Arvada's Huntington Heights Neighborhood is another desirable part of this friendly Colorado town. But it's not one of the new and trendy places, and it's not stuffed with grand estates. It's just in a nice location with established homes and mature landscaping. Huntington Heights is west of Wadsworth Blvd. (Arvada’s main north/south road), south of 72nd Avenue, and east of the beautiful Majestic View Park. It’s close to several smaller parks too, and Indian Tree Golf Course (a public course). Some Huntington Heights residents are close enough to the Arvada Center for the Performing Arts to bike or walk there. The trains that Arvada is so well known for are 1 mile to ½ mile away. Some homes border Carr St., which is a pretty busy road. There are 670 homes lining Huntington Heights’ hill... 02/10/2010

The other day I was thinking how common it used to be to say that people who are renting could get a home of their own, for not much more than they pay in rent. And I don’t mean that long ago, just a couple of years ago. I never seem to hear people talk that way any more, and wondered what happened to that line of thinking. Is it possible that the only way people got into mortgages for a monthly payment about equal to their rent was because of the proliferation of those notorious ‘teaser rates’? (Those ‘teaser rates’ were what we all heard about on the radio – mortgages with 1% or 2% interest. Of course, they only stayed that way a short time.) Is it still possible to buy a house in Colorado, and have a mortgage quite close to what you paid in rent? “This calls for research!” I shouted.... 02/08/2010

Arvada has homes  for sale of every type and nearly every price range. I preview available homes, to stay on top of the Arvada real estate market. On February 4, I went out and looked at eleven available homes. You can read the summary below. I have not provided addresses because these homes are not listed by me, and I don't want to step on other agents' toes. You'll notice I couldn't even get in to three of these homes, and another had wrong information in the MLS. That's two of the reasons I preview whenever I can, before I take my client to see homes. 2-story with basement built in 1961, listed since Sept 22, listed for $219,900.  4 bedroom, 4 bathrooms, 2-car garage I couldn’t get in to see this house, as the lockbox didn’t work. 1-story with basement built in 1958, listed since Jan... 02/08/2010

Arvada’s Westwoods neighborhood currently has 7 homes for sale, ranging in price from $309,900 to $595,000. One of these is a short sale and another is a bank-owned foreclosure. Some of the available Westwoods homes have been on the market for several months, but four of them have been on the market for less than 30 days. There are no Westwoods homes currently under contract.  Five homes sold in Westwoods in the past six months, none of them were short sales or foreclosures. Their selling prices were from a low of $339,900 to $421,250. The number of days on the market until these homes were under contract were 10, 99, 110, 130, and 174, for an average of 104 days on market. Here's my thoughts on Westwoods: There is a less than six month absorption rate in Westwoods. (That means if no mo... 02/02/2010

  Arvada’s Five Parks neighborhood currently has 15 homes for sale, ranging in price from $275,000 to $300,000 for attached homes. Available detached homes start at $375,000 and go as high as $525,000. Two of these are short sales. Most of the listed homes have been on the market for several months, which is not unusual in this price range. There are three Five Parks homes currently under contract. Their listed prices were between $375,000 and $435,000. One of them is a short sale which has an offer on it pending lienholder acceptance. The number of days before these homes went under contract were 355 for the short sale, 126 and 369 for the other two. Seven homes sold in Five Parks in the past six months, two of them were short sales. Their selling prices were from a low of $274,000 (fo... 02/01/2010

Arvada’s Meadowglen neighborhood currently has only 3 homes for sale, ranging in price from $287,500 - $360,000. None of them are a foreclosure or short sale. These three homes have been on the market since last July and August. There are no Meadowglen homes currently under contract.  Four homes sold in Meadowglen in the past six months. Their selling prices were from a low of $187,000 to $279,900. None of them were a foreclosure or short sale. Here's my thoughts on Meadowglen: At first glance, there appears to be only a 2 month absorption rate in Meadowglen. (That means if no more homes came on the market, the current inventory would sell in two months.) That makes Meadowglen a seller's market. However, Meadowglen is in the middle of a densely populated area, with lots of other homes t... 01/30/2010

Wyndham Park - it's a destination neighborhood.  You know, like instead of someone saying they want to live northwest of Denver, they say they want to live in Wyndham Park.  It's a newer neighborhood (built in 1998-2002), yet isn't near Arvada's busy train tracks. In fact, as of last week, if you wanted a home in Arvada that was built since 1995, priced between $350,000 and $450,000, and not near the train tracks, there's only two subdivisions you could search in. Wyndham Park is one of them, but only about 12 homes sell here each year, so you'd best hurry when they become available. Wyndham Park is in west Arvada, so residents enjoy lovely mountain views. Most of the infrastructure in this part of Arvada is newer, the area has a bright, clean face. Wyndham Park has a friendly, small to... 01/29/2010

  Arvada’s Pomona Lakes neighborhood currently has only 2 homes for sale, ranging in price from $254,900 - $274,900. One of them is a short sale. That one has a pending offer, waiting on the bank's approval, and has been on the market since last June. The other has been on the market  since November. So there's really only one home available in Pomona Lakes right now, and it's a nice one (at least it was when I listed it for the previous owners.) There is one Pomona Lakes home currently under contract. It is a bank-owned foreclosure and was listed at $204,000 when it went under contract. It was listed mid December and went under contract after 39 days. 6 homes sold in Pomona Lakes in the past six months. Their selling prices were from a low of $187,000 to $279,900. One of them was a sho... 01/29/2010

Arvada’s Wyndham Park neighborhood currently has seven homes for sale, ranging in price from $249,900 (for an attached home) to $494,900. One of them is a short sale.  There are two Wyndham Park homes currently under contract. One was listed at $400,000 when it went under contract but started at $450,000. The other was listed at $484,950 when it went under contract and it started at $494,950. 6 homes sold in Wyndham Park in the past six months. Their selling prices were from a low of $212,450(for an attached home) to $464,900. None of them were foreclosures or short sales. My thoughts on Wyndham Park: There is a 7 month absorption rate in Wyndham Park. (That means if no more homes came on the market, the current inventory would take seven months to sell.) That makes Wyndham Park a buyer... 01/29/2010

Arvada’s Lake Arbor neighborhood currently has 23 homes for sale, ranging in price from $132,500 - $290,000. (Four of them are townhouses; the lowest-priced single family home in Lake Arbor is $181,555.)  Nine of the available homes are short sales, two are bank-owned foreclosures. Four homes have been on the market less than 30 days, nine have been on the market between 30 and 90 days, and ten have been on the market over 90 days.  There are two Lake Arbor homes currently under contract. They were listed at $219,900 and $239,900. They are both single family homes. Neither was a foreclosure or short sale, but the first one needed work and was on the market 61 days and the second one sounds lovely, it was on the market only four days. 22 homes sold in Lake Arbor in the past six months. T... 01/27/2010

Moving - well, this is where the 'rubber meets the road'. You're maybe still a little 'high' from the excitement of getting that house and all the hopes and dreams it holds for your plans and your future. But now, there's a lot of work to be done and it's not very glorious. Things to do ahead of time:   Schedule movers (My daughter said, "Be sure to tell them movers are totally worth it!") Schedule phone, internet, television, and power services Schedule any repairs you want completed immediately, such as radon remediation Transfer your mail Get a Home Warranty Regarding trash collection - if your house is in a subdivision with a homeowner's association, they will tell you when trash day is. But if not, you will choose a trash collection service. Just call around, ask about fees and how... 01/25/2010

Once you've written a good, strong offer and the seller has accepted, you are 'under contract'. Now, there are a number of events that need to happen in pretty quick order. First, you need to understand the word, 'contingency'.  A contingency is something that must be satisfied in some way or removed in order for the contract to continue. There's usually a deadline attached to these contingencies. Working to meet these deadlines can be totally annoying, but missing deadlines can have severe consequences. If a deadline is approaching and you need more time for some reason, the deadline can be amended as long as all parties agree. For instance, the first contingency to be addressed is usually inspection. On the Colorado Contract to Buy there is an inspection objection deadline and an insp... 01/25/2010

Up to now, most home owners only thought about lead-based paint if they listed a pre-1978 home for sale. At that time, their real estate agent should have discussed their obligation to disclose whether or not they knew of lead-based paint in the home. This involves reviewing and signing the form,  Lead-Based Paint Disclosure (which is mandatory) and the form,  Lead-based Paint Obligations of Seller  (which is not mandatory in Colorado). Home buyers have the right to test for lead-based paint before they close on a home. However, most don't do it. Why? It's generally safe to assume there IS lead-based paint in homes built prior to 1978, and take the proper precautions. Those precautions are spelled out in the EPA Publication,  "Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home". However, I've a... 01/24/2010

I saw a question about buying a house on Trulia.com this morning. I answered the question along with other agents, but I really wanted to respond with the buyer’s feelings about all the concerns associated with buying a house these days. Here’s the question:  I don't know why but to think you now have to stress meth testing, just puts another bad taste in buyers’ mouths. How many Realtors are stressing to their buyers meth testing and how many avoid it like the plague? Have you been to a class on how to identify meth lab/usage?   Here’s my answer: I have been to a class on signs of meth lab or usage in homes, it was put on by the Arvada police. There have been times since, when I was showing a home to clients that brought their children along, I asked them to wait outside until I walk t... 01/23/2010

One of the services I perform for people who want to buy a house is previewing. That means I take a look at available homes on my own, before taking folks to see them. That way, I don't waste your time if it turns out the house is not for you. Here's some things I've recently found when previewing: A foundation wall pushed out and clumps of dirt falling into the basement. Listing said it needed TLC. 3 bedrooms, even though the listing said there were four. A home that backed up to an industrial area. A key that wouldn't open the door. The lovely photos in the MLS listing were obviously from an earlier time, before the house was trashed. No key in the lockbox. In each of those cases, I was quite happy that I didn't waste my client's time! But most issues aren't that severe. For instance,... 01/21/2010

For the the years 2003 until recently being #1 was not a good thing. In fact being #1 in this case was a bad thing. New stats just came out for the year 2009 and we are in #9 position, which is a good thing. The stats were published in the new CRS magazine. The article does list the top 10 ,of which I have listed below. The 2009 list of the states with the highest foreclosures. 10. Illinois 9. Colorado 8. Michigan 7.Georgia 6.Utah 5. Idaho 4.Florida 3.California 2.Arizona And the #1 top state is Nevada So yes,Im glad we have been moved to #9. Gary DiGiorgio The DiGiorgio Group 9035 Wadsworth pkwy 2000 Westminster.Co 80021 Direct 303 898 4279 Office 303 422 5200 fx 303 467 0211 Gary@Di-DenverRealty.com   01/21/2010

  Joetta’s Neighborhood Newsletter Hello, Friends & Neighbors!             Now we approach the holiday season, some with anticipation and some with trepidation. My hope for each of you is that, regardless of circumstances you find yourself in that may not be all you desire, you find the joy of true Thanksgiving. Every year, I find myself simplifying a little more, and enjoying a lot more. May you be blessed in all your comings and goings!   Input from Readers Here’s a cute tip from Amanda: According to the American Baby magazine, November 2009. (americanbaby.com) The U.S. Post Office can help you with your child's "letter to Santa".  They say, "Write a letter as if you were Santa Claus. Put it in a stamped envelope addressed to your child.  Mail that by December 15th in a stamped, large... 01/21/2010

If you're looking for something sweet to do for Valentine's Day, come to Olde Town Arvada, Colorado (a historic small town between Denver and Boulder). You're invited to the 8th Annual Chocolate Affair on Saturday, February 6, 2010 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Chocolate Tasting, Chocolate Treasure Hunt, Chocolate Therapist, Chocolate Cookie Contest, balloon tying, face painting, carriage rides, and lamp post hearts. $1 per ticket, or six tickets for only $5.00 for the chocolate tasting. 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. 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 an... 01/21/2010

If there's anything I DON'T want to do to people, it's confuse them with lingo only a real estate agent would love. It's so easy to forget how much of what we say is 'insider lingo'. So I avoid using it too much, and yet an understanding of some terms will help you as you enter the market, whether for the first time or the tenth. This is intended to be a 'living' document, so I'll be adding to it when I think of another term that needs explanation. Feel free to make suggestions! I'll also be writing posts that will link to these terms, so please check back every now and then. Bi-level - this refers to a style of house where the front door usually opens onto a landing and a set of stairs going up and another set of stairs going down. Usually, there's not a basement in addition to the two... 01/19/2010

I’ve always advised my clients, once they get a house under contract, to get a *radon test during the inspection period. If the radon level comes back high, they will have some choices to make, which I’ll discuss more fully later in this post. Now, the test itself isn’t very expensive – most inspectors offer it for $100 to $150. The test equipment most local inspectors use must sit undisturbed in the house’s lowest habitable level (basement if there is one) for three days. Then the equipment is collected and returned to the office and immediate results are obtained. (People can get less expensive tests that must be mailed off for results. This may be an option for homeowners, but there isn’t time in the typical transaction to wait on these results.) You’ll notice when some people talk a... 01/19/2010