Seven Costly Mistakes Sellers Make

always good information to keep in mind from realtor.com

There are always appropriate steps to investing in real estate and hopefully, you've garnered many of them right on these pages. However, there are also inappropriate steps sellers can walk down when it comes time to put their house on the market.

For instance, the seller in Virginia, who thought the half bath the builder had located at the front of the house would really be better situated toward the back of the main level (though all the other similar models had the powder room in the same place for the previous 20 years). He got hung up on this detail so much, that he just had to move it -- and did -- for thousands of dollars, just so he could get it on the market the "right way." His hang-up may have settled some deep-seated emotional need for him, but it didn't draw any more buyers, and it drained his bottom line. You might say, that was a costly mistake.

Real estate broker and author Sid Davis has identified in his book "A Survival Guide to Selling a Home," another seven costly mistakes that many sellers make when it comes time to put their home on the market. In my business, I've seen each one of these mistakes played out and it just makes me shake my head as to why, sellers forge ahead with unwise strategies, instead of listening to the voice of an experienced professional.

The seven costly mistakes

Mistake 1: Putting the home on the market before it's ready. Most times this happens because the seller gets impatient or is a procrastinator and has pushed himself up against a moving deadline without getting the pre-sale work done. So it comes on the market with the horrible carpet (that gets replaced during the marketing of the home); or they are painting it while it goes on the market. Presentation is everything -- so get the work done before marketing the property.

Mistake 2: Over improving the home for the neighborhood. This happens with additions, bump outs, and upgrades that make the home stick out from among its competitors so much that it's an anomaly, instead of a nice addition to the community.

 

Mistake 3: Pricing the home based on what the seller wants to net. This pricing strategy always ends in failure. Sellers can control the "asking" price, but they don't control the "sales" price. The market does. It doesn't matter what the seller wants, the price is determined by the black-and-white, matter-of-fact reality of the market.

 

Mistake 4: Hiring an agent based on non-business factors. Make sure you're hiring a professional with a proven track record. It might be nice to hand over your largest asset to your nephew who just got his license -- but make sure he has a mentor to keep your deal from going south.

 

Mistake 5: Getting emotionally involved in the sale of the home. This is one of the biggest challenges home sellers face when putting their house on the market. Once you decide to sell your house, it's no longer a home, but a commodity. It needs to be prepared as a commodity, marketed as a commodity, and priced as a commodity. It doesn't matter what you "want," only what the market can bear on pricing. People are going to come in to kick the tires, so to speak, and you can't get emotional about how they may or may not appreciate the nuances of your home of seven years.

 

Mistake 6: Trying to cover up problems, or not disclosing them. Most states have a property disclosure/disclaimer form -- use it wisely. Just because you disclaim doesn't mean you cannot be sued later for the leaky basement, or dilapidated heating/air system that's discovered 30 days after settlement.

 

Mistake 7: Not getting your ducks lined up before trying to sell. This would involve financing, reading the fine print on your current mortgage to ensure no pre-payment penalties, not listening to the particulars of your local market, etc. If your local market is dictating lower home prices, then lower it early, not later -- it will cost you more. If the local market dictates selling your home first, then buying second, do it in that order, or vice versa.

Avoiding these mistakes is not that difficult. There are plenty of resources (like this publication) and professionals, who are there to help you step over the pitfalls. Do the research early, and listen to that voice in your head (it's probably the whispers of the finance, real estate, insurance person who's warning you of a hole you're about to step into). Sell well.

More home sales closing with cash

from denverpost.com...interesting to see 1 in 5 buyers in Colorado now purchase with cash...

Cash has become an important and, in some markets, dominant way homes are purchased, creating competition for borrowers already struggling with rising interest rates and larger down payments.

"Cash is king," said Ryan Coleman, CEO of Cash for Denver Homes, of the current state of the housing market.

Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, estimates that more than half of all homes purchased in the U.S. since 2012 have gone to cash buyers, compared with 10 percent in 2005.

"The large share of cash transactions is being driven by the significant role that investors are playing in the current housing market, combined with the challenges all homebuyers face in qualifying for a mortgage given the tightened lending standards," Goldman Sachs said in a report released last week.

The Goldman Sachs study came as a surprise, given that other estimates peg cash purchases at closer to one of every three or four home sales.

RealtyTrac, which compares sold homes to homes with a lien attached, estimates that about 22 percent of Colorado homes sold for cash in June, said Daren Blomquist, a vice president at the firm.

That is substantially below markets such as Miami, where 64 percent of sales were cash, and Las Vegas, where 62 percent were cash, he said.

Gary Bauer, an independent real estate analyst, calculates that 17 percent of single-family homes and 34 percent of the condos listed for sale in metro Denver since 2012 went to cash buyers, based on agents' reports, which don't include foreclosure auctions.

Goldman, which didn't break out cash purchases by state, approached the question by looking at mortgage originations against home sales, attributing the gap to cash purchases.

Historically, the ranks of cash buyers have been dominated by fix-and-flip investors who find run-down properties at a discount, renovate them and, if all goes right, sell at a profit.

But institutional, foreign and high-net-worth buyers interested in the cash flow from rentals are joining the cash fray. Even conventional buyers with the right connections are using cash to gain an edge in tight markets.

Coleman said the fix-and-flip business is about turning over homes as quickly as possible, typically on the lower end where he can better deploy his $500,000 in capital.

A seller contacted Coleman a few months back through his website regarding a home she had acquired in a short sale in 2011 for $119,000.

Coleman paid the woman, who had developed health problems and wanted to move, $135,000 in cash at the start of May and then spent another $30,000 to make the property marketable.

"We did everything — windows, roof, kitchen, flooring," he said.

When the home hit the market, it sold quickly to a buyer willing to pay $205,000 at a closing set for Aug. 30.

Coleman, 31, said he plans to keep flipping homes until he builds up enough money to retire, hopefully by age 44.

Another variation on fix-and-flip are buyers who pick up properties at foreclosure auctions, which are cash-only. Institutional investors have transformed that market, which was already struggling with a declining inventory.

Arvada real estate investor John Dilday has attended foreclosure auctions in Denver and surrounding counties faithfully for 15 years, competing mostly against other local investors and mom-and-pop buyers trying to get that home across the street.

That was before institutional buyers, whom he calls the "hedge funds," stepped in and started snapping up 60 to 70 percent of the homes going to investors at auction.

"These hedge funds are sucking up all the properties. They are drying up," he said.

RealtyTrac estimates that institutional investors account for about 8 percent of home purchases in Colorado. Some of the bigger players nationally include Blackstone Group, American Homes for Rent, Silver Bay Realty Trust and American Residential Properties.

Jody Kahn, a vice president with John Burns Real Estate Consulting, said sophisticated institutional buyers are making a long-term bet that economic and demographic trends will favor renting over buying a home.

"Scale could be a good thing," she said, provided that institutional investors can work out the kinks in the systems needed to renovate, rent and manage a large number of properties across wide areas.

Dilday, however, argues that a lack of local expertise has caused the big funds to overbid at auction and that they are struggling to find crews to renovate the homes they have obtained.

He said they have started to pull back on purchases, which he attributes to their biting off more than they can chew.

"They will go away," he predicts.

Although Coleman said he sells most of his renovated homes to buyers using a mortgage, other cash buyers report a surge in individual investors looking to put their money into rentals.

Mike Hoff, president of Corporate Properties in Denver, a franchisee of HomeVestors out of Dallas, said more of his homes are selling for cash, to either out-of-state buyers — Californians, in particular — or local professionals.

"We have sold a lot to buyers who are keeping them as rentals," he said.

The investors are seeking a higher yield than what bank accounts or bonds can provide but without the risk of the stock market.

Even buyers who plan to live in their homes have turned to cash as a way to beat out competitors who drag a long chain of contingencies behind them such as passing an appraisal and selling their current home.

"During the frenzy of the market earlier this year, cash was also used as the form of financing to secure an agreement between the seller and the buyer," Bauer said.

Some of those buyers could turn to the proverbial rich uncle or generous grandma, while others brought money after selling in higher-priced markets. Kahn said she has even heard increasingly about lenders willing to provide buyers with bridge loans so they can bring cash to the table.

Analysts are divided on whether current trends will favor or hinder the cash market. Rising prices are reducing the number of distressed properties, leaving fewer bargains for cash investors.

But an active resale market provides fix-and-flip buyers an easier exit strategy. Higher interest rates and higher home prices also reduce what borrowers can afford, strengthening the hand of cash buyers.

Survey confirms homebuyers willing to pay premium to be near preferred schools

interesting article from Inman news....

Three out of 5 homebuyers surveyed by realtor.com said school attendance boundaries would be a factor in choosing a home, and most of that group said they’d be willing to go above budget or give up amenities to have their children go to their school of choice.

The online survey, conducted July 18-22, found that of those who said school attendance boundaries were important:

• 23.6 percent would pay 1 to 5 percent above budget.
• 20.7 percent would pay 6 to 10 percent above budget.
• 9 percent would pay 11 to 20 percent above budget.
• 40.3 percent would not go above budget.

Many who said school boundaries would affect their homebuying were willing to give up amenities to live within their school attendance boundaries of choice, including:

• 62.4 percent would do without a pool or spa.
• 50.6 percent would give up accessibility to shopping.
• 44 percent would pass on a bonus room.
• 42 percent would offer up nearby parks and trails.

“Our survey demonstrates the large impact school boundaries have on those looking to purchase a home,” said Barbara O’Connor, chief marketing officer at Move Inc., in a statement, noting that realtor.com in April rolled out new mobile school search functionality allowing users to search for listings in specific school attendance zones and school district boundaries.

“This data shows how compelling this new feature is to consumers and the impact it has on their home purchase experience.”

O’Connor said realtor.com will be launching a section on the site focused on back-to-school tips, which will provide more information to help those whose housing decisions are influenced by school boundaries.

Getting the Best Mortgage

from realtor.com

There is more to a loan than getting the lowest rate

For some strange reason, bragging about a mortgage rate takes on such status as how far one can hit a baseball or how big the fish was. Maybe it tells everyone "look how savvy I am at picking out the lowest interest rate!" or "Yeah, I thought about locking but I knew rates were on their way down so I waited." I've been at dinner tables and heard people, one by one, go around bragging about their rate. It's really weird. Did these people know something others didn't? Of course not. Most likely they were lucky. Or maybe, in fact they did do a few things that, while not guaranteeing them the lowest market rate, certainly helped their chances.

The first thing in locking in the best interest rate is to not fog everything up comparing everything under the planet from the number of days to the Summer Solstice to the Construction Spending numbers released later this month. The biggest culprit in rate confusion? Comparing different loan programs.

Comparing rates from one lender to another is tough enough, at best. But trying to compare rates on multiple loans, from multiple lenders, makes it even tougher. Face it, no matter what anyone tells you, identical loan programs from different lenders are tied to the very same index. What makes one lender different from another? If it comes to comparing the very same loan program, then there really is no difference, as long as you get the loan you wanted at the right price and at the right time. Lender A looks like Lender B when you go to the Settlement Table.

Before I get jumped on by account execs from different loan companies telling me about their great customer service, their Six Sigma program or maybe their Customer for Life attitude, I didn't say there's no difference between loan officers. There are maybe more differences in loan officers than there are stars in the sky, but their responsibility to you stops or starts, based upon how successful a career in mortgage lending they want to have. But again, that's where you can be led astray. This column is about finding the best interest rate.

You have to decide, without a doubt, which loan program is right for you. Period. Don't go backwards and second-guess yourself. Decide and move forward. It's perfectly advisable to have at least one or two Loan Officer Superstars offering advise as to which programs would work best, given your goals, but the very first key in getting the best rate is deciding on a program and sticking with it. One can never, ever, compare apples and oranges in the mortgage business. We have more apples, oranges, pears, peaches, kumquats, and grapes than you can imagine. And we do it on purpose.

For instance, you call lender A and ask them for their quote on a 20-yr fixed rate mortgage and they offer 5.75 percent. Let's say you then call Lender B and Lender B knows they're slightly out of the market. So they'll reply, "My 20-yr fixed rate mortgage today is at 5.875 percent, but let me ask you a question, how long are you going to stay in your home? Is this your first house? Will you live there for 20-years? Have you thought about a 5/1 ARM? Have I told you about our brand new Payment Option Plan?"

If the loan officer is worth his or her salt, they'll have talked you into comparing other loan programs, hopefully finding one with a better rate. With Lender B's help, did you decide on a 10/1 Interest Only Loan with the rate being much lower than the 20-year fixed? Bingo. Lender B wins. And you didn't call Lender A back.

You broke the first rule of finding the best rate. Instead of "hunting," you went "fishing." Don't let loan companies talk you into other programs after you've made up your mind. Sometimes it's nearly impossible to get an apples-to-apples quote in the mortgage business. And it's tough enough to nail the lowest rate as it is. Don't muddy the waters with multiple choices. Stick to your game.

 

What does the Consumer Price Index (CPI) number and your mortgage rate have in common? If the pundits are right, the CPI may directly affect mortgage rates almost immediately after they're released. PPI? Probably. What about Non-Farm Payroll numbers, will they have an impact? Most every time. The fact is that our economy has a direct impact on interest rates. If your goal is getting the best rate, then you need to know how economic data can increase or decrease market rates.

First, it's important to understand how economic numbers can affect interest rates, including fixed mortgage product. Generally, interest rate gurus look at two things: an overheated economy, and inflation. As an economy picks up steam, businesses look to expand by making more products or providing more services. When they do, they increase the demand for money in terms of expansion capital, they find they can charge more for their products or services. Demand for capital increases the costs of borrowing -- banks can charge more for their loans -- and being able to charge more for a box of widgets drives up prices.

Both capital demands and higher prices mean inflation. Inflation kills an economy, and it's a key item The Fed watches when deciding to increase, decrease or keep rates the same.Why does that matter?

In the first party of the series, we explored mortgage bonds. Mortgage bonds are no different than any other bond; they offer a fixed return over a fixed term. A bond could give an investor a 5 percent return over 3 years, for instance. There is little risk in bonds, especially when compared to equities which can rise and fall on the trading floor. In a dragging economy when stocks aren't doing well, investors can instead get a solid return by investing in bonds. In this case, mortgage bonds. Yeah, the return may not be as great as a good stock pick, but if there aren't any good stock picks investors look at bonds.

If a bond yields $10,000 over three years to an investor, that could be a solid return. But only if inflation doesn't eat away at the yield. Because the return on a bond is a fixed amount, it doesn't adjust with inflation, it remains the same. If inflation increases by 5 percent each year, after three years that same $10,000 is worth much less than originally promised.

Truth is, there are plenty of armchair economic forecasters that play this game each and every day. The other truth is, no one, absolutely no one can know what the economic numbers will be. It's really a 50/50 gamble. If you wait, you might be right.

In short, the better the economy, the greater the likelihood for inflation. People pull money out of bonds, driving up rates. Poor economy? Lots of people out of work? People pull money out of stocks and into bonds. Bad economy, low rates. Strong economy, high rates. Generally speaking, of course.

So how does that affect you? Many consumers pore over economic data, watch the financial news channels and try to "position" themselves into picking their interest rate at the perfect time. I can't tell you how many times I've heard something like, "Nah, I'm not going to lock today, I think the economy is in terrible shape. I'll lock after the Unemployment Numbers are released this Friday" or some such. The theory is, if a bad unemployment number is evidenced, rates could indeed drop. Or, if the Consumer Price Index shows that Consumer Prices are stable, then rates could take a breather. Or not.

The problem with economic data and interest rates is that you'll only be able to take advantage if the numbers work in your favor. If they don't, you lost out big time. How so?

If rates on Thursday are 6.00 percent and you decide to wait until Friday's Non-Farm Payroll Data is released, if you're right and the economy is still dragging, you'll most likely see a slight rate decrease (all other economic/political factors being equal). You win. But if Non-Farm Payroll numbers are stronger than expected, and lots of folks are back to work making big bucks then it's too late. You lose. Lenders issue rates every morning and typically wait until most economic reports have been released before setting their mortgage rates. The nice little 6.00 percent on Thursday is now 6.25 percent and rising on Friday.

The most frustrating part about getting the best interest rate is actually getting a rate quote you can trust. Some of these tricky loan officers will make used car salesmen seem like saints when it comes to quoting an interest rate. Want 5.00 percent? Sure, we got 5.00 percent! Then you go to your closing and yes, you got 5.00 percent alright, but you also got hit with points, origination charges, administration fees, commitment fees, processing and underwriting charges. Not worth it, right? Part 3 of Getting the Best Interest Rate will focus on getting the rate quote right every time by considering closing fees.

Stop me if you've heard this one before, but part of the Federal Truth in Lending Law, specifically Regulation Z, requires that those who quote consumer rates, including mortgages, must also quote the Annual Percentage Rate. No big news flash there. The APR is the cost of money borrowed expressed as an annual rate. The problem lies not with the APR, but the misapplication, misunderstanding, and flat-out abuse of the APR.

APR abuse can be intentional, or it just be a dim loan officer who can't explain the offers he selling. The APR number is supposed to reflect not just the note rate itself -- the rate you actually pay your mortgage with -- but it also includes additional fees associated with that rate. A note rate of 6.00 percent with lots of lender charges such as points, processing, underwriting and so on could result in an APR of 6.50 percent for example. A note rate of 6.00 percent with little or no lender charges other than maybe an appraisal and prepaid interest could have a smaller APR like 6.11 percent. The greater the variance between note rate and APR means there are lots of associated closing costs. At least that's the application theory.

The fact is, the APR number is so often misquoted that many loan officers dismiss its utility at all. I disagree with that. The APR is a very useful number... as long as it's used correctly. But that's where you can run into trouble. Especially if your loan officer can't tell you which closing costs were used when calculating APR.

Instead, try this; get a rate quote for the same period of time, say 30 days, and ask for one with no discount points or origination charges. Get your quotes from your different lenders at the same time of day and also ask them for a list of Lender charges, more specifically those listed in the "800" section of the Good Faith Estimate. It is here, that fees used to help calculate APR are located and can include all lender or broker junk fees such as Administration or Processing, Discount Points or Points, Origination fees, and more.

None of the other charges such as title insurance, or attorney, or escrow really matter when comparing interest rates. Your lender or mortgage broker have nothing to do with those charges. And don't let a loan officer try to confuse you by giving you a "total" estimate of costs. Instead, thank you very much, just give me those fees listed in the 800 section. That's all you really need to compare rate quotes.

If you're working with a mortgage banker, those fees should, mostly, be set in stone. If you're working with a mortgage broker, those fees can change depending upon which lender the broker is quoting. If you're working with a broker, go ahead and ask them who those fees belong to, be it Countrywide or BankAmerica, Washington Mutual or whomever. There should be no reluctance in telling you who the lender might be. Even at that, competitive wholesale lenders should have about the same amount of charges as one another. They might call them different things, but their totals should be about the same.

The absolute key with this process is to only include 800 series closing costs. Don't worry about hazard insurance for example, your lender has no control over that, nor do they have any control over the cost of an escrow. That's the biggest trick in the world; to low-ball third-party fees to make the mortgage brokers overall package look sweeter. It won't be. Those third-part fees are what they are. Yeah, I know that there are some negotiated package deals that can reflect reduced fees, but that's the exception, not the norm.

Over the past few weeks one thing has remained constant in this series on finding the best rate... and that is being consistent, and not getting distracted. Don't let someone else confuse the issue. Be strong and be aware. Some of those loan officers out there are pretty sneaky.

 

Getting an interest rate quote and getting that rate guaranteed are two different breeds. Also, rate quotes can vary depending upon how much time you have until you close. Or at least they should be. Interest rates and time go hand in hand, the longer you need, the more expensive it gets.

Locking in your interest rate means two things; your rate won't go up if rates in general go up, and your rate won't go down if rates in general go down. When you lock, you lock. I know there are variations on this theme such as "floatdown" loans that allow you to re-lock your rate should rates move down during your lock period, but overall lenders take interest rate locks just as seriously as you do.

The most important feature of a lock is that it lasts long enough to get your deal closed. If your closing is scheduled within 30 days, then you need a 30 day lock. If your closing is within 15 days, then you might get a 15 day lock. 15 day locks are less expensive than 30 day locks. How much? Usually about 1/8 of a discount point. On a $100,000 loan, that's about $125 more to lock for 30 days than for 15.

Do you have a longer escrow period, say 60 days? If you want to lock in current market rates, then you can expect to pay more in either rate or point. For each additional 30 days, you can expect another ¼ of a discount point, or maybe 1/8 percent in interest rate.

This is why it's vitally important when getting rate quotes for the same lock period. Don't call some lender up and ask them what their rates are, ask them what their rates are for the time needed to close your deal. Another sneaky loan officer trick? Quoting ultra-low rates for very short terms, such as three days. "Yeah, I've got 4.50 percent today but that's only for loans that are closing this week. If I had your loan I could get you that rate, but I really can't lock in your deal unless I've got your loan." You then assume that "Why goodness, these people are lower than anyone else!" so you submit your loan, then find out that their rates are, in fact, pretty much the same, if not higher, than all the other lenders.

Another version of this rate trick is reserved for those who are buying new construction. Say your new home will be finished six months from today, so you call other lenders for rate quotes and you find out that, yes, you can lock in a rate for six months but it gets rather pricey, so you decide to wait.

But one lender in particular has interest rates almost ½ percent lower than everyone else. "Why yes, Mr. New Home Buyer, my rate today is 4.50 percent, but unfortunately I can't lock that rate in that long. But if you go ahead and submit your loan and application fee, I can get you in process and lock you in the closer we get." You may find that as you get closer to your lock period, that lenders rates are just like everyone else's, except for the fact that if you change lenders, you've lost your application fee. Sort of like application fee hostage.

When getting a rate quote for new construction, don't tell the loan officer that you're closing in four to six months. Instead ask for a rate quote for 30 days. It's impossible to compare apples and apples without making the time factor equal as well. After all, time is indeed money, right?

 

You found the right agent, you found the right home and you found the best lender. Right? But most of all, you got the best danged interest rate in these here parts. You got the interest rate by doing all the right things and you got advice from someone "on the inside."

The mortgage market is no different than any other product or service. There's competition and plenty of it. Not only that, but it really doesn't take a whole lot to get into the mortgage business. Yeah, I know there's licensing and continuing education in most states, but really, one doesn't need a 4-year college degree to push a loan.

That does a couple of things; one, the level of professionalism can be hurt. If it takes very little to get in the business then how do you really know who you're dealing with? The mortgage business can be very fluid, lots of folks coming into the business while at the same time lots of others leaving it. It also leads to a marketing maze, confusing the consumer with jargon never before heard.

Mortgages have positioned themselves as a commodity; after all, that's what the Secondary Market (Fannie and Freddie) has tried to produce. And if a commodity is truly defined as a "product where the determining factor is price" then you can see how tricky sales tactics can influence mortgage rates on the consumer level.

But you rose above all that. You followed the tried and true tactics of getting the best rate. What did you do?

 

1. You went hunting and not fishing. What is meant by that? You have to decide up front, at the very beginning which loan program works best for you. Cross your heart and hope to die. When you go hunting, you know what you want and you set your sights on your goal. If you simply "fish," then you're only throwing some bait in the water not knowing what's going to bite. When you do hook one, you get whatever you reel in. Or worse, you're the one that gets reeled in.

When loan officers can't compete on a particular loan program or they find they can make more money on another loan they'll try to steer you away from your selected loan program. This defeats the whole purpose of finding the best deal. You can't compare one loan against an entirely different loan when you're looking for the best rate. It is imperative that you truly compare apples and apples.

 

2. You also timed the market well and understood how economic data can impact an interest rate. Gambling types try and outsmart the market, let their interest rate "float" until after such-and-such report, and knowing (betting) that the report will lead to lower rates.

If you guess right, you get a better rate. If you guessed wrong, you lost.

 

3. You also understood the importance of comparing closing costs along with the interest rate. What

good is 6.00 percent compared to 6.125 percent if the lower rates costs you several thousand dollars? Not much.

The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is a tool used best by those who know how to use it. The APR is an oft-misunderstood number, but when used properly allows you to truly compare rates from different lenders. Lenders can offset a slightly lower rate by increasing their "junk" fees such as Loan Processing or Administration. By comparing not just the rate but also the lender fees associated with that rate you know what you're getting.

 

4. Time is money. And the longer you tie up money, the more that rate will cost you. If you're refinancing, you have the supposed luxury of waiting to lock in your rate whenever you fell like it. If you're buying and closing at the end of the month, you don't have that luxury. You have to close when the contract says so.

When comparing rates from different lenders, you need to consider the lock period required along with the closing costs. Get a quote not just on rate and fees, but compare the same lock period as well, giving you enough time to close your deal.

There. Easy enough, right? Don't let loan officers try and confuse the issue with marketing tricks like different loans, different closing fees or shorter lock periods. The mortgage industry has, successfully, made mortgages difficult to understand. But now you're ready for them.

Metro Denver home sales jump 32% from 2012

from DenverPost.com

Buyers scooped up 6,104 metro Denver area homes in July, up 32 percent from the same month last year, according to a Metrolist Inc. report Monday.

That number of single-family homes and condos sold in July also was 10 percent higher than the 5,566 sold in June, the report states. June and July are typically the highest sales volume months for metro Denver’s home resale market.

At the same time, the inventory of for-sale homes in July grew 9 percent from the prior month, to 10,025. That’s the fourth month in a row the inventory of for-sale homes grew, but it’s still down 7 percent from the 10,827 homes for sale in July 2012.

“While still very competitive, the market in Denver seems to be growing at a sustainable pace,” said Kirby Slunaker, Metrolist’s CEO and president. “Inventory increases within the last 90 days are providing a stabilizing factor for the market overall.”

As indicated by a national report by the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Index last week, the average sales price of metro Denver area home continued to increase year over year. According to the new Metrolist report, that average stood at $315,150 in July. Alhough that's a 1 percent drop from June’s $318,541 average, it’s 9 percent higher than the July 2012 average.

“As we review the details of the statistics we continue to see segments of the market that are more competitive than others,” Slunaker said. “Certainly the upper levels of the market continue to remain very hot with the entry level of the market being more impacted by changing interest rates and slim inventory availability.”

The average number of days on the market it took to sell a metro Denver home dropped to 37, down from the 43-day average set in June and from the 65-day average set in July 2012.

There were 7,406 homes put under contract, flat from June but up 43 percent from the 5,236 put under contract in July 2012.

Metrolist of Greenwood Village is metro Denver’s Multiple Listing Service, a database of home sales activity for real estate professionals.

Bueller? Bueller? Iconic 'Ferris Bueller' Home Back On The Market

from forbes.com

The Illinois home’s moment on film was brief but unforgettable.
In “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” in a spectacular show of defiance, the title character’s best friend, Cameron, kicks his father’s red Ferrari through the glass walls of a modern garage, sending the classic car plunging into the ravine below.
It was these few minutes that make the home at 370 Beech St, Highland Park, IL 60035 more memorable than even the traditional residence of Bueller himself.
The 4-bedroom main home was designed in 1953 by architect A. James Speyer, a protege of Mies Van der Rohe. The iconic, cantilevered garage — or auto pavilion, as described in the listing — was built by David Haid in the 1970s to house the owners’ exotic car collection.
The Rose family has owned the residence since construction and rented out the house for the ’80s film. This isn’t the first time the home has been listed for sale. The house was first listed at $2.3 million in 2009. By 2010, the price dropped to $1.8 million, and then by 2011 it was slashed additionally to $1.65 million before the owners decided to remove the listing.
Today, the home is priced at $1.5 million. According to the listing, the home has had several updates, including new windows, roof and carpeting, as well as interior and exterior steel renovation.

7 Things to Do Before You Leave for Vacation

from popularmechanics.com

You know the drill before packing the car and heading out of town on vacation—stop the mail, give a neighbor a key to check in on the house occasionally, and take out all the trash. But what about the house itself? These quick, simple tasks can help prevent coming home to a disaster, whether you leave for a long weekend or month-long getaway.

Turn Off the Main Water Supply

"If you're going to have a leaking supply line, it's going to happen while you're away," says Fred Spaulding, president of Quality Home Improvements, Inc., in Kingwood, Texas. And a major leak could be catastrophic if there's nobody around to deal with it. In the Houston area, where he lives, for example, hot-water tanks are placed in attics to avoid taking up floor space in living areas. "If that water tank leaks, you'd better catch it quick," he says. "I've seen cabinets in kitchens destroyed. It only takes a little bit of a leak."

Closing the valve on the main supply line cuts off water to the house but still allows outside sprinklers to work. If you do spring a leak inside, the line will be under some initial pressure, but it will not continue to spray water. "Instead of thousands, literally thousands, of gallons of water, you might have 50 gallons from the hot-water tank leak," Spaulding says. "There is no downside whatsoever [to turning off the water]. It takes a little bit of time, and it can save thousands of dollars in potential damage."

Check the Sump Pump

Another type of water—rainwater—can also be a nightmare. If your sump pump fails while you're gone and a major storm comes around, you could return to a flooded basement.

So make sure the sump pump is working before you leave town. "Dump a bucket of water in there so you don't get that kind of surprise when you come home," says Tom O'Grady, president of O'Grady Builders in Drexel Hill, Pa. The pump should turn on when the pit fills with water.

Turn Up the Thermostat—But Don't Turn Off the A/C Unit

If you have a programmable thermostat, Spaulding says, you're golden. "You can set and hold the temperature to have the house at 85 degrees while you're gone [in the summer], then the day before you get back, get it down to 72," he explains. If you have a manual thermostat, it's still worth turning it up while you're gone to avoid wasting energy. You'll just have to deal with a hot house when you get back.

But don't turn off the air conditioner or furnace during your vacation. "You want to keep the air circulating so it doesn't have time to condensate," Spaulding says—it keeps the house from turning into an oven, which can impact wood doors, cabinets and flooring. O'Grady agrees, saying it's important to keep the temperature from climbing too high. "You can have tremendous heat buildup, which can have an effect on surfaces like wood floors," he says. Since wood expands when it's warm, excessive heat could cause the flooring to expand and buckle, and doors to not close properly.

The same goes for winter travelers, but in reverse. Turn down the thermostat while you're at Aunt Betty's for the holidays, but don't turn off the furnace completely, which could put your pipes in danger of freezing.

Keep Flowers Alive With a Soaker Hose

If you'll be gone for several days and don't have an in-ground sprinkler system (or a neighbor kid who can water your garden), use a soaker hose to keep the flowers or veggies watered. You can to set up your hoses on a timer to turn them on and off at preset times.

Unplug Electronics

If any of your televisions, computers, stereos, and other electronics are plugged directly into the wall rather than into a surge protector, pull the plugs in case a power surge happens while you're away. If you do have them all run through surge protects, O'Grady says, you can simply flip the switch to power them off.

Plus, unplugging electronics or turning off the surge protector can save you some coin. "All of these electronics are drawing power," O'Grady says, even when they're not in use. And that vampire voltage adds up. The Department of Energy estimates that the average U.S. family spends $100 annually to power devices that are turned off or in standby mode.

Light Rooms With Timers

To make your house appear occupied while you're gone and a less appealing target for burglars, O'Grady says to put timers on lights in different rooms of the home. The timers turn on and off the lights at different times of the night, as if someone in the house were flipping a switch. Timers are available at home centers for less than $10 a piece. "You want to leave the house looking like it's lived in," O'Grady says.

Add Antifreeze to the Toilet

Lastly, one for winter travelers: As noted previously, you'll want to turn off the water to the house before you depart. If you're traveling in wintertime, flush the toilets to drain the water in the tanks. That way, in case your furnace stops working, the water in the tanks won't freeze, expand, and crack the porcelain.

But even if you flush the toilet after you shut off the water supply, you'll still end up with some water in the toilet bowl. The solution? Antifreeze. "You can pour a little antifreeze into the toilet to keep it from freezing," Spaulding says. "Then when you come home, flush the toilet and it goes away."