The Chocolate Therapist, Julie Pech, will be at the DNote at 11:30 and 2:15. Julie says the only difference between guilt-ridden and guilt-free enjoyment of chocolate is education. (The DNote is at 7519 Grandview Ave.)
Taste of Chocolate - presented at the DNote from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sample chocolate-based food and drink presented by bakers, chocolatiers, and restaurants. Ten tickets for only $5.00. Proceeds benefit the Arvada Ralston House, which provides a safe place for children and their families to tell their story of abuse and to begin to heal.
Join in on the Chocolate Treasure Hunt, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Visit Olde Town stores for clues. Teams and individuals will compete for prize drawings of large chocolate-enriched baskets of goodies. This is a free family fun activity.
New this year, the Creative Chocolate Chip Cookie Contest. Amateur bakers can show off their cookie skills by entering their most delightful creation. Drop off cookie samples b
etween 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. at the Arvada Library on Town Square, 7525 W. 57th Ave.
To entertain little chocolate lovers, the Arvada Library, 7525 W. 57th Ave., will host storytelling throughout the Festival.
For $25 you can declare your love from the Olde Town lampposts with a giant personalized heart. Hearts will hang from the lampposts on Wadsworth Boulevard and Grandview Avenue. Order by Feb. 4, call Historic Olde Town Association at 303) 420-6100.
See details for this event and more, including Seniors High Tea and Kite Festival here.
Read more about Olde Town Arvada.
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Get ready to pounce!
The first question to settle in your mind is, how much do you want to offer? I know, most people think this is the only question. But it's sooooo not!
If this is a home you and your family might live in for a number of years and you really like it, or it has some extraordinary features you haven't seen in any other home, or it's already priced nicely and getting a lot of attention from other buyers, you might want to offer full price or within 97% of it.
You might wonder why you'd offer full price in a buyer's market, when most markets are seeing declines. Well, that would only be because this is a home you and your family might live in for a number of years and you really like it, or it has some extraordinary features you haven't seen in any other home, or it's already priced nicely and getting a lot of attention from other buyers and you've done all your homework (or your agent's done it!) and it's priced at market value.
Yes, I know I repeated myself. I'm trying to make the point that sometimes 'getting the best deal' is defined by how much you want the house. Don't forget this is going to be your home. Would you really be happy getting a similar home for less money if it's 30 minutes farther out of town when you wanted to stay close?
It's not a good idea to throw caution to the winds (hence, the advice to do your homework), or to offer an above-market price, or to get tangled up in a risky loan. But remember, this is more than an investment, it's the place where your heart can be happy.
For some of my married clients, the first house they walked into where they both smiled at the same time, I knew it was the one for them - and so did they. They were ready to do their homework and write an offer.
If you're buying an investment property of course, you must be more cautious. I can't cover everything you have to consider in this post, maybe there'll be a future post for that.
Here in Colorado, your offer must be accompanied by earnest money and a letter from a lender, stating you're qualified for the loan amount you stipulate in the offer. Read this post for more about lender letters.
Earnest money is the amount the seller has stated they want to accompany the offer. The idea is this money proves the buyer's intent to go through with the purchase. It is held in an account until the day of closing, then it will go toward paying the buyer's down payment or closing costs.
There's so much more to tell you about how the contract should be completed and submitted, and what happens each step of the way from then on. I always sit down with my clients and go over each page, line by line, so they understand everything about what they're signing. And that usually takes an hour or more.
So this series is complete, and I invite you to let me know if you have any questions, or if you'd like to know more about the many ways I help my clients buy the house that's right for them and get the best deal.
To see this entire series,start here.
Find all the homes available in Arvada, Westminster, Broomfield, North Denver, Thornton, Lafayette, Louisville, Wheat Ridge and Golden.Subscribe to my blog using the button to the right.
Ahhh . . . now the real fun begins! But hitting the road and viewing houses can be time-consuming with so many out there. So let's break it down.
First, prowl the internet!
It's said that 90% of all home buyers start their search on the internet. Search sites are more than abundant, but with most you have to input your search options every time you get online. And any number of real estate agents get your contact info, possibly creating gridlock in your inbox or answering machine. I have a great site where you can avoid all that -
Allow me to introduce you to the free Home Buyer's Scouting Report. My clients love it, whether they're months away from getting serious or wanting to move asap. It's actually your own password-protected web site, where you can set up one search or several. You're notified daily of new listings, and you can save favorites to a notebook. The system notifies you of changes to the ones in the notebook, such as a price drop or going under contract. That way, you can keep an eye on the market, and see which houses are going fast, and which seem to hang out longer. You'd have a great feel for the market before you even burn a drop of gas! With this site, you'll get all the info you could possibly want, without having to contact several real estate agents. You can easily write yourself or anyone else a note, and the system tracks it all. You can click a button to ask me questions if you ever want to.
It's easy to get started and you'll receive some listings right away, and some tutorial emails. You'll also be contacted by my partner, Christine Jensen, who'll give you your password and even walk you through the site. And it's all free! Just click here: Start prowling the internet now with the most user-friendly site I’ve found.
It's true that I'll probably contact you, because I just can't help but believe that everyone who's even just thinking about buying a house wants the best help any real estate agent can give. But if you don't want any calls or emails just let me know and I'll respect your wishes.
Other sites include www.Realtor.com and www.REColorado.com. All real estate agents' listings get downloaded to these sites automatically. They might be a couple of days behind, but they're a good anonymous way to get your toes wet.
Then prowl the neighborhoods - For some people, the neighborhood is the most important thing. Some like a 'hip, trendy' feel, some want the best schools, some are interested in being able to walk to stores and parks. So drive around, *visit open houses, talk to neighbors, check it out at different times of day. Research crime, traffic accidents, schools. Do you like homeowner associations (HOAs), or hate them? If there is an HOA, get on their website. Their newsletters and calendar of events can tell you a lot about life in the neighborhood. If you're looking for investment property, check out how much others are getting for rent.
Or, find a real estate agent who's familiar with the area and tell them what's most important to you. Let them do the leg work.
*Don't forget that the agents at open houses are working for the seller, not you. Be careful what you tell them.Either way, if you narrow your search to a few neighborhoods you'll save a lot of time. After all, how great is any deal if you end up too far from work, or your kids have to change schools, or your ex-spouse lives next door?
Finally, prowl the houses.
It won't take long to come with a list of houses to go see. Keep good records. It's easy to get them all mixed up in your head. Rate each house, and take notes. Most you'll be able to eliminate immediately. Try to keep only two or three contenders at a time. If you add a new favorite, eliminate one of the others.
When you're ready to make an offer you'll need to consider current and historical absorption rate, days on market, percent of distressed sales, and how long the particular house has been listed. Make an aggressive offer, but not one that's so low the seller will find it ridiculous and offensive. The lower your offer is, the more important it is to sweeten it in some other way. (Read my previous post for more on that.)
In my area, most sales close at about 97% of the price they were listed at. That means, most don't sell if they're listed too high, only when the price is lowered to where it should be. So if you find one that's simply listed too high, and you want to be the first offer on the table when the seller realizes he needs to come down, write an offer. Stipulate that the offer is good until you rescind it. Get it in front of the seller, with a condition that allows you to keep looking and make other offers, of course.
To see this entire series,start here.
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(If you haven't read my article on how to create your shopping list, click here.)
For most people, getting the best deal means getting the house they want at the best price possible, with the smoothest transaction possible. If it means something more than that to you, take the time to write out exactly what your goals are. Then share that information with your real estate agent, if you're working with one.
There are lots of great deals out there – here's how to make sure you're getting yours at the best price possible.
I'll bet you thought #3 was the only thing, right?
I'm going to move quickly through each step. If you have questions or want more details or examples, please feel to email or call me.
Step 1 was covered in previous posts.
Step 2 -Whether you're planning to 'fix & flip' or to live in the house a number of years, the question of future value is very important. No one can tell the future, but there are ways to tell what the trend is currently.
You need to examine the absorption rate, days on market, percent of owner-occupied vs rentals, and price trend. Then, compare those numbers to the history of the area. Don't rely on nation-wide or state-wide statistics or news releases, they may be completely different. (A good real estate agent can help you with all these statistics.)
Step 3 - To determine the right amount to offer, examine recent sales for nearby houses in a similar condition and with similar features. Not all buyer's agents will do this market analysis for their clients, but hopefully you've found one who will.
If the trend is that prices are dropping, make your offer lower than similar homes have sold. How much lower depends on how long the house has been on the market, does it have more or fewer features than most houses in the neighborhood, seller motivation, is it bank-owned or a short sale, has there been a recent price drop, how much interest is there in this property, and how badly do you want it.
If the trend is that prices are increasing, make your offer equal to the lowest price a similar house has recently sold for. (Note: 'similar' includes condition, location, special features such as view, etc., not just size and number of bedrooms.)
In my local market, there's a few areas where prices have started to rise, and there's a large portion of the market that seems to have stabilized. But even in those areas I advise caution.
If you're buying a house as an investment, it's essential you get the best price and agressive technique is paramount. If you're buying a family home that you could stay in for a number of years, how badly you want the house is an important factor that you need to take seriously.
Step 4 - making your offer as appealing as possible takes some finesse, especially if your offer is low or you're asking the seller to pay your closing costs.
Some ways to do it include finding out when the seller wants to close and using that date in the offer, commit to get the inspection out of the way right away, include a letter from a lender stating that you can get the loan*, use the correct forms and fill them out properly and clearly**, eliminating as many of the standard contingencies as possible, finding an agent who'll go to bat for you rather than just faxing it in and waiting for a response.
Often times, there are other creative ways to make your offer appealing which vary from one situation to the next. It just takes some creativity and willingness to work a little harder.
Step 5 - It seems obvious to say 'Make Your Offer,' but I've heard of many buyers who lost out just because they hesitated. Yes, the market is changing - right now, local inventory is down 25%. So it's likely you're not the only party interested in any particular house.
If the house came on the market already priced to get attention, or if you're looking for something unique and found one that fits the bill, make the offer asap.
The point I want you to understand is, get that house under contract. Here in Colorado the commission-approved contract heavily favors the buyer. You have much more control over the situation after you get the house under contract. Until then, you've got nada.
* Some lender letters are better than others. Make sure yours is a strong one.
** If you're working with an agent, they should take the time to go over every line on the offer with you until you understand each one.
Read the first post in this series.
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First, list the features you'll be looking for. Read over your list and decide which features are 'must-haves', which are 'strongly want', and which are 'would be nice'.
This task will be fun, but could also be harder than you think when you get down to priorities. The 'must have' list is what will keep you out of trouble when you start looking at homes. It will help you keep your emotions in check when you see a 'pretty sparkly' that doesn't even meet your most basic needs, but you still find yourself wanting to move into it tomorrow.
There's something called staging, which is setting up a house to look its best for showings, even if it's not the way the owners usually live in it. Staging is not a bad thing - it's simply evidence of a listing agent doing their job and a motivated seller presenting the home in its best light. But staged homes look so much nicer than the rest, you can be tempted to overlook the fact that it doesn't have that one extra bedroom, or the dining room your family needs.
This temptation is even more troublesome if you don't have your own agent helping you. After all, if you're prowling open houses or new construction on your own, it's easy to forget that the agent you meet there is working for the seller, not you.
The 'must haves' list will be different for someone buying their first home than for a move-up buyer. After all, getting out of living in someone else's house and into your own is a huge victory in itself, and you might be more flexible on your 'must have' list. But if you basically like where you live and you're looking for more space or maybe something in a better school district, you might have a longer 'must have' list. In other words, there has to be more motivation for you to leave a home you basically enjoy.
To determine if a feature belongs on the 'must have' list, ask yourself, "If I can't get this feature, would I be just as happy staying where I am?" A 'yes' answer means it belongs on the 'must have' list.
Another question to 'qualify' your features is, "Is it worth all the trouble of getting a loan and moving if I can't have this?" If the answer is 'no', that feature belongs on the 'must have' list.
The 'strongly want' list is where the features go that aren't 'deal breakers', but definitely are things you really look forward to.
For instance, if you bump heads with someone else every morning when brushing your teeth, a master bath with two sinks might go on this list. These should be items you've brought up in conversations in the past, "I'd really wish we had . . . "
The 'strongly want list' should contain things that would sway you to choose a house that had them over a house that didn't.
The 'would be nice' list contains the things you've seen in your friends' homes and said, "That would be nice!" These things would thrill you if they could be had in your price range, but you still wouldn't hesitate to make an offer on a house that didn't have them.
And now, I think this post is as long as it should be, so I'm going to save step 2 for tomorrow. Besides, you have plenty of 'homework' to get started on!
Read the first article in this series by clicking here.
Read the third article in this series by clicking here.Subscribe to my blog using the button to the right.
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I help people buy homes and sell homes in Westminster,Arvada, Golden,Broomfield, Thornton,Longmont,Louisville CO;only 3 buyers and 3 sellers at a time so I can serve you in a relaxed, friendly manner.
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