Between Denver and Boulder CO – Real Estate News and Tidbits December 2010

Joetta’s Neighborhood Newsletter

December, 2010

Hello, Friends & Neighbors!

Hard to believe I’m writing the last newsletter of 2010. It’s been the best year ever for me, as far as real estate closings go. Yet, it’s been sad to see the continued loss of homes occurring. It’s not nearly as bad here as some parts of the country, and for that I’m thankful, but still it’s too many.

The most surprising thing right now is that buyers aren’t out in droves. 30-year fixed rates right now are what we used to think of as ‘teaser’ rates – but now you can lock in for 30 years. And home prices are lower than anything you could have touched in the past few years.

It’s a mystery that is well-discussed in the world of real estate pros. Of course, the biggest issue is unemployment – gotta have a job! My feeling is, when joblessness is down and consumer confidence returns buyers will jump back in.

Well, I could go on and on talking about real estate, but some of you aren’t in the market right now, you just like the ‘other stuff’ in the newsletter. So I’ll move on, with an invitation for anyone who wants to talk real estate to email or call me, and we’ll go grab coffee or something.

Lots of New Furnaces ‘Round Here

Last month I included a referral from a reader for Green Tree Heating and Air Conditioning (720-266-4557) and that prompted a couple other readers to write in about their good experiences with furnace contractors. I love reading these good stories. It would be interesting if someone needed a furnace, to call each of the companies mentioned by my readers, and have estimates from the best. Who would win?

Also, Sharon pointed out that I should mention City code requires a permit for a furnace replacement. After the work is done, be sure to get the final inspection done and save your paperwork. When it comes time to sell, your buyers will be happy to see that paperwork.

Sharon said: We also had to buy a new furnace. We went with Comfort Services. They measured our house and gave us a much more efficient furnace at a very reasonable price. We got 4 estimates and they were the lowest with a Trane furnace. If anyone needs a new furnace, I would recommend them. Two of the companies did not measure the house. This is critical and no one should buy from a company who doesn’t measure the house.

James shared this: I receive your newsletter and I just want to give you some additional information about buying a new furnace. This week I had to do this and after checking around I found the following, they are a local firm in Arvada, have been around over 15 years, gave me the best price for a Trane XV-95, 95% afue 2-Stage Variable Speed Furnace, and did a great job. They are B&B Heating and Air Conditioning 303-423-7905.

Is This a Safe Neighborhood?

That’s one question home buyers love to ask real estate agents, but everyone knows crime occurs in every neighborhood. “How much crime and what kind of crime occurs in this neighborhood?” is a better question. Homebuyers (and homeowners) need to understand, when it comes to such an important and personal matter, it’s best if they do this research themselves.

(BTW, in my opinion any real estate agent who answers that first question, “YES” cares more about getting a paycheck than doing the best job they can for YOU.)

Here’s a couple of websites you can use to get crime density maps, list of registered sex offenders, times of day when crimes occur most, and other answers (and not just for neighborhoods between Denver and Boulder, they cover other states too):

www.crimereports.com (which claims to be the largest and most comprehensive crime-mapping network in the world)

www.raidsonline.com (you can sign up for alerts within your pre-determined radius of any address)

What’s Going on in Real Estate

This year I’ve been sending out anniversary cards to original owners in my neighborhood (Pomona Lakes, in Arvada CO), celebrating the purchase of their home back in the 1970s.

It’s amazing to note what they paid for their homes back then, often about what a car costs now.

So when I hear people are ‘afraid’ to buy a house because it might not go up in value like it used to, I think about these numbers, and I wonder how much money these folks saved in taxes over the years, how much they saved not being subject to constantly increasing rent. I wish I knew more of their stories, did they celebrate when they paid off their house?

I sure hope so! Here’s some examples:

Purchase Date Paid Current Value

6/28/73 $32,899 $216,860

5/01/73 $41,100 $241,300

6/04/73 $40,400 $252,660

It is true that if I made a list of homes bought in the past few years it would tell a different story. But you’re going to live somewhere after all – do you really want it to be a place that costs you every month, and never gives anything back?

My blog posts for the past month

Want to Buy a Home Below List Price?

Avoiding Foreclosure With a Short Sale – A List of Questions I’ll Need Answered

Median Sale Prices for Arvada Homes – Up or Down?

Arvada Homes – What Percentage are Foreclosures?

This link will take you to the first post in a series:

An Expose on the Annoying Stuff That Happens When Buying a House

And this is my most popular post of all, because it’s jam-packed with info:

About Arvada – Neighborhoods, Stores, Things to Do, Local Info

I hope 2010 has been a wonderful year for you, and 2011 will be even better!

If you have input for, or a response to, this newsletter, I’d love to hear from you.

Joetta Fort~ Equity Colorado ~ 720-353-8031 ~ Joetta.fort@gmail.com

My website (see all available homes here): www.DreamHouseHunting.com