‘TIS THE SEASON

Don’t forget the reason. We often get caught up in the Holiday Hoopla (no, not basketball), the parties, the merriment, the sales, the festivities, it’s easy to lose perspective of celebration or honor. It’s the season TO BE GIVING, to count our blessings (Thanksgiving’s past), to reflect on the past year as we plan for the coming year (budgets, plans, schedules, forecasts) and what’s going to be different? What’s going to be better? Are you moving forward? Don’t be in such a hurry that you don’t take in the glory, the music, the REASON, why we’re here!

Most notable news is former MF Global CEO Corzine acknowledging misplacement of $1B. Nothing simple about that. Heads will roll (or is that Fed Pen Time?)

So, is it true, as stripper Gypsy Rose Lee said (courtesy of Hans Conreid, Rocky and Bullwinkle): THE END IS IN SIGHT? It’s the Housing Bottom, silly. Kiplinger predicts prices will hit bottom this spring. They report national prices have averaged a 31% drop since 2006 and will drop 2 more points by spring, then a slow rebound of 3-4% into 2013. They go on to report Canadians are buying up Phoenix, Brazillians Miami, and Chinese are buying up California, Vegas and NYC. Don’t forget, the United States is adding almost 3 million people each year, they have to live somewhere! Oh, and condo prices have declined even further (42-45% nationwide).

More good news: Mortgage Delinquencies to Decline in 2012. 2011 decline is at 7% and they predict 2012 will fall 5%. 12 states saw more delinquencies, 38 saw less. Florida and Nevada lead delinquencies while sparse North Dakota sits at the low end.

CNN Money reports on 5 renovations that pay off most:

1. New steel entry door, recoup 102%

2. Garage door replacement, recoup 84%

3. Minor kitchen remodel, 73%

4. Wood deck addition, 73%

5. New vinyl siding, 72%

The latest MORTGAGE RATES: 30 Year fixed at 3.96% and 5/1 ARMS at 2.92%. Expect investor (non-owner occ) rates to run about ½ point higher.

REAL ESTATE WEATHER REPORT

As we near Christmas, our industry continues to slow down. Most schools recess Dec 16. Who wants to buy a house in December anyway? Let’s hope this is the calm before the storm…if Europe doesn’t take us down. Broken record: Denver Metro is faring better than most of our country. Prices are still low and investors are still caught in the squeeze, higher prices for “junkers” and low sale prices. I heard reports that owner occ buyers are down 20% year over year. Stringent lender requirements, lower wages, higher debt to income ratios, low consumer confidence, all point to fewer owner occ buyers. Our local inventory remains very low, as well.

Don’t forget our Breakfast Club tomorrow, Saturday, December 10, 2011 at NY Deli News Restaurant, 7AM. Come a little early to get a good seat. It’s a great event to network and discover what’s going on in our local marketplace: what’s selling, what’s renting, rent rates, rehab contractors, who’s lending, what rates, etc…oh, and a great breakfast, too!

Breakfast Club Forum. We’ve recently created a new forum for local investors to network and ask/answer questions similar to our Breakfast Club. We’ve had recent discussions of sewer scopes and landlord software. If you have any questions, need a specialist, realtor, handyman, etc., post it on the LinkedIn forum board. The forum is free, just register. We’re here to help each other succeed!

See the sidebar as we’ve just announced our next Rehab Acquisition Workshop scheduled for January 21 and 22 in the Denver Tech Center. We’ll be teaching the two basic core fundamentals: estimating rehab costs and estimating fair market value. Lots of content and tools to help you succeed. Register today!

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 comes and goes. It’s currently low. 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.

8661 Richard Rd, Thornton. This brick “California Ranch” 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 2 car detached garage with a carport is priced at $91K in a neighborhood that currently rents better than sells. This HUD would also make a great Rent to Own.

Bon Homepetit!

John Fisher

www.happycanyongroup.com

303 338-8000

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:

“Kindness gives birth to kindness.” ~ Sophocles