Greenwood Village, CO

Buying a home in Greenwood Village CO - WOOHOO You are under contract! - Part 7

You are buying a home in Greenwood Village CO and have just heard from the sellers that they have accepted your offer. This is exciting! Thousand and one thoughts fly through your head. When are we moving? How will I set up the furniture inside the house? (even better) I need to buy furniture! What happens now?

This is part 7 of 7 part series about Buying a home in Greenwood Village Colorado

Note! In some other parts of the country the Under Contract period is referred to as "under agreement" or "in escrow".

We have Lift Off
You are under contract! Your offer was accepted by the seller. The seller via the listing agent send over signed copy of the contract - at this point we have a fully executed contract (in a normal sale - not a short sale etc.)
The Ernest Money has to be delivered within a time specified on the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate. Once the Ernest Money is delivered you are now officially under contract and on your way to owning a home in Greenwood Village CO.

At this point there are many things to do and get done. Remember the Dates and Deadlines from Dissecting the Offer - part 5?

In general this is the order in which different items are or need to be completed before the closing.

1. Deliver Ernest Money

2. Exchange and sign other documents (if it wasn't already done) - e.g. disclosures, addendum etc.

3. Send Lender/Loan officer fully executed offer and counter (if applicable)

4. Schedule an Inspection - you - the buyer will do that and it will have to be schedule to be completed before the date specified in the contract

5. Review other applicable documents e.g. HOA documents

6. Receive Title information

7. Call and set up home owners insurance - if the property can not be insured - there is a deadline by which you have to object by

8. Order and complete an appraisal - your lender will order this and coordinate the whole process

9. Make sure all loan conditions are met - your lender will be asking you to provide any additional documents, etc. sometimes quite frequently while in this under contract period.

10. If survey is required then it will be schedule and completed according to the dates and deadlines as well (we do not see many surveys done at all)

Then finally once everything is in order it is time for the closing, which typically occurs 30-45 days from the date of the contract.

This is a generalized chain of events, many involve much more detail, but that could be another series all together.


This is the Final Part of 7 part series of buying a home in Greenwood Village. Below you'll find links to the previous parts of this series.

Buying a Home in Greenwood Village Colorado - Series
Part 1 - Buyer's Checklist / Wish list
Part 2 - Buying with cash or getting a loan?
Part 3 - Ready, Set, Go - Looking at Homes
Part 4 - Let's write an offer!
Part 5 - Dissecting the offer
Part 6 - A Counter Proposal

Brian Burke

Kenna Real Estate
303.995.4220 Office ext 701
Homes@kennarealestate.com

Kenna Real Estate Website Multiple Search Tools to find your new home!

Disclaimer: Kenna Real Estate does not guarantee nor is in any way responsible for the accuracy of the information provided herein, and provides said information without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied.

Copyright 2009.© Kenna Real Estate. Rita Burke. All Rights Reserved. Aug 26th 2009. "Buying a home in Greenwood Village CO - You are Under Contract!"

Buying a home in Greenwood Village CO - the counter proposal

You are buying a home in Greenwood Village CO and you have found the house you want to call home. Your real estate agent -hopefully us :) - has submitted an offer on your behalf. On the Contract to buy and sell Real Estate dates and deadlines section you specified when you want a response from the seller. It's called Acceptance Deadline. This is the date and time by which the seller needs to inform you whether they decided to accept, reject or counter your offer. Now the sellers are on the clock. What happens when the seller sends back a counter offer?

This is part 6 of 7 part series about Buying a home in Greenwood Village Colorado

The Counter
What can the seller counter?
The seller can counter practically anything they want. Here are some typical examples.

Price and Terms
Seller wants to net more, or maybe not give seller concessions, or want more Ernest Money (if you offered to give very low amount as Ernest money, seller can ask for more to see that you are serious)

Dates
Seller may request to shorten or extend the duration under contract, meaning push closing further out or move it closer. Or they may ask you to move your inspection date up. etc.

Inclusions and Exclusions
Maybe you asked the seller to include the washer and dryer (even though it was not said to be included). The seller may counter with them being excluded.


Additional Provisions - additional changes
The seller may specify other changes e.g. Seller will not provide Sellers Property Disclosure Document, or the home is sold "as-is", etc.

These are some of the things typically seen on a counter. Obviously one on the big ones is the price.

Once the counter is sent over to you. Now you are on the clock. On the Counter Proposal there is also an acceptance date and deadline, by which you have to decide whether you will accept the counter or not. If you decide not to accept it there is no contract - you are not under contract and the home stays on the market. And it is back to looking at houses.

Note! It is one of those things - often, when your offer is submitted, suddenly there is another offer coming in. It just happens. Which may require some recalculations on how to best position you in order to get that house of your dreams.

If you accept the counter proposal - you will sign it. It gets sent to the seller and it is time to deliver the Ernest Money to a place specified by the listing agent (frequently either the Listing Office or a Title Company). The Ernest Money has to be delivered within a time specified on the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate. Once the Ernest Money is delivered you are now officially under contract and on your way to owning a home in Greenwood Village CO.

This is Part 6 of 7 part series of buying a home in Greenwood Village. Below you will find links to the two previous parts.

Coming Soon - Part 7 - You are Under Contract!

Buying a Home in Greenwood Village Colorado - Series
Part 1 - Buyer's Checklist / Wishlist
Part 2 - Buying with cash or getting a loan?
Part 3 - Ready, Set, Go - Looking at Homes
Part 4 - Let's write an offer!
Part 5 - Dissecting the offer
Part 6 - A Counter Proposal

Brian Burke

Kenna Real Estate
303.995.4220 Office ext 701
Homes@kennarealestate.com

Kenna Real Estate Website Multiple Search Tools to find your new home!

Disclaimer: Kenna Real Estate does not guarantee nor is in any way responsible for the accuracy of the information provided herein, and provides said information without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied.

Copyright 2009.© Kenna Real Estate. Rita Burke. All Rights Reserved. Aug 24th 2009. "Buying a home in Greenwood Village CO - A Counter Proposal"

Buying a home in Greenwood Village CO - Dissecting the offer

You are buying a home in Greenwood Village CO and you have found the house you want to call home. You are ready to proceed with an offer. So what is this offer? What goes into it. It is 11 to 16 pages long (depending on what template or software is used). Let's look into the contract a little bit more.

This is part 5 of 7 part series about Buying a home in Greenwood Village Colorado

The offer - Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate

This Contract to buy and sell Real Estate is a Colorado Real Estate Commission approved form and one of the documents that must be used. It is our job to know this document/contract even in our sleep. Instead of going through the whole contract which is more difficult on paper than face-2-face - we'll highlight some key points.

Information needed from you for the offer
1.Your name. Full name or they way that you want to take title. e.g. John B. Smith. or John Benjamin Smith.

2. Your financing - meaning, are you paying cash, putting a certain % as a down payment, what type of a loan you will be using (FHA, VA, conventional etc.) - this is also where the lender pre-qualification letter or proof of funds comes into the picture (discussed in part 1)

3. The amount of money you are going to put down as Ernest Money - the amount of Ernest Money the seller is requesting is disclosed ahead of time via MLS, but the amount you want to use may be more or less, or the same, depending on the situation.

4. Dates - when would you like to close on the home - or - when would you like to move? Typically around here the average time is from 30-45 days. Lately due to lender/under writing/appraisal etc. issues the time has been on the longer side.

DATES and DEADLINES
One of the important sections of the contract is right on the front page or two - the section of Dates and Deadlines. By the dates used on this contract many things need to happen, including inspection, appraisal, survey (if applicable), title, insurance etc. Your agent - us - sets those dates accordingly. What that means is that depending on the situation (again) the time lines used may vary. e.g. some lenders required certain things (like inspection etc.) to happen within so many days of mutual agreement.

INCLUSIONS/EXCLUSIONS
These sections specify which items are included with or excluded from the purchase. Often these are refrigerator, washer, dryer, window coverings, ceiling fans etc. Often this can also create quite a battle between buyers and sellers. Therefore carefully filling in this section is critical.

PURCHASE PRICE AND TERMS
I would bet this is a section most agents immediately look at when they receive an offer. How much is the offer for? and what are the financing terms? This section is where you specify how much you are offering to buy the home for along with the terms you are planning to use (cash, loan...).

There are so many more sections, and it can sound a bit overwhelming - ok, maybe a little more than a bit - this is where we go through the contract with you. Step by Step. Each portion has to be filled in according to the situation and the contract has to be initialed and signed by you - the buyer, and by us - your agent (and hopefully by seller and listing agent).

Once that is done - the offer/contract along with copy of the Ernest Money and lender letter are sent over (e-mailed, faxed...) to the listing agent. The listing agent then presents to offer to the seller.


We must throw in that we are not attorneys or tax professionals - neither do we play either on TV. We do not and can not give legal or tax advice. So, as the top of the Contract to Buy and Sell Real Estate document says you seek legal and tax or other counsel before signing the offer as this contract has legal consequences.

This is Part 5 of 7 part series of buying a home in Greenwood Village. Below you will find links to the two previous parts.

Coming Soon - Part 6 - A counter proposal

Part 1 - Buyer's Checklist / Wishlist
Part 2 - Buying with cash or getting a loan?
Part 3 - Ready, Set, Go - Looking at Homes
Part 4 - Let's write an offer!
Part 5 - Dissecting the offer

Brian and Rita Burke

Kenna Real Estate
303.995.4220 Office ext 701
Homes@kennarealestate.com

Kenna Real Estate Website Multiple Search Tools to find your new home!

Disclaimer: Kenna Real Estate does not guarantee nor is in any way responsible for the accuracy of the information provided herein, and provides said information without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied.

Copyright 2009.© Kenna Real Estate. Rita Burke. All Rights Reserved. Aug 20th 2009. "Buying a home in Greenwood Village CO - Dissecting the Offer"

Buying a home in Greenwood Village CO - Let's write an offer

Buying a home in Greenwood Village CO. Now you have been looking at houses. Maybe a few, maybe a few more. You walked into one house, it spoke to you, and you want it. What happens now? It's time to write an offer.

This is part 4 of 7 part series about Buying a home in Greenwood Village Colorado

Prior to writing an offer
We once more look at the pricing of the home including sold comparables. We look at other stats too: how long has the house been on the market, what is the motivation of the seller etc. We call the listing agent for additional information and disclosures (if they were not available otherwise). Doing all this puts you in the best possible position when negotiating the purchase.

A Few Pointers
1. Sometimes, as a buyer, it is easy to get stuck with a certain number in your head. A number that you do not want to go over. You might have arbitrarily picked the number or found it online, from the county records etc. We have seen this number cause many buyers to lose out on the house they wanted, even if it was for only a couple of hundred dollars.

2. A previous sales price, how much the seller owes, the county assessed value or how much money you lost on the sale of your house do NOT determine the sales price of the home!

3. Once the offer is submitted it frequently happens that another offer comes in. It's just one of those things. If your offer was off quite a lot from the asking price and seller receives another offer, the seller might not even consider your offer.

4. Offering much lower than asking price - especially if the house is priced well - may result in a higher price from the seller. Meaning. e.g. You want to put an offer in on a house with an asking price of $349,000. You want to offer $275,000. If the seller chooses to counter at all the counter may come back at full price - because they are offended, or maybe they shave off $5000. Maybe during the negotiations the seller would come down a little more - say total of $10,000.
Or, say your offer was for $319,000. The seller might have countered with $339,000 and with some negotiating the price would have been settled around $330,000. This is just an example of a common situation that can happen - however, each situation is different.

5. Buying (or selling) a home is very emotional, for sellers and for buyers, and each have their own reasons. If one thinks the other (buyer-seller) is offending the other, it often backfires later on. e.g. the seller feels they have been beaten up on the price, so now they feel that when it comes down to inspection and any potential items that need to be fixed, they will not fix them. Or if the buyer feels the seller didn't budge at all or not enough on the price they feel they will have to get everything and more fixed from the inspection. Very emotional - yes, it can be. But it doesn't have to be.

6. Especially in some price ranges it is almost given that there will be more than one offer along with yours - a multiple offer situation - we call it. If you really, really want the home it is not time to play around, rather submit the best and highest offer you can. The seller will often request that anyway when more than one offer comes in at the same time.

7. Do you need to sell your house before you can buy this one? What if you submit an offer that is contingent - meaning - I can only buy this house if.... some criteria is met? It depends on many factors again. Many sellers do not want to take the risk and take their house off the market while waiting for the contingency to be cleared - which may or may not happen. Especially in an area where houses are selling, like in Greenwood Village.


There are many things to take into consideration when writing and submitting an offer. We write offers practically daily, are experienced and have no emotional attachment. We can offer you our expertise in helping you through this part and the entire journey of buying a home in Greenwood Village.


This is Part 4 of 7 part series of buying a home in Greenwood Village. Below you will find links to the two previous parts.

Coming soon Part 5 - Dissecting the offer.

Part 1 - Buyer's Checklist / Wishlist
Part 2 - Buying with cash or getting a loan?
Part 3 - Ready, Set, Go - Looking at Homes


Brian Burke

Kenna Real Estate
303.995.4220 Office ext 701
Homes@kennarealestate.com

Kenna Real Estate Website Multiple Search Tools to find your new home!

Disclaimer: Kenna Real Estate does not guarantee nor is in any way responsible for the accuracy of the information provided herein, and provides said information without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied.

Copyright 2009.© Kenna Real Estate. Rita Burke. All Rights Reserved. Aug 20th 2009. "Buying a home in Greenwood Village CO - Let's write an offer! "

The Preserve Greenwood Village CO Home Sales & Real Estate Trends Jul 09

Two houses sold in The Preserve in Greenwood Village in July, which is a large drop from July of 2008 when six houses sold. The trend of houses staying longer on the market continues. The average sold price is steadily lower than what it was a year ago.

The Preserve, Greenwood Village, Arapahoe County, CO

Days on Market = total days on market.

The Preserve Home Sales comparison 2008 vs. 2009
From Jan 1st to July 31st (year-to-date)

As of Aug. 20th, 2009 there are 28 homes for sale in The Preserve, which includes one bank owned home. Search homes for sale in The Preserve and find Luxury Foreclosures in Denver area - click on the links below.

Some of the numbers used in this market watch are for only one month of activity. Therefore they can sometimes look extreme due to the small sample size.

This Greenwood Village Neighborhood Real Estate Market Report is brought to you by Rita Burke, Kenna Real Estate. The report is for detached residential single family homes only and may not include all sales activity in the area. Figures for sold prices used are NET sold price, price after seller concessions or down payment assistance, if they were any. This report or any part of it may not be used without permission.


Brian and Rita Burke
303.955.4220 Office
303.710.2609 Brian Direct
Homes@kennarealestate.com

*Disclaimer: Data based on information from Metrolist, Inc. for period of 1/1/2007 through 8/1/2009. Metrolist Inc. does not guarantee nor is any way responsible for its accuracy. Content maintained by Metrolist Inc. may not reflect all real estate activity in the market. Information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed. Reported sales were not necessarily listed or sold by Kenna real estate and are intended only to show trends in the area.

Disclaimer: Kenna Real Estate Blog does not guarantee nor is in any way responsible for the accuracy of the information provided herein, and provides said information without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied.

Copyright 2009.© Kenna Real Estate. Rita Burke. All Rights Reserved. Aug 20th 2009. "The Preserve Greenwood Village CO Home Sales and Real Estate Trends July 09"