Loan considerations for a first time buyer Lending guidelines are changing on a daily basis for every type of loan: conventional, FHA, VA & commercial.  Nevertheless, there are still very attractive first-time home buyer options available.   If you are or will be a first-time buyer, it is critical to speak with a loan officer before looking at homes.  It is a crushing feeling to view a home, picture making it your own and then find out that you cannot qualify to purchase it.  A loan officer will pull credit, analyze debt-to-income ratios, review assets and income and determine what you can afford.  Presuming a pre-qualification occurs, the loan officer will then be able to provide an array of loan options.  Presently, FHA loans are the predominant loan for first-time home buyers as they... 12/12/2008

How can you improve your FICO score? To improve one's credit score, it's critical to understand the factors influencing a credit score.  The factors that contribute to a FICO score and the weighted percentages for each are as follows: 35% - timeliness of payments 30% - the ratio of used debt to allowable debt for consumer credit 15% - length of credit history (the more credit history and showing proof of consistent timely payment, the better the score) 10% - types of credit used  10% - recent credit inquiries and recent new credit The greatest driver behind a score is making timely payments on all accounts.  Scores will be adversely affected for any payment that is 30 days late or more.  Being late on a mortgage payment will not only crush one's score, but will also make qualifying for ... 12/12/2008

What is a FICO score? FICO stands for Fair Isaac Corporation, a company that created the most used credit scoring model in the United States.  An individual's credit score is calculated through a statistical algorithm and is used as a factor in determining the likelihood of a borrower defaulting on a loan.  FICO scores are generally used for obtaining mortgages, car loans or consumer credit.  The scores are provided from the three major credit reporting agencies: Equifax, Experian and Transunion.  Typically, there is a variance amongst the scores since each agency has a slightly different scoring formula.  FICO scores range from 300 - 850, with higher scores being considered less risky.  For mortgage lending purposes, any score over a 680 is considered good and above a 750 is considered... 12/12/2008

There are some signs of strengthening in our Denver market.  The metro area's inventory of available resale housing decreased 20% to 23,120 units in October from October 2007.  Some of this reduced inventory is attributed to homeowners taking their properties off the market in frustration because their property is not selling, but lower inventory implies a strengthening market.  Remember, the Denver area had housing inventory of 31,989 units in July 2006. Home sales rose 14% to 4,265 in September compared to the same month last year.  This is due almost entirely to the lower-end of the market (under $180K) selling like hotcakes. October's median selling price for single-family homes decreased 12% to $206,000 from the same month of '07, and was down 4.7% from September's median of $216,1... 12/12/2008

Weatherstone Highlands Ranch Colorado Real Estate  Market Report Nov 08 In November no homes sold in Weatherstone in Highlands Ranch. Two homes are currently under contract. These homes were priced at $500,000 and $924,900. Only Residential homes are included in this report. Currently there are two homes for sale in Weatherstone in Highlands Ranch. The home are priced at $675,000 and $946,444. Both homes have been on the market for over 100 days. There were no new listings in November in Weatherstone. Two homes sold in Weatherstone within the last 6 months. Average Sold Price $540,000 Average % of List Price 93.5% Average Days on Market (DOM) 93 Average Price per Square Foot (psf) $167 Weatherstone is a community in Highlands Ranch CO of approximately 300 residential homes. Most of the ... 12/05/2008

The Highwoods Highlands Ranch Colorado Real Estate  In November no homes sold in the Highwoods Luxury Homes community in Highlands Ranch.Currently there are no homes under contract. This Market Report is for RESIDENTIAL homes only. The number of homes sold (per month) within the last year in the Highwoods in Highlands Ranch   Currently there are eight homes for sale in The Highwoods in Highlands Ranch. The home prices range from $925,000 to $2,350,000. The price per square foot ranges from $204 to $387/sf. Six of the eight homes have been on the market for more than 200 days. There are no new listings in November. The average price per square foot of the homes sold in The Highwoods within the last six months. Price Per Square Foot $227 $261 $276 $318 $319 Average  $280 The Highwoods is ... 12/04/2008

Highlands Ranch CO Real Estate Report - Q3/08 ~ $700,000 to 1 million This report is for residential homes in Highlands Ranch CO that sold in price range from $700,000 to one million. In the third quarter of 2008 you can see a decline in price per square foot. A few of the homes were bank owned homes or relocation co. owned homes, which tend to sell for lower than average price per square foot.  Quarterly Numbers 4th quarter 2007 - 3rd quarter 2008 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Days on Market (DOM) 142 137 56 118 DOM range - low to high 14-391 8-283 3-125 8-328 % Difference List vs. Sold 90.0% 94.0% 94.3% 93.9% % difference - low to high 82.6-99.1% 90.9-97.4% 88.3-101% 89-99.4% Average Price/square foot $206 $207 $198 $196 price/sf - low to high $156-$270 $192-$226 $143-$254 $161-$248 In general, the lon... 11/25/2008

Highlands Ranch CO Luxury Homes and Real Estate Market Report Oct 2008 In October 2008 no luxury homes (homes over one million dollars) sold in Highlands Ranch CO. Four homes are currently under contract - all in the Backcountry community and under construction. The average price per square foot for the luxury homes sold in within the last six months was $267/sf. Average days on the market for was 202 days.   The number of luxury homes sold per month in Highlands Ranch within the last 13 months. Currently there are 13 luxury homes for sale in Highlands Ranch (million dollars or over). The price range of the available homes varies from $1,106,000 to $2,385,000. The price per square foot ranges from $209/sf to $544/sf. Seven of the available homes are in the Highwoods community and 4 are ... 11/14/2008

The talk around the water cooler these days is all about LOANS. Who can get them? At what price? What if I already have a few loans, do I still qualify?  A year or two ago the question was at what price do I get a loan (those were the days!).  Today it is "am I still in the game?"        Here's the deal:  if you have an owner occupied loan and 3 investor loans you cannot buy any more properties and get Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac financing, meaning you can't get a conventional 30-year fixed loan. Now, my hope is that someone reads this and tells me I'm wrong. That would be great!  But as far as I know that is the case.       Where does this leave you?  You can pursue loans that are warehoused by lenders, meaning they are not sold on the backend to Fannie or Freddie. You are probably lookin... 11/08/2008

A lot of clients ask me how to figure out what market rents are in a neighborhood. This is a critical input into the calculations an investor needs to make in order to determine what their return on investment will be on a rental property. So you don't want to screw this up! Unfortunately, this is one of the many figures new investors get wrong. One place people go to get rents is Rent-o-Meter. Rent-o-Meter is billed as an online resource to get accurate market rents. In my experience it is anything but! However, I have a fairly simple solution. Multiply what you see on Rent-o-Meter by 80% and you'll probably be close. I can't explain why but I find rents on Rent-o-Meter to be about 25% high, so multiplying their rents by 80% will get you close (do the math, it works out). So then, how... 11/08/2008

A LOT of agents don't advise their clients to get sewer scopes when they purchase a property. This is a major mistake.  A broken sewer can cost between $3,000 - $10,000 dollars to repair and it only costs $99 ($99Rooter - others are more expensive) to have a tech put a camera down the sewer pipe and videotape the sewer all the way to the mainline. This will tell you  and the-buyer what the condition of the sewer is.      So let's see, we pay to have the furnace inspected but a new furnace will only be about $2,000. We pay to have the roof inspected but that's probably a $4,000 job. So why don't we always inspect the sewer?  One reason is because, let's face it,  Realtors want closings. Many figure if they keep their mouth shut and don't go out of their way to recommend a sewer scope th... 11/08/2008

As investors we face a number of very real and very scary challenges. Making sense of this market is no mean feat and one has to be very careful with his or her investment. However, we usually think about danger as financial. Unfortunately, on rare occasion it can be even worse than that. The majority of the homes investors are buying these days are vacant and once in a while people break in and live in these properties illegally.  The last thing you want to do is walk in on someone camped out in a house, perhaps conducting illegal an activity.      This is no joke, you want to be HEARD when you walk into a property that is supposed to vacant. So make a lot of noise when you're at the front door. I always knock loudly before entering.  Stomp your feet a little. Yell "Hello!" a couple o... 11/08/2008

A lot of investors ask what an egress window is and when one is needed. Technically, it's a window for a room below grade that a municipality has deemed large enough to be safe for exit in case of emergency.   While there are some variations, the window needs to be large enough that a firefighter with an oxygen bottle on their back could get in, then carry out an injured person in a fire.  Most often, it's associated with a basement bedroom window, making it a legal bedroom. Basement bedrooms without egress windows are illegal.  Installing an egress window makes them legal.      The confusion is that different cities, counties and agencies have different size requirements and height-above-floor requirements for these windows. Therefore, before you start cutting into the concrete foundat... 11/08/2008

  The average home price in Metro Denver increased +2% in the full year 2005 to the full year 2006. Comparing 2006 to 2007, the average home price across the metro dropped 3%, to $303,000. The average price in the first three quarters of 2008 was $272,000 vs. similar period of 2007 was $308,000: an 11% decrease. These numbers will be slightly different than Metrolist, as they are just Denver Metro and don't include outlying areas like Colorado Springs or Boulder.Much of the decline is a mix issue. For example, sales volume of homes over 4,000 square feet has plummeted in the last twelve months. Middle-market homes have generally been steady in their sales volume. Very inexpensive homes under 1,000 square feet have greatly increased their sales volume. You can explain it to your clients... 11/08/2008

  If you have not heard already, the inventory of home on the market in Denver has been declining. This is not true in many regions of the county. Your clients, who often only see national headlines, might not be aware of this favorable news. Our market has some unusual factors at work. Let's explore them, so you can better help your clients.If you look at the first chart (MOI 1), you'll see the MOI (months of inventory) for Denver's suburbs on the bottom axis and the average sales price in that suburb on the axis on the left side. Denver metro currently has about six months of inventory (a balanced market, on average), but you can see there is a lot of variety from one city to the next. Lower cost areas, such as Thornton, are seeing inventory move fast. Sellers (mainly banks) don't ha... 11/08/2008

Investor often ask me what types of real estate investments are available on the market.  Here's what we tell them. This is the first of several postings on the topic. Please offer comments - positive or negative! Assignments.  If you don't have much equity to work with, and/or if your credit power is limited, assignments can be a way to get started in real estate investing.  You will need to have a strong "sales" personality to succeed at it, though.    Rental Condo or Rental Home.  Purchase of a residential property to be rented out to tenants, usually on a 6-12 month lease term.  This is how most new landlords get started.  You can hire out all of the property management functions, but in many cases you will do many of them on your own.  There are smaller down payment requirements th... 11/08/2008

Highlands Ranch CO Events Arts and Crafts Event in Highlands Ranch Applewood Arts and Crafts is in Highlands Ranch CO this coming weekend. This is the 31st annual arts and crafts show by Applewood Arts. Very popular,  with over 100 vendors, something for everyone! This fine arts and crafts event is held at Highlands Ranch High School, which  is located at corner of University Blvd and Cresthill Ln in Highlands Ranch. Enjoy shopping for beautifully crafted, unique items including Americana, Southwestern, Victorian and more. Perfect time for some holiday gifts or for something special for yourself. Enjoy live music while shopping and grab a snack or take a lunch break. Catering provided by Breadwinners Catering. There is a $4 admission fee. Free Re-entry all weekend. Nov. 8th    from 9:30... 11/07/2008

Highlands Ranch CO Events Jewelry and Accessories Event in Highlands Ranch Come shop for special, beautiful jewelry and accessories this coming Saturday in Highlands Ranch CO. The FREE event is put together by Highlands Ranch Community Association (HRCA) and is held at Eastridge Recreation Center in Highlands Ranch, which is located on University Blvd.   You will find jewerly that is hand made as well as jewelry, purses, handbags and more from retail stores. Find that special something for that special someone for the holidays. There is no admission fee. Nov. 8th    from 10 am to 4 pm       Eastridge Rec. Center in Highlands Ranch 9568 S. University Blvd. Highlands Ranch, CO 80126 For more information visit HRCA website follow us on twitter @kennarealestate Enjoy posts like these receiv... 11/06/2008

Home Sales in Weatherstone Highlands Ranch CO - Oct 08 In October, no homes were sold in Weatherstone in Highlands Ranch and one home is currently under contract at this time.  Below are the monthly stats for number of homes sold within the last year in Weatherstone. Currently six homes are for sale in the Weatherstone community in Highlands Ranch. The prices range from $470,000 to $946,444. The price per square foot ranges from $156/sf to $294/sf. The longest a home as been on the market (currently active) is 249 total days on market and the shortest is 87 DOM. SEE HOMES ON THE MARKET IN WEATHERSTONE  HIGHLANDS RANCH, CLICK ON THE PHOTO                     Thinking about selling your house in The Weatherstone or in  Highlands Ranch CO? Contact Brian Burke, Broker directly via e-mail or... 11/03/2008

I originally posted this 2 weeks ago on my other Denver real estate blog, but since this weekend was again picture perfect and involved shorts, snow peaked mountains in the distance, near 80 degree temps, beautiful fall colors and soccer, I thought I would share here as well. - Steve   Just a quick picture to show you what it may look like in the fall if you were moving to Highlands Ranch. I spent some time on Saturday taking a break from working with some Denver home buyers to watch my daughter's soccer game. This picture was taken in the "Eastridge" area of Highlands Ranch in Heritage Park, just south of the Highlands Ranch Post office.   Steve Scheer, RE/MAX Masters, Inc. Real Estate in Denver & The Suburbs Search all Denver & Denver Suburb Homes Here   Copyright © 2008 By Steve Sche... 11/03/2008