Real Estate Thoughts and News

When I go to a listing appointment I am always ready for the best of times and the worst of times. I have been lucky to have my last few listings staged perfectly, clean and sellers that are ready and willing to listen. The first thing you want to do when getting a house market ready is listen to your Realtor. We know the market and what is selling so if you are unwilling to move from a high price or unwilling to do some freshening up, you shouldn't be putting your house on the market. I put a lot of time and money into my listings so I expect that you do the same. I always ask for a clean house, pets put away (I know Fido is the nicest dog when you are around but when faced with strangers entering their house, they are not the same dog), smells eliminated (cooking smells are almost as bad as smoke or pet smells), and all evidence of you...Gone! Pricing is so important when putting your house on the market. If you price too high, you will lose up to 35% of the market because ...

I have been asked again and again about when we are going to see the fabled 4.5% interest rate. The answer was always, "I have no idea if that will ever happen". Well we did finally see it! Thursday for a brief period, it dropped to 4.5%. Today it is back at 4.75% but for a brief period it had finally gotten to the point the media has been telling us all about. And we all know that the media is always right... right? So with 4.5% actually achieved, low prices and an $8000 tax credit for first time home buyers that you can take this year if you buy this year, have we reached the perfect storm in Real Estate? If I had a crystal ball I would know all the answers. But I don't so I can only give my educated opinion. The first thing to consider is do you have a stable job and a credit score over 620? If you do and plan to stay in the same spot for a while, then yes. This is the perfect time to buy. I have seen inventory for under $300K drop in Denver dramatically over...

This is my first blog and I hope that everyone enjoys reading my thoughts and news from Real Estate. I always encourage comments and feedback to help me get the news that you want. I have just returned from yet another Real Estate auction that made me scratch my head. It was located at an old Victorian in Baker and there were about 6 properties auctioned off. When I first arrived I noticed all types of people standing around. There were a few that actually knew what they were doing and were quietly waiting for the sign up. There were quite a few others that had no clue and went up to everyone they could to see if they knew what was going on. In these uncertain times I wonder why people would show up at an auction without representation, where, when the gravel comes down they have just purchased a house that has no "get out of contract" clause. There were probably 50 people at the auction but there really were only about 10 serious bidders. With 1 exception every house...