Memorial Day Weekend in Denver!

Check out the Memorial Day fun in Denver this weekend!

 

Donate to Foster Source!

Scam Alert!

HAVE YOU RECEIVED ONE OF THESE IN THE MAIL?

Have you closed on a new home lately?

If you have, we are sure you have received many notices like the one pictured here. There will also be notices that look like they are coming from your new mortgage company as well. Place all of these in your trash can now!

You receive a deed as part of your closing documents no need to pay these people $107.00 or anyone else for that matter! If you have miss placed your deed, call your Real Estate Agent, they should have a copy for you.

If you receive little postcards that say they are from your new Lender, you should call your lender and make sure they sent them. In some cases, they are fraudulent, and they are trying to get your personal information. They often ask you to call a 1-800 number and when you do, they begin extracting the information they are looking for. Please remember to call your lender first before giving out any information about your new home or yourself.

At closing, this subject comes up towards the end of the process. It is usually the Closer and your Agent letting you know to ignore these mailings. They are so numerous now we know that some buyers are falling victim to these scams and are embarrassed to let the right people know! Always call/text the professionals that guided you through your transaction first, they are happy to help you avoid this nonsense!

If you have any concerns, never hesitate to Contact Us!

Denver Market Update

Thanks again to DMAR for some great insights about our current Real Estate Market. It is indeed changing, and we can mostly point to hikes in interest rates and there are more to come. Andrew Abrams summed up what’s happening best when he said, “A more normalized market is healthy and breeds healthier decision-making. In the chaos of the recent market, buyers had been waiving their inspections, doing full appraisal gaps and even offering to make their earnest money non- refundable before getting an inspection. While those risks paid off in the form of equity, those days have passed, and we are shifting to a more reasonable market. There will be bidding wars, appraisal gaps and limited inspection items on future properties, but the frequency of those will be less.” Hold on folks there is bound to be more change in the Real Estate Market as we move through Spring and Summer!

Thanks DMAR for the information/stats

Village Invest Charity:

Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado

Founded in 1984, Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) is the state’s oldest outdoor stewardship nonprofit organization. Our mission is to motivate and enable people to become active stewards of Colorado’s natural resources.

Each year, they engage thousands of people to provide a volunteer workforce for recreation and habitat improvement projects in partnership with land agencies, nonprofits, and community groups. These volunteer projects take place in every corner of Colorado and over the decades, they have grown beyond their projects – and their borders – to help others start and improve their own volunteer stewardship programs and inspire all of us to find our place in caring for the outdoors.

“Our vision is a Colorado where all people connect to nature and care for our outdoor spaces.”

What They Do:

• Trail construction and maintenance
• Habitat restoration and invasive species management
• Tree planting and urban gardening
• Flood and fire restoration and mitigation
• Park improvements and historic restoration

How You Can Help:

Projects range in type and difficulty level and volunteers can also help with project photography, camp cooking, tool transport and more! You can also support VOC financially by donating below!

Donate to VOC!

Denver Happenings: May!

Can you believe it’s already almost May? We certainly can’t! In any case, bring on summertime! Check out a few featured events going on in Colorado this month below! We hope you find some time to get out and have some fun!

Highlands Farmers Market: Sunday, May-October, 2022

It’s back! Head over to Highland Square on Sundays to enjoy handcrafted goods and locally grown produce!

Film on the Rocks: May-August, 2022

Movies are back on the Rocks! Film on the Rocks is a great event for families, or even if you’re just looking for a fun date idea! Check out the schedule by clicking the link above!

Canon City Music & Blossom Festival: Wed-Sun, May 4-8, 2022

This music festival features a parade, rodeo and a carnival! Bands from across the country will also compete in several different categories. Including, concert band, jazz band, parade and orchestra!

Royal Gorge Rodeo: Fri-Sat, May 6-7, 2022

Who doesn’t love a good rodeo? Royal Gorge Rodeo is Colorado’s longest running, since all the way back in 1972! This rodeo is a “sister” event held as a part of the Canon City Music & Blossom Festival!

Estes Park Duck Race Festival: Sat, May 7, 2022

Head over to Estes Park to “adopt” a rubber ducky and watch it race down the Fall River! 95% of your entry fee will go to your choice of over 60 Estes Valley charities! There are also cash prizes for fastest ducks, family games and live music!

TheBigWonderful: Sat, May 7, 2022

Celebrating the Kentucky Derby and Cinco de Mayo, TheBigWonderful features over 100 local beer makers, live music on two stages, a VIP program and a lot of Colorado craft food and beverages!

Cinco de Mayo Festival: Sat-Sun, May 7-8, 2022

Head over to Civic Center Park to enjoy the 33rd Cinco de Mayo celebration featuring live music, chihuahua races, food and festivities!

Chalk Lines & Vines: Sat-Sun, May 14-15, 2022

Mark your calendars for a fun day out! Chalk Lines & Vines is back at the Arapahoe County Fairgrounds for its second year. Sample and purchase wines from 15+ Colorado wineries. Watch chalk artists bring their masterpieces to life. Enjoy live music and entertainment. Bring a picnic or hit the food trucks.

Grand Old West Days: Thur-Mon, May 26-30, 2022

Old West is a cultural festival that takes place over the Memorial Day Weekend in Craig, Colorado. Activities include a horse show, parade, carnival, live music, food and games!

Spring Cleaning: Garden Edition!

How lucky are we to have such a beautiful Public Gardens in our City and Surrounding areas? As we edge into Spring it is hard not to get excited about our Gardens and the possibilities that come with them. We all ask ourselves what will bloom first? what vegetables will we Grow? when is safe to plant new things? While these are the exciting parts of gardening we must first clean out our existing perennials and old vegetable gardens to get them ready to soar once our warm weather starts to stabilize. Enjoy the article below from the Denver Botanic Gardens that speaks more clearly about what needs to be done!

“You can start your spring cleanup as soon as the ground thaws. This is usually in March, but as you know, we have had some thaws during February. Perennials can be cut back to the basal growth, or the crown of the plant. If you look closely, you may be able to see new growth popping up through the crown. On more delicate perennials such as lupine (Lupinus) or columbine (Aquilegia), I use my hands to clean out the dead. On tougher plants, I use a small garden rake, especially with ground covers like lamb’s ear (Stachys byzantine).

Cut grasses back by leaving 1 to 2 inches of old growth, which protects new shoots and keeps things looking tidy. While some grasses like blue avena grass (Helictotrichon sempervirens) do not require cutting back (try combing through it with your hands to release the dead blades) many grasses may start showing classic signs of “the donut.” The donut is when your grasses or perennials start to die back in the center and create a hole in the middle of the plant. At this point, you can divide your plants to rejuvenate and reduce the size of the clumps, then just plant the extra clumps for more plants. Win-win!

Late winter and early spring are perfect for pruning for shrubs and is not just limited to breaking out the electric shears. As shrubs age, they can get very dense and woody, creating a hedge. If this is your goal, only prune out the dead, damaged or diseased stems. This allows energy to be redirected to newer growth. For shrubs five years or older, you may want to prune out more to allow for air circulation and light penetration.

It is most important to know what kind of shrub you have, and whether it blooms on old growth, or new growth. Old growth refers to shrubs that bloom on last year’s growth. These shrubs, such as lilacs, forsythias, and some hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla, H. quercifolia), should be pruned in the summer after they finish blooming. Shrubs that bloom on new growth, or this year’s growth, can be pruned in the spring, such as some hydrangeas (H. paniculata, H. aborescence), and rose of Sharon (Hibiscus).

Trees also can use a little dormant pruning during this time, but I like to stick with the rule of never cutting out more than 25 percent of the crown per year. Stick to pruning the 5 D’s: dead, dying, damaged, diseased or disfigured (this includes crossing or rubbing) branches. Make sure you have a plan before you start and remember that this process takes years.

Finally, the cherry on top of the sundae: mulch. Giving your beds a two- to three-inch layer of mulch helps to keep in moisture, regulate soil temperatures, protect any shallow roots and promote microbial communities that keep soil healthy. While you don’t want to put mulch directly on top of perennials or up against woody trunks, placing mulch around your freshly cleaned plants will enhance plant health as well as aesthetic. You may only need to rake up the old mulch, give it a nice air fluff and re-apply it to make things look fabulous all season.

Spring cleaning doesn’t have to be a rush to the finish line. As soon as we start having nice days, I like to tackle my garden a little at a time. As Billy Ocean said, “Get outta my dreams and into my yard!”*

*Not a direct quote from Billy Ocean.

 Written by Cassie Doolittle/Horticulturist/March 26, 2021

We hope this article inspires you to get that garden ready for this Spring and Summer!

Denver Market Update

Andrew Abrams said it well this month when he said, “What does a breath of fresh air look like? It may be a gentle breeze on a warm day or in a Realtor’s life, increased inventory, and glimpses of hope for a market desperate for more balance. March was a breath of fresh air.” We could not agree more, and we believe we are just getting started to what could be a more balanced Spring Market here in Metro Denver.

The average February to March increase in the number of Active Listings is 6.44%. This past February to March we saw an increase of active listings of 81.16%. To be honest it seemed that the only direction we could go was up, but this much up is surprising.

The average sales price increased by $58,418 to $705,812 in ONE MONTH. This time last year the average sales price of a home was $588,778 and we thought that was high.

The average close-price-to-list price ratio has risen to 106.46%, along with interest rates rising and home prices rising (19.88% YOY at the end of Q1 2022) quickly now is the time to shift your mindset Buyers. It is now time to move from emotional buying to logical buying. If you stay close to the comparables in your offer price and don’t give up all of your contingencies (inspections, appraisals etc.), we think that your home buying decision is going to feel great!

Thanks DMAR for the stats

Village Invest Charity: Helping Ukraine

World Central Kitchen

On February 24, Russia launched a large-scale attack on neighboring Ukraine, invading the country on several fronts. As a result, more than one million Ukrainians have fled their homes in search of safety, with many more expected to follow. Working at a 24-hour pedestrian border crossing in southern Poland, World Central Kitchen began serving hot, nourishing meals immediately. Now, we’ve expanded our efforts to serve people across the region in Romania, Moldova, and Hungary. World Central Kitchen is also partnering with restaurants inside of Ukraine to get hot meals to anyone in need.

World Central Kitchen was founded sin 2010 by Jose Andres after a huge earthquake devastated Haiti. He was cooking alongside displaced Haitians in a camp, and says he found himself getting schooled in how to cook black beans the way they wanted: mashed and sieved into a creamy sauce.

Their message: “Food relief is not just a meal that keeps hunger away. It’s a plate of hope. It tells you in your darkest hour that someone, somewhere, cares about you.This is the real meaning of comfort food. It’s why we make the effort to cook in a crisis. We don’t just deliver raw ingredients and expect people to fend for themselves. And we don’t just dump free food into a disaster zone: we source and hire locally wherever we can, to jump-start economic recovery through food.”

“After a disaster, food is the fastest way to rebuild our sense of community. We can put people back to work preparing it, and we can put lives back together by fighting hunger.”

“Cooking and eating together is what makes us human.”

Since their early days, World Central Kitchen has helped all over the world. They fed an island after Hurricane Maria destroyed Puerto Rico. They fed tens of millions struggling with the Covid-19 pandemic. They put boots on the ground when a blast devastated Beirut, bushfires ripped through Australia, and a volcano transformed a Spanish island.

They were under a bridge with thousands of asylum seekers in Texas, in a demolished Kentucky town after brutal tornadoes, on the Louisiana coast when yet another enormous hurricane made landfall.

“We have traveled a long way together, with support from people just like you.”

“We have witnessed enough disasters to know that food relief is not enough. So we have invested in our Food Producer Network to help create resilience ahead of the next disaster. We train aspiring chefs in skills and safety to build their careers and the food economy. We advocate for more hunger relief and better nutrition. We want clean cookstoves in the homes of the one billion cooks whose health, and the climate, are in danger, when all they want to do is feed their families.”

Please join us today in this charity’s incredible mission to help the victims of the war in Ukraine by donating below!

Donate to World Central Kitchen

Weekly Wrap: Rocky Mountain Waterfall Edition

Rocky Mountain National Park is home to 30-some waterfalls and many more less official, but just as beautiful “cascades” waiting to be found by adventurers like you! With spring around the corner, it’s time to start exploring our breath-taking state again so this week we are sharing some of the favorites!

Adams Falls: The hike to Adams Falls begins from the East Inlet Trailhead near the town of Grand Lake on the west side of the park. This is a great option for out-of-towners, and families with little ones as you will arrive at the observation area in less than half a mile!

Alberta Falls: The hike to Alberta Falls begins from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead, located on Bear Lake Road. Due to the extreme popularity of the area you may want to consider using the free park shuttle to reach the trailhead!

Chasm Falls: The hike to Chasm Falls begins from the Endovalley Picnic Area in Horseshoe Park, which is just west of Estes Park. This well kept secret is another great option for adventurers looking for the view without the hike! The falls are located roughly 1.4 miles from the trailhead!

Ouzel Falls: The hike to Ouzel Falls begins from the fairly remote Wild Basin Trailhead in the southeastern corner of Rocky Mountain National Park, located near Allenspark. This hike is a little more difficult but you’ll run in to Copeland Falls and the Calypso Cascades along the way!

Bridal Veil Falls: The hike to Bridal Veil Falls begins from the Cow Creek Trailhead, on the grounds of the historic McGraw Ranch. At  3.1 miles from the trailhead you will finally reach the base of the falls, a gorgeous waterfall that drops 20 feet off a rock ledge. The best to go see this one is after the spring snow melt!

Timberline Falls: The hike to Timberline Falls begins from the Glacier Gorge Trailhead as well! Think about taking that free shuttle for this one too! This hike is past the gorgeous Alberta Falls, and is a little bit more a trek but well worth the view!

Ypsilon Falls: The hike to Ypsilon Lake begins from Lawn Lake Trailhead near Horseshoe Park. This trail climbs through a beautiful, fairly dense pine forest. You will find the waterfall where the trail intersects with Ypsilon Lake!

Click on the links above for more information on these trails!

What Buyer’s Want to See in 2022

In the first months of 2022 Home Buyers have been less choosey than they have been in the past because of the lack of choices (housing supply). We know that as interest rates rise Buyers will be able to afford less and we think that will begin to change their mindset. Moving from buying anything in their price range to being more selective in what they will go and see and buy. The higher the cost of a particular product generally creates a pickier purchaser!

If you are convinced that this Spring 2022 is your time to sell you will want to make sure your product (your home) looks and feels it’s best. Here are some ideas that will help ensure your selling success story.

#1 Outdoor Space is In!

More and more people are working from home and with our 300+ days of sunshine, taking that laptop out to your deck or patio sounds better than the kitchen island. Entertaining has also been moving outdoors over the past decade or so. Take the time to make your outdoor space special with outdoor kitchens, great seating, firepits, lighting and don’t forget the Landscaping.

#2 Laundry Room

Yes, that’s right 50% of all Buyers at the end of 2021 said they want a nice laundry room located on the first floor. This room has been mostly ignored by sellers and buyers for most of my career so to see this come up was a surprise. My advice to you when selling this Spring is to spruce up that laundry room, draw attention to it with shelving, nice paint, and good flooring. Not to mention a nice washer and dryer would not hurt, since getting appliances now is slow going.

#3 Functional Kitchens

This may not sound like a surprise as we all have been told, “that nice kitchens and bathrooms sell homes all by themselves”. The shift from beautiful to functional is here the poll we looked at said 75% of Buyers want functionality! Specifically, they are looking for kitchens with a large or double sink (81%), walk in pantry (81%), table space for eating (78%), central island (77%), and believe it or not 76% want some sort of water filtration system.

If you want more information about selling in Spring 2022 please see our other blogs on this very subject. The links are here:

Why This Spring May Be a Seller’s Pot of Gold

Why It’s Time to Sell Your Home

We think if you are choosing Spring 2022 to make some moves, you will find the most success by:

#1 Having your financial house in order

#2 Preparing your home to get the highest and best from Buyers

#3 Being ready for a quick sale

Happy Spring Selling Everyone! If you would like more information about selling or buying in the Metro Denver area please click here to set up a time to chat!

Why This Spring May Be a Seller’s Pot of Gold

If you are thinking about selling your home this Spring is looking like an ideal opportunity. You will want to balance getting the most of out of the sale of your home and making a good decision when you buy your next. We think you will be able to get the best of both worlds in Spring of 2022 and here’s why:

Your Equity Should Be Increasing Faster Than Ever

According to some of the housing data experts, the most recent study says that nationally, the average homeowner has $55,300 in equity added to their homes in the past YEAR, that is right the past YEAR. This kind of equity can fuel your move. It may be just what you need to cover a large amount of your down payment, if not all of it. It also opens doors to different kinds of lending. For example, we have clients applying for Bridge Loans so that they don’t have to wait to sell their homes to use their equity for down payments. The market moves so fast that the risk is smaller on the sale side. If you want to learn more about this strategy please click here to chat.

The Number of Homes (or lack thereof) On the Market Is Setting Records Month After Month:

In Denver Metro we ended the month of February 2022 with nearly 1300 homes and or condos available for sale. These record setting numbers put you, the Seller, in the driver’s seat. The time it takes to sell a home has significantly decreased and the options that Buyer’s offers include have not been seen before. Those offers often include non-returnable earnest money and up to 60 days of post occupancy, among other things. What we hear most often from Seller’s is, “If I sell my home where would I go?” We think the answer lies in the type of loan you get (if you need one) and what we can negotiate with the Buyer that is purchasing your home. Seller’s would be surprised at the solutions available to them and hiring a seasoned professional can help navigate this for you!

Mortgage Rates Are On the Rise

True, mortgage rates are on the move upward. In the 2000’s the average mortgage rate was 6.27% and in the 90’s it was as high as 8.20%. Right now, rates are still lower (3.99% conventional, single family home) than they have been in recent history. It is predicted with the uncertainty in our world right now that there will be pressure on rates not to rise as fast, but they will still rise over the next year. What that means for you, is that less people will be able to afford your home when you sell yours and you will be able to afford less as well when you buy. If you are ready to move up or downsize you might want to get that move going sooner than later.

Home Prices Are Also On the Rise

Home prices have been rocketing into space over the past couple of years beginning in 2019. The supply and demand formula for a balanced market is off. We would need 6 months of inventory available to see an even-steven market. We are in weeks of available inventory here in Denver. For now, it looks like that will continue locally for the couple of months before we see some slowing. I don’t mean a slowing that create’s a Buyer’s market I just mean maybe we start to see a month or two of inventory at a time. Buyer demand would have to fall off the face of the earth for it correct completely. Use your current home equity to help get you into a home that fits your current needs and watch your equity continue to grow as the imbalance of supply and demand continues. We can help you see if now is the right time for you!

If you want to take advantage of all this market has to offer we think this Spring will be the right time! As the stock and energy markets continue to be volatile, Real Estate still offers an opportunity to invest in your own living situation or for your portfolio! Your Pot of Gold is waiting!

Denver Market Update

Welcome to more of the same for home Buyers and Sellers. Sellers experienced 6.75% appreciation from January to February, an increase in value that usually would be considered incredible for an entire year! Buyers continue to put all their cards on the table to win their dream home! Investors ROI is getting squeezed for those that use leverage, as interest rates and home prices climb.

Are Open Houses making a comeback? Last month there were several open houses that reported 50+ people in addition to the 50+ showings for a couple of properties. These kinds of statistics suggest we may be back to visiting Open Houses on the weekends!

I think we can all agree that the 38 inches of snow that have fallen since January 1^st is also putting a little bit of a damper on Listings. We have not had this much cumulative snowfall since 1965.

Our advice to Buyers is when you finally see yourself in a home, put down the whole deck of cards to snag it. Don’t hold back, make sure your offers are written well, offer quick closes and appraisal gap coverage, put the most money down that you can and make sure your Lender is on board as well. It’s Spring Break and a lot of folks are back to traveling while we don’t expect an onslaught of inventory this may make the Buyer pool smaller. Buyer’s put your bikinis away and focus on your home buying for the next 3 weeks, you may have less to compete with!

Our advice to Sellers, there seems to be a change in the air. We don’t mean a considerable downturn in the market, but there was a slowing in consumption of homes when we look at the numbers compared to last year. It’s small, but it’s there and it has not happened in long time. This does not mean we will see a Buyer’s market anytime soon, but it points to a possible slowing of Buyer demand. We will be watching this one! Putting your home on the Market sooner than later is probably your best strategy if you are on the fence about selling.

Quick Stats:

*Average Active Listings for February: 13,220

*Record High Active Listings for February: 25,484 (2/2006)

*Record Low Active Listings for February: 1,226 (2/2022)

*We did end the month with more homes on the market than in January

*Mortgage Applications dropped to their lowest level since 2019

*Builders have begun to send their inventory to the open market instead of keeping buyer lists

Our Crystal Ball sees a couple of things this month:

*War put’s pressure on rates to go lower even though they have been tracking higher

*Inflation causes home prices to rise. We may see 10-15% in collective home appreciation in Q1 2022

*There may be a slowing of the market come summertime (come back here in July and see if we are correct) We have said this many times (I know) but when we look at the market after May of 2021 there was slowing, but then it picked up speed as we headed into the fall and winter.

*The uncertainty of the Stock Market drives typically more money into Real Estate

If you know anyone that needs help with buying, selling or investing we hope you will keep us in mind!

Thanks DMAR for the information/stats

Denver March Happenings

Just like that, it’s March! Spring and summertime are just around the corner, but don’t miss out on some of this month’s Denver must-do’s! Especially the annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade!

Boulder International Film Festival: March 3-6, 2022

Film fanatics unite! Come check out film screening, panels, workshops, themed afterparties and more! P.S. There may or may not be some pretty big names making an appearance!

Mile High Beer Festival: March 5, 2022

This annual festival will highlight both well-known and the newest upcoming breweries, distilleries and ciders! For two and a half hours you get to taste unlimited samples while listening to live music!

Polar Plunge and 5k: March 6, 2022

Come out to Wash Park at Franklin and Mississippi and run, plunge or do both in support of Colorado’s Special Olympics Athletes! By signing up you get either a t-shirt or an exclusive runner’s only gift! Make sure that if you want to plunge you sign up for both!

Denver Restaurant Week: March 11-20, 2022

Enjoy this ten-day culinary celebration where hundreds of Denver restaurants come together providing multi-course menus for a set price! Best week ever!

Denver St. Patrick’s Day Parade: March 12, 2022

Back again for its 60th year, come see the floats, dancing, live bands and charities!

Colorado Springs St. Patrick’s Day Parade: March 12, 2022

Celebrate St. Patrick’s Day with a parade in Colorado Springs!

Denver Home Show: March 18-20, 2022

Are you a do-it yourself home renovation guru? This is for you! Come see presentations from experts in the home industry, check out home-related goods and enter awesome sweepstakes!

March Village Invest: Work Options

Work Options is a local Denver non-profit that focuses its efforts on individuals who have struggled with finding or maintaining long-term employment. They seek to help these individuals who are navigating the justice system, experiencing housing loss or insecurity, or just need additional workplace skills and experience. Work Options helps by offering culinary skills training, individualized support services, life skill classes and job search support.

Their mission: To help people overcome barriers to sustainable employment by building confidence while providing resources and culinary job training

History: When Work Options was started 25 years ago in 1997, it was called Work Options for Women. In May of 2021 they formally changed the name to Work Options, to more accurately reflect their commitment to providing job training for all individuals, regardless of gender. Historically, Work Options has recruited and provided job training for individuals with minimal work experience or who are under-skilled. For many years, a majority of the students in their program were transitioning off of public assistance to the workplace. In 2018, they added an additional target population- individuals preparing to re-enter the community following incarceration.

Please join us in their mission this month by donating below!

Donate to Work Options

Why It’s Time to Sell Your Home:

Jump on in, the water is green!

I’ve been helping people navigate the buying and selling of homes since 2007 and I can say that I have seen some crazy things in Real Estate for sure. This market, however, is the most unique I’ve seen, in that we not only have a sustained Seller’s market, but that market is now eating it’s Wheaties and producing wealth for homeowners in numbers we have not seen since before the Great Recession. This is all continually fueled by healthy appreciation and lack of inventory. Several talking heads have suggested we would need 100 million new homes built to ease the inventory issue at hand today.

All that being said, it is hard to imagine a better time to sell your home. With at least 2 years of double-digit appreciation, inflation and inventory shortages, a seller can expect multiple offers 10-30% over list price, bidding wars, appraisal gap coverage and buyers waving their contingencies. You can also expect whether it’s a cash or conventional loan to close on that home in 2 weeks or less. In fact, I have had several lenders suggest that this is or is close to becoming the norm for loans.

Let’s talk about cash vs. loan. You can count on buyer’s being thouroughly vetted by the lender by the time they get around to offering on your property. They can remove the same contingencies as a cash buyer and most of the time they do. While cash is still King, a higher offer with a loan might be the way to go with today’s loans closing just as quickly as cash.

We cannot forget to include the Back- Up offer that is also part of today’s Seller’s market. These offers come in and are kind of a bookmark for a buyer. They are held in place in case the accepted offer goes south. If that first offer terminates the back- up offer moves into first place and the home remains Under Contract without ever having to go back to the market, yet another safety net for the Seller in this market!

In conclusion the options are endless for Sellers, there has never been a better time to sell your home in our most recent history. If you are thinking about selling your home please visit our website to set up a time to chat or sign up for an instant property valuation by clicking the link below.

Contact Us!

What Can Your Rental Do For You?

Buying investment real estate is a great tool to diversify your investment portfolio. Having all your eggs (savings, retirement funds) in one basket is known to be problematic. Various avenues of savings should be part of your retirement strategy and a Rental Property or two can provide just that.

Rental properties purchased carefully, like we talked about in our blog- Building Your Real Estate Portfolio, can provide additional streams of income to you – Day 1. When you purchase a property that cashflows immediately you can either use that money as extra income or use those profits to pay down a mortgage if you have one. You can also put those profits into a savings account and use it as an unexpected expenses fund for that property as well.

Rental properties can also provide a nice income stream in retirement. With the right size portfolio of paid off properties you could be very comfortable. I was speaking with a golf buddy about her parents’ rental property purchased in their 40s. She shared that they had purchased a quad (4 units) and now that property provides most of their income for the month and they are well into their 80s now.

Willie, our in-house investment Guru here at Walters & Co. likes to see at least 6 properties in an investor’s portfolio with a good mix of condo/single family homes. He guides our 70+ investors from purchase to sale and everything in between. He can help with portfolio performance assessments as well. -Sorry, not sorry for the shameless plug-

If you think you would like to learn more about building your own investment portfolio or are curious about buying your first investment property please click on the link to schedule a chat with Willie or Lizz!

Do You Know How Your Home Is Insured?

One of the lessons from the Marshall Fire that has come to light is how people’s homes are insured. In speaking with our attorneys last week, they informed us that some people are not fully insured because they changed the name that is on their deed. Many people buy real estate in Trusts and LLC’s or buy them personally and transfer them to Trusts and LLC’s. When you do this, you need to remember to let your insurance provider know so that the home is covered by the policy. Call your insurance provider today to make sure your personal or investment property is named correctly and you are insured!

Denver Market Update

• January started like a Rocket with more competing offers, appraisal gap language, inspection waivers, free post-closing occupancy agreements offered, earnest money going hard and every other trick buyers, with help from their agents can think of. When they find the right one, they need to put it ALL on the line because it may be another month or so before they find another home that they like. The worry for buyers right now is higher interest rates and the expected 10% appreciation gain likely to happen by years end.
• Our market has escalated in anticipation of an interest rate hike, that coupled with another month end inventory (or lack there of) number (almost 50% lower than this time last year) is seeing homes go under contract at 10- 25% over asking price. I have clients out there and trust me we see it every day.
• Is cash always King? Some positive news for buyers is that a local title company, First Integrity reported that Cash deals crash 5.7% more often than financed purchases indicating that cash isn’t always King.
• New Build News: To counter rapid growth in prices and reduce risk, new home builders are selling more spec inventory rather than dirt starts. Additionally, builders are including language that would allow the builder to increase the base price within the first few months of a new contract.
• The Marshall Fire area are still seeing home sales move just as quickly as the rest of the market here in Denver. Last month there were 17 homes under contract that sold withing 2 days of being on the market.

• The average active listings number for January is 12,732
• The record high was recorded in 2008 for January of 24,550
• January 2022 set a new record with 1,184 active listings
• Historical average decrease from December to January is 5.3% this year’s decline was 19.84%

When we look into the Crystal Ball I think what we see is interest rates rising and demand for housing softening a little. Then soon there after inventory coming back on the market and interested rates going back down again fueling housing demand again. Not sure when we can count on this happening but possibly by the fall of 2022.

In conclusion, Buyers hold on!! As professionals we feel for you and are working hard to figure out ways to get your offers accepted without losing your first born. Lenders are also working hard to make your offers stronger with loans that can close in under 15 days. If we can answer any questions or if you would like to meet up to talk strategy please click the link below!