real estate: New Rules for Appraisal - 08/24/09 05:55 PM
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac introduced additional steps to the appraisal process effective on May 1st.  Some of the new steps include:

Appraisers cannot communicate directly with lenders. The appraisal process must involve a third-party, such as an appraisal management company, to act as a go-between for appraisers and other parties, which increases the time to complete the appraisal Under the old rules appraisers could evaluate just three comparable sold properties. Now, they must also evaluate at least two properties that are currently under contract or are active listings Under the old rules appraisers could go back up to six months … (3 comments)

real estate: Great bank owned home in a wonderful neighborhood - 08/22/09 04:04 AM
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real estate: Great bank owned home in a wonderful neighborhood - 08/22/09 04:04 AM
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real estate: It is all in your perspective! - 08/20/09 02:03 PM
Well after about six months, the Larimer County residential market has finally shed its "soft market" persona in the eyes of a number of lenders! While Larimer County was under a soft market classification, mortgage loans were subject to a 5% financing reduction, requiring at least a 10% down payment. In the past months, several lenders were now able to provide programs with 95% financing on conventional with as little as 5% down.  
This is just one of many facts that proves not believe everything you hear on the news! Another one came from my companies June publication of the Insider.  One article compared the return on investment (ROI) between residential property and the major … (0 comments)

real estate: The Hub of Northern Colorado - Milliken - 08/16/08 08:39 AM
Milliken - The "Hub of Northern Colorado", is a fast growing vibrant community in Weld county, which sits six miles east of I-25 on Colorado Highway 60. Milliken offers a pristine quality of life to its residents in a true rural Colorado setting. The Town offers a variety of amenities to residents including beautiful parks and open space, recreational activities, top-notch public services, and local educational convenience with both an elementary and middle school within the community. Milliken's history started with the settlement of Hillsboro in the 1860's which was the trade center for the immediate area. The town was officially … (2 comments)

real estate: Kendall Brook - a great place to live! - 08/15/08 10:43 AM
Kendall Brook subdivision located three miles north of Highway 34, on the northwest side of Loveland on the northwest corner of North Taft Avenue and West 43rd Street.  Fully developed single family lots are still available in second and third phase.  Price includes water, sewer, gas, electric and cable TV stubbed to each finished lot. The neighborhood has paved streets, curbs, gutters, entry monumentation, landscaping, streetlights and sidewalks.  Other amenities in this subdivision include:
Tremendous open space Soccer field 4 Parks with playground equipment 1 Park without playground equipment City trail system along the Louden Canal Excellent views of the Rocky Mountains  Professionally … (0 comments)

real estate: Great Builder Incentives!!!! - 08/15/08 06:38 AM

Building a better home for you & the environment!
Stunning four bedroom, three bath ranch style home in desirable Kendall Brook subdivision Custom tile with granite accents entry Tall solid Alder wood interior doors throughout Beautiful slab granite countertops in kitchen below a full custom tiled backsplash Stainless steel built-in convection oven & microwave PLUS refrigerator are included. Open living room with corner accented gas fireplace Spacious master suite offering: Patio Access, 5-piece bath with skylight & walk-in closet Dedicated dining room with spectacular mountain views Finished basement offering full wetbar with dishwasher, microwave & full size refrigerator Beautifully landscaped with  fire pit in … (0 comments)

real estate: All About Qualifying for That Mortgage - 08/07/08 04:47 AM
The hardest part of saving for a new home for many people is putting away the money for the down payment. If you have less than 25% of the purchase price to put down you will likely need to purchase mortgage insurance from whatever lender you have chosen.  The reason for this is simple.  It's protection for the lender against default if you can't keep up the payments.
Remember that we all need a personal banker, someone who lends a friendly face to the giant financial institutions that dominate our lives. With your personal banker on your side, you can get … (0 comments)

real estate: Equity in your home - 07/22/08 07:53 AM
Ask anyone who owns their own home about the obvious advantages and they'll more than likely tell you that there's an immense amount of pride in being able to say that they've got their own space. But there are many other pluses as well, and some of these are good tax advantages.
For instance, most times any capital gain from the sale of your principle residence is usually non-taxable. You home also represents excellent collateral. This means that you can often go to the bank to borrow other money for different projects that you might want to embark on, or the … (0 comments)

real estate: The Importance of Equity - 07/01/08 07:10 AM
Those of us who own their homes know that we've got it, but we don't always understand what it means or why it's so important. The term equity has many of us confused but really there's no need for that. Simply put, equity is the difference between the value of your home and what you still own on it. All the experts agree that this is one of the matters that should be at the heart of all you financial planning. It is one of if not the only way that some of us have of acquiring wealth.
There are many … (0 comments)

real estate: Paying it down is worth it! - 06/27/08 04:14 AM
At one time or another almost all home owners have dwelled on the possibility of paying down the mortgage early, if only because they are disgusted with paying so much interest over such a long period of time. Remember that in the early years of the mortgage, roughly 90% of each payment goes towards the interest on the mortgage loan.  In other words, for the first few years that you have a mortgage, you are not paying any of the amount you owe off. Unfortunately, few people actually institute programs for quickly paying down the mortgage on the family home, and … (0 comments)

real estate: The cost of fixing up a house - 06/17/08 06:28 AM
One of the first things to do with an investment property is to calculate out the costs of the improvements that will be necessary to finish the project off and then decide if you want to hire the project out or do it yourself. Generally, the person that's done the investing usually always does the menial stuff-the work that requires little in the way of tools and or talent, but many of the homes that are bought for investment purposes need a lot of things done in the major areas like the electrical and plumbing systems.
Here's a good rule of … (1 comments)

real estate: Real Estate & The World Wide Web - 06/13/08 04:01 AM
The advantage of real estate websites is that they can provide a useful overview of the housing market in any particular area with a great number of houses listed across the country. As on overview, the Internet is a highly useful tool for getting some kinds of listing information, but the web doesn't even come close to doing away with the need for an agent. Not all the sites that you'll be looking at are updated constantly, and for that reason you can contact a place for a viewing that's already under contract.
The point here is that's there is no … (0 comments)

real estate: A great place to live and play! - 06/06/08 07:07 AM
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real estate: The Advantages of Investing in Real Estate - 06/06/08 06:22 AM
 Although there have always been historic fluctuations in the market values, real estate is still one of the best investments. Over the long term, there is more stability in this kind of investing than many other kinds, but the breakdown of the benefits are often alien to many consumers.
First off the income that you will receive from a mature real estate investment will grow with time. As the amount you owe decreases (as you pay the mortgage off) the amount of cash that you've got at your disposal increases-and all this while the equity in your home increases with time … (1 comments)

real estate: Picking The Right Real Estate Agent - 06/06/08 06:04 AM
The investment in your home is considered to be one of the most important that you'll make in a lifetime. During the course of the time that you'll own the place, you will more than likely invest in some renovations to increase the value of the property. So, when you decide to do the windows, you won't trust the job to an amateur who won't put them in properly. And when it comes time to put a roof on, you'll want to hire the best professional that you can find. So when it comes time to sell, why would you want … (0 comments)

real estate: Northern Colorado Road Construction - 06/05/08 06:14 AM
Yesterday one of my team members was out showing property in the Greeley area.  She could not believe how long it took her to get from our office to Greeley - The drive that typically takes about twenty-five minutes took almost an hour.  The cause of this delay was road construction - the necessary evil!  Don't get me wrong I am very happy that they are finally repairing the road in Weld County - they are in need of repair.  But when trying to get to an appointment or take clients out to the different properties road construction can be a big … (0 comments)

real estate: Absorption Rate Chart for Northern Colorado - 05/27/08 08:58 AM
Below is a chart that shows that absorption rate for homes in the Northern Colorado Area.  If you compare the First Quarter of 2007 with the First Quarter of 2008 - Fort Collins and Greeley were only down 1% while Loveland is down 2% and Windsor 13%.
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real estate: Just Listed & Absoluteley Immaculate - 05/23/08 04:29 AM
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real estate: Is Real Estate For You? - 05/10/08 10:46 AM
There are certain personality traits that go into making someone a good salesperson but the real estate agent has several further nuances to the job that don't necessarily fit in with other sales categories. While real estate is hard work and you've got to be able to pick up on signals that can help you close a deal, the best real estate salespeople are a little off the beaten path as far as what they expect from the job goes.
One of the big reasons that people go into the field is to regain a sense of identity. Many of us … (1 comments)