Are you house hunting in Denver's Sunnyside/Highlands Area?

(Open house this weekend - 4495 Elm. Ct.)

You’ll find a lot of pretty remodels.  But don’t get distracted by the glitz and forget about the budget-busting items flippers often DON’T do, or the inspections they DON’T get!

Did that shiny remodel leave a lot of expensive items for you to deal with later?  Was the work done without pulling required permits, so you have no idea if it meets code?  Was that kitchen wall knocked out by people who knew what they were doing?

Did the flip leave out fixes that could cost you big bucks down the line, just because they’re not ‘pretty’?

Smart homebuyers will carefully consider

4495 Elm Ct.

for their next home!

See Virtual Tour of 4495 Elm Ct.

Open this weekend - August 11 (11:00 until 2:00) and August 12 (noon until 3:00)

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I write posts on the communities between Denver and Boulder, to give people an idea of the ‘flavor’ of our community, in case they’re new or moving to the Denver area.    Read more about life in Arvada, Colorado. And here’s a little intro to Olde Town Arvada.

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.  Read what past clients have said about me.

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

Gardeners might enjoy my posts about gardening in Denver to Boulder’s front range.

 Copyright © 2012 Joetta Fort, The DiGiorgio Group

Featured Neighborhood: Sunnyside Home & Real Estate For Sale

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Denver CO Home Search

Metro Denver CO Home Search

When you are ready to look at homes (or have one to sell) in Sunnyside of Denver CO home give me a call. I would love the opportunity to earn your business! Mark at 720.733.1548.

View Sunnyside Neighborhood in Denver CO in a larger map

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Copyright 2011 All Rights Reserved, "Denver CO Home Update - Featured Neighborhood: Sunnyside Home & Real Estate For Sale"
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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 Sunnyside 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).

Equity needed:  Being able to document your income and your assets will be critical.  For a commercial loan, your net worth should generally be at least as much as the loan you are seeking.  The good news is that the commercial loan usually does not show up on your credit report, so it doesn't count towards the "four investment home limitation" from Fannie / Freddie.

Importance of credit:  Essential.  A 720 FICO is a must.  A 740 would be better.

Importance of experience with contractors:  Critical.  If you have never done it before, start with an easier "paint and carpet" project to build your skills.  The more sophisticated the project, the better your contractor management skills must be to make money.  Not surprisingly, the simpler projects have lower profit margins than the complicated projects.  Make sure you can take the time to really focus on the project.  We run classes on how to do this from time to time.  Go to http://www.yourcastle.org/events.cfm to see when the next session is.

Important of experience with property managers:  Generally not important for this type of investment.

Investing in Real Estate 8 - Condo Conversions

This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, fix and flips, in the Sunnyside 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 asset classes.  Ideally suited for the sophisticated investor with extensive experience. 

Equity needed:  Being able to document your income and your assets will be critical.  For a commercial loan, your net worth should generally be at least as much as the loan you are seeking.  The good news is that the commercial loan usually does not show up on your credit report, so it doesn't count towards the "four investment home limitation" from Fannie / Freddie.

Importance of credit:  Essential.  A 720 FICO is a must.  A 740 would be better.

Importance of experience with contractors:  Critical.  If you have never done it before, start with an easier "paint and carpet" project to build your skills.  The more sophisticated the project, the better your contractor management skills must be to make money.  Not surprisingly, the simpler projects have lower profit margins than the complicated projects.  Make sure you can take the time to really focus on the project.  We run classes on how to do this from time to time.  Go to http://www.yourcastle.org/events.cfm to see when the next session is.

Important of experience with property managers:  Not important; the majority of our clients manage their own rentals when they get started.  Ideally you will have started with some smaller investment rentals and built property management experience.  Now, when you have to finally manage a property manager, it will be easy since you have done the job yourself in the past.

Investing in Real Estate 7 - Fix and Flips

This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, fix and flips, in the Sunnyside 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 loans (defined in next paragraph), potentially 0% and they'll finance the construction costs, too.  Expect a LOT of strings to be attached.  A small local lender might give you 75% of the purchase price and the renovation budget, and the terms will be a lot more pleasant than the hard money option.  Or you can do 20% down and get a convention, non-owner occupied loan and pay for the renovation with cash or your Home Depot credit card.

Importance of credit:  If you get a hard money loan, your credit will not matter as much.  These are harder to find than they were last year.  If you get a traditional loan, it'll be a non-owner occupant loan, credit score will be very important.  A 720 FICO score would help a lot.  Being able to document your income and your assets will be critical.  A hard money lender will lend you money based on the value of the property you are purchasing.  If the property is worth $200,000 and you are able to purchase it for $150,000, a Hard Money Lender will probably give you a loan regardless of your down payment or credit score.  However, the fees and the interest rate will be much less desirable than more conventional forms of financing.  Hard Money Lenders can usually close very quickly, and from the Sellers' point of view, you are purchasing with Cash.

Importance of experience with contractors:  Critical.  If you have never done it before, start with an easier "paint and carpet" project to build your skills.  The more sophisticated the project, the better your contractor management skills must be to make money.  Not surprisingly, the simpler projects have lower profit margins than the complicated projects.  Make sure you can take the time to really focus on the project.  We run classes on how to do this from time to time.  Go to http://www.yourcastle.org/events.cfm to see when the next session is.

Important of experience with property managers:  Not important.