Colorado House Finders

The National Association of Realtors has reported results from a 2007 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, conducted in March 2008. They found that sales of second homes, including vacation and investment home sales, still accounted for 33 percent of all existing and new home sales for 2007, down from 36 percent of transaction sin 2006. The combined total of such home sales did decline with the overall market in 2007.  In terms of type of Vacation home purchased, 59 percent were detached single-family homes, 29 percent condos, 7 percent townhouses or row houses, and 5 percent other.  In 2006, single family homes accounted for 67 percent of vacation-home sales, while condos were 21 percent. 

The typical vacation-home buyer in 2007 was 46 years old, had a median household income of $99,100, and purchased a property that was a median of 287 miles from their primary residence. In listing the reasons for purchasing a vacation home, 84 percent of buyers wanted to use the home for vacation or as a family retreat; 30 percent as a primary residence in the future; 26 percent to diversify investments; 25 percent to rent to others; 16 percent for tax benefits; 14 percent for use by a family member, friend or relative; and 6 percent because they had extra money to spend. 

Sixty-five percent of vacation home buyers purchased existing homes, while the remainder purchased new homes. Last year, 24 percent of vacation homes were purchased in the West. Vacation-home buyers plan to keep their property for a median of 10 years; 38 percent plan to keep their vacation home for 11 years or more.   

NAR’s 2007 Investment and Vacation Home Buyers Survey, conducted in March 2008, includes answers from 1,965 usable responses.  The survey controlled for age and income, based on information from the larger 2007 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, to limit any biases in the characteristics of respondents. The Colorado House Finders’ Real Estate Consulting team is experienced, professional real estate agents with certifications in Real Estate, Lending and Appraising, who specialize in Denver Colorado real estate.  For access to Denver MLS listings , contact Colorado House Finders or www.ColoradoHouseFinders.com.

If you’re like most people, you are paying to heat the water for your home 24 hours a day, every day. The average homeowner pays to keep hot water hot even when they don’t need it. Traditional water heaters make for standby energy losses that cost you money. We do not leave our homes heated while vacationing. We only heat our homes when there is a demand for heat. Wouldn’t it be great if you could pay to heat water only when you need it? There is a way. Tankless water heaters provide continuous hot water, heating water only as you need it, thus providing greater efficiency and energy savings. An average, traditional 50-gallon water heater can supply about three to four back-to-back showers. With a tankless, you can enjoy endless back to back showers! Also referred to as instantaneous or demand water heaters, they provide hot water on demand for as long as you need it, but only as long as you need it.  

On Demand water heaters are 50% more efficient and give you a typical cost savings of 30 to 45% over the old style water heater. They provide endless hot water to multiple outlets at the same time without fluctuations in temperature, and they shut off automatically when the faucets are turned off.  Your family stands to gain additional protection, as well. As opposed to standard gas water heaters, tankless water heaters have sealed combustion which means no open flame or flue gas. Flue gas cannot enter your home. In addition precise water temperature control helps prevent the risk of scalding, especially important when you have young children in your home. 

The compact, wall-mounted units can be installed internally, externally or recessed, thus providing a significant space savings over a 40-gallon traditional water heater that requires approximately 16 square feet of space. Because of smaller size, they can be placed in close proximity to the kitchen or master bath, reducing wait time and energy consumption while waiting for hot water at the source.  With a life expectancy of 25 years (and easily replaceable parts that extend the life by many more years), as compared to 10 years for standard hot water tanks, tankless water heaters reduce landfill waste. Additionally, they provide lower emission of CO₂ gases into the atmosphere, adding to their green characteristics. 

Proper installation and maintenance of your demand water heater can optimize its energy efficiency.  Whether space, energy savings, or the need for multiple showers is your issue, a call to an AUTHORIZED SERVICE PROVIDER/INSTALLER is your key to success. Without quality installation, even the best equipment can fail to give you its best performance. Proper installation ensures you get all the capability possible from your instantaneous water heater.  The Colorado House Finders’ Real Estate Consulting team is experienced, professional real estate agents with certifications in Real Estate, Lending and Appraising, who specialize in Denver Colorado real estate.  For access to Denver MLS listings , contact Colorado House Finders or www.ColoradoHouseFinders.com.

By now, staging a home for sale has become a common practice by sellers and their real estate agents. And like many things in preparing a home to sell, you can either choose to do it yourself or hire one of the many professional stagers around. There are advantages to both. The obvious benefit to staging your home yourself is the cost savings. If you are really on a budget, you might want to do a few Internet searches for staging tips and put your head together with your agent to come up with a house that presents itself well and that potential buyers can imagine living in themselves. 

This brings us to our first tip. All that wonderful memorabilia, photos and items that truly express your personality – take them down. Try to use more generic furniture, art and only a few accent pieces. That leads us to the next tip. Less is more. We live in a time where we have a lot of stuff, and most homeowners really like their own stuff. But, for a buyer to truly get a feel for the home and be able to, once again, imagine his or her own things in that house, you must create visual space.  

While painting, cleaning carpets and assuring that your home has the scent of a warm and inviting place are no-brainers, they bear mentioning. These are the basics to making sure your home shows off in the best possible way. Antique white shades for the walls works marvelously. Lighting should be bright and well-balanced, and left illuminated when you know you have a showing. Clean out closets, garages and other storage areas to increase the sense of available space for the buyer.  A great thing to do is leave the scent of baking bread wafting through your home on the days when there’s a showing. For the bread, don’t think you have to make your grandmother’s bread from scratch. Get a conveniently packaged, unbaked loaf or rolls at the grocery store. Just pop them in the oven and the smell will be intoxicating! 

A professionally trained stager will come in and help you move beyond these basics. In that process, they take out everything from the room and start all over. Large pieces of furniture come in first, then smaller pieces, lighting and, finally, artwork. There is an art to it and, if your budget can handle it, this kind of service can end save you valuable time and help you get closer to your asking price.   IRIS (Interior Redesign Industry Specialist) is a nonprofit organization with high and comprehensive training standards in the industry. Look for a stager who has trained with an IRIS approved instructor to make sure you’re getting the best possible service. The Colorado House Finders’ Real Estate Consulting team is experienced, professional real estate agents with certifications in Real Estate, Lending and Appraising, who specialize in Denver Colorado real estate.  For access to Denver MLS listings , contact Colorado House Finders or www.ColoradoHouseFinders.com.

Along I-25 south of Denver from Belleview Avenue to Lincoln Avenue in the area known as the Denver Tech Center, higher density, transit-oriented development has taken place over the past several years. Pushing this development was “T-Rex”, the $1.67 billion transportation expansion project whose goal was to “transform the way people in the Denver metro area commute within the area of the I-25 and I-225 intersection”. This area was, at the time, estimated to be the 14^th busiest intersection in the entire United States. 

By many measures, the T-Rex project was successful. The interstates widen to seven lanes in many spots, and 40 miles of light-rail track were laid. The T-Rex project finished 3.2% under its $1.67B budget and 22 months ahead of schedule in 2006.  

There are several mixed-use “mini-cities” or “villages” now popping up in this corridor within a half-mile walking distance of the light-rail stations. They combine several uses on one site in a coordinated way, and retail, office and residential developments are usually a part of it. 

The magazine Colorado Biz reported that during his promotion to urge voters to pass the 2004 FasTracks Initiative, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper urged voters to envision the region transformed into a network of “villages” connected by mass transit, with each village having places to live, work, shop and play. Walking would be a key activity and strolling to a coffee shop, corner store or hopping the train to get to work would be the way of life.

One of the most successful mixed use neighborhoods the City-Center Englewood, built between 2000 and 2002 on 55 acres that had previously been the Cinderalla City shopping mall.  This is truly a TOD – transit-oriented development, the term for mixed-use developments with a transit anchor.

The Belmar area in Lakewood, CO, a five million square foot mixed use, new urban center for this Denver suburb, was one of the first mixed-use developments in the Denver area. Though it is not currently connected with light rail, the area successfully mixes retail, offices, residential and entertainment venues. Getting around without having to jump in the car is key to the lifestyle in this area.  

The Colorado House Finders’ Real Estate Consulting team is experienced, professional real estate agents with certifications in Real Estate, Lending and Appraising, who specialize in Denver Colorado real estate.  For access to Denver MLS listings , contact Colorado House Finders or www.ColoradoHouseFinders.com. 

Stucco was all the rage for a time, and builders not only used it to cover new homes, but also over top of old wood siding homes. If your home has an older stucco finish, chances are it is in need of some repair.

Typically, stucco is applied in several coats over a wire mesh which lies on top of spacers, building paper, and a sheathing, most likely plywood.  It can be blown on or applied by hand.  It is important to know that stucco absorbs moisture. This makes for a challenge when deciding what to do to replace it.

If you have cracks or holes in your stucco, you can probably patch these fairly easily. Determine which kind of cement most closely matches your type of stucco, as there are a variety of suitable types. Then, examine your texture, and determine what you will need to do to match it. You may need to add sand or small pebbles, or you may need to do some artful raking or toweling to make it match. You may also have to get just the right pigment to match the existing color. Other than all of these steps, patching cracks in stucco is actually quite easy.

You may decide you want to change the color of your stucco home. In this case, your options are to stucco a new layer over the entire home, or to paint. This is where the moisture warning comes in. You need to be sure your paint isn’t allowing moisture in, while not allowing it to evaporate. There are special paints and stains on the market specifically for stucco, and it’s best to do some research to be sure you are getting the right thing. Otherwise, moisture damage can occur, especially in colder climates. If you do another stucco layer, be sure the surface of your existing stucco isn’t treated with anything that will prevent adhesion. Another option is to put new metal lath (a sort of mesh that helps stucco and plaster adhere) over your existing finish and re-stucco onto that.

There are also synthetic stucco-like products on the market. Be careful what you choose, as there is mixed feedback about these products. Some complaints are that they do not adhere very well, and come off in large pieces.

I there are a lot of the problems with stucco or any similar finish, it may be due to improper application.  Be sure to do more research if you are going to attempt to update your stucco finish. It might even be best to hire a professional, as long as you are sure they have specific stucco experience.

This article was written by the writing team at Colorado House Finders, Colorado REALTORS®. If you are looking for real estate in Colorado, the Colorado House Finders team of professionals can help.

If you are planning to relocate for your retirement, or simply want a new home in the same community, you are probably looking for a nice home to live in for retirement.  Well this is the perfect time to plan a little further ahead.

Maybe you have aspirations of moving again in the future, but for many people, retirement is a time when the stresses of life are to be left behind.  This can include home-buying and moving.  If there is any chance that the next home you buy will be your last, do yourself a favor and consider your future needs.

While your mobility might be great at the moment, chances are that as you age, eventually there will come a time when stairs are not your best friend. Considering accessibility might seem far-fetched while you are still young, but it is just the thing that could determine your future comfort. Homes can be designed to be accessible without compromising style.  It is entirely possible to build a home designed for complete wheelchair access and mobility without anyone ever noticing.

First things first, consider how the front door is accessed.  Choose a home or building site where the driveway is on the same level as the home’s entrance.  While many homes seem to have at least one step going into them, it is possible to avoid this feature.  If for some reason you can’t avoid it, however, it should be easy to cover just one step with a simple ramp if it is necessary in the future.

Once you’ve entered the home, consider its layout. Obviously, you’ll want everything on a single floor. Look for open floor plans.  The fewer doorways the better.  Wide hallways are also important, and can be quite elegant.

For the doorways that are necessary, such as bedrooms and bathrooms, make certain they are larger.  Obviously, this is easiest if you are having the home built for you, but it may be possible to widen existing doors if necessary.  Perform some research before you buy, in order to find out if it will be possible in the home you are interested in buying.  A minimum doorway width should be 32 inches to make it fit the average wheelchair.

In places like the bathroom, it is always possible to add hand-railings later, if needed.  Make sure toilets aren’t too high. Have lower medicine cabinets and full-length mirrors. Consider installing one of the very popular large showers stalls, in the future event that climbing in and out of a bathtub may become a hassle one day.

Designing your home for maximum ease of mobility can improve your life at any age, and it can easily look very fashionable. So do yourself a favor and consider your future when you design your next home. Even if you end up moving and never needing the special measures you took to make it more accessible, you are making your home attractive to a niche market of buyers, and that’s a good thing, too.

This article was written by the writing team at Colorado House Finders, Colorado REALTORS®.   If you’re looking to move or retire in Colorado, please view our listings available in Castle Rock real estate

There is a lot of talk in recent years about the concept of a “sick building”. Obviously, buildings don’t get sick. What this term refers to is a buildings ability to make its residents sick. This can happen for a variety of reason, but generally it all boils down to indoor air pollution which some people have allergic reactions to. The amount of indoor pollution depends on the materials a home is constructed with and how much ventilation it has.

I am not a doctor by any means, and have no idea why more and more people are having allergic reactions to their homes. But if you are a sensitive type, or have a compromised immune system, it might be a good idea to give some thought to avoiding sources of indoor pollution.

Some indoor air pollution comes from heating systems. Furnace ducts can become dusty or even moldy. When air blows through them it can spread mite feces and mold spores throughout the home. As disgusting as this sounds it is actually quite common. Ducts should be cleaned at least once a year, or anytime you notice a feeling of stuffed up sinuses whenever your furnace is on.

Laminate flooring, countertops and cupboards can be the source of some problems as well. Formaldehyde and adhesives used to preserve and hold together particle or fiber-board can gas-off toxic fumes. These fumes can result in headaches and an overall weakened immune system. New carpets often produce these fumes, as well as harboring more dust than other floors. To avoid these fumes, choose natural flooring such as wood or tile, install tile or granite counters, and look for cupboards made of real wood instead of pressed-board.

There are a lot of chemical additives that are used to treat things like upholstery fabrics. If you find yourself getting head-aches ever since you got new living-room furniture and drapes, it could be from the flame retardant and stain resistant chemicals that these products are often treated with. Some manufacturers are now choosing safer, less toxic flame-retardants, and if you suspect you are sensitive, it might be best to look for these alternatives.

If you are planning to paint your home, look for low VOC paints. VOC stands for volatile organic compounds, toxic chemicals which, again, can gas-off into the air. Low VOC paints are just that, paints made with few or no toxic compounds.

Sometimes, the building materials mentioned above are hard to avoid. In cases like this, ventilation may help. If you are moving into a brand-new home, try to give the home some time to release all its gasses before you move right in. Leave the doors and windows open as often as possible. Keep a fan on even when you aren’t there. If you feel like you need extra help, look into the variety of air purifying devices available. These measures will help minimize the amount of indoor air pollution in your home.

This article was written by the writing team at Colorado House Finders, Colorado REALTORS®.   If you’re looking to live your dreams in Colorado, check out our listings for Centennial Real Estate.

1. Kitchen: Remove all the bits and pieces around your kitchen sink. Get a tray to hold your scrubbies and sponges. Soap should be stowed in the cupboard and keep out a decorative container of hand soap and lotion. Get a decorative container to hold all your large utensils by the stove. It makes cooking much easier and frees up space in your drawers.

2. Bathroom: Everything should have its place. Get cheap plastic storage containers or baskets and fill them with commonly used items. For instance have one for bandages, alcohol and other first aid items. Create another for make-up, and another for hair accessories. You’ll love how quick and easy it is to find things when you need them.

3. Home Office: Again, grab some small containers to store all those paperclips, push pins and elastics. Hang up a board, screw in binder clips and cup hooks and use it to hold bills you need to pay, invitations, or important notes.

4. Kid’s Room: For the small ones, get cheap laundry baskets to hold toys and stuffed animals. Older kids need a bookcase and desk to give them a central place to work and store their books and papers.

5. Entry: Get a small basket and fill it with slippers. Keep it right by the door so you and your guests have something to slip into after removing their shoes or wet boots. Hang hooks in your closet for all those small items such as dog leashes and keys.

6. Garage: Arrange your recycling in containers so that come garbage day it’s already sorted and you just have to take it out.

7. Broom Closet: Get screw hooks and clips to hang up your brooms, mops and dustpans and put pails and cleaners on a shelf. Add hooks to the inside of the closet door to hold tools you need in a hurry, such as a hammer, screwdriver, tape measure, etc.

8. Bedroom: I tip my hat at the inventor of the jewelry box holds everything with getting the chains all tied up. In the meantime, empty out a small drawer, place some small containers (teacups and saucers work great) and use those for your baubles. The cups work great for hanging your earrings off the rims and the containers are big enough for bulky beaded necklaces or bracelets.

9. Laundry Room: Store all the soap in a cupboard above the washer. Attach your ironing board to a wall hanger that you just pull down when you need it. Get bins for pre-sorting your clothes by colors, whites and delicates.

10. Living Room: Find a pretty container or wide-mouth vase to hold your remote controls, because after all, nobody just has one anymore. Get some storage cubes or a TV cabinet to house all those DVD’s and CD’s that accumulate around the television.

This article was written by the writing team at Colorado House Finders, Colorado REALTORS®. If you are looking for real estate in Colorado, the Colorado House Finders team of professionals can help.

The Cherry Creek neighborhood in Denver was one of the top neighborhoods searched on the Colorado House Finders website last month.  Since Cherry Creek was one of the most popular neighborhoods searched, we felt it appropriate to provide our in-state and out-of-state visitors a more in depth view of the Cherry Creek Real Estate market.

The boundaries for the Cherry Creek neighborhood are bordered by East 6^th Avenue (North), East 1^st Avenue (South), University Boulevard (West) and Harrison Street (East).  The Cherry Creek neighborhood is a blend of old and new with homes representing architectural designs from every decade since the beginning of the 20^th century.  However, over the years the Cherry Creek real estate market has changed from smaller single family bungalows to luxury detached and attached single family homes and high-end condominiums valued at over $758 to $1,000 per square foot, such as those found in the North Creek complex at 1^st and Detroit.

The high level of interest in the Cherry Creek neighborhood is due in large part to peoples’ attraction to the community’s eclectic amenities, such as the diverse restaurants, art galleries, clothing boutiques, coffee shops, hair salons and evening venues.  In addition, the Cherry Creek neighborhood is bordered by the Cherry Creek mall, a major commercial retail center anchored by Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and the newly constructed Nordstrom and 160 other shops and restaurants.

Cherry Creek is definitely one of the most unique 10 block areas in Denver offering amenities to accommodate any lifestyle.  This is one of the main reasons for the double-digit increases in home values over the last few years and will be for many years to come.  If you are interested in knowing more about the Cherry Creek community and Cherry Creek real estate, please contact Colorado House Finders at info@coloradohousefinders.com.

Dr. Ben Bernake and the Federal Reserve have cut short-term interest rates for the last two consecutive months by a total of .75% in an effort to prevent the U.S. economy from slipping into a looming recession. Since most consumers do not understand how short-term interest rates actually impact their ability to borrow money, these rate cuts often create a common misconception that a decrease in the Federal Funds Rate translates to an equal drop in mortgage interest rates when these cuts often cause the latter to rise. 

There are two primary interest rates controlled by the Federal Reserve that dictate the overall cost of borrowing money on a short-term basis: the Discount Rate and the Federal Funds Rate. The Discount Rate is the interest rate the Federal Reserve Bank charges member banks when these institutions borrow money from the government. The terms of these loans are usually no longer than 30 days and generally do not have a direct impact on the consumer. The Federal Funds Rate is the interest rate that commercial banking institutions charge each other over night for the use of Federal funds to meet their individual reserve requirements. This interest rate tends to impact the individual consumer and the economy as a whole over time more directly. 

Mortgage interest rates, on the other hand, are determined by the trading price of mortgage-backed securities and fluctuate based on the performance of the bond market. The 30 year fixed rate mortgage tracks the yield on the 10 year Treasury note and usually runs about two percentage points higher than the 10 year Treasury yield on any given day. In accordance with basic rules of supply and demand, when investors purchase mortgage bonds the price of the securities increase, causing yields and interest rates to drop. Conversely, when investor appetite for mortgage-backed securities decreases, bond yields and interest rates rise as the bond prices drop. 

Over the last few months bonds have been favorable investments in light of the credit crisis caused by bad loans, a weak labor market, and a slow housing market, and as a result these soft economic indicators long-term mortgage rates have seen steady declines. Since the Federal Reserve leverages rate cuts to stimulate economic growth, there is a good possibility that investors will abandon conservative bonds and seek out more aggressive variable rate investments (i.e. stocks) as soon as recession fears pass, causing bond prices to drop and mortgage interest rates to rise. 

Our goal is to give you the tools necessary to be an educated buyer.  Please contact us at info@coloradohousefinders.com if you have questions about this or any other topic related to the buying or selling real estate in Denver.