Vacancies drop, rent up, an article from The Coloradoan, reports that Fort Collins is ripe for new student housing.  Vacancy rates have been dropping and rents are up.  A project including 197 units has been proposed for the 700 block of West Plum Street - just a half block from CSU.  Situated on 2.6 acres, this luxury student housing apartment would be the latest in a series of privately funded apartment proposals.  CSU is projected to have an additional 5,000 students over the next 15 years.  http://www.coloradoan.com/article/20081111/BUSINESS/811110311/1046   Do Your Sellers Suffer from PDS?, an article from Realtor Magazine Online, examines an unfortunate condition that many sellers have today: Price Denial Syndrome.  In reality, they must lower the listing price of their home, but ... 11/13/2008

    Always hurts when they spell something wrong!  11/13/2008

"I think the Mason Corridor is a wonderful opportunity to really enhance downtown and continue the growth that we've been working on for years," said J.J. Hannah, a commercial, residential and investment specialist with Keller Williams in downtown Fort Collins. This is a insert from the Northern Colorado Business Report, www.ncbr.com  and an interview I had with them regarding the Mason Corrdior and the downtown loft projects I am selling, namely Penny Flats, www.pennyflats.com and Solar Village Maple, www.http://maple.solarvillagelife.com.   You can read the rest of article here at:  http://ncbr.com/article.asp?id=96780 or check out our blog post on it at: www.fortcollinsre.com   Happy Monday 11/10/2008

A LOT of agents don't advise their clients to get sewer scopes when they purchase a property. This is a major mistake.  A broken sewer can cost between $3,000 - $10,000 dollars to repair and it only costs $99 ($99Rooter - others are more expensive) to have a tech put a camera down the sewer pipe and videotape the sewer all the way to the mainline. This will tell you  and the-buyer what the condition of the sewer is.     So let's see, we pay to have the furnace inspected but a new furnace will only be about $2,000. We pay to have the roof inspected but that's probably a $4,000 job. So why don't we always inspect the sewer?  One reason is because, let's face it,  Realtors want closings. Many figure if they keep their mouth shut and don't go out of their way to recommend a sewer scope that... 11/10/2008

Have you ever driven through Aurora North looking for a rental property and taken a close look at the roofs?   Here's what you'll see: a bunch of 1950's ranches in varying states of repair or disrepair, lawns that are often grassless, old handcrank windows and roofs in almost perfect condition!  This surprised me at first and perplexed me for a long time.  Why, in a neighborhood devastated by foreclosures with properties with massive deferred maintenance are the roofs in such condition?  Really!  Stand in the middle of a typical street and looking at 10 roofs simultaneously, you'll be amazed. Well, it turns out the answer is pretty simple. There was a huge hailstorm in the mid-90's and most of the roofs were replaced by insurance companies then. The result is that while you certainly ne... 11/10/2008

A lot of clients ask me how to figure out what market rents are in a neighborhood. This is a critical input into the calculations an investor needs to make in order to determine what their return on investment will be on a rental property. So you don't want to screw this up! Unfortunately, this is one of the many figures new investors get wrong. One place people go to get rents is Rent-o-Meter. Rent-o-Meter is billed as an online resource to get accurate market rents. In my experience it is anything but! However, I have a fairly simple solution. Multiply what you see on Rent-o-Meter by 80% and you'll probably be close. I can't explain why but I find rents on Rent-o-Meter to be about 25% high, so multiplying their rents by 80% will get you close (do the math, it works out). So then, how ... 11/10/2008

The talk around the water cooler these days is all about LOANS. Who can get them? At what price? What if I already have a few loans, do I still qualify?  A year or two ago the question was at what price do I get a loan (those were the days!).  Today it is "am I still in the game?"        Here's the deal:  if you have an owner occupied loan and 3 investor loans you cannot buy any more properties and get Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac financing, meaning you can't get a conventional 30-year fixed loan. Now, my hope is that someone reads this and tells me I'm wrong. That would be great!  But as far as I know that is the case.       Where does this leave you?  You can pursue loans that are warehoused by lenders, meaning they are not sold on the backend to Fannie or Freddie. You are probably lookin... 11/10/2008

A lot of investors ask what an egress window is and when one is needed. Technically, it's a window for a room below grade that a municipality has deemed large enough to be safe for exit in case of emergency.   While there are some variations, the window needs to be large enough that a firefighter with an oxygen bottle on their back could get in, then carry out an injured person in a fire.  Most often, it's associated with a basement bedroom window, making it a legal bedroom. Basement bedrooms without egress windows are illegal.  Installing an egress window makes them legal.      The confusion is that different cities, counties and agencies have different size requirements and height-above-floor requirements for these windows. Therefore, before you start cutting into the concrete foundat... 11/09/2008

A lot of clients ask me how to figure out what market rents are in a neighborhood. This is a critical input into the calculations an investor needs to make in order to determine what their return on investment will be on a rental property. So you don't want to screw this up! Unfortunately, this is one of the many figures new investors get wrong. One place people go to get rents is Rent-o-Meter. Rent-o-Meter is billed as an online resource to get accurate market rents. In my experience it is anything but! However, I have a fairly simple solution. Multiply what you see on Rent-o-Meter by 80% and you'll probably be close. I can't explain why but I find rents on Rent-o-Meter to be about 25% high, so multiplying their rents by 80% will get you close (do the math, it works out). So then, how ... 11/09/2008

The talk around the water cooler these days is all about LOANS. Who can get them? At what price? What if I already have a few loans, do I still qualify?  A year or two ago the question was at what price do I get a loan (those were the days!).  Today it is "am I still in the game?"        Here's the deal:  if you have an owner occupied loan and 3 investor loans you cannot buy any more properties and get Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac financing, meaning you can't get a conventional 30-year fixed loan. Now, my hope is that someone reads this and tells me I'm wrong. That would be great!  But as far as I know that is the case.       Where does this leave you?  You can pursue loans that are warehoused by lenders, meaning they are not sold on the backend to Fannie or Freddie. You are probably lookin... 11/09/2008

A few weeks ago, the first part of this series, "Getting Started", http://activerain.com/blogsview/684869/Investing-in-Real-Estate-Getting-Started-1 gave you an overview of the eight different types of real estate investments.  Today we are going to learn more about this category. What this investment is:  An investor who is interested in Assignments gets a property under contract for an attractive price then assigns the contract to another buyer, usually another investor.  The first investor will be paid a fee for the work.  If you don't have much equity to work with, and/or if your credit power is limited, assignments can be a way to get started in real estate investing.  You will need to have a strong "sales" personality to succeed at it, though.  Equity needed:  None, just earnest m... 11/09/2008

A few weeks ago, the first part of this series, "Getting Started", http://activerain.com/blogsview/684869/Investing-in-Real-Estate-Getting-Started-1 gave you an overview of the eight different types of real estate investments.  Today we are going to learn more about this category. What this investment is:  Purchase of a residential property to be rented out to tenants, usually on a 6-12 month lease term.  This is how most new landlords get started.  You can hire out all of the property management functions, but in many cases you will do many of them on your own.  There are smaller down payment requirements than for larger rental buildings.  The purchase process and financing process is very similar to what you experienced buying the home you live in now.  It's a great way for beginners ... 11/09/2008

A few weeks ago, the first part of this series, "Getting Started", http://activerain.com/blogsview/684869/Investing-in-Real-Estate-Getting-Started-1 gave you an overview of the eight different types of real estate investments.  Today we are going to learn more about this category. What this investment is:  Purchase of duplex, triplex or quadplex to be rented to tenants, usually for 6-12 month terms.  Usually what the rental home / condo landlords graduate to.  In most markets they cost a little more than a rental home, but are much more likely to cash flow on the average month.  Less cash flow risk; if one unit is empty you have other tenants that still help you with the mortgage payment so it doesn't all come out of your pocket.  Many owners will start to delegate some of the property ... 11/09/2008

A few weeks ago, the first part of this series, "Getting Started", http://activerain.com/blogsview/684869/Investing-in-Real-Estate-Getting-Started-1 gave you an overview of the eight different types of real estate investments.  Today we are going to learn more about this category. 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 sophisti... 11/09/2008

A few weeks ago, the first part of this series, "Getting Started", http://activerain.com/blogsview/684869/Investing-in-Real-Estate-Getting-Started-1 gave you an overview of the eight different types of real estate investments.  Today we are going to learn more about this category. 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... 11/09/2008

So I've been going to the convention classes, and they're telling me that I need to be blogging on this site and others to let everyone know how the market.  Here I am! Don't really know what I'm doing here, but will figure it out as soon as I can, but in the mean time, if anyone has any quesitons, please feel free to write me and let me know. Otherwise, I'll be enjoying Orlando and the 80 degree weather.  Have a fantastic day! Sean 11/08/2008

I am new to Fort Collins but I was a Real Estate Agent in Las Vegas for 3 years until my husband decided to be close to his 2 brothers and I am ok with that so we moved, I took my Real Estate Broker's exam, passed and now I am just waiting for my license to arrive before I am allowed to work. My brother in law in a contractor for over 17year in Fort Collins and is trying to sale his house as he built a new one. He has tried many agents with many companies and after a year he still have not received an offer on his house. The house is fantastic, lots of upgrades as he built it himself and he put all his skills into this property. My personal opinion is that the house did not sale because it backs into Shields which is a busy street however, if a person that is hearing impaired the noise ... 11/04/2008

Very good insight into the mortgage crisis. Just goes to show how prevalent the Robin Hood mentality is in the country and the dangers associated with it. http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=5&issue=20081029 10/30/2008

October 2008 EcoBroker Update: In this Issue Upsides of the Bailout for Green Industries EcoBrokers® In the News  Upcoming Green Events Welcome to Our Newest Affiliates Mold Mitigation in Homes and Buildings New Marketing Templates Available Through the EcoBroker Design & Print Platform Web Site of the Month   EcoBroker International1-800-706-4321 (toll-free)www.EcoBroker.com 10/30/2008

Hello I am JJ Hannah an active agent in the Fort Collins Colorade real estate market.Although I have seen this site before, I finally jumped in and hope to get the rain to start falling.  I have been blogging for years at www.fortcollinsre.com.  For the last four years I have worked for the quickets growing, smallest brokerage in Northern Colordao, Fort Collins Real Estate.  About a month ago, we merged with Keller Williams of Northern Colorado.  So far, the merger has been great.  Keller Williams has so many great agents and great tools that are really easy to use and help expand my business.We are still working on changing out all of our old logos and such, so be patient if you see Fort Collins Real Estate logos still on our webpage.  If anyone has any tips for me to use active rain, ... 10/27/2008