Tips for pursuing real estate financing

More than likely, you’ve been hearing a great deal about mortgages and other real estate financing issues in the news lately. For someone who is not familiar with this type of financing, it can be difficult to understand. Here are some basic tips to know about obtaining funding for Cherry Creek homes for sale.

Your agent can help

While your agent doesn’t have any authority when it comes to approving you for a loan, they can certainly help with the process and will likely know a great deal about it. Agents know a sale isn’t really closed until every little issue has been resolved, and financing is a big issue. Your real estate agent’s expertise may not specialize in obtaining financing, but they have surely navigated the process successfully several times before. Your agent can give you advice concerning all of your options and by suggesting some lenders to work with that they have had good experiences with in the past.

You don’t have to go to a bank

While banks are certainly the most common lending method, there are several options available to homeowners. You could do seller financing, meaning the lender is the actual previous owner of the house, which is a service that the seller would have to be totally on board with—this is something often done if the seller is having a hard time selling the home and offers seller financing as a motivator. The advantage here is that by bypassing the bank, you are going to have a faster and cheaper process.

You can take out a loan against a life insurance policy. This can actually be relatively easy due to the lack of application process. An idea growing in popularity lately has been rent-to-own, where the future owners actually get a trial period of the house while getting a temporary place to live. And don’t forget the cash option. It’s not something you would be able to do on shorter notice, but it’s a good idea to tuck away for the future.

You money may be held by a third party

If you have an agreement with a seller to buy their home, you won’t exactly send the money straight to them. Payments are often held in escrow, meaning a third party holds the funds until certain agreed upon conditions were met. If the conditions aren’t met, then the other party may be able to back out of the sale without consequences.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Keeping up with the Jonses: How to keep your listed home competitive

The competitive nature of the real estate market brings a whole new meaning to “keeping up with the Jonses.” When a prospective buyer enters search terms for specific criteria and location, whatever homes listed on the results page will be in competition with each other. Along with your home, the buyer is likely going to be looking at some of these other houses that fit your criteria. This means that you’ve got to stay competitive by both keeping up and standing apart. Some ways you can keep your home competitive when selling Baker real estate:

Keep up with your web presence

The number one way that buyers connect to sellers now is through the internet. With so many options for what kind of home you want, the internet makes it easy to filter out what you don’t want to look at. Because so many buyers primarily look for listings on the internet, it is essential to have an established web presence. Your agent should be working to market your listing on a variety of types of sites. And if your house was promoted on these sites when you first put your home up for sale, but haven’t been posted anywhere recently, you should market to some new sites and reach a different range of people.

Pricing

Pricing competitively is a no brainer, especially if you’ve become attached to the house and you have other houses around to keep up with. Many potential buyers know the asking and selling prices of comparable homes in the area, and they will know when a price is out of the correct range. If they have the choice of pursuing a home that is priced competitively and a home that leaves a lot of room for negotiation, they will more likely think the more reasonably priced but comparable home is a better use of their time.

Updates

A major reason that a homeowner will pick one home over another is because one is updated while the other needs some work. Even if an outdated area includes a budget for an upgrade, many sellers may be deterred by the idea that your house requires more work than another house. Even small updates or redecorations can make a difference, but most buyers will not be interested in too much of an overhaul unless they actually want to renovate everything to fit their own tastes. Have fresh eyes look through your house for any sore spots and work to give a better impression.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Real estate transactions: What can go wrong

If you have reached an unofficial agreement or even signed some paperwork beginning the transaction to own a house, you should know that oftentimes what even looks like a sure sale can fall apart. Getting attached to a home only for there to be a problem or technicality in your way can lead to disappointment when your dream home falls out of your grasp. To make everything smoothly, perhaps consider a real estate agent to help guide you through putting up Denver Colorado homes for sale. During the transaction process, be on guard for the common ways that transactions fall through.

Contingencies

A contingency is a condition set into a transaction agreement that must be met before transfer of ownership becomes official. If the buyer or seller has a concern about something getting accomplished before the contract becomes official, then they can work this into the contract just in case. These are promises made by the two parties that protect them in case they need to fall out of the sale if the conditions cannot be performed. A contingency may have to do with passing inspection, or perhaps the buyer wants to include a clause that the sale of the house is not final until they sell their previous home. A contingency that most contracts have is that the buyer must obtain secure financing to purchase the home.

Disclosure

If you are seriously considering a home, there are things about the home that the owner is required to disclose. A disclosure is a required action by the seller to inform the buyer of anything they may need to know after taking over ownership. This could be anything that could affect the future ownership and value of the home. The exact rules may vary from state to state, but this could be something like leaving out that construction project that you know will be starting up later this year, making a lot of noise and covering up a great view. It could be a leaky roof or a termite inspection. A seller can face penalties such as lawsuits if they fail to disclose of a home issue.

Underwriting

An underwriter is a member of the lender’s team that will evaluate the risk involved with lending the hopeful buyer money. The underwriter will take a look at the actual value of the home in case it must be used as collateral and other financial information necessary to evaluate risk.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

How to amp up excitement over your home

Whether you’re gearing up to start showing your home after putting up Denver real estate for sale, or interest has dwindled since the initial rush of visitors, it may be time to rethink your game plan if you feel you aren’t getting enough interest. The problem may be that the impression of your home lacks pizazz. You should work with your agent on bringing interest back. Here are some ways you can amp up interest in your home:

Highlight your home’s strong points

Every home has its weak spots, but there’s nothing wrong with working to bring attention to your home’s strong points instead. Take a look at the most desirable features in your home and decorate or arrange in order to bring focus to that feature. If you have a beautiful fireplace, center the seating around it and have a warm fire going if the weather permits. If your pool is a wonderland, make sure the waterfall is running when you’re holding showings. Just repainted the exterior? Give your yard a little landscaping to showcase this. Highlighting the most prized features of your home not only gives a greater overall impression, but it will give your home more character as well if your buyers leave with certain elements sticking out in their mind. Some buyers will be looking at a lot of different houses, and so a house with character will be more memorable.

Take professional photos

If your interest is stagnant, the problem may be that your photographs aren’t reeling anyone in. If your photos are low quality or unflattering, you still may get some visitors at first out of curiosity or from those that always check out a new listing. But after this is over a bit after you’ve started showing, then it might be time to take new pictures. A good idea is to hire a professional photographer and stager, a person who decorates a house with showing and selling in mind. If that’s not in the budget, your agent will still be able to make suggestions for better photos.

Redecorate or update

If you feel like your home presentation is dull, redecorating and updating can spice up the look of your house. This could be as simple as getting some bright throw pillows for the couch or as complicated as retiling a bathroom.
Give your marketing plan a second look

The problem could be simply that you’re not reaching enough people. Ask your agent what outlets they are using to reach buyers, and consider reaching out to different websites or client bases.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Tips for getting your real estate bid accepted

Once you’ve found your dream house, the real estate quest does not end there. You’ve still got to figure out if you can finance the purchase, and exactly how much this purchase will be. And even then, the buyer may not accept your bid. Losing a bid on a house can be heartbreaking for a prospective buyer that has put a lot of heart and effort into looking for the perfect home. There are some strategies that you can use to help the buyer decide to accept your bid.

Make a good impression

Some homeowners will feel very attached to their house and all the precious memories it holds. Consider this whenever you meet the buyers. Think of it as a job application. When the owner looks for an ideal buyer, it may be important to them that it is taken over by someone they like. If they don’t personally like you, and can afford to wait longer to sell the house, then they may reject even a fair bid.

Communicate effectively

Negotiating the terms of selling a house can take so much back and forth that having effective communication is essential. Not only can your buyers grow frustrating with trying to communicate with you, but this can drag out a potential home sale, and another buyer could swoop in before you can get your messages across.

One way to ensure you’re communicating properly is to have Denver real estate agents at your disposal. An agent will know all the right steps in the bidding process and can even help with the aftermath of financing and contingencies.

Make a fair bid

One of the simplest ways to get your bid accepted is to offer up a fair one. With competition between buyers heating up, if you offer a price that is well below the listing price, the buyer may be right in thinking that they wouldn’t have to wait too long for a better offer. Also, bidding a price that is unreasonably low could offend them or make them think you’re wasting your time, causing them to refuse to entertain any other offers from you. If you think their asking price is unreasonably high or you could afford the house if it were a bit less, then you are probably right to offer a bid lower than the asking price. One way to figure out a fair bid is to look at comparable homes in the area and what prices they sold for. Keep in mind individual cases may have had special circumstances, like upgrades or other issues, but it’s a good general reference point.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Part II: Common turn offs for real estate buyers

Along the road of selling your home, you will probably have many different interested buyers. However, it doesn’t take much to lose this interest, especially considering how big of a decision buying a home is. If you selling Aurora real estate, consider these common missteps or turnoffs that can cause a potential buyer to lose interest.

You’re not friendly

Although in initial stages, contact may be brief, you will most likely get to meet prospective buyers once the transaction gets into the more serious stages. Any seller should keep in mind that even though the principle interest is in the house, the way you act can turn off prospective buyers from a sale. Try to be polite and not overbearing, and although it’s understandable that you’re attached to your home, try not to be territorial. Let them get a chance to have a thorough showing without your presence so that they can take a look without being distracted. If you’re annoyed by a showing’s timing and can’t leave your home, try to hide your annoyance.

They saw the neighboring properties

If the buyers liked what they saw on your online listing, this is a good sign. However, they haven’t seen the neighborhood yet. The buyer will be taking note of your surrounding area, neighborhood, and the properties right next to yours. Even if they love your property, if they don’t like the scenery they’ll have to look at every day, this can be a deal breaker. Many buyers can dislike surrounding properties so much that they may turn around and cancel the showing.

The home isn’t as impressive in person

It’s a great strategy to have high-quality photographs of your home, and to decorate strategically to make your home photogenic. In the photos, it is easy to hide or downplay a weak spot you have in the home, or you have excluded areas that need the most updating. But remember that even the best pictures and decorating don’t guarantee as that the buyer will like what they see in person. Perhaps it isn’t exactly what they imagined become disinterested. Or, the features that were purposely excluded from photos were deal breakers.

You don’t respond well to feedback

If your prospective buyers give polite feedback after a showing, take up the chance for some constructive criticism and don’t take it personally. Even if they have some negative things to say, they could still be interested with the intention of making some updates to suit their needs. This is why you should take criticism gracefully, and don’t assume you’ve lost a sale just because the buyer doesn’t like a few things.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Common turn offs for real estate buyers

It’s not uncommon for those looking to sell their home to become hopeful about certain potential buyers, only for the buyers to suddenly lose interest. You could be left scratching your head, wondering what you’ve done wrong. With everything on a home seller’s plate, they may have overlooked something that resulted in the buyers becoming uninterested. If you’re selling your home, take a look at these common potential buyer turn offs:

You’re not following procedure

Though it may depend on the market, a home sale transaction follows a certain legal and traditional procedure. If you don’t follow this established process, this could be seen as a red flag for buyers, who do not want a mess over technical matters to get in the way of buying their home. Hiring a good agent can ensure that you’re following the status-quo.

You’re always present at showings

A general rule for showings is that it is better for the seller not to be there. Potential buyers feel freer to take a serious look at a home if the buyer isn’t buzzing around. Looking at a stranger’s home is already slightly awkward, and so a buyer’s presence can take them out of their element and distract them from looking close enough for fear of being impolite. Without the seller’s presence, the buyer can more freely critique the home and tell their true feelings to their agent and buying partners so they can find the perfect piece of Berkeley real estate.

You weren’t totally forthcoming

When you put your home up for sale, you have to inform potential buyers about the home’s vulnerabilities that could cause issues for the new owner in the future. Disclosure isn’t just courteous, they’re required. Misrepresenting homes to buyers has resulted in lawsuits over later problems with the house, such as a chronically leaky roof or a driveway that is prone to flooding. A famous case over termites in 1986, Hill v. Jones, came about because the buyer failed to inform the seller of an infestation before the parties had entered into a contract.

Your price is too high

Whether you are leaving room for negotiation or truly feel that your home deserves a higher asking price than what your research or agent is telling you is fair, a price that is too high is one of the biggest turn offs for buyers. Even if the buyer initially show interest, they may need to be looking for some big redeeming quality with the property to justify spending so much money on a home, and then retreat after finding none. Or, perhaps their lower bid was rejected, and they feel they’ve lost steam when it comes to the home. An unfair asking price could also be seen as a sign that your judgment could make you difficult to do business with.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

For home sellers: A guide to getting your asking price

One of the most difficult aspects of selling a home is negotiating the price you want. While many may see this as a game of strategy between the two parties, the truth is, the process of getting your ideal price for your home starts well before these negotiations. Keep reading to find out how you should be working towards getting your price before you even put your home on the market.

Take a look at the condition of the market

When you set your asking price, you’re not just looking at the value of your home. You’ve got to look at the state of the market. This could be anything from making a physical survey of the quality of the area to looking at statistics of the market’s health. For example, in the last few months, Denver’s home prices have reached record-breaking highs. This means you could list your home at a reasonably higher than usual price.

Do your research

Before you establish an asking price, you should be looking at comparable homes for sale around you, or at those that have been sold. It could even help to pay a visit to these homes at open houses. Consider what the asking prices were of comparable prices that have taken a while to sell and the asking prices of homes that sold quickly. This will give you a good idea of what price the buyers will be enthusiastic about, and what price may have them hesitating to take the process any further.

Don’t aim too much higher than what you really want

A common strategy for home sellers is to have a high asking price in order to leave room for negotiating. However, there are two reasons why setting the price too high could be a bad idea, and one is specific to Denver. A high asking price can scare off a buyer from considering a home further, as they may have many other more fairly priced homes that seem like less work to bid on. Buyers may see an outlandish asking price as a sign that they may not want to do business with that buyer. They may also look at the asking price on a listing and assume the house is too big or otherwise not what they’re looking for without looking into its other features. Basically, potential buyers don’t like to have their time wasted.

The other reason why this is a bad idea is that in Denver, the demand for homes is very high. So high that you may not even need to worry about getting the price you really want. Many Denver sellers are reporting they were able to sell their home quickly and without any price negotiations at all. If your price is fair, listing your house for exactly how much you want can come across to the buyers as no-nonsense, and could motivate them to want to make an agreement before more competition come around. If you have an interested buyer that will not go as high as your asking price, it likely won’t take long for another prospective buyer to come along with the way Baker real estate is selling.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

May’s real estate report shows record-breaking numbers for Denver

For some time now, the stable regrowth of Denver real estate has been reassuring buyers and sellers. As one of the first to get hit by the housing crisis years ago, Denver is emerging as one of the first to recover. Record breaking numbers in May have further confirmed what we’ve been coming to understand about the state of the market: it’s officially back.

In May, home prices reached their highest since the market’s crash. Since last May, prices have gone up by 10% according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller home price index. For seventeen consecutive months, Denver has seen these year-to-year increases. Partly due to an increased demand, the average price of a home during May reached over $308,000. While Denver’s population has been increasing as more and more discover what a desirable place to live the city is, this is also a sign of a healthier market. May’s broken records had not been met for seven long years, so these numbers have caused many skeptics to finally let out a sigh of release.

The demand is so high that many sellers are reporting finding a buyer within days or even the same day they put out their sign. Following the recession, a large number of properties that were selling were sold for less than $100,000, including many foreclosures, while the standard today has shifted between of $200,000-$300,000. This is a relief for sellers of bigger-ticket homes, as these typically take longer to sell. However, now, these sellers can hope to sell their home in less than a year instead of several years. A drop in the sale of foreclosures—from 40% to 15% in a few years—has also contributed to this, along with minimalized discounts on these foreclosure properties.

Only two cities in the United States have passed records set before the recession, and Denver is one. The city’s co-title holder, Dallas, is also experiencing increased demand. However, if you are a hopeful potential buyer, don’t let these statistics scare you. Even though Denver homes are in higher demand, a recovering market means that there are still plenty of houses getting put on the market of Denver real estate for sale every day, with 2,500 new homes entering the market from April-July of this year. Yes, there will be more competition, but you will also have access to more homes, meaning a greater chance at finding the perfect home for you.

Denver’s recovery is indicative of regrowth in the market all over the country—the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller price index also reported US home sales had hit a five year high in May.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.

Denver’s rich history of being a great place to live

In order to understand how Denver came to be such a rich and vibrant city, it can help to take a look at the city’s long history. Many people living in Denver enjoy staying connected to the city’s past, as the city’s atmosphere preserved many of the ideals that the area was founded upon. Denver enjoys a unique identity partly due to this history.

The city of Denver began in 1858 as Montana City, a mining town on the South Platte River. Thanks to the Pikes Peak Gold Rush enjoyed by the Kansas Territory, gold prospectors settled in Montana City, then moving to the settlement of Auraria and St. Charles City. These first settlements would eventually become what we all know of as Denver.
A prospector claimed land on the river’s bluff along the point that the South Platte River and Cherry Creek meet by saving the spot with cottonwood logs. The prospector, General William Larimer, gave it the name Denver City, after the territory’s governor, James W. Denver. An early indicator of Denver’s great location and recreational elements, the spot was easy to reach with trails along the river.

Denver’s real estate business was booming from the beginning, as Larimer and friends strategized to sell Denver land to buyers that would get the settlement’s population and economy stirring, including merchants and miners. This exciting frontier town easily attracted emigrants. Wagon trails were developed, and then in 1870, a link to the trans-continental railroad (a project funded by citizens) opened up a wider range of opportunities besides mining, leading to a boom in prosperity. During this period of growth, Denver became known as a service and supply town, as many towns connected to railroads do. City leaders continued to try and grow the young city by appealing to industry management and workers. Denver became the second-largest city to the west of Omaha by 1890 and earned the nickname, “Queen City of the Plains” due to Denver being an industrial center for the surrounding agricultural areas.

So, why consider Denver’s history when looking at buying or putting up Denver real estate for sale?

The history makes it evident that, from the start, Denver’s founders designed the city with the goal of attracting residents and keeping them happy. These ideals have been maintained, and contributed to why Denver is such a great place to live today. The city provides access to all the recreational activities you associate with Colorado along with nightlife, arts culture, indoor recreation, Cherry Creek homes for sale and much more. The city that started out appealing to movers and shakers has developed into a city that strives to have something for everyone.

About PorchLight Real Estate: PorchLight Real Estate Group has the most experienced and knowledgeable Denver real estate agents in Colorado. For more information about homes for sale in Denver CO or specific neighborhood homes please visit www.porchlightgroup.com.