The latest MORTGAGE RATES: 30 Year fixed at 4.17% and 5/1 ARMS at 2.98%. Expect investor (non-owner occ) rates to run about ½ point higher.

 

REAL ESTATE WEATHER REPORT

 

We “weathered” our first “big” snowfall of the season. Snapped trees and power outages remind us to be prepared. Don’t forget to have furnaces/boilers checked and refiltered. We must also be cognizant of outside temperatures, especially if we’re doing any exterior painting (they still have not “discovered” a paint that will cure at or below freezing); after early December, it could well be 2 months before we see 48 hours of 35 degree temperatures or higher. Brrrr.  Cold weather changes how we landscape our flippers, too…make that “deferred landscaping.”

 

Is it just me or are we seeing rehab prices (materials AND labor) creeping up a bit? 

 

Why does LTV matter?  As a flip, you want the most bang for your buck AND you want to make/meet appraisal. As a rental, you want to refi as much as you can, preferably 100% (yes, it is possible and investors are doing it).  Investors are feeling the crunch, buy prices creep up, ARV prices are stable (stagnant). What gives? Oh, your profit, taking cash to the refi table.  Be careful out there!

 

We’ve opened up a new investor forum, John Fisher’s Breakfast Club, on LinkedIn.com.  It’s easy to register/sign in. Post your question or questions.  There’s lots of great information and investors eager to share their knowledge!

 

8 Days away:  Register for the free Fall Investor Success Summitslated for November 5, 2011.  We will have 10 different speakers slotted for a full day of information, capping off with an REO Realtor Panel discussion.  This is a “can’t miss” event AND the price is right!  We’ll offer a wide variety of topics and opportunities to talk with subject experts and specialists. 

 

Got your finger on our real estate market pulse? Call us with tips, rumors, conjectures, and cold cases (we’re thirsty!). We appreciate your feedback on Newsletter / Blogs and Breakfast Club (November 12 is next) meetings. Thank you all for your news tips and leads!  If you’re not on our list and want to be, LET US KNOW.  Call, Write, Text, Tweet, Facebook (yeah, it’s a verb!),E-mail, drop by. Thank you for helping us help you!  

 

INVENTORY : Inventory comes and goes.  We’re getting great deals, more cash cow rentals and a flipper or two. We expect more anytime, any day, any place. Keep checking.

 

Call us, 303 338-8000, for more information or with questions. FU and ARV are estimates. Actual results may vary (is that small enough?).  We post ‘em when we get ‘em so bookmark or TWITTER or TEXT: Read the side bar (top left). If you don’t want to tweet, follow the instructions and we can send you a text message.  You’ll be notified when we put a new property up onto our website.  Simple. Some of our properties never make it to this blog/newsletter.

 

1364 Havana St, Aurora. Could be a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car detached garage. It is currently a 2/1 upstairs and a 1/1 downstairs (yes, it has 2 kitchens so we have a MIL-Mother-In-Law unit); the rehab has begun (new furnace, new hot water heater, new carpet) but it still needs work. BTW, it is zoned Single Family. Buy this REO for $70K, fix it for around $15K, put up the sign and answer your phone. Yes, that’s new carpet piling up in a bedroom. Yes, this should rent for $1300/mo so should cash flow over $600/mo with 100% financing, more if you put some cash down.  What am I missing?  $600-650 gross cash flow? What’s not to like? This is a keeper!

 

6432 W Cedar Pl, Lakewood. Someone started the rehab, the master suite is almost complete. 1/3 acre and zoned R3 (that’s a triplex for the zonially challenged). Quiet ‘hood, quiet house on a dead end street. It even has well and septic so you can go green. Buy this 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom stucco’d house for $89Kand fix to flip for around $18K or fix to rent for under $10K. Great Lakewood location.

 

14782 E Elk Place, Denver.  Montbello. HUD. Buy this 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car attached garage for $74K. Here’s another CASH COW. What am I missing? OK, Montbello. OK, vandals ATE the copper (sounds like a new neo-punk rock group). As a rental this should give you $600-650/mo gross cash flow. Strong rental area. We know of a model match a few blocks away that’s renting for $1295/mo. Repairs run from $18K to $24K for a full frontal flip.  This works best as a keeper! Call us for a numbers review.

 

 

Bon Homepetit!

 

John Fisher

www.happycanyongroup.com

303 338-8000

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Habit is either the best of servants or the worst of masters.”  ~ Nathaniel Emmons

IT’S NOW OR NEVER

 

Great song, but it’s not about the song:  Elvis has left the building and it’s not about Elvis, it’s about TAKING ACTION.  It’s about doing deals. It’s about buying houses, to rent and/or to flip.  It’s about taking control of your life and forward movement.  It’s about empowerment & confidence. It’s about being just a little uncomfortable so you are stretching yourself.  It’s about exercising your risk muscle. It’s about making a difference.  It’s about execution. It’s about trusting your “gut.”  NOW OR NEVER.  Make it happen today.  It feels great!

 

Here are  10 cheap upgrades from bankrate.com:

1. Make your kitchen cook

2. Appliance face-lift

3. Buff up the bath 

4. Paint

5. Step up storage

6. Mind the mechanics

7. Look underfoot

8. Let there be light

9. Reframe your entry

10. Consider curb appeal

 

Want to know the “score?“  Home Sales on Pace for Dismal Year.  Surprise!       

 

How’s this for an incentive to encourage foreigners to buy USA:  Buy a House, Get a Visa!  And, no, they are not talking about credit cards.  I hear that Brits, Canadians, and others are buying up Arizona and Florida. Paradise must not be just a city in Arizona….

 

Here’s an interesting take on  why banks would rather foreclose:

1.       Buck stops there

2.       Banks are in business of making money

3.       With current economy, you will likely default anyway

4.       Banks are short-staffed and undertrained

5.       Mortgage insurance works against you

 

Barclays Expects “Triple-Dip” With Another 7% Drop in Home Prices.  Surprise!

 

HousingWire predicts  REO sales may not peak until 2013.Get ‘em while they’re HOT! So SmartMoney says It’s Time to Buy That House. Do it!

 

Here’s an interesting example of the blind leading the incompetent: Federal Reserve To Offer Congress Housing Recommendations. Hmmmm…oh, buy bonds,right. That will save our country and make us feel safe, maybe it will cure whooping cough, too.

 

Like the late night comics, we don’t make this up….no one said logic matters….

 

The latest  MORTGAGE RATES:  30 Year fixed at 4.17% and 5/1 ARMS at 3.03%.

 

REAL ESTATE WEATHER REPORT

 

MAYBE.  We’re seeing an uptick in deals, both rentals and flips (just look at our inventory, a decent flipper and a couple cash cows).  I’m seeing a few other wholesale deals that make sense (really! Remember I said “a few”), as a flip or rental.  Maybe we’re turning the corner. Maybe.  Maybe it’s that time of year. Weekend investors have taken their money and tools and gone home and left things to us full timers (we see it every year).  Maybe 4Q 2011 (which just began) will be like most 4Qs with sellers (especially bank-owned properties) anxious to get properties OFF their books before EOY. Maybe. Stay tuned. Stay educated and networked and wired (more caffeine please).

 

Lots of activity in our local market. Denver. What a place to live, to play, to work….

 

The Daily Beast rates Denver as NUMBER 1 as America’s Angriest City. Don’t let that upset you, really.  It’s enough (tear gas) to make you cry.

 

Denver’s blue horse (”Mustang” at DIA) is NUMBER 3 in the BIZARRE PUBLIC ART PIECE category. Go Broncos!

 

Denver is NUMBER 8 on Forbes’ 10 Best Weekend Vacation Cities. Is it time to visit the Denver Mint?

 

Denver ranks NUMBER 8 in Moneywatch’s Longest and Costliest Commutes in America.

 

Let’s see, DIA is NUMBER 8 in air traffic, Denver isNUMBER 20 in MSA (Metro Area population)…what’s in a number?  Aren’t you proud?

 

Bought a condo in Denver in 2006?  It’s down 19.7%. Do you see opportunity?

 

Don’t forget:  Register for the free Fall Investor Success Summit slated for November 5, 2011.  We will have 10 different speakers slotted for a full day of information, capping off with an REO Realtor Panel discussion.  This is a“can’t miss” event AND the price is right!  We’ll offer a wide variety of topics and opportunities to talk with subject experts and specialists. 

 

Got your finger on our real estate market pulse? Call us with tips, rumors, conjectures, and cold cases (we’re thirsty!). We appreciate your feedback on Newsletter / Blogs and Breakfast Club (November 12 is next) meetings. Thank you all for your news tips and leads!  If you’re not on our list and want to be, LET US KNOW.  Call, Write, Text, Tweet, Facebook (yeah, it’s a verb!),E-mail, drop by. Thank you for helping us help you!  

 

INVENTORY : Inventory comes and goes.  We’re getting great deals, more cash cow rentals and a few flippers. We expect more anytime, any day, any place. Keep checking.

 

Call us, 303 338-8000, for more information or with questions. FU and ARV are estimates. Actual results may vary (is that small enough?).  We post ‘em when we get ‘em so bookmark or TWITTER or TEXT: Read the side bar (top left). If you don’t want to tweet, follow the instructions and we can send you a text message. You’ll be notified when we put a new property up onto our website.  Simple. Some of our properties never make it to this blog/newsletter.

 

581 Delta St, Denver. My favorite ZIP: 80221.  Buy this REO 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car detached oversized garage for$95K and fix to flip for just under $20K. What’s not to like? You could also rent this out in a strong rental ‘hood.

 

1364 Havana St, Aurora. Could be a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car detached garage. It is currently a 2/1 upstairs and a 1/1 downstairs (yes, it has 2 kitchens so we call that lower unit a MIL-Mother-In-Law unit); the rehab has begun (new furnace, new hot water heater, new carpet) but it still needs help. BTW, it is zoned Single Family. Buy this REO for $70K, fix it for around $15K, put up the sign and answer your phone. Yes, it’s a busy street. Busy streets do well as rentals; your phone never stops ringing until you pull the sign (we know some investors that advertise for their “other” rentals on Havana or other busy streets where they have rentals). Yes, it’s ugly out, but nice in. Yes, that’s new carpet piling up in a bedroom. Yes, this should rent for $1300/mo so would cash flow over $600/mo with 100% financing, more if you put some cash down. Check it out before it’s gone (the house, not the carpet!)!

 

6432 W Cedar Pl,Lakewood. Here’s another diamond in the rough.  Someone started the rehab, the master suite is almost complete. 1/3 acre and zoned R3 (that’s a triplex for the zonially challenged). Quiet ‘hood, quiet house on a dead end street. It even has well and septic so you can go green. Buy this 2 bedroom, 2 bathroom stucco’d house for $89Kand fix to flip for around $18K or fix to rent for under $10K. Great Lakewood location.

 

14782 E Elk Place,Denver.  Montbello. HUD. Buy this 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car attached garage for $74K and pick your exit strategy: BUY and HOLD should give you $600+/mo cash flow. It’s been vandalized, but so what? Strong rental area. We know of a model match a few blocks away that’s renting for $1295/mo. Repairs run from $18K to $24K for a full frontal flip. 

 

 Bon Homepetit!

 

John Fisher

www.happycanyongroup.com

303 338-8000

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“ Things do not change; we change.”  ~ Henry David Thoreau

IT’S EASY

 

How hard can it be?  How many times have you heard that?  Of course, if “it” was that easy, everyone would be doing “it.”  So you hone your craft, put in the time, educate yourself, study, practice, get better…all to what end?  Is it fun? Are you creating positive outcomes?  Is it working for you?  Life’s too short, otherwise.  Follow your passion, your dream. Make a plan. Execute! Do it! Do it today.

 

Not in my backyard: Foreclosures continue to plague housing market.  Nevada &California lead the country, no surprise, with 1 in 44 and 1 in 88 housing units in foreclosure. Count your blessings!  So we now see a sharp rise in foreclosures as banks move in.  Msnbc.com goes further to say Housing bust (is) worst since Great Depression.  Ouch!  There is no time like the present.

 

Average home sizes are declining. We peaked at 2521′ in 2007, now we’re at 2150 sq ft and going down. Here’s what builders say we’ll see: spacious laundry rooms, walk-in closets, porches, ceiling fans. Here’s what we won’t see (as much): mudrooms, formal dining, 4+ bedrooms, media rooms, skylights.

 

Here’s a switch: Bank of America is now offering Florida homeowners up to $20K to short sell their homes.  I wonder if this is a trend…or a game…or bribery? Yeah, it’s a trial (sounds legal) program like “cash for keys,” except Florida takes an average of 23 months to process a foreclosure, twice the national average. It sounds more like bribery to me.

 

Vacant homes have special issues: vacant home insurance is HIGH, vandalism is HIGH, maintenance is HIGH, it looks like lenders are being pragmatic AND realistic. It’s no wonder they are reluctant to foreclosure on underwater homes.

 

Bankrate.com has an interesting “discussion” on the pros and cons of buying short sales vs buying foreclosures. Each have their advantages AND disadvantages. I just look for the best value for my money. (that’s a period!)

 

Some congressmen are proposing using IRA funds to pay mortgages, without penalty.  I don’t expect it to fly…yet. Our government MUST do something:  election year is coming!

 

The latest MORTGAGERATES: 30 Year fixed at 4.2% and 5/1 ARMS at 3.08%.

 

  REAL ESTATE WEATHER REPORT

 

The more we change, the more we stay the same.  Flips continue to sell. Rentals still rock.  Lenders continue to lend. So what else is new?  We all have our niches, our specialties, our favorites.  We’re still seeing some extraordinary cash flow returns on rentals; it’s no wonder investor landlords are outbidding flippers, it just makes sense.  Remember, like the stock market, you can make money when the market is rising and when it is falling. Exercise your risk muscle!

 

Denver homes for sale declined $26.5% in one year. We now have just over 17,000 listed properties.  Expect that to drop further as we enter our cold season (eat an apple everyday…).  Don’t expect a big REO bump.  Remember, we’re in better shape than the rest of the country.

 

Don’t forget to register for the free Fall Investor Success Summit  slated for November 5, 2011.  We will have 10 different speakers slotted for a full day of information, capping off with an REO Realtor Panel discussion.  This is a “can’t miss” event AND the price is right!  We’ll offer a wide variety of topics and opportunities to talk with subject experts and specialists. 

 

If you want to swim with the sharks, Colorado has 7 ofForbe’s richest 100 ZIP codes with Snomass #13 with a median home price of $2,995,000.

 

Got your finger on our real estate market pulse? Call us with tips, rumors, conjectures, and cold cases (we’re thirsty!). We appreciate your feedback on Newsletter / Blogs andBreakfast Club (November 12 is next) meetings. Thank you all for your news tips and leads!  If you’re not on our list and want to be, LET US KNOW.  Call, Write, Text, Tweet, Facebook (yeah, it’s a verb!),E-mail, drop by. Thank you for helping us help you!

 

INVENTORY :  Inventory comes and goes.  As of this morning, we only have one property available.  We expect more anytime, any day, any place. Keep checking.

 

Call us, 303 338-8000, for more information or with questions. FU and ARV are estimates. Actual results may vary (is that small enough?).  We post ‘em when we get ‘em so bookmark or TWITTER or TEXT: Read the side bar (top left). If you don’t want to tweet, follow the instructions and we can send you a text message.  You’ll be notified when we put a new property up onto our website.  Simple. Some of our properties never make it to this blog/newsletter.

 

14782 E Elk Place, Denver.  Montbello. HUD. Buy this 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car attached garage for $74K and pick your exit strategy: FIX and FLIP or BUY and HOLD should give you $600/mo cash flow. Repairs run from $18K to $24K for a full frontal flip. 

 

Bon Homepetit!

 

John Fisher

www.happycanyongroup.com

303 338-8000

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

” The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”  ~ Steve Jobs

PERCEPTION IS REALITY

 

If you believe it, it’s so.  Whether it’s the stock market or our real estate market, our views become reality and versa vice, reality IS perception.  As A Man Thinketh by James Allenwas written in 1902 and rings true today: “All that a man achieves and all that he fails to achieve is the direct result of his own thoughts.”  What are YOU thinking?  Are you swayed by public opinion?  Do you stick to your convictions?  Our portable world of mobility contributes to facts and figures like no other time has seen.  The World’s Largest Library(internet) allows us to “prove” anything (and we do!); remember, “Figures don’t lie, but liars figure.” Some attribute that quote to Samuel Clemons (Mark Twain).  Keep your BS meter running.

 

Got an IRA…in real estate?  The Denver Business Journal talks about why your IRA should invest in real estate.

 

Home ownership rates fall to 65.1% and home vacancy rates rise led by Nevada, then Florida, Michigan and Georgia. So fewer people own homes and fewer people are living in homes.  Sounds a bit strange to me!  Where’s everyone going?  Home consolidation? Moving in with parents? Leaving Las Vegas?  All distinct possibilities.

 

Clear Capital predicts home prices are in for a “triple-dip” by Spring, down 4.8% nationwide.

 

Fitch Ratings predicts the current 1 in 3 prime borrowers underwater will grow to 1 in 2. Do we pull the plug or put on our swimming suit?

 

Bank risk professionals predict more gloom & doom.FICO survey reports expectations of elevated defaults and foreclosures for at least five more years.  They also expect housing prices won’t reach 2007 levels until 2020.  Hindsight or clear vision? Gloomy bankers!

 

 

The latest MORTGAGE RATES: 30 Year fixed at 4.03% and 5/1 ARMS at 3.00%. Freddie Mac reports 30 year rates at 3.94% for first time EVER under 4%!

 

REAL ESTATE WEATHER REPORT

 

Just as I was becoming more comfortable thinking and feeling our local market is getting better, one of our flips just flopped:  one week from closing the lender backed out on financing the buyer.  It appears too many rules and regulations change with the wind (and what a wind storm yesterday!).  I hope that was the exception, not the rule.

 

Consumer confidence is low throughout our country, but why in Denver?  Our market appears to be on the verge of recovery, housing prices are leveling, rising in some areas; yet there is a reticence to take action, to “execute.”  I admit the “deals” are not as good as we would like, that buy and holders are pushing up the prices of lower priced homes. Their strategy is to hold, not to flip so they do not care as much about ARV (ARV matters for financing ratios). Flippers are seeing sale prices flat, not rising with the distressed buy price.  But who can beat the interest rates, they are extraordinary.  I recently heard of a local investor who just got a 4.5% NOO loan. Non-Owner Occ. Wow!  I put a strong BUY recommendation for rentals, especially SFH and condos.  Cash flows are amazing!

 

Officially, Denver home prices fell 2.2% August, 2011 year over year.

 

October 8, 2011 (TOMORROW) is our next Breakfast Club at 7AM, New York Deli News Restaurant.  You owe it to yourself to check it out; why the buzz? No guest speakers, no sales pitches, lots of discussions and networking.  Check out and join our LinkedIn site,  John Fisher’s Breakfast Club.  Even if you cannot attend you can network through the site.

 

Here’s a pictorial from the Denver Post of a Weld County foreclosure eviction.  I guess the kit cabs will stay.

 

Got your finger on our real estate market pulse? Call us with tips, rumors, conjectures, and cold cases (we’re thirsty!).We appreciate your feedback on Newsletter / Blogs and Breakfast Club meetings. Thank you all for your news tips and leads!  If you’re not on our list and want to be, LET US KNOW.  Call, Write, Text, Tweet, Facebook (yeah, it’s a verb!),E-mail, drop by. Thank you for helping us help you!  

 

INVENTORY :  Inventory is picking up AND we expect more anytime, any day, any place. Keep checking.

 

Call us, 303 338-8000, for more information or with questions. FU and ARV are estimates. Actual results may vary (is that small enough?).  We post ‘em when we get ‘em so bookmark or TWITTER or TEXT:Read the side bar (top left). If you don’t want totweet, follow the instructions and we can send you a text message.  You’ll be notified when we put a new property up onto our website.  Simple. Some of our properties never make it to this blog/newsletter.

 

7401 Quebec St, Commerce City. REO. 3 bedrooms, 2 bath, yours for $40K.  OK, it’s rough, use your imagination: prior owner did a crummy garage conversion, do it right with a $19K fix and you’ll have 3 legal bedrooms and 2 bathrooms that will rent for about $1000/mo OR you can spend a little more to fix up and flip this. Cash flow should run over $500/mo! CHEAP!

 

2121D Coronado Parkway, Thornton townhome. LAST CALL. 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1 car attached garage.. Buy this HUD for $34K. Must be owner occupied via is Rent To Own, Owner Carry or Installment Land Contract.  Will “rent” for about $900/mo. A $40K loan  (PITIHOA) will run aprx $450/mo so you should see $450/mo cash flow!  3/1/1 for $36K?  As RTO, OWC, or ILC, you may not even have to fix it up, let your tenant/buyer do it. Be creative!  How’s your IRA? This could provide a great return!

 

 

 Bon Homepetit!

 

John Fisher

www.happycanyongroup.com

303 338-8000

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“[Y]ou can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.”  ~Steve Jobs, RIP