THE RULES:
There are many rules in a fluid real estate market, but here are a few that we believe hold true IN ANY MARKET (one favoring buyers; one favoring sellers; it does not matter):

•LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION
•MONEY IS MADE ON THE BUY
•SELLERS SET ASKING PRICES; BUYERS DETERMINE VALUE
•BUYERS BUY VALUE
•CONTINGENCIES CLOUD NEGOTIATIONS (THE MORE “IFS” THE FEWER DOLLARS)
•THE HARDEST THING TO GAIN IS TRUST; THE EASIEST THING TO LOSE IS TRUST
•REPUTATION AND ETHICS ARE VALUE-ENHANCING ATTRIBUTES
•A HOUSE HAS DIFFERENT VALUES FOR DIFFERENT BUYERS: BUYER A CAN BUY HOUSE X FOR LESS THAN BUYER B

Continue reading Colorado Springs Real Estate Market Condition-May 2008

Well I haven’t been a very diligent blogger as of late, but my excuse is that I’m now working full time for one of our presidential candidates. I’m told that mixing business and politics is unwise so I won’t specify which candidate - because If I did I would alienate 100% of my Republican readers and almost (but not quite) half of my Democrat readers. So – I won’t say who I’m working for.

But I will say that being on the road non-stop (I’m writing this dispatch on a plane from North Carolina to Puerto Rico) has acquainted me with some of the finer points of being a long distance landlord – a good reminder of why I prefer to invest close to home where I can keep an eye on things. What’s saved me is the fact that I have developed a bullet-proof relationship with an excellent realtor that I trust and with a handyman/contractor that values me as a repeat customer and not an easy mark. So although I like to keep an eye on things I realize that the world isn’t going to come unglued while the cat’s away.Good investors who have developed reliable relationships realize that they’re not indispensable - their businesses continue to run in their absence.

Continue reading On the road…

Short Sales is one of the most popular terms in real estate today. What is a short sale? – It is the obtaining a property for a smaller amount than what is owed on it from the lender.

Because of recently declining prices in homes, banks and lending institutions are making more deals than they have in years making short sales a great opportunity for everyone involved.  The huge increase in short sale activity is due to the increase in subprime lending and the Adjustable Rate Mortgages that were written over the last 5 years that are resetting at astronomical rates.

Because these homeowners are now unable to afford their mortgage payments and the homes are worth less than what they paid, they are looking for ways to avoid foreclosure and get out of a potentially bad situation. Enter the short sale….

Continue reading The Wonderful World of Short Sales

I’m getting calls from a company called Blue Moon Capital. Google them and you’ll find the website.  Annoyingly enough, they have been posting comments on my blog advertising their service – a practice that I’ve requested that they cease.

The premise of the company is that they identify investment possibilities for you, and for a $5,000 fee they’ll provide the investor with title and a bridge loan, then refinance at an 80% LTV. Their main pitch is that they’re offering you, the investor, “20% equity built-in as a head start.”

The details of how they propose to accomplish this are hazy. I’m a smart enough guy, but over the course of a couple of unsolicited phone calls and a few emails I haven’t really figured it out. Here’s their financing overview from their website:

Continue reading New zero down player

By adding a few simple lines of code to your website, you can now have free buyer leads delivered to your Inbox – at no cost - And get paid to boot!

Here’s how it works – the user searches for distressed properties on your website using Foreclosure.com’s Lava technology. When the user wants to see the local search results, a contact form appears. When the user enters in their name, phone number and email address their information gets emailed directly to your Inbox.

And the best part? When the user signs up for a subscription to Foreclosure.com they will pay you a 25% revenue share for the life of every subscription. There’s nothing to lose – and leads and revenue to gain.

Continue reading Attention Real Estate Agents! - Get Free Leads and Paid for Driving Traffic

Absorption Rate is defined as: An estimate of the rate at which a particular classification of space - such as new office space, new housing, new condominium units and the like - will be sold or occupied during a specific time frame.

This is an important number for Buyers because it gives you a general ideal of the market conditions in a given area. Equally important for Sellers as it is a good indication, (when used in conjunction with our pricing grid) of what to expect in terms of “Days on Market”. Higher rates are an indicator of better market conditions.

We track activity in the 19 most popular MLS areas in the Pikes Peak Region. Here are the latest Colorado Springs/Pikes Peak Regional Absorption Rates.

Continue reading Colorado Springs Real Estate Absorption Rates For April of 2008

Lengthy market times, few showings and low ball offers seem to be a part of our new reality in the Colorado Springs Real Estate Market, at least for some homes. The early spring market seems to be breaking into three

categories.

First and fast is the sub $200,000 market. These homes, if well priced, well staged and aggressively marketed, seem to be getting plenty of showings and even appear to be going under contract quickly.
Continue reading Colorado Springs Real Estate Market Condition- April 2008