Feb
10
File under small victory: Colorado cracks down on mortgage brokers
File under mortgage + home equity loan + checking account : Aussie ARM can pay off
File under conforming loan limits: It’s still $417,000 in Denver and Colorado. California is a different story.
File under money from the Feds: Rebates, What you need to know
File under 16th & Court makeover: Adam’s Mark sale done
File under not a lopsided trade after all: Manning for Rivers
File under an interesting experiment: Due to Top Five Fridays I rank well for Mailman Newman
Jan
11
Pavilions, Argonaut, and more
Filed Under denver | Leave a Comment
Interesting articles from the Denver newspaper conglomerate Post/News :
Denver Pavilions goes on market: The developers of the Denver Pavilions are putting the downtown retail development on the market.
Argonaut Liquor moves: The storied Argonaut, one of the oldest and most successful liquor stores in the Denver area, is getting a new home after about a half-century at its current site on East Colfax Avenue in Capitol Hill.
57-acre Evergreen estate on market for $24 million: Denver entrepreneur Richard Bard is selling a mansion on a 57-acre estate in Evergreen.
Treasury secretary: No simple fix for housing: The Bush administration is working to combat the country’s severe housing crisis but there is no simple solution, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Monday, adding that a correction in the housing market is “inevitable and necessary.”
Efforts to spark economy may be too little, too late: As leaders in Washington turn their attention to efforts to avert a looming downturn, many economists suggest that it may already be too late to change the course of the economy over the first half of the year, if not longer.
Jan
3
Spanning the web
Filed Under blog, mortgage, real estate | Leave a Comment
Interesting stuff from around the web:
Rocky Mountain News: File under nice hotel but will it give me Marriott Reward points? Ritz puts on finishing touches: It’s the home stretch for the $75 million Ritz-Carlton Denver, which opens its doors a week from today.
Paul Kedrosky: File under the misery gets worse or how California Dreaming is turning into a real nightmare Option ARM Misery
Calculated Risk: File under what happens when corporations don’t pay their debt Analysts: Corporate Defaults to Rise “Drastically”
Zillow: File under 2007 ends 2007 - It’s a wrap
Trulia: File under 2008 begins New Year’s Resolutions for Online Real Estate and Trulia
Alex King: File under now this is what I call a year end review 2007 in Review
4Realz: File this under A trip down the memory super-highway
AMG: File under Chop Suey Subprime Woes Gives the Chinese Politburo 10% Stake in Major US Bank
PhotoMatt: File under Misery is the key to happiness.
If you have an interesting link that you’d like to share, just post in the comments. I’m always on the lookout for interesting readz!
Dec
11
Denver’s relationship with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac hits the rocks:
The chief executives of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on Tuesday warned that their ailing mortgage-finance companies will suffer further in 2008 because of a weakening housing market and rising home-loan defaults.
Read the full article: Freddie and Fannie: More woes in 2008
Metro Denver’s designation as a “declining market” could delay any recovery in the area’s long-suffering residential real-estate market, local housing experts said Tuesday.
Read the full article: Fannie label on Denver ominous
What does this all mean: Putting 5% down is the norm to get a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan. They do have several high risk 100% loans but these loans have higher rates with higher levels of mortgage insurance.
FHA only requires 3% down.
Some companies will have 100% down programs it just remains to be seen who.
Dec
8
Double Dealing
Filed Under real estate | Leave a Comment
Last night during the Sunday Night Football between Indy and Baltimore I managed to steal a glance or two at the Sunday Paper. This article entitled The art of the double deal. The first two paragraphs seemed rather interesting:
To real estate investors, a good day is when they can buy a piece of property or sell it. A better day is when they can do both.
Buying and selling the same home before sunset yields a quick profit to the fortunate investor who can work both transactions. It is the stuff of “get rich in real estate” schemes advertised in infomercials.
While the rest of the story is rather mundane.
Dec
3
My old neighborhood gets some props!
Filed Under denver, real estate | 1 Comment
Indian Creek was profile in the Denver Post: Well-kept secret
Never heard of Indian Creek, the small parcel of land in the southeast corner of Denver? You’re not alone.
But the residents of the tiny neighborhood don’t seem to mind. They didn’t buy their homes to be trendy. They’re too busy enjoying the benefits of a tight-knit community with super-low crime rates.
It’s my old neighborhood here in Denver. It’s a great spot for young people since it’s laden with condos and townhouses but more importantly it’s where the Cherry Creek and Highline Canal trails intersect.
For more on Indian Creek click on picture below:
Nov
26
Social networking dominates Web 2.0 with sites such as MySpace, Youtube, Facebook. Web 2.0 real estate stalwarts include Zillow and Trulia and now comes Zolve:
Zolve is an online real estate referral network, a business exchange that connects real estate practitioners and service providers across the country and around the globe.
Zolve has a Colorado connection (Colorado Springs) with an interesting twist:
Iraq is known for many things, but being an incubator for a new high-tech, American-based real estate businesses is not one of them. But from 2006 to 2007, a Baghdad garage converted to U.S. military barracks was the launching pad for Zolve, a networking and referral website for real estate professionals that launched this October.
Read the full article: A site for real estate pros
Nov
20
From the Denver Post: Realtors seek support amid housing woes
With so many homes and condos sitting on the market month after month, their fresh-paint smell fading and owners’ costs rising, Realtors must find a way to sell.
There will be many real estate agents leaving the business. It’s hard to say who’ll be here in a year and who won’t. I’ve seen good ones leave. I’ve seen bad ones stay. Finding a good real estate is VERY DIFFICULT. As a lender, I only work with a handful (less than five) who I’d recommend.
If you’re wondering how to find a really good real estate agent, read this article first: How to Find a Great Real Estate Agent - 12 Interview Questions!
Nov
19
An intro to owning a duplex
Filed Under denver, mortgage, real estate | Leave a Comment
The Denver Post had an interesting read on owning a duplex called: Side by side:
Buying into a duplex is one way to afford a home without breaking the bank. But like any bargain, there are strings attached.
Buying into a duplex is one way to afford a home without breaking the bank.
But like any bargain, there are strings attached.
Duplex owners must compromise on repairs, maintenance and aesthetic issues with their co-owners.
And while both sides typically agree on the proper course of action, a harmonious relationship isn’t guaranteed.
While living in a duplex isn’t for everyone, getting a loan for a duplex or two-unit as your primary residence is no different (to terms and rates) than getting a condo, townhouse or even a single family residence. Moreover, if one of the units is rented, you can use the rent to qualify for the loan.
Nov
16
From the Rocky Mountain News: Metro area tumbles on foreclosure list
From the Denver Post: Metro areas in California, Florida lead foreclosures
While it’s good to see that Denver is not on the top ten, we’re still close to the top of the list.