Dick Greenberg

About 25 years ago, I moved to a small community in the southern Colorado mountains. I bought a home, moved in, and immediately had a septic tank problem. And, of course, no one had any idea at all where the septic tank was.

So the septic service guy gets on the phone and calls Ralph, a local "water witch". I'm highly skeptical about anything supernatural anyhow, so by this time I'm freaking out, imagining myself digging holes all over the property, spending hours of back-breaking work or thousands of dollars just to find the tank.

And it doesn't help when Ralph shows up - he's got to be in his 80's and he looks like we just woke him from a long hibernation in a cave. As I'm standing there watching him and the septic guy talk, he looks at me and says "You don't believe this, do you?". I say "Not really", and he says "Watch this, then".

Ralph goes to his truck, graps a couple of copper welding bars with small 90° bends, and starts walking the property. In his hands, the bars are swinging all over the place. It takes him about 10 minutes to start zeroing in and 5 minutes later, he announces the location. 15 minutes after that, the truck is pumping and I'm still not believing what I just saw.

So then Ralph walks over to me and says, "That will be $20. You still don't believe it, do you? Well, I can teach you how to do it." He walks me over to where the buried line is, places me over it, stands in front of me, puts the rods in my hands and grabs my hands with his. Then he gives me this very intense wild stare right into my eyes and I feel the hair on the back of my stand stand straight up.

"OK, that's it. You can do it now - try it", he says. And he was right. And that's how I became a water witch.

And if you don't believe me, I'll come over to your house and locate your septic tank or sprinkler lines. I do it all the time for clients. Really.

As you no doubt know, most foreclosures are generally sold "as is", and while fierce negotiation may result in a few items being covered by the seller, expensive repairs can be a huge stumbling block to a buyer.

We were recently informed of a neat way of managing this situation using home warranties.

AHS Home Warranties sells a product that covers the seller while the home is on the market and then transfers to the Buyer for a period of one year. It seems that AHS will allow the buyer to purchase this warranty while the home is still owned by the Seller - in this case, the bank, and if any covered defects are discovered, either through a subsequent inspection or during the buyer's year of coverage, the warranty will be in effect.

This can take the sting out of potential deal-killers in foreclosure transactions.

A couple of caveats and a disclosure:

The timing is critical - AHS will not cover items known in advance of the coverage, so any inspections must take place after the warranty is purchased, but may occur prior to closing. And AHS will not cover any defect that is visibly obvious in a simple walk-thru - that applies to their regular warranties as well as in foreclosure use. Also, I have never done one of these myself, so if you consider this, I'd have a frank, detailed and documented discussion with an AHS rep. And I'd also appreciate knowing how it went.

AHS is not the only company offering home warranties, and others may provide a similar feature.

And for those of you considering purchasing foreclsoures in Northern Colorado, check out Foreclosed Homes for Sale in Fort Collins CO or Foreclosed Homes for Sale in Loveland CO.

One of our newer listings is a very nice 3 bedroom ranch at 3102 49th Ave. Ct. in Greeley Co. Last sunday, I got a couple of sign calls asking about renting it and found out it was up on Craigslist for rent at the very low price of $650/month. Of course, it wasn't actually for rent, and by the time I found it on Craigslist, the ad had already been pulled.

Northern Colorado is a very hot rental market right now, which makes this type of scam especially effective. We had seen these a couple of times before with our listings, but never got any details about how they worked and who might be doing it.

Then yesterday, I got a call from a woman who had responded to the ad and took it to just short of making a big mistake - she said she smelled a rat from the very first, but because of the great price, she was hoping it was for real and kept corresponding with the "owner". She offered to send me the e-mails, and we thought it might be interesting to post here, so here they are:

E-mail #1:

Hello,

I got your response concerning my Advert I published on Craigslist. The house is still available. I did bid for a portion of petroleum land sometime ago in West Africa and fortunately I won the bidding so I had to move quickly down to Africa to have my company set up because I still have to rebid for it in the next 4 to 5 years. I came over here with my Wife, we both bought the house when we got married.. As soon as we were settled down here I had thoughts of selling the house so I had to look for an agent, after getting one, we got a deal but later my Wife advised against selling the home . She said we may not be able to win the bidding next time, in other to keep our head when we return that we have to keep the house. I reasoned with her and accepted her advise. So I contacted the Agent back and requested for my keys and documents. Later we decided to have the house rented out, we would have given the same agent this job also but the truth of the matter is that the agent would want to handle it professionally and the occupant may not be able to reason along with the idea. If you notice, you will discovered that the price we are offering is far below standard price, this is enough for you to know that we are not after the rental fee but the absolute care for the property. I know there is no way I can be sure that you are the right person to live in the house because we won't be able to see before sending you the keys and the documents to occupy the space.. But I just have a feeling that anyone who knows what it takes to put the kind of structure down should know that maintaining a building is Essential so if you believe you can take good care of the house and handle it like yours then I will be more than happy to let you rent the house.

My cell phone number is : (+234-802-535-6012)
Please if you are interested in renting my house kindly provide the information below.

(Application form follows - interesting that it did not ask for SS# or personal info beyond name, address and contact info)

You could give me a call as soon as possible if you can call internationally if you can't please indicate so i can call you so we could proceed ASAP.

Please note that you will only be able to drive by the house for now but not have a look at the interior until i have sent the keys and documents of the house to you... and the requirement for getting the keys and documents of the house is a fully refundable payment, which is the security deposit.

Please note that the deposit made is fully refundable in case you finally gain entrance into the house after receiving the keys and documents and feel unsatisfied or uncomfortable with the interior, but i am giving you a benefit of doubt that you will love everything about this lovely home...

I Await your response so that we can discuss on how to get the document and the keys to you.
My cell phone number is : (+234-802-535-6012)

Best Regards

E-mail #2:

Hello,

Thanks for getting back to me with the Rent Application form.I want to let you know that we have decided to let you live in our house in good faith hoping that you will take good care of the house. As we have found your application very satisfactory and acceptable by me and my wife. Which is why i am willing to rent it out to you.We would be sending the keys and document of the house to you via FEDEX to the address you sent to us and the tracking number will be sent to you so that you can possibly access the house, You are to make the payment of the security deposit via Western Union, The rent starts counting when you move in.Below is the information on how to make the payment via Western Union.

Receiver's Name: Paul Urioste
Receiver's Address: 30 COMPANY STR,
City: LAGOS,
Country: NIGERIA.
Zip Code: 23401
Text Question: MY NAME?
Text Answer: Paul

As soon as you make the payment you are to provide me with the following details;
Full Sender's Name and Address:
MTCN (10 digits number):
Amount Sent:

I will be waiting for the following details so I could proceed in sending the keys and document of the house to you.Send me a mail or give me a call once payment is made so i could contact the FEDEX agent.

Regards.
Paul Urioste

And e-mail #3:

Thank you for you response
Your application was pick by my wife, so we are ok it. and will will be send out the keys and documents as soon as we have confirm the deposit, we believe your dogs are not going to cause damages to our property. Greetings to your son AJ.Once again thank you

There were also 2 phone conversations, the tone of which finally convinced the woman she was being scammed.

It may be hard to believe that people actually fall for this, but they do, and the Nigerians are the original masters - I remember getting a letter from Nigeria, back in the days before e-mail, for the scam involving unclaimed riches that is still making the rounds today. There is no real recourse for anyone caught up in one of these - the money is gone forever. The best defense is awareness, and remembering: TANSTAAFL - There Ain't No Such Thing As A Free Lunch!

Real estate activity in Loveland continues to be very slow and isn't showing any signs of a big spring improvement.

April property sales were 64, down 49.6% from 127 in April of 2010 and 28.9% lower than the 90 sales last month. April 2011 sales were at their lowest level compared to April of 2010 and 2009. April year to date sales of 287 are running 23.9% behind last year's year-to-date sales of 377.

The median sales price in April was $192,000, up 4.4% from $183,900 in April of 2010 and up 1.1% from $190,000 last month. The average sales price in April was $231,029, up 4.3% from $221,520 in April of 2010 and down 3.1% from $238,312 last month. The April 2011 average sales price was at the highest level compared to April of 2010 and 2009.

The total inventory of properties available for sale as of April was 807, up 8.0% from 747 last month and up 7.6% from 750 in April of last year. April 2011 inventory was at its highest level compared with April of 2010 and 2009.

The days-on-market average for April was 95, up 6.7% from 89 days last month and up 50.8% from 63 days in April of last year. The April 2011 average was at a mid level compared with April of 2010 and 2009.

The April 2011 selling price per square foot of $95 was unchanged from $95 last month and down 2.2% from $98 in April of last year. And the April 2011 selling price vs original list price of 98.0% was up from 97.4% last month and down from 98.1% in April of last year.

On the plus side, however, we're not seeing any signs of a real deterioration in the market either. Values are fairly stable, and there is some activity in higher price ranges. Long-term economic prospects are favorable, with some significant local economic growth possibilities on the horizon, but will still also depend on improving the national economic outlook. Click here if you're interested in looking at the available inventory of real estate property in Loveland CO.

It's been a very sluggish market overall and there doesn't seem to be much hope of a significant spring rebound in sales activity.

April property sales were 144, down 48.8% from 281 in April of 2010 and 21.7% lower than the 184 sales last month. April 2011 sales were at their lowest level compared to April of 2010 and 2009. April YTD sales of 574 are running 25.0% behind last year's YTD sales of 765.

The median sales price in April was $211,500, essentially the same as the $211,600 in April of 2010, and up 4.9% from $201,700 last month. The average sales price in April was $254,075, up 2.8% from $247,245 in April of 2010 and up 7.3% from $236,752 last month. The April 2011 average was at the highest level compared to April of 2010 and 2009.

The total inventory of properties available for sale as of April was 1,315, up 25.0% from 1,052 last month, and down 0.8% from 1,326 in April of last year. April 2011 inventory was at a mid level compared with April of 2010 and 2009.

The days-on-market average for April was 90, down 3.2% from 93 days last month and up 16.9% from 77 days in April of last year. The April 2011 average was at a mid level compared with April of 2010 and 2009.

The April 2011 selling price vs original list price of 97.3% was down from 98.0% last month and down from 97.7% in April of last year. And the April 2011 selling price per square foot of $109 was down 1.0% from $110 last month and down 4.2% from $114 in April of last year.

The good news is that values are remaining fairly stable, there are buyers out there, and there are some great buys available. Long-term, recovery is going to depend on new regional jobs - and there are some promising possibilities for that - and an improving national economy. If you're curious about Fort Collins CO homes for sale, click here to take a look at available listings.