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A Fortnight of Changes
This is my first BLOG in 2 weeks as I took 8 days off to visit family in Seattle/Vancouver. Very relaxing, great weather. They are reeling like the rest of the country, 18 month old listings, foreclosures, etc.
Mortgage rates for 30-year home loans edged up this week, but remain close to record lows reached over the spring. Even though it’s a few months old, USA TODAY estimates when housing will recover STATE BY STATE. They predict Colorado will be in recovery by 2011. They also predict Arizona will rebound in 2009. Gosh, what do they know that we don’t? They’re talking about new construction to keep up with growth. It still doesn’t make sense.
Just to make you feel better, here’s an INTERACTIVE MAP of the top 500 housing zip codes. Feel better? Me neither.
Here are some pictures and stories of HOME INSPECTION NIGHTMARES. You can’t make this stuff up!
BTW, Pueblo makes AOL’s list of most affordable housing communities! Oh, and it appears that Denver is USA’s number one in TOP 20 HOME VALUE increase (Case-Shiller)….
REAL ESTATE WEATHER REPORT
You can feel Fall in the air. Fall and football. Oh, and school. Cool. What’s not to like about the arrival of fall? Oh, it’s not officially here yet.
So, what’s changed in two weeks? NOTHING. Not really. No real changes in our marketplace. OK, a few things…The Denver Post REPORTS smaller homes are going up in value while larger continue to decline. They even report of a $1M home going for $600K. Gosh, do you think it made appraisal?
Want to list your rental, rent-to-own, or retail fixed upper on ColoradoHousingSearch.com? Use THIS link…oh, and it’s FREE…and it has the Section 8 RATES. Wow! 3BR for $1265/mo. What’s not to like?
From our mentor-training Follow Me Program (www.FollowMeDenver.com) we offer our 10 Commandments to Real Estate Investing. Number 8 is: Know Your Options: there ALWAYS is a SOLUTION. It may not be the one you like, but may be the lesser of the evils. It’s important to have back up strategies, especially with real estate. We get surprised enough as it is! We had a good one this week: one of our rent-to-owns wants to exercise their option to buy!
INVENTORY
Call the office for details (303 338-8000). Few changes. Great wholesale deals are getting harder to find. Be careful out there.
6921 E 75th Av, Commerce City. DUPLEX. 2/1 & 1/1. Billboard view. Buy this REO for $52K, fix at $20K. Should rent well or sell well. It’s even 100’ from a $1/scoop Chinese restaurant. What more do you want?
1366 S Zeno Way, Aurora. 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and double garage. This had an FHA “as is” appraisal of $132K. Buy this HUD at $112K and fix at $20K. It’s GREEN. All electric.
11274 Forest Dr, Thornton. 3/2/2. Buy this HUD at $104K and fix at $20K. Tear down the back deck and lattice, make nice!
8147 S Brook Forest Rd. Evergreen. 6-plex, in the mountains. We bought this and are fixing this up as tenants churn. Let us know if you’re interested. Buy this at $225K before we start doing MAJOR work. Monthly gross rent at $3300. After total rehab, rent income will be over $4K/mo! Our first remodeled unit is now ready to rent.
Call us for more information or with questions. We expect more properties anytime; bookmark our WEBSITE and visit often. Don’t miss opportunities.
Bon Homepetit!
John Fisher
www.happycanyongroup.com
303 338-8000
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult. ~Seneca (5 BC - 65 AD)
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Where Have All the Houses Gone?
Long time passing…gone to Lenders everyone…when will we ever learn? See, Life is a Folk Song. I heard today that 50% of our nation’s foreclosures reside in four states; it’s easy to “guess:” California, Florida, Arizona and Nevada. No surprise! Record numbers of foreclosures right here in the good ol’ USA!
Selling your home? Here’s some PHOTO ADVICE. Size does matter and pay attention to details. Common sense rules. Most of the properties I look at are REOs with one ugly photo.
AP REPORTS that national home sales went up 2Q2009. They also report that Colorado home sales went DOWN for the same period. No major concerns at this time.
ABC News has an Economic Stress Index Chart of our country. Pick a state, pick a county and see unemployment, foreclosure, and bankruptcy rates. Ouch.
REAL ESTATE WEATHER REPORT
What’s going on in our backyard? We’re still seeing lots of activity, houses in bidding wars, investors AND owner-occupieds…HUDs are still mostly going over FHA appraisal. Lenders are lending out there. Reasonable loans (6-6.5% 30 year with 20-30% down) are still available for investors. We hear that new-build residential costs are down 10-20%, materials and labor. SFH rehab costs appear to be steady. You can save money by acting as a GC….Rents are down 5-10% compared with last year. Do your homework. Rentals can still make you money. So can Flips!
The Denver Post/AP reports CO Foreclosure Filings Hit Record High in 2Q. We may yet see that “bump” promised earlier this year. It could be a great 4Q. Be prepared, open up your mattress.
Correction: last week I misstated Denver’s new vacant land tax. The decision to tax vacant residential land at commercial rates increases taxes four-fold (apx 7% to 29%); the example I used left out the mil levy rate. Nonetheless, four-fold is four-fold.
Hot neighborhoods? Try Montbello. 80239 still has the highest transaction rate in the Denver Front Range. Great to buy, great to sell, great to rent, yadda, yadda…great!
From our mentor-training Follow Me Program (www.FollowMeDenver.com) we offer our 10 Commandments to Real Estate Investing. Number 7 is: PRICE CURES EVERYTHING. Why would I buy THAT house? Oh, because it’s REAL CHEAP and I can make money. Oh.
INVENTORY
Here’s our inventory. Check them out and call the office for more information. Not a lot of changes. Great wholesale deals are getting harder to find. Be careful out there.
1366 S Zeno Way, Aurora. 4 bedrooms, 3 baths and double garage. This had an FHA “as is” appraisal of $132K. Buy this HUD at $112K and fix at $20K. It’s GREEN. All electric. No gas. Good ‘hood.
11274 Forest Dr, Thornton. 3/2/2. Buy this HUD at $104K and fix at $20K. Great location. Tear down the back deck and lattice, make nice!
8147 S Brook Forest Rd. Evergreen. 6-plex, in the mountains. We bought this and are fixing this up as tenants churn. Let us know if you’re interested. Buy this at $220K before we start doing MAJOR work. Monthly gross rent at $3250. Our first remodeled unit will be ready to rent next week.
Call us for more information or with questions. We expect more properties anytime; bookmark our WEBSITE and visit often. Don’t miss opportunities.
Bon Homepetit!
John Fisher
www.happycanyongroup.com
303 338-8000
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better. ~King Whitney Jr.
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What Goes Up, Must Come Down
Some Spinning Wheel we’re on. Lenders insisting on a 2nd appraisal just before closing (guess what? The appraisal went UP). Who’s paranoid? Who said that? When will it ever end?
Thanks to Gen Wooden for finding this in USAToday: Drop in homeownership likely to continue. We peaked in 2004-5 at 70% and continue to drop. This means more and more renters in our future! See our Denver Weather Report (scroll down) for how Denver stacks up in homeownership vs rental….
Where are the real estate bargains? Forbes says in unsold condos and cites 10 locations around the country, mostly Florida and California. No surprises.
REAL ESTATE WEATHER REPORT
Denver homeownership vs rental rates: 47% own, 43% rent, rest are vacant. Interesting AOL website…says we have only 11,000 listings, wow, that’s saying something, a far cry from over 20,000 early this year!
Here’s a report with a potentially HUGE impact (thanks to CAZ) on Denver County: Residential Building Demolition & Property Taxes: Any vacant land will be taxed at the commercial rate of 29%. In simple terms this means that if you have a Denver County residential lot, say, worth $50,000, you will be taxed at the commercial rate, and pay $14,500/yr or 29% of its value. Do you think this will lead to more development of vacant land? Well, DUH! Or it could lead to some real (estate) bargains. Keep your eyes open! We may talk more about this in our Breakfast Club:
Don’t forget our Breakfast Club meeting this Saturday, August 8, 2009, from 7 – 9 AM at the New York Deli News restaurant aprx ½ mile East of I-25 on Hampden Rd. Come hungry for information and breakfast!
In our Follow Me Program (www.FollowMeDenver.com) we offer our 10 Commandments to Real Estate Investing. Number 6 is: THERE WILL ALWAYS BE A DEAL. Don’t get too emotional about property. If you have any hesitation about buying a house, DON’T. You can always kick yourself later if your instincts stink.
We’re still seeing heated activity, pushed by the Obama Tax Credit of $8K for First-Time Homeowners. Will our government extend the deadline? Probably…at the 11th hour.
From our perspective, rentals are picking up, listed properties are moving. Who could ask for more? Oh, OK. It can always get better. Meanwhile, enjoy the view, the ride, and our market!
INVENTORY
Here’s our inventory. Check them out and call the office for more information. Happy House Hunting.
1366 S Zeno Way, Aurora. 4 bedrooms, 2 baths and double garage. This had an FHA “as is” appraisal of $132K. Buy this HUD at $112K and fix at $20K. Good ‘hood.
11274 Forest Dr, Thornton. 3/2/2. Buy this HUD at $104K and fix at $20K. Great location. We’ve done well in that neighborhood.
8147 S Brook Forest Rd. Evergreen. 6-plex, in the mountains. We bought this and are fixing this up as tenants churn. Let us know if you’re interested. Buy this at $220K before we start doing MAJOR work. Monthly gross rent at $3250. Two tenants left and another’s being evicted. We’re slowly applying our systems to increase efficiencies and profits…the rehabs continue!
16495 E 17th Pl #B, Aurora. 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths. Buy this Short Sale for $45.5K and fix for only $4.5K, over 1500 finished sq ft! Great cash flow. Who’s interested? We hope the bank will release this VERY SOON.
Call us for more information or with questions. We expect more properties anytime; bookmark our WEBSITE and visit often. Don’t miss opportunities.
Bon Homepetit!
John Fisher
www.happycanyongroup.com
303 338-8000
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “The Inability To Change Is The Inability To Reckon With Reality” ~Stefan Rudolph
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