Highpointe in Southeast Denver: A recent Denver Business Journal article, “Plans unveiled for new Denver mixed-use project,” caught our eye, since we have been following the new Highpointe project for quite some time.  Construction on the southeast Denver project, located at the corner of I-25 and East Hampden Avenue in southeast Denver, is slated to begin as early as this spring or summer. The project will include both commercial and residential sections. The commercial portion, including the Shoppes at Highpointe, will sit on the site of the old Four Points by Sheraton, which was demolished in 2010. The project will also include luxury apartments and an assisted living community.

Riverwalk Entertainment Complex in Glendale: Estimated to open in about to two years, the Riverwalk Entertainment Complex will consist of nearly 20 acres along Cherry Creek. It is slated to feature two hotels, a cinema complex, a World Rugby Hall of Fame museum, restaurants, an amphitheater and a parking structure. It is estimated that nearly 1.5 million visitors will visit this attraction each year.

We will continue to follow the progress of new Denver projects. For information on Denver homes, or regarding Denver neighborhoods, please contact Drew Armbruster at 720-840-1182.

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Pros for Staying In the Home While Doing A Short Sale

• An occupied home tends to show better and sell more quickly, since buyers can visualize themselves in the home. This tends to produce higher contracts and more serious buyers.
• If you are currently behind on payments, staying in the home while the short sale is negotiated can relieve some of the financial burden.
•  If the bank becomes aware that the home is vacant, it sometimes “winterizes the home,” which involves boarding up the pool or changing the locks. While this is only a minor hiccup in the grand scheme of things, it might delay the sales process.

Pros For Leaving The Home During The Short Sale Process

• If you are behind on your mortgage payments, the longer you wait to find a rental property, the harder it becomes. Because of this, I usually recommend that homeowners secure a place as quickly as possible.
• The amount of time it takes to get an approval on a short sale varies. While normally it is a longer amount of time than expected, an approval can come in sooner than expected. If you are living in the home when an approval is received, you usually will have to vacate it within 30 days or less. This can be very stressful if you’re not prepared.
• Sometimes living in the home while a short sale is being processed is stressful and emotional since you are preparing to move out.

Since there isn’t a “right answer” that works for everyone during the short sale process, I advise my clients to evaluate the pros/cons above and choose the option that works best for their families.

If you have any short sale questions, or other Denver real estate questions please don’t hesitate to contact Drew Armbruster at 720-840-1182. My team and I are here to help you through this challenging time.

When my fiancé and I began looking for a home in the Denver real estate market, I was living in Aurora and he was living in Lakewood, so we were open to different locations. We drove through many neighborhoods and pulled flyers from various Denver homes for sale. One thing that I noticed was that the prices for similar homes in different neighborhoods varied greatly, even though none of them were affected by busy streets or other external factors.

It is easy to find similar styles of Denver homes in different areas but the prices do vary greatly, so do your homework. The northern and eastern sections of the Denver metro area are the most affordable, including Thornton, Northglenn and Aurora. There are also fantastic values in Commerce City’s new area, Reunion, which is located just east of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal.

We ended up buying a home in Thornton. We purchased in this area because we got the most home for our money and it is simply a great place to live!

Incorporated in 1953, Thornton has grown into a vibrant city boasting four golf courses, 81 parks and nearly 2000 acres of parks and open space, including over 80 miles of trails. Thornton also has two recreation centers, including the Community Center and the Margaret Carpenter Recreation Center. ThorntonFest, HarvestFest and WinterFest are three annual festivals hosted by the City of Thornton.

Please contact me today so I can help you find the best Denver neighborhood for you and your family.

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Belinda Lovins ABR,CRS,GRI,MRE
303 450-5171
303 641-2689

Our team at Find My Home Denver would like to extend a warm welcome for the New Year and thank you for your past support and business. Because of your patronage, 2011 was a record breaking year for our team and we look forward to another great year in Denver Real Estate. It is because of our relationships with you that this business is enjoyable.  We cherish the interactions that we are entrusted with each year to accomplish your real estate plans, strategies and success.

The biggest overall trend we saw in the 2011 Denver housing market was declining home inventory.  This is a very good sign for price stability, which adds hope to future price appreciation.  However, limited inventory has caused issues for home buyers, as they have been accustomed to a broad range of home options.

My neighborhood near City Park, specifically named Whittier, had nearly its entire housing inventory sell in 2011. Those buyers looking for the popular Denver square architecture had a very limited selection.  Almost every Denver square sold in the price point under $400,000 leaving some home owners in a predicament that has not been seen since the early 2000s. Home sellers who had found a buyer for their home were sometimes forced to rent while they waited for a suitable replacement home to come on the market.  Many Denver neighborhoods and sub areas experienced a similar trend and one that we expect to continue into 2012.

Another important overall housing trend in 2012 was the falling interest rates. I am surprised I can say that as the previous few years offered the same, but 2012 saw the 30 year interest rate occasionally dip into the high 3’s.  This creates an amazing opportunity for households to lower their outgoing housing liability and has added to the falling inventory by allowing home owners to refinance and stay put. One big complaint I hear from Denver home buyers is the fact that our market has not depreciated as much as the rest of the country.  Hence, the opportunities to buy are not as great.  I like to bring up interest rates and help explain how rates dropping from 5% to 4% equate to a 20% discount in monthly mortgage payment.  As a quick footnote to this mortgage trend; qualifying for loans has continued to be difficult.  As a result, this has choked the housing recovery, yet is a necessary evil if the housing recovery is going to be healthy and sustained.

We look forward to working with you in 2012.  Please reach out to us and let us know how we can help with any of your Denver real estate and housing needs.  With another year quickly gone by it becomes more and more apparent that life is short and the most important “things” you can have/share are relationships.  It is our goal at Find My Home Denver to soak in the time we share with you in 2012 and listen to what is important to your Denver real estate needs.

Thank you again for all your support.

Sincerely,

Drew Armbruster, Andrew Darlington and the Find My Home Denver Team

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Two Ways to Make Money!

It is a proven fact that there are two ways to produce an income:

*1 You Work
*2 Your Money Works

Most people are so busy working right now that they often forget to put their money to work! My husband and I work very hard, but we are lucky that our home has also paid off for us. We were able to earn $40,000 in equity over a five- year period, purchasing it in 1991 for $70,000. By 1996, our home was worth $110,000.

Like it or not, you have to pay rent or a mortgage payment as part of your monthly living expenses. So, the first way to put your money to work is to exchange your monthly rental payment for a monthly mortgage payment. The main reason for this is that ninety-five percent of a mortgage payment is tax deductible, including all of the interest paid on the loan, along with the real property taxes.

I recently conducted a home value study over a 30 year span. I chose the matchless Model, which PERL-Mack built in Northglenn back in 1963. This wonderful starter home originally sold for $15,000, but in 1993, the home sold for $75,000 – five times its original value. Does this mean that in 30 more years, the home will be worth $350,000?

Fast forward to today. The same home is worth $150,000, ten times its original value!

Why not invest your rent money into a home of your own, especially since interest rates are lower than ever and there are numerous programs available to assist with the down payment.

Call today so I can introduce you to affordable Denver homes!

Belinda Lovins ABR,CRS,GRI,MRE
303 450-5171
303 641-2689

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We have high hopes for the Denver real estate market in 2012! The real estate picture is looking brighter, both locally and nationally, interest rates are at an all-time low, and there has been much good news about the Denver economy lately. Please continue reading our blog for timely updates on the Denver real estate market.

If buying a Denver home is on your resolution list for 2012, please contact Drew Armbruster at 720-840-1182. Our team is excited to make your dream a reality.

Happy Holidays!

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Here is a rundown of what is happening in the Denver real estate market this month:

• The closely followed Case-Shiller report was released last week, revealing that the Denver real estate market is ranked fifth in the country, posting a 1.5 percent decline in home prices in September. This isn’t so bad when compared to the 3.6 percent average decline that other major metropolitan areas saw during the same time period. This was the fifth consecutive month that Denver has been ranked in the top five metropolitan areas.
• The inventory of metro Denver area homes for sale decreased in November to the lowest level in years to 14,275, which is a decline of 10 percent from October and a decline of 30 percent from October 2010. This is especially good news for Denver sellers, since there is less competition.
• Colorado foreclosure filings and sales at auction decreased from October 2011 to October 2010. New foreclosure filings in October decreased 23.2 percent to 2,350 from from 3,059.
• There continues to be good news about Colorado’s economy, which will help the Denver real estate market rebound. The Denver Business Journal recently reported that Colorado small businesses’ employment grew 0.5 percent in November from the previous month.

It is a great time to purchase or sell Denver homes since you can beat the spring rush and take advantage of historically-low interest rates. For information on the Denver housing market, or regarding Denver homes for sale, please contact Drew Armbruster at 720-840-1182.

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Let’s put it into perspective:

• If a buyer bought a home in 2007 with a $200,000 loan at a 6.5% interest rate, the same buyer can now purchase a $300,000 home with a 4.0 percent interest loan. The monthly payment will be relatively the same.
• If a buyer purchased a home with a $200,000 loan at 6.5 percent in 2007, the payment for principal and interest would have been around $1264 per month. If a buyer currently takes out a loan of $200,000 at 4.0 percent, the monthly payment (for P&I) will be around $954. This is a savings of over $300 per month.

If  you don’t think Denver home prices have come down enough, just look at what you can save in your monthly payment. As rents around the Denver metro area continue to increase and interest rates continue to decline, buying Denver homes versus renting them continues to be the best option in most cases.

For more information regarding Denver mortgages or Denver real estate, please contact Drew Armbruster at 720-840-1182.

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Here are a few basic tips that will help you obtain your real estate goals:

• Pay down high interest credit cards first. However, leave the accounts open and stay current on payments.
• Make a goal of paying your credit card(s) in full each month. Don’t shy away from using a credit card (the airline miles are a bonus) - just pay it off monthly.
• Pay off your car loan before paying off/down your mortgage so you own your car free and clear. Hence, do not be ashamed to drive a clunker for a while if it is paid off.
• Avoid major purchases (i.e. cars) prior to buying a home. Your debt-to-income ratio can deteriorate quickly when you assume new debt, which can hinder the loan process.
• Keep your student loans until you are very comfortable paying them off – presumably after you have paid down credit cards and own your automobiles outright.
• When interest rates are very low and the real estate market is down, look to buy a fully renovated home. HGTV fix-up shows are exciting but you have a day job and unless you have a pile of cash, you are going to end up with a line of credit that will have a much higher rate to fund the fix-up costs. When buying a renovated home, you are essentially financing those fix-up costs at a low, long term rate.
• Don’t get discouraged; start by making short-term savings goals and put a small amount away each month. You will be surprised by the progress.

While some of these tips may seem like common sense, many Denver buyers will find themselves is in a tough position due to a recent financial decision, which can become an obstacle to their dream home.

For  information on Denver homes, or regarding Denver mortgage advice, please contact Drew Armbruster at 720-840-1182.

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Proceeds from the 4–mile run/walk go toward Mile High United Way’s School Readiness, Youth Success and Adult Self-Sufficiency Initiatives.

Here are the details:

-Thursday, November 24, 2011 at 10:15 AM
-Washington Park (1700 E. Louisiana Avenue)
-The Family Fun Run is at 11:00am
-Click here for more information or to register for the event

FindMyHomeDenver hopes to see you there! For information on life in Washington Park, or regarding Washington Park homes, please contact Drew Armbruster at 720-840-1182.

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