyside, in South Highlands, and even in LoHi.
There are also some areas that have yet to be tapped out as far as development on the other side of the city - in Park Hill, Montclair, and even Globeville. I think this is a super interesting wrap-up by the Westwood, and a good little guide to use if you are looking for either residential or commercial properties that would be affordable to either first-time buyers or entrepreneurs, before they get too hot to handle. Check out Westword’s Top Ten Under-Utilized Neighborhoods!
The National Association of Realtors President, Charles McMillan, spoke yesterday about the possibilities of extending and or expanding the First Time Buyer Tax Credit which currently expires December 1st, 2009. In his podcast, he addressed the chances and possible changes that would be made. Mr. McMillian stated that in his years as President of NAR, he has never seen an issue gain momentum so rapidly in Congress as the Tax Credit is gaining now. Over 450,000 letters have been sent to Congress in the past few months asking for an extension from NAR, and they seem to be raising some attention.
The latest talk Mr. McMillian has heard is that Congress is considering extending the Tax Credit for 6 more months and more importantly, offering it to all buyers, not just first time buyers. This could prove extremely helpful to keeping the real estate market moving forward and giving previous home owners more incentive to buy and sell. Mr. McMillian believes the real estate market is on the road to recovery, but not quite there yet. This could be the step to keep it moving forward and realize true recovery nationwide.
Of course, we have been hearing talk of an extension for the past couple months and have yet to see anything solid. If you are still trying to get into a home prior to the current deadline, keep trying, because with Congress, you never know!
October 20, 2009
I should be on my way to a closing right now. Instead, I am blogging because the closing isn’t going to happen - not today, anyway.
Why? Because my client, a first-time homebuyer, is purchasing a recently renovated home in a transitional neighborhood - and, according to the underwriter on his loan, the home is worth too much for them to loan on.
The whole story? Although the property easily appraised for purchase price, the underwriter is saying that the home can only be valued at the seller’s original purchase price plus the sum total of any receipts for material improvements that the seller can provide. So much for sweat equity.
So, what does this mean for investors, or any seller for that matter? Keep Your Receipts. Be able to prove, in writing, how much time and money you invested in the property. And take tons of Before and After photos - the underwriter requested those this morning, but unfortunately the seller only had the After photos that had been taken for the listing.
Hopefully this underwriter is an exception to the general rule, and this sort or requirement will not become commonplace, but, with the crazy way things are going right now, who knows what will happen. Any documentation that you can provide will help your case - and hopefully help you keep your profits on the property.
October 13, 2009
Denver used to be a commuter-only town - dead on the weekends and evenings, with traffic flowing in and out with business-hours. Now that Denver has a thriving Urban Core, and is truly vibrant from neighborhood to neighborhood, it’s time to focus on the little things that would make it easier to live a bit greener, and transportation is one of them.
I love to ride bikes with my kids, and we also love going for long walks - but the kiddos also like having a destination along the route - a break at the neighborhood book store, a stop at the local ice cream shop, a quick bounce in the castle at the farmer’s market…the thing is, it’s sometimes a bit too scary to ride with the littles along to places like these, so we end up driving.
Which is why I was really happy to read this article in today’s Denver Post…
Increasing business to merchants along Denver’s busiest roadways is one of the goals of a city initiative focused on designing streets to accommodate pedestrians and bikes, as well as cars and public transit.
Eight city departments are collaborating on the Living Streets initiative, which will support the vision of Blueprint Denver, a framework for guiding development in the city.
“We’re changing the conversation from talking about roads for vehicles or cars to making streets for living,” said Peter Park, manager of the city’s community, planning and development department.
The city isn’t looking to spend a lot of money on the project. Rather, over time, it will implement changes as other necessary improvements to the roads are made.
Cities that have adopted similar policies have seen significant economic impact on both commercial and residential real estate.
For example, after San Francisco narrowed traffic lanes to slow cars and accommodate other users on Valencia Street, nearly 40 percent of Mission District merchants reported in increase in sales and 60 percent said more area residents were shopping locally, according to a study prepared by Denver-based Progressive Urban Management Associates.
Living Streets also can help occupancy rates in commercial buildings. In a walkable area, the vacancy rate for retail and office properties averages 7.5 percent, compared with 11.5 percent on streets that are not pedestrian friendly.
“It’s a different way of looking at the economics of these corridors,” said Brad Segal, president of Progressive Urban Management. “We’re really suggesting that there’s value through neighbors and walking and biking, and there are relatively inexpensive ways of marketing to adjacent neighborhoods that haven’t been used.”
In addition to benefiting the commercial district, the Living Streets concept also has a positive impact on residential property. Homes in pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods command a price premium of $4,000 to $34,000, according to a study by CEOs for Cities, a national network of urban leaders for sustainable cities.
The initiative is geared toward enhancing Denver’s most congested roadways without the expense of widening them.
“We hear the community saying it wants walkable and bikable, but there are tradeoffs,” said Crissy Fanganello, director of policy and planning for the city’s Department of Public Works. “If you want a bike lane, you might have to be willing to give up off-street parking or a lane of traffic.”
 Of the 1,100 residents responding to a survey regarding the Leetsdale Drive corridor, 69 percent said they wanted pedestrian amenities and 52 percent want bike access. Seventy-five percent said they would be willing to invest in the improvements through property assessments.
“We have to look at the corridor in terms of how it relates to the neighborhood as opposed to how it relates to the traffic,” Segal said.
October 7, 2009
 Douglas county and Pitkin county lead all Colorado neighborhoods being ranked the 3rd and 4th best places to live in the country according to a recent study out by the American City Business Journals. ACBJ used 20 statistical indicators to rate living conditions in all 3,141 counties and independent cities across the nation. Douglas county, the third fastest growing county in America, is one of 9 cities in Colorado in the top 50 nation wide according to the report.
“A lot of the interest in this part of Colorado has to do with scenic values,” says Lance Stewart, president of the Western Colorado Economic Alliance. “People moving to western Colorado are looking for opportunities to own a piece of property and work from that property — and have recreational amenities, as well.”
ACBJ’s report puts a twist on traditional quality-of-life studies, which almost always focus on metropolitan areas, thereby leaving out smaller communities. This study encompasses data for every county and independent city in the nation, generating ratings for all parts of America.
The results are naturally of interest to companies and individuals in search of new homes. But they won’t outweigh critical economic factors, says Rochester’s Smith. Companies still will be primarily concerned about the availability of workers and markets, he says, while individuals still will worry most about good jobs.
“Quality of life isn’t the first thing they’re asking about,” says Smith. “It’s not the biggest factor they’ll base their decision on. But it can be one of those things that, in the end, can tip the balance your way.”
For the full report click here. And make sure to check out the best place in America to live. Proud to say it is my home town!
October 6, 2009
Just a few days ago the Wall Street Journal reported the top-10 cities that will experience the biggest rebound when the economy recovers from the downturn. The report, or opinion poll was consisted of six experts who were surveyed on which cities would rebound.
They made their decisions based on the city’s economic diversity, lifestyle, and their own personal viewpoints. The #1 spot was tied with Washington D.C. and Seattle. Denver, Colorado came in #6.
If this trend-spotting survey is true, then that’s good news for Denver, Colorado. This means the housing market will most likely go up as well and do well for residents who are homeowners.
Denver homes for sale have seen how the economic downturn has affected the housing market significantly. But like other real estates, Denver is working on turning that around to make sure no more lose their homes and that homes continue to sell at a regular pace.
These cities that will be making big rebound will be attracted to young, and highly mobile workers. This mean more people will be moving to places like Denver and in turn, will need a place to live. This is good for Denver’s real estate to have more people coming into the city and buying/renting homes.
It really is a domino effect with post-economic downturns. Once one industry starts thriving, it creates more jobs. More people move to get those jobs which create more homes being sold and rented. Then those people who just sold their homes are free to move to another great city to work and be productive and then affect their real estate by buying a new home their. It’s a big cycle that only takes one thing to make the economy turn around.
Here’s the rest of the Top Ten list:
1. Washington, D.C. (tie)
1. Seattle
2. New York
3. Portland, Ore.
4. Austin, Texas
5. San Jose, Calif.
6. Denver
7. Durham, N.C.
8. Dallas
9. Chicago
10. Boston
October 5, 2009
Originally posted by Andrew Hudson on www.andrewhudsonsjoblist.com Re-blogged with his permission.
Attention North Denver Neighbors: Time to take a stand on your new community library
Will your new library be accessible to your children or part of a Colfax homeless shelter?
Community meetings this Tuesday and Thursday!
The Denver Public Library is one of the crown jewels of Denver. Its dedicated staff and leadership have continually kept our library system in the forefront as a national leader in innovative programming and national trends.
 As a kid growing up in Denver, I loved going to our local community library. I grew up in the Virginia Village neighborhood in south Denver and, early on, I learned to value the magic of books. Practically each week, I would be the hunched-over 8-year-old slowly making his way home with a backpack full of new books from the Virginia Village Library. Each year, I would win the DPL’s summer reading contests.
In north Denver where I’ve owned a home for more than 12 years, residents have argued for a long time that a community library was needed. It was with this in mind that we were excited that new funds were approved in a 2008 bond election to construct a new community library.
The most logical proposal is to construct this library on the southwest corner of Sloan’s Lake. The city already owns the land, a large parking lot already exists and the site provides easy car and bus access from Sheridan as well as pedestrian access from the bike path on the lake. A small maintenance facility used by the City’s Parks and Recreation department may have to be relocated, but early analysis shows that this would not be a major problem. One of Denver’s largest parks, the Sloan’s Park site would be a welcome amenity to the community.
However, I recently learned the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless has submitted a proposal to the Denver Public Library commission that would construct the new community library at West Colfax and Yates, the current site of a dilapidated bar, the Shuffle Inn. A four-story shelter for the chronically homeless would be built on top of the community library.
Homeless advocates have been distributing slick but completely misleading brochures throughout the neighborhood that not once mentions the homeless shelter proposal, instead describing the project as an ‘affordable housing’ project and branding it as a ‘lofts.’ Trendy buzzwords aside, let’s consider the facts.
Are residents really going to allow their children to cross West Colfax, pass by three liquor stores, tattoo parlors and seedy motels to go to a library that is attached to a homeless shelter to check out a book? I really doubt it.
I recently rode my bike to see the West Colfax site they are suggesting for the library/homeless shelter.
To start with, to accommodate one of the fastest growing family neighborhoods in Denver, children and families must cross West Colfax, one of the busiest streets in Denver. I counted three liquor stores within a two block radius. There is a motel that rents rooms ‘by-the-hour’ caddy-corner to the proposed site. A tattoo parlor is only one block away. Three used car lots are within a one-block radius. Walking by the RTD bus shelters, I saw two used needles at one as well as a used condom at another. Broken liquor bottles were at all of the RTD bus shelters.
My opposition to the West Colfax site simple. It is not accessible to the community. Are residents really going to allow their children to cross West Colfax, pass by three liquor stores, tattoo parlors and seedy motels to go to a library that is attached to a homeless shelter to check out a book? I really doubt it.
The $28 Million price tag for the development at the Colfax and Yates site includes having to purchase the land, build a massive underground parking garage and, of course, build the four stories of homeless housing above the community library.
Before I get accused of being against efforts to help the homeless, for the record, I’m a huge fan of Mayor Hickenlooper’s plan to end homelessness in 10 years. It’s one of the big, hairy, audacious goals that helps to make our City unique and bold. I regularly contribute money to homeless organizations and regularly put extra change in the ‘homeless meters’ placed throughout downtown. I’ve volunteered both at the Denver Cares shelter and the Samaritan House. I was actively engaged in homeless issues throughout my eight years working for the Mayor. But I also agree with Mayor Hickenlooper’s first campaign mantra: to end the fundamental nonsense of government. Our city’s sincere and heartfelt efforts to curb homelessness needs to be tempered with basic, common sense.
If you are a concerned resident of North Denver, there are ways to get involved.
Attend a meeting this week to learn about the proposals and voice your opinion:
Tuesday, October 6, 6-8 p.m.
Cowell Elementary School
4540 West 10th Ave.
Thursday, October 8, 6-8 p.m.
Lake Middle School
1820 Lowell Blvd.
Denver
Email your City Council members:
Rick Garcia rick.garcia@denvergov.org
Paul Lopez paul.lopez@denvergov.org
You can also email the Denver Public Library Commission at citylib@denverlibrary.org
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