About Denver's Lincoln Park

Going to the Historic Buckhorn Exchange is certainly unlike any other restaurant experience you will find. The Buckhorn Exchange is located at 1000 Osage Street in Denver just across the street from the railroad tracks and the light rail station. The Buckhorn Exchange has many interesting facts that surround this saloon from the days of the Wild West. First, off, the Buckhorn Exchange has the first liquor license in the state of Colorado. Yup, that's right, Liquor License #1! Surviving Prohibition in 1916, the "saloon" part had to be put aside. However after Prohibition ended, Colorado's Liquor License #1 was issued, and is still valid today.

The Buckhorn Exchange was originally opened in November of 1893. The man that started the Buckhorn Exchange was named Henry H. "Shorty Scout" Zietz. Zietz met Buffalo Bill Cody as a 10 year old boy, and just a couple of years later rode with Buffalo Bills Scouts on the old frontier for the better part of a decade. Chief Sitting Bill gave Zietz the name"Shorty Scout" because of his height.

Back in the 1890's the Buckhorn Exchange catered to a clientele of cowboys, miners, railroad men, gamblers and businessmen. Since that time, the Buckhorn Exchange has welcomed many noteworthy guests. Five US Presidents have dined at the Buckhorn Exchange including Presidents Teddy Roosevelt, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Regan. Hollywood wasn't to be forgotten with the likes of Bobe Hope, Charleton Heston, James Cagney, Roy Rogers, Will Rogers and more also visiting.

Walking into the Buckhorn Exchange is somewhat like walking into a museum. Historical artifacts are everywhere you look. A sword that belonged to General George Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn is on display. There are literally hundreds of taxidermy animals. The antique guns were an absolute source of fascination to my uncle when he visited.

After decades in the Zeitz family, the Buckhorn Exchange was sold. But, it still retains it's roots, and the food at the Buckhorn Exchange is always excellent. Whether you order a big fat Bison Steak, Rocky Mountain Oysters, Elk, Quail or Duck, you are in for an experience that you won't soon forget!

I absolutely loved the Big Steak Dinner Specialty myself. But honestly, I don't know if you can have a bad dining experience at the Buckhorn Exchange truly an experience you will remember!

For those of you that crave fabulous Japanese food other than sushi, I highly recommend Domo on the 1300 block of Osage. Country style Japanese food is served in a spectacular setting that is unlike anything that you will find in Denver. I highly recommend the Unagi bowl. Tender, mouthwatering unagi is served with a variety of side dishes that will make you long for Japan, whether you've ever been there or not! This is a definate must visit!!!

Domo Restaurant
1365 Osage Street
Denver, Colorado 80204
303-595-3666
www.domorestaurant.com

Posted By: Kerry Klun - Historic Homes of Denver - 303-549-0818
www.historichomesofdenver.com

To Search for Homes in Historic Denver

Loan Considerations for Buy and Hold Investors


As far as investment loans, little or no money down loans are impossible. However, lenders do permit the use of Home Equity Lines of Credit or second mortgages from other properties owned by the borrower as a source of down payment. Or, self-employed borrowers are using funds from business lines of credit to fund down payments or renovations (please note: there are asset seasoning guidelines for doing so and the debt incurred by accessing other credit lines must be accounted for against the borrower’s debt-to-income ratio). Thus, we have clients leveraging themselves with other homes they own in order to get in with little or nothing down.
There are exceptions, but practically every lender requires Full Income Documentation on any investment purchase. Full Documentation requires the proof of income through W2s, pay stubs and/or tax returns, as well as proving liquid assets with bank statements. The max LTV is 85% on a non-owner single family property (75% for a 3 - 4 unit); however, most homes are being affected with the ‘declining market’ tag. As such, the maximum loan permitted would be 80% of the purchase price. This is due to mortgage insurance companies refusing to provide MI on investment properties in declining markets. Also, if an investor does not have landlord experience in the past two years, new rules will now not allow any rental income to be included as monthly income. Hence, the buyer would need to qualify with the entire payment going against his/her debt-to-income ratio.
Another point to keep in mind is that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are only permitting a maximum of 4 financed properties on a borrower’s credit report. Hence, if a borrower is looking to purchase or refinance a fifth home and already have four loans on their credit, they will face a tremendous challenge in securing financing. This latter rule only affects someone purchasing or refinancing an investment property/second home and NOT an owner occupied purchase.
All this being said, if an investor can put down 20% (or borrow a good chunk of that 20% from other homes they own or lines of credit), is Full Doc, with a 680+ credit score and DTI below 50%, rates are in the upper 6% range on 30yr fixed mortgages with no prepay penalties. With home prices bottoming up in most neighborhoods, coupled with a bullish rental market with increasing rents and low vacancy, investors can easily generate hundreds of dollars of cash flow per month. In fact, many investors choose 15 year fixed mortgages to pay off the loan quickly, yet still cash flow tremendously.

Loan Considerations for Fix & Flip / Short-Term Investors


Securing conventional financing on a fix & flip or short-term loan is not recommended. Most conventional lenders sell off their mortgages to investors on the secondary market. If the loan is paid off early (before six payments are made), the investor has not recovered their initial investment. The investor will attempt to recover their loss from the lender, who will ultimately come after the loan originator. The loan originator would then be obligated to pay back any premium paid out by the lender. If such activity becomes habitual with the loan officer, the lender can cease doing business with them and their firm.

Furthermore, conventional loans require conventional appraisals. The lender will require that the home is a) habitable in its present state b) in at least ‘average’ condition and c) not in need of any repairs greater than 2% of the purchase price. All three points can be challenging to overcome for investments properties, especially bank owned homes. Consequently, many investors use private money, hard money, home equity lines of credit, cash or specialty investment lenders to avoid failing a conventional appraisal. All of the aforementioned sources of funds can be worthwhile to pursue, but they are meant for short-term loans. Hence, the borrower needs to have a clear exit strategy(ies) to avoid costly extension fees and holding costs. Such loans carry higher interest rates and up-front fees due to their considerable risk. They can be a great route to pursue; however, the investor better be prepared in case the home is not able to sell.

Fix & flip investors should also be cognizant of title seasoning issues. FHA guidelines require that a seller be on title for 90 days before a buyer can purchase the home with an FHA loan. Most flips take longer than 90 days to renovate, market and actually close. But, some deals need limited work and can be turned around quickly. Ultimately, you will want to verify that the new buyer’s lender understands the title guidelines of the lender being used. Furthermore, a flip investor is going to list the remodeled home for significantly higher than what they had paid for it. The lender providing financing to the buyer purchasing the renovated home will scrutinize the new appraisal to ensure the value is justified. Lenders got burned in the past on property flipping schemes and are wary of substantial value increases in short periods of time.

Loan Considerations for Jumbo Mortgages

For the Greater Metro Denver area, any loan amount greater than $417,000 is considered a jumbo loan. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac assign different thresholds for various regions across the country. For instance, $417,000 is not considered a jumbo loan in a high cost city like San Francisco, yet there will still be higher rates for going above $417K.

Due to the size of jumbo loans, they are considered greater risk for lenders, resulting in higher rates. Rates have fluctuated greatly over the past few years on jumbos. As of today, a 30 year fixed could range from 7% - 8%; a full point higher than the prime rate below a loan amount of $417,000. Five year ARMs are popular on jumbo loans, as they typically price out a half point lower than fixed products.

Frequently, a borrower will need to put more money down on a jumbo loan to mitigate the risk. Investors that purchase mortgages are still skeptical of the lending industry, especially higher risk loans, which is why we haven’t been witnessing attractive jumbo rates of late.

To limit the impact on the monthly payment and secure a better rate, many borrowers will take out a first mortgage of $417,000 and then try to find a second mortgage to cover the balance. For example, assume a buyer is purchasing a home for $600,000 and they are able to put 20% down. Instead of taking out one loan at 80% = $480,000, it will likely make sense to split the loan into a $417,000 first mortgage and $63,000 second mortgage. Since the combined loan-to-value is 80%, finding a second mortgage lender should be relatively simple. While the rate on the second will be higher than the first, the blended rate will be significantly lower than the jumbo loan option, resulting in a few hundred dollar savings per month.