Market Report - Stetson Hills area of Colorado Springs - Heights at Templeton Place subdivision - 11/30/11 11:18 PM
The Heights at Templeton subdivision (also known as Templeton Heights) is 130+ houses in the Stetson Hills area of Colorado Springs.  



Built in the early 2000’s the homes vary in size from under 1,500 square feet to nearly 5,000 square feet. 48 of the houses have a 3 car or over sized gargage of 462 square feet or larger.Only 10 of the houses are ranch (single floor) and they are all less than 1,500 square feet. The rest of the houses are two story.There is extensive shopping on Powers Blvd. just a few minutes away. The Heights … (0 comments)

Market Report - Briargate area of Colorado Springs - Charleston Place subdivision - 11/30/11 08:23 PM
The Briargate area of Colorado Springs includes the Charleston Place subdivision which was built in the late 90’s. The 400+ houses are in an ideal location, close to highly acclaimed District 20 schools, shopping and both major Colorado Springs roads, I-25 and Powers Blvd.
 

 
The majority of the houses are two story with a basement. There are a smattering of ranch (single story) and split level houses.
Data is for houses that closed between April 20th and November 20th of 2010 and 2011.


"Based on information from the Pikes Peak REALTOR Services Corp. ("RSC"), for the … (0 comments)

Market Report - some of the “best value” homes for 1st time buyers in Colorado Springs - 11/30/11 03:33 PM
Buyers tend to want the newest house they can afford. In Colorado Springs those houses typically sell for $100 per finished square foot or more.But there is a special “best value” niche of houses that most 1st time buyers over look. These are the “executive” homes built between 1950 and 1960. These are houses with at least 2,000 finished square feet, which was 2-3 times the typical house built during this era.Why should you consider these houses?Location, location, location - many of these houses are in the best locations in the city and have terrific views.Building materials - ask any veteran … (0 comments)

How a flood in Thailand may create a computer nightmare for you - here are tips to avoid it. - 11/29/11 06:55 PM
There are certain things in America we take for granted. One of those paradigms is that usually we can fix a problem quickly and relatively inexpensively. But right now there is a unique problem in the world that has already impacted computer owners, Mac and PC, and is going to continue to impact computer users for months to come.All of us depend on our computers. And the most vulnerable part of your computer is the hard drive.  You DO protect it from virus infections and you DO keep it backed up frequently, RIGHT???If you haven’t backed it up, do so NOW! … (5 comments)

My switch from Firefox to Google Chrome - 11/28/11 02:36 PM
I used Firefox for years. It is a vast improvement over Internet Explorer. But in recent months I have been switching over to Google Chrome. I'm finding the available apps in Chrome to be more useful. And unlike Firefox, the apps don't seem to break every time there is an update to the browser.First, here is the link to the Chrome App store:https://chrome.google.com/webstore/category/home
And here are a few of my favorite Chrome apps:
SearchMark
I bookmark a ton of sites. Even though I try to categorize the bookmarks that process is far from perfect. The Chrome app SearchMark will search … (4 comments)

The Difference Between Keywords, TAGS, and Categories - 11/26/11 12:00 PM
Who reads what? Why you need categories, tags and keywords.How many times has the light bulb come on with a great idea for a post. You pound out your prose and “go public.” And then sometimes we wonder why we aren’t ranked higher in Google or why people aren’t responding to our blog.
Our own Tammy Emineth, Personal SEO - Website SEO and Real Estate Marketing, sheds light on why we need categories, tags and keywords and how to use them.
Via Tammy Emineth (Personal SEO - Website SEO and Real Estate Marketing):
The Difference Between Keywords, TAGS, and Categories This is … (3 comments)

Google may be calling you and this is what you need to ask them! - 11/22/11 08:04 PM
A little after 5pm today I got a call from Google referencing my Google Places listing and the fact that if it wasn’t verified correctly Google might forget that I ever existed.
Press 1 to verify my Google places account or press 2 to have Google go ahead and wipe all reference to me off the face of the earth, never to be acknowledged by Google again. Ok the script wasn’t quite that bad but you get the idea. Well my scam meter is pegging out in the red but there are a few entities that you just can’t chances … (10 comments)

When is the best time of year to buy a house? - 11/21/11 12:32 AM
Is late in the year the best time to buy a house?On the plus side is:There may be houses that were first listed during the Spring and Summer that sellers have either improved, repaired and/or lowered the price. Sellers with these houses that have been on the market a long time may be highly motivated and more realistic about the price they will accept.Sellers who weren’t planning to sell and are suddenly having to sell may be very motivated and realistic about pricing.You are competing with fewer prospective buyers. Many people who have planned to buy during the year have already … (6 comments)

A seller “must know” to get top dollar for your home! - 11/18/11 02:12 PM
A seller “must know” to get top dollar for your home!You want to know what your house is worth and to determine that we turn to recent “comparable” sales. But what is a comparable sale?


If you look back at the houses that have been on the market recently you will find three groups of houses:
# 1 Houses that were in excellent to very good functional condition and were presented in their best light. These houses sold for the most the market would bear.# 2 Houses that were in various stages of functional and cosmetic condition but that … (5 comments)

Wrapping up the week - “A Better House at Lower Cost” and 1 in 42 odds - 11/18/11 12:46 PM

Home buyer tip
Don’t search for houses by price range. Taxes, utility costs, anticipated repairs and maintenance can vary by over $200 a month. A house that costs $20,000 more than you think you can afford may actually cost you less per month than cheaper houses. I help my clients buy “A Better House at Lower Cost.” Call or text me at 719-304-4684 or email me for ways to buy the house you really want but think you can’t afford.Wildlife in the CityIt’s that time of year again. From October through December bucks will be chasing does and that dizzying … (2 comments)

Another good crime mapping site - over 250 agencies - 11/04/11 04:44 PM
I know, it seems like I’ve been on a crime spree lately :-) That is in finding sites that track police calls and crimes, not committing them.In case you missed my earlier posts:http://activerain.com/blogsview/2583655/is-this-neighborhood-safe-
http://activerain.com/blogsview/2583688/crime-heat-maps
And here is the latest site I’ve found that serves over 250 law enforcement agencies:
http://www.crimemapping.com/

You can sign up to receive email alerts about crimes in areas that you’re interested in.

 
Some of the agencies served on this site are also on the other two sites so you can cross check between them.
These sites can come in very handy when a buyer … (2 comments)

Crime heat maps - 11/01/11 10:20 PM
In an earlier post:http://activerain.com/blogsview/2583655/is-this-neighborhood-safe-I shared a great site:http://www.myneighborhoodupdate.net/that offers maps of actual dispatched law enforcement calls for many cities and counties in the US.In case your area is not included on that web site, the Trulia “Crime Heat Maps” are another resource you can have buyers review. Here are the cities currently available.


Here is a map of the Dallas area.
 

 
The link is http://www.trulia.com/crime/
Since these are broad maps based on recent calls or crimes, buyers still need to check with neighbors and local law enforcement.


… (1 comments)

Is this neighborhood safe? - 11/01/11 09:54 PM
That question from buyers makes agents squirm? We are caught in an awkward spot. On the one hand we don’t want to red line or violate any laws.On the other hand we want to be as accurate and helpful to our clients as we can be. Telling buyers to “call the police department” doesn’t typically get the job done (no offense to the police, buyers just won’t do it).Wouldn’t it be great if you could point your clients to a web site where they could see all the dispatched calls for a city or county?Well now you can for the following … (4 comments)

 


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