About Denver County, CO

Framed by Colorado Boulevard and University Avenue on the north and south respectively, and 6th Avenue and Exposition on the east and west. Cherry Creek has a walk score of 90.

Denver's premier shopping enclave for several decades, Cherry Creek is the place to live, work, shop, and play. This neighborhood, once known as Harmon, for George Harmon who owned the 320-acre farm that originally occupied the site, offers the ultimate urban lifestyle in a lovely central location where quiet, tree-shaded streets, pocket parks, and trails beckon you to walk, jog, or bike, and nearby thoroughfares whisk you to all points of the metro area in mere minutes.

Among the neighborhood's attractions are the renowned Cherry Creek Mall, one of Denver's leading tourist attractions; is the best, most well kept shopping center and has the highest saturation of top-notch stores: Hermes, Saks Fifth Avenue, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co. among others. Along with bistros, gourmet restaurants, coffee houses, boutiques, spas, salons, bookstores and gallery's.

Recent statistics have come out from Land Title Guarantee, the title company we, at Bev Groth Properties use for all of our closings. They compare 8 of the major sections of the Denver area MLS. This latest report included 4th quarter 2009 compared to 4th quarter 2008 on "Avg Days on the Market" and "Avg Sales Price".

One area stands out....the Southwest part of Denver which typically less expensive but has some nice neighborhoods within a short commute to downtown and easy access to the mountains. Southwest Denver actually showed a modest increase in average sales price ($140,000 or so), and a reduction in average days on the market.

The bottom line is that this area may have some upside as there is more demand for homes under $200K and new light rail lines improve the ability for commuters to get into the city. First time home buyers and investors might like what they see in some of these neighborhoods. Harvey Park, Ruby Hill and Gunnison Heights are ones I have been keeping my eye on.

For more information contact Todd Groth at 720.203.9624, or look us up at www.BevGrothProperties.com

Repeat Homebuyer Tax Credit soon to expire!

Do you have enough time to sell your listing AND find a replacement home, so your client can qualify for the "Repeat Homebuyer Tax Credit" which expires April 30, 2010?

• Staged Homes sell 50% faster than non-staged homes
• Staged Homes stand out from the competition

NOW is the time to get your listing staged by a professional. Hire a certified home stager. Formal training makes a difference.

Small Investment = Big Return.

Make every showing count!

As realtors, we are always telling people why “today or now is a good time to buy” and many times we have good reason for that. The prices are down and there are a number of foreclosures available, buyer incentives, etc, etc. Maybe the best reason of all right now to buy is the interest rate.

I know mortgage lenders are always talking about this and advertising this, but we hear it so much that we forget to pay attention to it. If you really stop and think about it, interest rates may be the biggest influence on whether we can buy or not. Let’s face it, the vast majority of the population buy based on what they can afford in a monthly mortgage payment. Nothing affects that more or greater than the interest rate. Let’s take a look at a snap shot of a few figures to see the real impact when interest rates rise and what that does to your monthly payments.

According to Metrolist, at the end of 2009 the average price for a single family home was $281K. For this example, let’s call it an even $280,000 and let’s also base all of our calculations on a 30-year-fixed. We’ll take a look at a 5% loan, a 6%, and a 7%. We are also all in agreement that it’s unlikely that interest rates will go lower and the reality is that they are only going high from here.

a. $280,000 at 5% = 1,503 P&I

b. $280,000 at 6% = 1,678 P&I

c. $280,000 at 7% = 1,862 P&I

Just the jump from 5% to 6% almost added $200 a month to your payment and we still haven’t added in taxes and insurance yet. If you have to add mortgage insurance, you could be easily looking at $2000 a month. It adds up quickly and that’s why interest rate is such an important factor. It’s also the main reason why I tell people who are on the fence about buying now or waiting not to wait any longer.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost

USDA Rural Housing Home Loans in Denver Colorado

USDA Rural Housing Home Loans are one of the most under-utilized programs available in the marketplace. Lenders either don't know about this program, or don't understand it, or both.

The best feature of USDA Rural Housing Home Loans is that they still offer 100% financing, a rarety in today's banking world. Not only that, but this program does not have monthly mortgage insurance premiums added to the payment. 30 year fixed rates are low, so that means a very affordable payment.

There are two eligibility factors to consider with USDA Rural Housing Home Loans. The first is if the home qualifies. The general rule is that if the home is located in a rural area or a town of less than 20,000 people, the home should be eligible. To be sure, you can check your area or a specific home at the USDA Property Eligibility website. Obviously, Denver metro and most of the front range do not qualify, but suprisingly, there are many areas near Denver that do.

The second eligibility factor for USDA Rural Housing Home Loans is household income. For the purposes of USDA program eligibility, the lender will consider total household income. This is different from qualifying income which only includes the borrowers who are on the mortgage. For USDA eligibility, all household income is considered, even for inhabitants who are not applying on the mortgage. Check your USDA county limits here.

100% financing with no monthly mortgage insurance? Seems too good to be true you might be thinking. The way this is done on USDA Rural Housing Home Loans is that a 2% loan guarantee fee is charged on every transaction. This 2% fee is typically financed into the new loan, so the home buyer is essentially obtaining a 102% loan. The 2% fee goes into a money pool that backs all USDA Rural Housing Home Loans.

In addition to all of these great features, seller-paid closing costs are also allowed with the USDA Rural Housing Home Loan, which can enable a home buyer to purchase a home with little of their own money, opening the door to home ownership to many more people.

To find out if you qualify for the USDA Rural Housing Home Loan program, you can contact me directly for a free consultation, or visit my no obligation online purchase assistant self-help tool.

We have access to USDA Rural Housing Home Loans nationwide through our Credit Union affiliation!