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buy a house: Open Houses - That's How We'll Find Our New Home! - 04/01/12 03:23 PM
While visiting open houses unrepresented by an agent can be fun for folks just beginning to think about buying a home, or for curious neighbors who wonder how their home would stack up against the one for sale, it's not a good idea for the serious home buyer.
Why not?
First - the friendly agent at the open house is working for the seller, not you. They are looking out for the seller's best interests, not yours.
Second - it's a very inefficient use of your time. Why visit a bunch of homes that don't meet your needs, on someone else's … (2 comments)
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buy a house: How Long Until I Can Buy a Home? - 11/07/11 11:33 AM
If you've experienced bankruptcy, foreclosure, or short sale, you may wonder how long is the waiting period until you can buy a home?
Check out the chart below, provided by The Mortgage Experts at America's Mortgage LLC.
NOTE: For all loans, the borrower must have “re-established credit” after the bankruptcy, foreclosure, or short sale. That means no late payments of any kind for 12 months. Make sure you check out their web site: www.mtgsupportservices.com And check out all their tips at: http://TheMortgageExperts.blogspot.com They also have classes, like "How not to get Ripped off when … (2 comments)
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buy a house: Do You Talk on the Phone to Other Clients, While You're With Clients? - 06/03/11 01:35 AM
I received this note today from a past client:
"So I went house hunting the other day with a friend of mine and her agent. I tell you, this guy was on the phone with other clients the entire friggin' time and it was so incredibly rude. I knew you were awesome, but after watching this dude in action, it made me just that much more thankful we had you. :)"
Getting that note sure made me feel good!
But it also made me wonder - what is this guy thinking? And how many other agents do business this way?
Now … (72 comments)
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buy a house: About Arvada - Neighborhoods, Stores, Things to Do, Local Info - 06/03/11 01:31 AM
Life in Arvada is the subject of several posts I've written on neighborhoods, merchants and stores, things to do, and other local info, with the hope of helping those trying to get a feel for life here. So I collected all those posts here.
The idea was to keep it maintained, adding posts as I generate them.
However, I have more than one blog now, so maintaining this post has become burdensome. I am maintaining the other version of this post on my blog, HomesDenvertoBoulder.com. Please read About Arvada Life via my other post, it will be more up to date!
… (10 comments)
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buy a house: Can You Buy a Short Sale? Yes, if ... - 03/10/11 01:08 AM
If you're in the market to buy a house these days, you've probably heard about short sales being the best deals out there. They certainly can be, and they even work out occasionally!
From the perspective of a home buyer, there are a few things that make you a better candidate to successfully buy a short sale.
First - You must have time. If you need to be in a house within two or three months or you will suffer dire consequences, a short sale is probably not going to work out for you. Once, I got an answer from a … (11 comments)
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buy a house: I Still Believe in the American Dream of Homeownership - 01/14/11 12:24 PM
Yes, I'm brave enough to say it - I still believe in the American dream of homeownership! I believe it is a good time to buy a home here where I live and work - between Denver and Boulder, Jefferson County, Denver's northern suburbs.
I've recently written a series of posts starting with, The American Dream - Are You Still Dreaming, and proceeding through, You Can Avoid the Mistakes of the Past, There's Hope, and Don't Let Mortgage Fears Stop You.
I have seen the joy of people's faces when they buy their first home, I've seen the pride on their … (3 comments)
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buy a house: The American Dream - Are You Still Dreaming? - 01/07/11 02:21 PM
The American Dream: owning a home of your own
The American Dream has long been recognized as the opportunity for everyone to achieve success, and many have embodied that success in owning a piece of real estate that they can call 'home'.
Are you still dreaming because you're not in the financial place where you can buy a house? Or, has the fear of buying a house only to lose it in a painful and public way turned that dream into a nightmare? Many Americans across the country and here in Denver's northern suburbs can relate.
If your dream has faded … (2 comments)
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buy a house: People always think of Denver or Boulder, but what's an Arvada? - 11/24/10 04:24 PM
If you're thinking of moving to Colorado, and you're at a crossroad whether you should live in Denver or Boulder, I've got a suggestion for you.
Consider one of the towns between Denver and Boulder, such as Arvada, Westminster, Lakewood, Wheat Ridge, Thornton, Lafayette, or Golden.
All these towns have a lot to offer, and I've helped people find their new home in each of them. But this post is going to focus mostly on Arvada, because it has something most of the others don't have - a historic town center. OK - Golden has one too, and so does Lafayette. … (2 comments)
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buy a house: Can You Speak 'Pessimist'? - 11/09/10 12:00 PM
I'm not a pessimist, but I'm also not a 'raving optimist', which is my husband's fond nickname for people who always think everything will work out. I like to think of myself as a realist, with optimist leanings.
Still, there are people who fall clearly into the realm of 'optimist' and 'pessimist'. In the business of buying homes and selling homes, we have the pleasure of dealing with all kinds of people. It helps to know how to communicate with every one of them.
The best definition I ever heard for optimist and pessimist was: An optimist expects good things to … (9 comments)
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buy a house: One Way to Raise Credit Scores - 09/19/10 04:27 PM
I received an email from the other day from Chris Thomas of The Mortgage Experts at America's Mortgage LLC, about one way to raise your credit score. A higher score makes a difference in how much you can borrow when you want to buy a house, and in what interest rate you will pay.
There are lots of other factors, of course. But I thought this would be one thing most people could do in the months before they're actually ready to buy, so they're not quite as busy once they getting started on the home buying adventure.
Here's what the … (0 comments)
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buy a house: Buy a House in Colorado and Get the Best Deal - 01/25/10 10:13 PM
Everyone’s heard what a great time it is to buy a house. “It’s a buyer’s market,” the headlines shout. “Banks are desperate to unload foreclosures!”But you’re a smart person – you know that even in this climate, many things can stand in the way of getting that one home that’s right for you. Don’t let that happen. There’s no need to miss out on the joy and satisfaction of moving day, when all the hard work pays off. I’m here to tell you – you can avoid the pitfalls, find and close on your new home in a matter of weeks. … (10 comments)
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buy a house: Buy a House In Colorado - An Expose on the Annoying Stuff That Happens - 01/17/10 07:01 PM
Recently, a home buyer told me, “I don’t like all these surprises!” We were in the middle of a short sale transaction, and there were a few surprises but no more than usual. It all seemed pretty normal to me.
Then I remembered, nothing about buying a house is ‘normal’ to most home buyers. Pretty much everything is either a mystery or a surprise unless I tell them what to expect.
I was pretty sure I HAD explained everything, but obviously it didn’t all ‘stick’.
There’s so many things that can happen, and so many twists and turns (especially with the … (4 comments)
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buy a house: Buy a House in Colorado - Finding the Right House - 11/27/09 06:42 PM
So you’re ready to buy a house. You’ve gotten your finances together, your lease is about to expire or your current house is on the market, you’ve researched neighborhoods and looked at a multitude of houses online.
All you have left is the fun part – going to look at houses and picking one. Easy, right?
Sometimes, it is just that easy.
If you’ve got a small geographical area chosen, and know what features are ‘must-haves’, and there are plenty of houses to choose from – but not too many – you could easily pick a house to write … (0 comments)
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buy a house: Buy a House in Colorado – Getting a Loan - 11/20/09 12:52 PM
So you want to buy a house in the beautiful Denver area, but you’re nervous because you’ve heard horror stories about what can go wrong. I’m here to tell you, while there truly is a lot that can go wrong, these problems can almost always be addressed and solved.
As long as home owners want to sell a house, and home buyers want to buy a house (and not TOO MUCH changes in the political realm), things can be worked out.
There’s a lot of annoying things that can happen in the loan process. It’s important to remember that your … (4 comments)
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buy a house: I've Reached a Milestone - My 100th Post! - 11/12/09 05:16 PM
Yes, this is my 100th real estate-related blog post about buying and selling homes between Denver and Boulder. I can't believe it! Blogging seemed so hard at first - such a huge learning curve. But now, I take my camera everywhere I go, and jot down ideas all the time. I have a list of ideas for posts yet to be written.
Best of all, I've met some wonderful people via blogging. I had a buyer close week before last, one closing tomorrow and another under contract, who all found me online.
I have a lot to learn still, I … (14 comments)
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buy a house: Arvada Livin' - How Our Doggies Deal With the Snow - 10/30/09 02:09 PM
Over the last two days, the Denver area (including my home town of Arvada) experienced The Big Snow of 2009 - that's what I'm calling it, in hopes that it's the only one. No, I don't like snow. Yet it's a part of our lives here in Colorado. The good news is, it usually doesn't stay on the ground here in town very long, especially early and late snow falls.
But for those of your who looooove snow - even after it melts here you don't have to go far to find it, so no worries!
Anyway, back to the topic … (13 comments)
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buy a house: Colorado Homes - Dear Home Buyer - You're Busy, Let Me Help! - 07/09/09 04:47 PM
Hi, Jill - I'm sorry to hear about your daughter's baby, colic can be horrible. We went through that, too. Boy, when I had a few minutes to spare, I wanted to use it for sleep! Exhausted and looking for a new home? Not fun! That's why she needs a dedicated buyer's agent. I've attached a form explaining that in Colorado you can work with an agent in two ways - as your agent, or as a transaction broker - and it's your choice. See the form here. (The agent who took you around looking at houses before should have gone over … (0 comments)
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buy a house: Dear Home Buyers - I'd love to help! - 07/09/09 04:11 PM
Hello again – I didn’t hear from you over the weekend, but I would love to help you find your new home as soon as you're ready. If you decide to let me help you, there is no cost to you for my services. Here’s how I help:
Search daily for new listings that meet your needs. Preview those listings to be sure they will be homes you want to see Schedule a time convenient for you to see the best ones Provide comparable homes that have sold recently, to help you decide what to offer (by the way, don’t … (0 comments)
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buy a house: Buying a House Between Denver and Boulder - An Open Letter to Home Buyers - 06/18/09 06:15 PM
*Hello, Ben – I thought I’d jot you a quick note, even though it is pretty late at night. I just got off a long phone call a little awhile ago with another first time home buyer who's been trying to find the right home on her own, searching the internet and calling a multitude of agents, traipsing in and out of houses all over Jefferson County until they blur into one. She said she's tired of people trying to push her around. I explained to her that many agents don’t actually like working with buyers because finding the right house is so time … (1 comments)
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buy a house: Colorado Home Buying - One Reason to Have Your Own Agent Help You Buy a House - 06/07/09 09:24 PM
To get all your questions answered by a real, live person. Here's a question I saw on an internet site recently. This hopeful home buyer was trying to get all these questions answered about a house she found online:
does one access the garage from another street? what is the electrical service, 60, 100 or 200 amps? city water and sewage? taxes? crime? size of hot water heater? age and performance of said? double pane windows? wood burning fireplace? If she had her own agent she could have laid out exactly what she did and didn't want ahead of time, and … (0 comments)
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Joetta Fort, Realtor Homes Denver to Boulder
Arvada,
CO
More about me…
Equity Colorado
Address: PO Box 740814, Arvada, CO, 80003
Office Phone: (720) 353-8031
Cell Phone: (720) 353-8031
Email Me
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