Carrie & Kathy Sampron (303) 931-3629 or (303) 931-3780

The Annual Highlands Ranch Easter Egg Hunt

Here is the link for the Easter Egg Hunt Photos

And here is the link for the Highlands Ranch Community Association (HRCA)

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Carrie and Kathy Sampron specialize in residential real estate in Highlands Ranch, Colorado as well as surrounding communities in the Denver Metropolitan Area. Contact Carrie and Kathy at (303) 931-3629 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Highlands Ranch, Denver, Lakewood, Littleton, Arvada, Centennial, Greenwood Village, Cherry Hills Village, Castle Rock, Parker, Aurora, or any other Metro Area city. We love your referrals!

Learn more about Highlands Ranch Colorado Realtors Carrie and Kathy Sampron

Search Highlands Ranch and Denver Metro Area Homes at SampronSisters.com

Freddie Mac reported this week that the average interest on a 30-year mortgage fell to a 38-year low of 4.83 percent during the week ending March 27, 2009 from 4.98 percent the prior week.

The decrease came on the heels of the Federal Reserve's announcement that it plans to purchase another $750 billion in mortgage-backed securities and up to $300 million in Treasuries.

So, does that mean that now is the time to buy a home? Combined with other programs including the $8000 tax incentive for first time buyers, remember this means anyone who hasn't owned a home in the past three years, it just may be.

Call Carrie and Kathy to discuss whether the time is right for you.

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Carrie and Kathy Sampron specialize in residential real estate in Highlands Ranch, Colorado as well as surrounding communities in the Denver Metropolitan Area. Contact Carrie and Kathy at (303) 931-3629 to list your property for sale or to purchase a property in Highlands Ranch, Denver, Lakewood, Littleton, Arvada, Centennial, Greenwood Village, Cherry Hills Village, Castle Rock, Parker, Aurora, or any other Metro Area city. We love your referrals!

Learn more about Highlands Ranch Colorado Realtors Carrie and Kathy Sampron

Search Highlands Ranch and Denver Metro Area Homes at SampronSisters.com

If you live in the Denver Metro area already, or if you're thinking of joining us here, Highlands Ranch is a great place to live!! One reason is everything the Highlands Ranch Community Association does and the latest event they have planned is scheduled for Friday, March 13, 2009.

Sounds like everyone will have a grand time!!

Kathy and I went out Saturday with a potential client we are "courting". They are neighbors of Kathy's living just two doors away and they're considering moving to a ranch style home. We've visited the home they're interested in once before, and they've driven by it several times. It is a bank owned property and needs work, so that is a tough decision for them. They brought an expert, their son-in-law's father, and he gave his opinion - solid foundation, needs about $20,000 - $30,000 work to make it liveable more to dress it up.

So while we were there we talked about listing their home. Kathy had completed an indepth study of solds, including the neighbor in between her house and theirs that we sold in eight days this past November, and had recommendations for a listing price. The price we were recommending did hinge on one factor, new carpet. They've updated the kitchen with granite and stainless appliances which is fantastic, but the home still has the original dark green carpet they chose when their home was built. We recommended they change the carpet and that the listing price would reflect this change, in other words we believe they can sell their home for more and more quickly with this change. If not we would recommending they list at a lower price feeling the value of the home is diminished by this.

Here is where the courting comes in - we are trying to sign a listing contract, showing our value, giving them the benefit of our expertise and as soon as we make this recommendation the husband balks. "Can't we just give a carpet allowance? I don't want to do the work (move furniture, et all), let them pick the color and have it installed after we move out and before they move in." Sure it's a pain, we agreed, but think of the value you're adding to your home. And remember the buyer doesn't want to do the work any more than you do. He wasn't buying it. That was Saturday, now it's Tuesday and we haven't heard a peep from them.

Did we scare them off by telling the truth? I posted a blog about pink counters recently and all you lovely professionals reminded us how important it is to make those changes. How do you convenience your client of this? And if you're a home buyer, tell me about how important it would be for you when making the decision to buy if the green carpet was there vs. new carpet being installed.

Thanks for the help!!

Carrie

Hi All:

Yesterday our nephews and niece were excused early from school, parent / teacher conferences. So while our brother, Kathy's twin, and our sister-in-law were getting an update on how the kids we're doing, we had the pleasure of spending time with our favorite people.

Now, you may see that we live in Colorado and think when we picked up the kids from school we bundled them from the building into the car, blasted the heater, drove home, and bundled them back into the house. And while there are certainly days when that is the case, today in fact, yesterday was not one of them. Yes, the high only reached the 40's, but the sun was out and the day was beautiful. We spent more than an hour in the front yard playing baseball, Kathy pitching a whiffle ball, the kids all taking their turns at bat and running the "bases", from the plant to the tree to the little hole in the yard and back to home!!

As metrodenver.org says:

"Metro Denver is situated on the high plains at the base of the Rocky Mountains. Moderate temperatures, low levels of humidity, and abundant sunshine provide an ideal climate for year-round activities. Metro Denver has 300 sunny days a year – more annual days of sunshine than either San Diego or Miami Beach.

Winter storms are normally short-lived and snow melts rapidly in the greater Denver area. The nearby mountains and ski resorts, however, receive significant annual snowfall. Metro Denver's climate is best described as semi-arid, averaging just under 16 inches of precipitation annually. The risk of natural disasters (hurricanes, earthquakes, etc.) in the region is minimal compared to locations on the east, west, and southern coasts."

The only time the Denver metro area makes the news for its weather is when we have a blizzard, and we have been known to have one or two of those, hey shoveling 40 inches in two days is good for us, but these are few and far between, and besides the sun comes right back out and melts it quickly. It would be great if the news would also do a report on the 70 degree February day when the golf courses are open, the bikers and hikers are out on the trails, and the playgrounds are filled with kids.

So, if your plans bring you to Colorado any time soon, I hope you enjoy at least a few of our 300 days of sunshine!!

Carrie