conifer foreclosures: Conifer RE Trends: Pop Tops and Scrapes - 12/30/08 12:48 PM
Investing in Real Estate 9 - Scrapes, Pops and New Construction
This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, scrapes, pops and new construction, in the Conifer area in Denver.
 
What this investment is:  Purchasing a small home in an expensive neighborhood that may or may not need work.  The home is bulldozed and a new home or duplex is put on the lot.  Alternatively, the existing home is renovated and more square footage is added on.  A pop-top is adding a second story to an existing home to add more square footage (commonly, a master bedroom suite).
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conifer foreclosures: Conifer RE Trends: Condo Conversions - 12/30/08 12:47 PM
Investing in Real Estate 8 - Condo Conversions
This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, fix and flips, in the Conifer area in Denver.
 
What this investment is:  A synthesis of the fix and flip and rental operations - purchasing an apartment building in a neighborhood dominated by owner occupants, then converting the building from apartment building to condominium.  Often requires renovation of the units to meet the expectations of owner-occupant buyers in that area.  Complex and time consuming, but has wonderful tax advantages compares to fix and flips and often has superior returns to all other … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer RE Trends: Fix & Flip Investing - 12/30/08 12:47 PM
Investing in Real Estate 7 - Fix and Flips
This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, fix and flips, in the Conifer area in Denver.
 
What this investment is:  Purchasing a home that needs work.  The scope can range from the basic "paint and carpet" to extensive overhauls to scraping a decrepit property and completely starting over.  Usually does not involve tenants, and the objective is to get in and out of the property as quickly as possible.  Great for beginners with the right skill sets or the willingness to learn.
 
Equity needed:  With hard money … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer RE Trends: Lease Options - 12/30/08 12:46 PM
Investing in Real Estate 6 - Lease Options
This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, lease options, in the Conifer area in Denver.
                      
What this investment is:  A lease option (L/O) is Acquiring control of a property (though not necessarily ownership), then leasing the property to a tenant.  The lease is bundled with an option, so the tenant can (but does not have to) purchase the property for a given price within a given time frame.  Again you are seeking a tenant for a property, but usually for a slightly longer term (12-18 months) and frequently (though … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer RE Trends: Large Apartment Investing - 12/30/08 12:45 PM
Investing in Real Estate 5 - Large (5+ unit) Apartment Building
This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, large apartment buildings, in the Conifer area in Denver.
 
What this investment is:  Still targeting tenants for 6-12 months at a time, buildings with more than five units are considered "commercial" property.  The loans are more difficult to qualify for, and usually a larger down payment is needed.  Uncommon for the new investor; this is usually what landlords with several years of experience "trade up" to.  Cash flows on larger buildings are more stable than for smaller buildings, and … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer RE Trends: Home Inventory Data - 12/30/08 12:44 PM
If you have not heard already, the inventory of home on the market in Denver has been declining. This is not true in many regions of the county. Your clients, who often only see national headlines, might not be aware of this favorable news. Our market has some unusual factors at work. Let's explore them, so you can better help your clients.If you look at the first chart (MOI 1), you'll see the MOI (months of inventory) for Denver's suburbs on the bottom axis and the average sales price in that suburb on the axis on the left side. Denver metro … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer RE Trends: Condo Price Performance - 12/30/08 12:43 PM
The big message has not changed since last quarter - it's still a great time to be a buyer in the condo market. Prices are at a three year low in many areas, and interest rates on mortgages are still historically low.The average condo price in Metro Denver declined 4% between 2006 and 2007: from $187K to $180K. Homes dropped 3% in that time period. Looking just at the first nine months of 2008 vs. the same time period in 2007, the price dropped 6%: from $181K to $172K. Homes dropped 11% in that time period. From their peak prices in … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer RE Trends: Market Improving? - 12/30/08 12:39 PM
Take a look at the first page, for AUN (Aurora North).  Note these positive market trends this year:-          number of active listings steadily declining-          average list price pretty stable (finally!)-          U/C up dramatically-          Number of sales / month up (partially seasonality)-          DOM dropping-          Stability in average sold prices and sold price as % of list-          Sold price as % original price UP a lot - banks are getting better at pricing-          Number of expired listings down Every indicator is improving this year in AUN.  You will see the same trends in DSW (southwest Denver  County), but not as marked an improvement as … (1 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer RE Trends: 2008 Recap - 12/30/08 12:38 PM
Recap of First Quarter 2008 Home Price Performance The average home price in Metro Denver increased +2% in the full year 2005 to the full year 2006, from $309,000 to $317,000. Comparing 2006 to 2007, the average home price across the metro dropped 2%, to $311,000. The first quarter of 2008 was $278,000 vs. the first quarter of 2007 was $296,000: a 6% decrease. Note that prices in the first quarter are usually a bit less than the rest of the year. This is because families that tend to purchase larger, more expensive homes tend to move in the summer months … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer RE Trends: Light Rail's Impact in Denver... - 12/30/08 12:38 PM
Home appreciation near T-Rex light rail line stations have out-performed the marketOther cities such as Portland found that homes near light rail lines have out-performed the market in terms of price appreciation. The newest light rail line on the south east corridor (it was built during the T-REX I-25 expansion) bears this out. In the last two years, the average home within two miles has appreciated 4% while the metro Denver average is off 8%. We've shared this with our clients, and many decide to try to purchase homes near future light rail stops in anticipation of future appreciation.
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conifer foreclosures: Conifer Investing: Apartment Building Investing - 12/14/08 04:18 PM
Investing in Real Estate 4 – Small (2-4 units) Apartment BuildingThis blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, small apartment buildings, in the Conifer area.What this investment is:  Purchase of duplex, triplex or quadplex to be rented to tenants, usually for 6-12 month terms.  Usually what the rental home / condo landlords graduate to.  In most markets they cost a little more than a rental home, but are much more likely to cash flow on the average month.  Less cash flow risk; if one unit is empty you have other tenants that still help you with the mortgage payment … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer Investing: Rental Condos - 12/14/08 04:16 PM
Investing in Real Estate 3 – Rental Condo or Rental HomeThis blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, rental condos or rental homes, in the Conifer area.What this investment is:  Purchase of a residential property to be rented out to tenants, usually on a 6-12 month lease term.  This is how most new landlords get started.  You can hire out all of the property management functions, but in many cases you will do many of them on your own.  There are smaller down payment requirements than for larger rental buildings.  The purchase process and financing process is very similar … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer Investing: Assignments - 12/14/08 04:15 PM
Investing in Real Estate 2 – AssignmentsThis blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, assignments, in the Conifer area.What this investment is:  An investor who is interested in Assignments gets a property under contract for an attractive price then assigns the contract to another buyer, usually another investor.  The first investor will be paid a fee for the work.  If you don't have much equity to work with, and/or if your credit power is limited, assignments can be a way to get started in real estate investing.  You will need to have a strong "sales" personality to succeed at … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer Investing: Loan Considerations - 12/14/08 04:14 PM
Topic:  Special considerations for Investor loans The talk around the water cooler these days is all about LOANS. Who can get them? At what price? What if I already have a few loans, do I still qualify?  A year or two ago the question was at what price do I get a loan (those were the days!).  Today it is "am I still in the game?"     Here's the deal:  if you have an owner occupied loan and 3 investor loans you cannot buy any more properties and get Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac financing, meaning you can't get a conventional 30-year … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer Investing: Sewer Scopes - 12/14/08 04:13 PM
Topic:  Investor Series:  Why sewer scopes are important  A LOT of agents don't advise their clients to get sewer scopes when they purchase a property. This is a major mistake.  A broken sewer can cost between $3,000 - $10,000 dollars to repair and it only costs $99 ($99Rooter - others are more expensive) to have a tech put a camera down the sewer pipe and videotape the sewer all the way to the mainline. This will tell you  and the-buyer what the condition of the sewer is.    So let's see, we pay to have the furnace inspected but a new furnace will … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer Investing: Estimating Rents - 12/14/08 04:12 PM
Topic:  Investor Series:  Estimating Rents A lot of clients ask me how to figure out what market rents are in a neighborhood. This is a critical input into the calculations an investor needs to make in order to determine what their return on investment will be on a rental property. So you don't want to screw this up!  Unfortunately, this is one of the many figures new investors get wrong.   One place people go to get rents is Rent-o-Meter. Rent-o-Meter is billed as an online resource to get accurate market rents. In my experience it is anything but!  However, I have a … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer Investing: Roofs - 12/14/08 04:12 PM
Topic:  Investor Series:  Things to look for when you look at roofs Have you ever driven through Aurora North looking for a rental property and taken a close look at the roofs?   Here's what you'll see: a bunch of 1950's ranches in varying states of repair or disrepair, lawns that are often grassless, old handcrank windows and roofs in almost perfect condition!  This surprised me at first and perplexed me for a long time.  Why, in a neighborhood devastated by foreclosures with properties with massive deferred maintenance are the roofs in such condition?  Really!  Stand in the middle of a typical street … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer Investing: Foreclosures - 12/14/08 04:11 PM
Topic:  Investor Series:  Things to keep in mind when seeing a foreclosed home As investors we face a number of very real and very scary challenges. Making sense of this market is no mean feat and one has to be very careful with his or her investment. However, we usually think about danger as financial. Unfortunately, on rare occasion it can be even worse than that. The majority of the homes investors are buying these days are vacant and once in a while people break in and live in these properties illegally.  The last thing you want to do is walk in … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer Investing: Egress Windows 101 - 12/14/08 04:10 PM
Topic name:  Investor Series:  Understanding Egress Windows  A lot of investors ask what an egress window is and when one is needed. Technically, it's a window for a room below grade that a municipality has deemed large enough to be safe for exit in case of emergency.   While there are some variations, the window needs to be large enough that a firefighter with an oxygen bottle on their back could get in, then carry out an injured person in a fire.  Most often, it's associated with a basement bedroom window, making it a legal bedroom. Basement bedrooms without egress windows are illegal.  … (0 comments)

conifer foreclosures: Conifer Investing: Basement Kitchens - 12/14/08 04:09 PM
Topics for Investors:  Basement Kitchens You walk into a property you're looking to buy and rent and you walk down into the basement and voila! you find a full second kitchen.   Great!  You start calculating how much rent you could get if you could rent the downstairs separate from the upstairs and the cashflow is out of this world!  But wait, there are a number of very real problems with this scenario.   First of all, it's illegal unless the property is zoned for more than one tenant and the property has been converted to non-residential use. But there are even more practical … (0 comments)

 

Joe Marino

Littleton, CO

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