This is Why You Need to Be Pre-Qualified!

August 31st, 2008

I had a closing Friday (yay!) and I agreed with the mortgage broker who had referred the client to me, that we really needed to blog about this situation - which ended up being a win for everyone involved, because it was such a perfect example of why it’s really important to be fully prepared and pre-qulaified when you find the property you want.

My clients are first-time investors (both accountants) who are, luckily, extremely organized with great credit.  Although they weren’t completely sure what type of property they wanted at first, or in what neighborhood, they did know that they wanted a great deal (of course) in a popular Denver area, and they knew they wanted to keep it as a rental property.

We looked at over 50 properties, all over the Denver area, from flipped condos to foreclosed duplexes, and wrote 4 contracts that didn’t go through.

I was out previewing some new listings for them when the client called - a new listing on a great street in Lower Highlands had just come up in the MLS, and the price seemed ridiculously low for a 3 BR 1 BA on an 8000 SF lot - and there was no picture.  Assuming that it was too good to be true, I drove by to take a look. 

A cute little stuccoed bungalow on a great lot, the house was a bit run-down but had great curb appeal, and the location couldn’t have been better.  Right up the street from the new Pasquini’s and Duo Restaurants, as well as all of the little cafes, coffee shops, and charm of the shopping district, and within blocks of the Pedestrian Bridge, this house was a charmer - and a steal.  Listed at $129,900, there is nothing that would even try to comp in that area for less than $200,000.

I scheduled a showing and the clients raced over to meet me.  They wanted that house. (So did I!)

We wrote an offer after I spoke to the listing agent, who told me that they had a few offers in but that he hadn’t presented them yet.  We offered more than the list price, but here is what clinched the deal - we were able to close in two weeks.  Because my clients had all of their documentation in, and the mortgage broker had everything they needed for a quick close, the sellers went with our offer, which wasn’t the highest, because they wanted the closest closing date possible.

So, lesson learned - even if you are pre-qualifed, keep in close touch with your lender and make sure that your file is completely up to date as you look for that perfect property - a little organization and diligence might just win you the prize!

Posted in Denver Real Estate, Mortgage News, Real Estate News, What's going on?! | No Comments »

It’s only 1.5% - but it’s great news for Denver Real Estate

August 30th, 2008

I always like to read some good news - that’s why I like the site http://www.happyrenews.com/ - and why I was psyched to come across this article in the Rocky Mountain News:

Good news for Denver-area housing market By John Rebchook

The Denver area housing market showed the most appreciation of 20 metropolitan areas tracked by the closely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices from May to June.

The Denver area showed a 1.5 percent gain in that period. Boston, with a 1.2 percent increase, was the only other metropolitan area to show an increase.

The average percentage change in that one-month period was a loss of 0.5 percent for all 20 cities, and a loss of 0.6 percent for 10 of them.

Denver and Boston have shown three consecutive months of positive returns. Denver homes showed a 4.7 percent decline from June 2007 to June 2008, the third best of the 20 cities. Read the rest of this entry »