In the News: Pending Home Sales Rise



September 7, 2010The Good News: The Pending Home Sales Index rose from 75.5 in June to 79.4 in July, a rise of 5.2 percent.  The good news is: this is the first rise since April 30th, when the New Home Buyer Tax Credit deadline expired and the market saw a decline in transactions. Other good news for buyers?  Low mortgage rates make homes more affordable.  Also, according to Lawrence Yun, the chief economist...

Buying the Right Home: First Time Home Buyers Tip



September 3, 2010How long do you want to live in your house? You are just thinking about buying a house.  Do you really need to start thinking about selling the home you haven’t even bought yet?  Well, probably.   In order to buy the right home for you, you need to answer the question “how long do I want to live here?”  This is just one  important home buying motives you will need to consider. As a...

It Is Personal, It’s Real Estate.



September 1, 2010There are many cases that the “personal” gets in the way of the “business,” when it comes to real estate; if the two are ever separate to begin with. For the seller, there are many reasons selling their home will be personal, and this can and often does effect the transaction.  Seller’s personal life can impact have a negative or a positive impact on the home buyer. Here are some...

How is “The Market?”



August 31, 2010I have been reading a lot of conflicting news about the housing market.  Some experts are hopeful, others are not.  Can we still draw some useful conclusions?  What conclusions, about the home market can we draw from the experts? 1) The status of the home market is… local. It could be sunny and seventy  in Denver while it is the storm of the century in the mountains.  (Though,...

Local Knowledge May Help You Find Your Dream Home



August 27, 2010Yesterday I was going for a stroll, when I met another one of my neighbors.  We had the typical new neighbor conversation; covering names, family members, abridged employment history and date moved to the neighborhood.   She has been here about 25 years.  I’ve been here about 2 months.  I told her that I was previously renting in the Denver University area, about a mile away from Wash...

Are You Ready for Home Ownership?



August 25, 2010I have read many articles that help people decide if they are ready to become a home owner.  They tend to focus only on the financial obligation of home ownership.   Can you afford the monthly payments?  Do you have good credit and manage your credit?  Can you afford the maintenance of a home?  Especially now, these questions are on everyone’s mind when thinking about home...

Location, Location, Location: Live by the Light Rail



August 23, 2010Looking for a good investment in Colorado?  You may want to consider buying a home near the light rail.  In a study done in 2008 by Your Castle Real Estate home values increased about 4% while the majority of Denver home values dropped by at least 7%.  The study focused on home values along the South East line over the 2 years after the line opened. Plus, as the light rail becomes...