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 distressed sales so common today), that when I try to tell my clients everything they need to know, their eyes glaze over and they don’t remember half of it.

So – I’m developing a series of blog posts that will address all the issues I can think of, from the perspective of both home buyers and home sellers, especially those between Denver and Boulder. Many of these issues apply nation-wide, but most are local. So if you, dear reader, are buying or selling a house in another area, please do find a reliable, patient real estate agent you can call your own. If you need help finding one, I belong to an organization of well over 100,000 real estate agents all over the country, and I can give you the inside scoop on a couple in your area.

And if you’re a client of mine during the time period that I’m working on these posts, you just might recognize part of your story used for illustration. So I’ll thank you in advance for all the wonderful subject matter you give me each and every day in the wonderful world of real estate!

I’ll add links to this post as new ones are developed, and I'll do a separate 'starter post' for home sellers, so please come back often.

(To read a post, click on its name.)

1.  Getting your loan

2.  Finding the house

3.  Offer, Counteroffer Click here to read Part 1. Click here to read Part 2.

4.  Inspection & Negotiation

5.  Appraisal

6.  Closing

7. Moving

8.  The Special Fun of ‘Distressed Sales’

9. REALTOR Speak

Copyright © 2011 Joetta Fort

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I am a residential real estate agent, happily helping folks buy a house or sell a house in the beautiful and friendly suburbs northwest of Denver. Learn how to buy a house in Colorado.

Read more about Arvada’s other neighborhoods, shops, and things to do, and here’s a little intro to Olde Town Arvada.

Or check out my gardening blog, packed with info for high plains gardens: Beauty of Gardening.

Check out my website.

Find all the homes available in Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, North Denver, Thornton, Lafayette, Louisville, Wheat Ridge and Golden.

I write posts on real estate issues and local events in the Denver metro area, especially those communities between Denver and Boulder, as a public service. My hope is to give people an idea of the ‘flavor’ of our community, in case they’re new or moving to the Denver area.