Home equity lines of credit have been very popular in the last 10 years or so.  People found it a wiser financial decision to borrow against their home than to charge their credit cards and a good way to get some cash.  Banks were encouraging this behavior and advertising home equity lines of credit available.  Home owners "cashed out" their equity to remodel, pay off credit cards, buy new cars etc.  Because lines of credit are mortgages they are tax deductible.  This seems like a wise decision but with the financial difficulties facing millions of home owners today this has become quite a problem.  Today you will be hard pressed to receive any line of credit from a bank.  First of all many home owners owe more on their home than it is worth in todays market.  Second, banks are not funding these lines of credit to begin with and reducing credit limits on lines already loaned.  This has affected the economy in general. 

Grab your brewskies and beer brats for the first round of play off games.  The Green Bay Packers will be playing the Cardinals next week Sunday at 4:40 ET.  Just remember to grill your brats then simmer in 2/3 beer and 1/3 water (oh and throw an onion in).  Or is it simmer then grill?  That is the question... Go Pack Go!

Good news for Denver's overall housing market show signs of improvement in the last couple of months.  However, the number of high end homes going into foreclosure is rising.  Obtaining financing in general is harder for buyers these days and even harder for buyers trying to qualify for jumbo loans.  A jumbo loan is any loan over $417,000.  The whole high end market as a result is affected negatively.  So, if you are a high end buyer it may be a great time to get a deeply discounted deal!

Englewood based Village Homes filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November 2009.  Since then 2 real estate companies have teamed up to buy Village Home's assets for $21.9 million.  The companies are Homebuilder Capital Solutions, an affiliate of Colorado and Santa Fe Real Estate and Lowe Enterprises.   One reason for a depressed market for new construction is that is has been hard for builders to obtain financing.  Chairman and chief executive of Colorado and Santa Fe, Marcel Arsenault, believes that it is a good opportunity for them because banks know and trust them.  This new ventures first goal will be to complete 57 homes that have already been started.  Home builders are optimistic that 2010 will be a better year for new construction sales.

The Park Hill neighborhood has been ranked as one of the top 10 neighborhoods in the nation by The American Planning Association. The attraction of this neighborhood is no secret to my clients who have decided to purchase homes in Park Hill. Beautiful homes, a nice family community and a close proximity to downtown Denver are all reasons why many buyers should consider Park Hill when making their buying decision.

You can read the article for yourself here.

-Katie4Homes

Denver Real Estate

Okay, time for a little Friday fun. I'm not a big basketball fan and I know that I'm running the risk of sounding sooo 10 day ago. I just ran across this video clip of a Kobe Bryant stunt. I'm not sure that this type of marketing is appropriate for kids. This is truely one of those "do not attempt this" type of videos. I'm sure that I will not be posting a video blog of me attempting to recreate this jump.

Anyway, for those of you who are not among the 2.7 million YouTube viewers...

-Katie4Homes

Denver Real Estate

How many times have you gone to show a house and been surprised by something? I'm often surprised by the things that a seller will leave out in their living room. Too many times I've seen drug paraphernalia, inappropriate "magazines", other junk, garbage, and even pet feces.

In one instance I even stumbled upon a huge amount of marijuana - we're talking pounds! The disturbing thing is that some sellers don't seem to care that there are going to be potential buyers walking through their house.

Many times I can predict that foreclosures or houses in particular distressed areas might not have things in order. Unfortunately I've seen my share of this stuff in upscale housing as well.

So sellers, please clean up and try to present your house like you want to sell it. Here are some tips:

1. Take down personal pictures and other family heirlooms

2. Get rid of the junk. Have a yard sale and sell things that you don't need and throw away the rest (or at least find appropriate storage)

3. Repair the "little" things that you've been putting off for later. Fix the door handles, outlet covers and such. The things that you can pick up at the hardware store and fix in a few minutes.

4. Make sure that your closet isn't hiding something potentially embarrassing or offensive - you know what I mean. Make sure this stuff is hidden from view and not just behind the closet door.

5. Secure your valuables. Renting a storage unit or safety deposit box is a good idea.

6. Clean, take out the garbage, vacuum and plug in an air freshener. Hire a cleaning company if you have to, it will likely save you money by bringing higher offers.

7. Make sure the outside of the house looks nice too. Some buyers won't even want to see the inside if the outside is a mess.

-katie4homes

Denver Real Estate

According to this Wall Street Journal article, getting down to the "brass tacks" on actual foreclosure numbers can be difficult and different companies are using various methods for counting. I'm always hesitant to take numbers at face value without further analysis of who's doing the counting and how its been conducted.

Houses can often go into foreclosure multiple times as owners go into default and later catch-up on late payments. Additionally, many homeowners have more than one loan on a house for various reasons. This is why counting loan defaults is not entirely accurate if your looking to count actual homes in foreclosure.

Counting bank inventory can be a better method; however, this always results in a time lag as banks, states and state agencies have different resources and procedures for foreclosure.

After reading the article, it makes me wonder: how good is our historical data on foreclosure statistics?

-katie4homes

Denver Real Estate

When people in Denver think of the number seven, it is usually associated with John Elway; however, a new Forbes magazine reports ranks Denver as the 7th best city in which to sell a home.

While a 6.4 percent drop in prices last year had a chilling effect on the market, this year things have been different. The vacancy rate reduced by 20% over last year. There has been a large decline in new construction starts (down 49%) and the job market is looking very healthy with a 2% rise!

To read the full article with more detail on the report ranking, click here!

-Katie4Homes

Denver Homes

I've had several clients interested in the Stapleton area of Denver. All of the builders have done a really great job of urban planning and building to preserve a real sense of community. Last Sunday (3/31/08) I had a chance to take a look at some the KB Homes by Martha Stewart. These really look nice and my clients have really had good luck with this builder. I snapped some pictures for anyone interested in how they look inside and out. Base prices right now are between 319k and 379k with most buyers planning approx. 20% additional for upgrades. If you want a tour, give me a call.

-Katie4Homes

Denver Real Estate