We are Fast Trackers!

I truly dislike blogs that are devoid of any meaningful or useful content and are simply shameless plugs for businesses, so I really hesitate to post this here .... BUT ... I am proud to announce that Colorado Landmark won an award last week at the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World annual meeting and convention in Scottsdale, AZ. This is pretty exciting news for our little company that only joined this esteemed network 3 short years ago.

We received the 2008 Fast Tracker award - this means that our company, staff and sales associates have worked hard to embrace all of the programs and technology that Leading RE has to offer and that resulted in a significant volume of business we were able to both send out and receive from our wonderful network affiliates all over the country.

I had a terrific time in Scottsdale, connected with lots of great people, and came back with armloads of new knowledge. I will be posting information and news from that conference over the next few weeks so please check back. As always, feel free contact me directly or post here if you have questions or comments!

Pam Metzger

Director of Relocation

pam@coloradolandmark.com

303-302-8839

Good News times Three – Finally!

I am in sunny Scottsdale, Arizona getting ready to attend the 2009 Leading Real Estate Companies of the World annual conference this week. This year the theme of the conference is The Power of the Bold, which is entirely appropriate for what I wanted to write about today.

I was inspired to blog today after reading my hotel copy of USA Today. I usually catch my news in small doses these days as the gluttony of bad economic news and discouraging headlines has been too much to take. Today however I was riveted to the newspaper because of three headlines.

“Areas of Economy Swelling with Jobs” was the first one that caught my eye on the front page. Hallelujah! How exciting to hear that there are sectors of our economy and geographic areas that are seeing growth. The areas cited in the article were health care, government, education, energy and mining. I guess this doesn’t come as a surprise given that these are areas of focus for the new administration in Washington. Many people that have recently lost their jobs will be turning to these industries, hoping that their skills will transition, or that they can attain new skills without too much downtime.

“Stocks Score Huge Rally on Hopes that Worst if Over” was the second attention grabber. This news has many people thinking that stocks might finally be on the mend. Monday’s rally was significant in that on some levels it doesn’t appear to be a blip. The rally had breadth in that all 30 stocks in the Dow saw increases, and as did all but 4 of the S & P 500. The rally seems to have some sticking power too – the best 2-week rally since the bear market took hold. And all 10 industrial sectors of the S & P 500 saw gains, indicating that industries are healing. This is all great news for people who have been seeing their retirement, college or down-payment funds take a beating. Hopefully this means there is public confidence in the government’s latest plan to “ungum the pipes”.

And finally, “Home Sales Rose a Sweet 5.1% in Feb.” This is the best news for homeowners trying to sell, as well as buyers who are dipping their toes back in the market after waiting out the bottom. Overall sales volume rose, meaning buyers are getting off the fence to the cheers of anxious home sellers. And prices fell sharply in many major markets, to the delight of buyers hoping to snap up a deal and enter the market in what will surely prove to be the best time to buy a home decades. Downward pressure on prices combined with the lowest interest rates I have ever seen in my own adult life – average interest rates for 30-year fixed conventional loans are at 4.89% - make home buying now a “no brainer” investment decision.

So again I ask the question – why are you still on the fence when you should be in your new yard? Is it because you have a house to sell that isn’t moving? I’ll write again shortly about the most important things a homeowner can do to position their home to sell. If you don’t have a home to sell then it is just downright ridiculous to think that these aren’t the first signs of stabilizing home prices. And even if we haven’t hit bottom yet, we are surely getting close. If you think you will hold on to the property for 2 years or more, then this is the time to be powerful, be BOLD! Go forth and buy!

If you appreciate this information and would like more, please let me know by contacting me at pam@coloradolandmark.com. I am the Relocation Director here at Colorado Landmark. I am NOT a licensed real estate professional and I won't try to sell you anything. As the Relocation Director it is my job to assist people moving in and out of the Boulder/Longmont/Broomfield area in any way that I can. I stay abreast of the current trends and statistics and can help you dig up information, analyze your current situation, and make decisions about where you want to go.

Pam Metzger

Director of Relocation

pam@coloradolandmark.com

Understanding Short Sales - A Good Option for Homeowners in Trouble

Most of us in the real estate business (and probably most people in America) didn’t know what the term “short sale” meant 2 years ago. Now it is a topic that appears in our business on a daily basis, and we are all working hard to stay up to date with the latest information to help our clients.


A short sale is an agreement from your lender to accept less than the amount you owe on your mortgage and release the lien on your property so you are able to sell it and move on. The short sale process can take, on average, 4-6 months and requires a lot of patience, but there are steps that can be taken to make the process easier.

If you are a seller and you have fallen behind on your mortgage payments, tell your Realtor right away. As with all real estate transactions, it is important to work with someone who knows and understands the process. Your Colorado Landmark Realtor can give you a checklist of the items that should be completed and submitted to the bank upon listing your home. Once you receive an offer on your property, your Realtor will help you submit it to the lender along with other required documentation to help facilitate the sale as quickly as possible.

By the time they have reached the point of becoming delinquent with their mortgage payments, many sellers are tempted to just walk away from their mortgage and allow the bank to foreclose on their property. There are several reasons why this is a bad idea.

• A foreclosure can negatively impact your credit score by 250 – 300 points, and it will remain on your credit history for up to 10 years.



• A homeowner who has had a foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae backed mortgage for a period of up to 5 years, and has to disclose a foreclosure in the last 7 years on any loan applications.



• Having a foreclosure on your credit history can make it difficult for you to qualify for any other type of loan, and some employers will even use this information to re-assign or terminate employees.
  

Instead, if you take the time and effort to get your house sold through a short sale, it will most likely impact your credit score by only 50 or so points, and you are able to qualify for a mortgage and purchase another home after only 2 years. Not to mention that you can sell your home and move out of your neighborhood with dignity, and feel as though you did everything you could to protect your family’s future.

If you are a buyer and you are interested in purchasing a property that is being sold as a short sale, you will also need to be patient. It is important to work with a buyers agent who has experience with short sales. New post coming soon: tips for buyers interested in short sale properties!


The short sale process can be stressful and frustrating, but working with an experienced agent will make it much easier for you every step of the way. At Colorado Landmark our real estate sales associates strive to be up to date on the latest real estate trends and market information. Our sales associates regularly pursue continuing education opportunities to reinforce their expertise and knowledge. If you have any questions or are ready to sell your home, please give us a call.




This blog entry written by:


Jennifer Fly, Broker Associate, Colorado Landmark Realtors

303-506-0253 (cell)
jenniferfly@coloradolandmark.com

Get Off the Fence (and INTO your new yard!)

Is the real estate market in the Boulder/Denver area tough - you bet it is, especially if you are a seller. But if you are a buyer it is a dream come true! The number of available homes in inventory is higher than ever, and mortgage rates are at historic lows. So what are you waiting for?

Afraid you won't get as much out of your current home as you hoped? That might be true, especially if you bought your home between 2000-2006. Historically homeowners have realized 25% appreciation in their homes over every five year period since 1980. Something happened between 2000 and 2006 - that appreciation skyrocketed to 89%! No wonder our ideas of value are skewed now! We saw that bubble and thought "Hey, I want a part of that." Well, guess what? That bubble has burst.

But hey, 25% appreciation every five years is not too shabby, especially as compared to the stock market. From 2000 through 2008 the Dow lost 9.8%, the S & P lost 20.6%, and the Nasdaq lost 47.8%. Let's all get off the fence, back in the yard, and be grateful for our 25% again.

What's going on in the Boulder/Broomfield/Longmont area? Well we all know that sales are down. For February 2009 the number of single family residential units sold was down more than 11% as compared to February 2008, and condo sales were down almost 8%. Average sales prices are down too - 7.3% for single family but UP almost 2% for condos! And compared to the rest of the country, that 7.3% drop isn't that bad! Areas in California, Florida, Arizona, etc... are down over 40%! Again, let's all be grateful that we live in this beautiful, clean, relatively uncrowded area and our prices are holding somewhat steady compared to the rest of the country.

How many times have you heard someone say, or said yourself, "If I knew 20 years ago what I know now, I could have bought that property for nothing. Today that property is worth a million bucks! " THIS is the time folks. If you have a home to sell, you won't make as much money on it as you would have had you sold it two years ago. But chances are you WILL make money on it, and you can pick up a replacement property for a screaming deal.

If you appreciate this information and would like more, please let me know by contacting me at pam@coloradolandmark.com. I am the Relocation Director here at Colorado Landmark. I am NOT a licensed real estate professional and I won't try to sell you anything. As the Relocation Director it is my job to assist people moving in and out of the Boulder/Longmont/Broomfield area in any way that I can. I stay abreast of the current trends and statistics and can help you dig up information, analyze your current situation, and make decisions about where you want to go.

Pam Metzger

Director of Relocation

Colorado Landmark, Realtors

pam@coloradolandmark.com