Gretchen Faber ~ LifeStyleDenver

You’re thinking about buying Denver Real Estate and you’re ready to hire a broker to represent you. What you need to know is that we have very specific rules here in Colorado about disclosing and explaining the rules of Agency to our clients and customers.

There are 3 very important reasons to understand the Colorado Agency Rules before you get started:

1. Is Your Broker a Coach? I like to explain to people that an Agent (a Buyer Agent or a Listing Broker) is like a coach. We have a fiduciary obligation to represent your best interests, negotiate on your behalf, uncover issues with the property that are discoverable and disclose any pertinent information we might have or learn. Your coach puts you in the game, advises you how to play and roots for you all the way.

2. Is Your Broker a Referee? If your agent is working for you as a Transaction Broker (sometimes called a TB) then you can think of her as the Ref. The referee runs up and down the field and makes sure the game is played fairly. A TB will owe you the duty of honest and fair dealings, but will not be able to advise you or represent your interests. It’s required that a broker who is working with both the buyer and seller either be a TB or keep the Agency relationship with one client and treat the other as a “customer” - someone he has no brokerage relationship with at all. It’s not inherently bad to have your broker be a TB, but always ask in what capacity is your agent working with you.

3. Do You Have Anyone in Your Corner? If your broker is representing the other party as an Agent and treating you as a customer, you might want to rethink that relationship and get some help and advice. I’m always amazed at the people who will walk into an open house, say they want to make an offer, but also say they want to do it on their own to, “save the co-op commission.” People, really! This is probably the most complex and expensive purchase of your life! Get someone who understands the ins and outs of real estate to help you. If you like the broker at the open house, ask her if she can be a TB (her sellers would have to agree.) You can also ask her to make a referral for an outstanding Buyer’s Agent. You might even want to engage the services of a crack real estate attorney. We aren’t required to use attorneys in Colorado transactions, but someone should be in your corner.

For more information on Colorado Agency Rules, you can visit the Colorado Real Estate Commission site. And one more thing - these disclosures are supposed to be made in writing! Ask your broker for the Definitions of Agency if you’d like a more thorough description.

Originally posted at LifeStyleDenver.

I was interviewed a few days ago by Lane Lyon of Channel 7NEWS.

Below is an excerpt of the report that aired as the lead story.

Denver Real Estate trends are reported here every month and the March analysis was just posted last week.

Channel 7 - Real estate agents aren’t shy about discussing a red hot market being felt in the lower- and some medium-priced segments of the housing market. “In fact, one of the agents in my office told a story this morning about how they were in bidding war and there were eight offers on the property,” said Gretchen Faber, Broker Manager with The Kentwood Company at Cherry Creek.

Faber said the property was listed around $250,000. Properties that are moving faster seem to run from $150,000 to $400,000, Faber said.

“That’s the segment of the market where we’ve seen multiple offers, buyers having to make quicker decisions. The good properties that show well and are well-located are selling,” Faber said. “The higher price range is picking up, but it’s still a slower segment of the market.”

According to data released Tuesday by Metrolist, the average price of a single family home last month was $232,395, which is up seven percent from February. The housing report also showed that listings under contract were up 15 percent last month compared to February. Sales volume, or the amount of homes that were closed on, increased 29 percent. Sales were down 14 percent when compared to March 2008, the report showed. The single family home designation includes both residential and condominium properties.

“We have a good combination of affordability and low interest rates,” Faber said. She anticipated that overall market conditions will follow the positive strides being made now with lower priced properties, and said Denver is routinely ranked high in national studies in terms of market recovery and a place to buy property. “I think Denver is a good bet,” Faber said.

If it’s on TV it must be true - right?

Posted last week at LifeStyleDenver.com. Hop on over!

Forbes Magazine mentions Denver in this week’s article about the most stable cities in the U.S.

Search for Denver Real Estate and use the cool mapping tool to locate exactly where you want to be.

We’ve been busy with open houses, buyer inquiries from the internet, and people generally excited about the low interest rates. Rates are unlikely to fall any further, and prices are also unlikely to decline a whole lot more.

Be aware that most people look backward and decide they “should have.” Perhaps if you aren’t interested in moving, you might like to invest in a rental property. Did you know you can do just that with your IRA or 401k money?

Send me an email and I’ll be happy to help you find the perfect property!

Read this and more about Denver Real Estate!

We’re in a recession. The worst since the 1930’s.

Have you heard that yet? So have I, but guess what - we’re still selling homes in Denver!

I’ve said it before, Denver is weathering the storm better than many other areas. It’s not only me and other exuberant Realtors pushing an agenda - read it in the NY Times and see it on NBC - Denver’s stability is news.

Still, our higher priced homes are taking longer to sell and have fewer showings while they’re on the market than the mid-priced homes. Medium priced homes that are overpriced relative to their competition are stalled too. It’s a buyers market!

A seller recently asked, “rates have come down more, why should I drop the price of my house now?” Uh, well Mr. Seller, because if you can’t get showings now, when Mr. Buyer’s purchase power just went up again - you’re overpriced!

I really wish it weren’t so. I wish your home and mine were still appreciating at 10% a year. I wish that you could get “what you need” or “what you paid for it” or “what your neighbors got 18 months ago.” I would love to skip the part of the listing presentation where I tell you your house is worth $400,000 less than you want me to list it for. I have some wonderful listings that we priced 18 months ago that could have benefited from my crystal ball (it’s been on the fritz lately). I might have suggested back then that we not be quite so aggressive.

I’m suggesting it now. Two weeks ago I essentially walked away from listing a house that I’ve always loved when I drove by. I had to suck it up and deliver the news to the sellers what today’s value is. I knew that would be the kiss of death, that they would pick the broker who told them what they wanted to hear. It’s listed now for $250,000 more than it should be.

Strike while the iron is hot. Drop the price until you get showings. After 25-30 showings, drop it again if you don’t have an offer.

I’ve closed 4 sales in the past 40 days - all high priced homes relative to the average in Denver. What got them sold was that they were aggressively priced relative to their competition. As rates go down and buying power goes up, use that to your advantage to gauge where the market rates your house a value. Get your price there and you will sell it.

Surf Denver Real Estate at www.GretchensDenver.com!

View the original article at LifeStyleDenver!

You may be interested in making an offer on a property that is listed in the MLS as a “short sale”. My highly educated, former physician father recently asked me exactly what that term meant and how it differs from a “foreclosure.” His question offered me a glimpse that our Realtor-lingo isn’t always understood by the general public.

In Denver, we’ve seen many more homes come on the market lately as short sales. Here’s a list that could help you if your dream home happens to be a “short sale”:

1. Make any offer you deem reasonable. When a house is on the market and the seller owes more than he can sell it for, but it’s not in foreclosure yet - you’ve got a short sale. The seller and his broker will need to negotiate with the lender(s) holding the notes to accept a shortage. Also called a deficiency. The seller’s real estate broker will try to get as much for the house as possible because that’s her job. But you can offer anything you want (don’t make it ridiculous and waste everyone’s time) because ultimately it’s the bank that will be deciding how much they’ll write off.

2. Prepare to wait weeks for an answer. Sometimes weeks and weeks. The bankers are either overwhelmed by the piles of short sales and foreclosures on their desks, or they’ve got their heads comfortably resting on those stacks of files with zzz’s in a little bubble over their heads. You decide which.

3. Don’t expect much on the inspection negotiations. The banks usually want the sale to be “as-is.” This doesn’t abrogate your ability to conduct an inspection, and you always should. However, prepare to fix most of what you turn up yourself. They sometimes surprise us and fix a few items, so you can always submit a list. Just be prepared to make the decision to move forward without most repairs. Remember, the seller is fast approaching foreclosure, and probably doesn’t have any money available to fix anything either.

4. Know what a “Deficiency Judgment” is. For years, banks would file a judgment against a seller for the deficiency in the repayment of the loan. Even though the bank agreed to accept a short sale, they still wanted some sort of repayment. They would negotiate with the sellers to repay in small amounts over several years as an unsecured note. The hammer they held over the seller was a recorded judgment of deficiency. Not as bad on your record as a foreclosure, but still not great. Lately, we’re seeing more banks just writing off the deficiency, and not requiring a seller to repay it or assume a deficiency judgment. Depending on the bank’s stance with the seller, you may have less negotiating room when the seller is faced with repaying the deficiency.

5. Have your own loan lined up and ready to go. You wait and wait for an answer, and then you get the o.k. Now you’ll need to hurry up and get the property closed. Once the bank approves the short sale, they typically want it closed right away. Have your ducks in a row so you can move quickly.

Short sales happen in every price range. I typically work with higher end clientele, often cash buyers, and still we’re seeing short sales crop up. If you find your dream home and the seller is struggling, have some sympathy and then go in and get a great deal!

Search Denver properties on my fabulous website, www.gretchensdenver.com. You’ll have access to nearly every available property in the Denver MLS, be able to map properties, and find relocation information too!

Buying a foreclosure or short sale? Read here about easy remodeling tips!

Read the original article at LifeStyle Denver.