About Jefferson County, CO

Imagine, if all sales people closed every buyer and seller they came in contact with, we'ld all be gazillionares. In the Real world, sales folk must work hard to earn
the trust of a buyer and seller and pray they are for real as well.

In the real world of Real Estate if we have serve our clients well, we are
blessed to have loyal clients. These loyal clients send loyal referrals.

So just curious , what do you do to keep your client....tell me more !!!
Just for fun , click on Tell me more clip below !!

Gary DiGiorgio
The DiGiorgio Group
9035 Wadsworth pkwy 2000
Westminster.Co 80021
Direct 303 898 4279
Office 303 422 5200 fx 303 467 0211
Gary@Di-DenverRealty.com

Serving and selling Denver for over 11,000 days
ARVADA***GOLDEN***THORNTON***WESTMINSTER
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR REFERRALS

The other day I was thinking how common it used to be to discuss with people who are renting, the idea that they could get a home of their own, for not much more than they pay in rent. And I don’t mean that long ago, just a couple of years ago. I never seem to hear people talk that way any more, and wondered what happened to that line of thinking.

Is it possible that the only way people got into mortgages for a monthly payment about equal to their rent was because of the proliferation of those notorious ‘teaser rates’? (Those ‘teaser rates’ were what we all heard about on the radio – mortgages with 1% or 2% interest. Of course, they only stayed that way a short time.)

Is it still possible to buy a house in Colorado, and have a mortgage quite close to what you paid in rent?

“This calls for research!” I shouted.

I went straight to the Colorado Division of Housing’s web site, and found the "Single-Family" Housing Vacancy and Rent Survey, Researched and Authored by: 
Gordon E. Von Stroh, Ph.D. of The Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver. Here’s what he said:

“Average rents by number of bedrooms were:
one bedroom, $631.12;
two bedrooms, $855.93;
three bedrooms, $1,151.16;
four bedrooms; $1,343.85;
and five bedrooms, $1,488.42.”

(Read it for yourself by clicking here)

So let’s say you rent a 1-bedroom apartment for $630 per month. What could you buy and end up with about the same payment?

It just so happens I have a one-bedroom condo for sale in Arvada. Homes cost less in some other cities, such as Thornton, but let’s use this example in Arvada for now. It’s listed for $100,000. Let’s say you put down 3% and get a loan at 5.5% interest on a 30-year fixed-rate loan. Your payment would be $550. Add $125 to that for HOA fees, and about $100 for insurance and taxes, and you’re looking at $750. Yes, it’s a little more, but you could have a tax write-off for mortgage interest, taxes, and some loan costs. Plus, you get a garage. Plus, you’re not subject to having your rent raised every time your lease runs out.

Hmmm … what do you think of that?

Let’s look at someone who rents a 4-bedroom house for $1,350. What if they wanted to buy a house and keep their payment about the same? At 5.5% interest, you could get a loan for $211,346 and your payment would be $1,200, to which you’d have to add about $150 for taxes and insurance. $1,350 per month for a home of your own.

Of course, you need certain things, like a decent credit score, a job and some cash. But as long as interest rates and prices stay like they are, owning a home of your own for about the same as you’re paying for rent may be something you can do.

And don’t forget – if you get a house under contract before the end of April, you might qualify for an $8,000 tax credit.

Want to know more? Please call or email asap.

I write posts on real estate issues and local events in the Denver metro area, especially those communities between Denver and Boulder, as a public service. My hope is to give people an idea of the 'flavor' of our community, in case they're new or moving to the Denver area.

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 more about Olde Town Arvada.

Check out my website.

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

Arvada has homes for sale of every type and nearly every price range. I preview available homes, to stay on top of the Arvada real estate market.

On February 4, I went out and looked at eleven available homes. You can read the summary below. I have not provided addresses because these homes are not listed by me, and I don't want to step on other agents' toes.

You'll notice I couldn't even get in to three of these homes, and another had wrong information in the MLS. That's two of the reasons I preview whenever I can, before I take my client to see homes.

2-story with basement built in 1961, listed since Sept 22, listed for $219,900. 4 bedroom, 4 bathrooms, 2-car garage

I couldn’t get in to see this house, as the lockbox didn’t work.

1-story with basement built in 1958, listed since January 5, listed for $230,000. 3 bedroom, 2 bathrooms, 2-car garage.

The MLS said this home was for sale at $215,000. However, the owner was there and asked what the MLS said. He told me that was wrong, the price is $230,000. I don’t know if this is some kind of ‘trick’ to get people in to the house, or some kind of mistake. He said a person could offer $215,000, but it would be a short sale at that price. I didn’t feel it was worth $230,000. The MLS said, “Cute remodel”, but the remodeling was kind of a mish-mash. Plus, it was only about a block from the freeway, so freeway noise was a consideration.

1-story with basement built in 1971, listed since August 12, listed for $209,900. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-car garage.

This house was a bit small, but cute. I felt the MLS photo really did not do it justice. It had the old-fashioned rounded doorway, vinyl windows, and a nice yard. I was actually surprised it was still on the market, so made a note to check the listing history when I got back to the office. Sure enough, it had recently been reduced to the $209,900, but had started at $225,000. I don’t believe it will be long before they have an offer, unless the listing has become stale.

1-story with basement built in 1971, listed since September 16, listed for $219,900. 4 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2-car garage.

This house needed all new carpet, had no privacy from neighbors in back, had original windows. The MLS did mention that it had updated wiring, new roof, new furnace, windows, and more. However, there were no permits on record for any of that work except some electrical.

1-story with basement built in 1962, listed since March 11, listed for $199,900. 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, 2-car garage

This house was dated, needed yard work, had no privacy from neighbors in the back yard. It was a short sale, I believe this house to be over priced.

1-story with no basement built in 1973, listed since January 6, listed for $205,000. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-car garage.

This house was dated, needed yard work, had no privacy from neighbors in the back yard. It was a short sale, I believe this house to be over priced.

1-story with basement, built in 1961, listed since September 25, listed for $219,950. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-car garage.

This house had a moldy smell emanating from the basement, no dining room, and a dated kitchen with a tiny wall oven. Other than that, it was cutely remodeled and nicely staged. Still, it’s going to be difficult to sell at that price.

1-story with basement, built in 1960, listed since November 14, listed for $209,800. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-car garage.

There were at least two dogs loose in this home, barking and not happy about someone at the door. I elected not to go in. But the location wasn’t what most people are looking for, due to proximity to a busy through-street.

1-story with basement, built in 1959, listed since December 12, listed for $197,000. 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-car garage.

This home had the cute rounded doorways and coved ceilings of its era. However, it was also quite close to a busy main road and needed work. Price will likely have to come down to interest a buyer.

1-story with basement, built in 1961, listed since November 27, listed for $219,900. 5 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-car garage.

This house was messy and needed work. Without anything special to entice buyers, I feel it is overpriced.

1-story with basement, built in 1966, listed since September 10, listed for $219,900. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 2-car garage.

I couldn’t get into this home. I was given the wrong code and couldn’t get the right one when I called the listing office. This was a pretty good price for this neighborhood, although the listing says its dated and this is not one of the view lots.

I write posts on real estate issues and local events in the Denver metro area, especially those communities between Denver and Boulder, as a public service. My hope is to give people an idea of the 'flavor' of our community, in case they're new or moving to the Denver area.

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 more about Olde Town Arvada.

Check out my website.

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

Mortgage Market Update by RJ Baxter First Mortgage Corp

Last week was an interesting week as we saw rates improve significantly.  Why?

There were several factors at hand that affected mortgage rates for the better.  The big one was the announcement that unemployment is uglier than we thought. Yes, the overall unemployment rate went down to 9.7%, but keep in mind that this could just be statistical noise.  The big numbers were the weekly claims in at 480,000, and the 2009 numbers which were revised to reflect 1,000,000 more jobs lost than previously reported.  This is the big whammy that sent investors to safe-havens like bonds.  When bonds are being purchased, mortgage rates improve.

The other important announcement was global economic concerns and specifically the concern about European currency failing confidence tests and hence falling in value.  Although this is good for the value of the dollar, it raises more concern about the worldwide economy.  This news was also good for mortgage rates as foreign investors sopped up US bonds in an effort to gain safe and stable investments.

There was an important technical level broken last week as well, which bodes well for continued good rates for the near future.  The 100 day moving average was broken and trading emerged above this important resistance line on Thursday and Friday.  What this means is that the 100 day moving avergage went from a resistance point, a lid on pricing, to a support line, enabling bonds to continue to trade above this line.  Higher bond yields = lower mortgage rates and green bars on the chart indicate rates improving for the better(lower).  The arrow indicates an open above the 100 day moving average on Thursday despite closing below this point, which is a very important indicator.

Another interesting announcement was the US budget which calls for $3.8 Trillion in spending with a $1.3 Trillion deficit.  Am I the only one wondering what the end result of all of this spending will be? 

This week is a rather quiet week as far as economic news is concerned.  It is likely that rates will stay above the 100 day moving average this week and will stay good at least into next week.  However, long term, I am still skeptical that rates can stay at these historically low levels for much longer.

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It has been said " If you think you can, you can "
I believe this to be so true, do you ? Understand the only place success
come before work is in the dictionary. !! With work, dedication and desire ,
you can accomplish almost anything.

On any given day an underdog can come outr the victor, just ask the
New Orleans Saints

The New Orlean Saints are marching home a victor.
They won the superbowl.

Join me is a big congrats to the Saints ,,they worked , they thought they could win and they did win !!

CONGRATS !!!!

Join Louie with a Salute Song below!!

Gary DiGiorgio
The DiGiorgio Group
9035 Wadsworth pkwy 2000
Westminster.Co 80021
Direct 303 898 4279
Office 303 422 5200 fx 303 467 0211
Gary@Di-DenverRealty.com
Serving and selling Denver for over 11,000 days
ARVADA***GOLDEN***THORNTON***WESTMINSTER
I REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR REFERRALS