Oct
31
Whole Foods + Light Rail = SPRAWL?
Filed Under real estate | 2 Comments
Article from the Rocky Mountain News: Denver wants to avoid sprawl at Southmoor
The city of Denver wants future development around the Southmoor light-rail station in southeast Denver to avoid the “random, piecemeal” sprawl that exists along nearby Hampden Avenue, Peter Park, the city’s manager of planning and development, said Tuesday.
For all you tech geeks… MICRO CENTER is a stone throw away from Southmoor.
Oct
5
Universal REO
Filed Under foreclosure, real estate | Leave a Comment
Here’s a press release for Universal REO. What’s my connection to Universal REO - my buddy Dan is the CEO.
LOCAL DENVER COMPANY RELEASES NATIONAL WEB-BASED FORECLOSURE EDUCATION WEBSITE FOR REAL ESTATE AGENTS.
UniversalREO.com, a Denver-based company, is reaching out to thousands of real estate professionals across the nation by providing a ‘Resource Center’ for those trying to make a difference in the foreclosure epidemic. According to founder and CEO, Daniel Waterman, “UniversalREO.com is an unparalleled stratagem designed to unify the real estate foreclosure industry. Through the shifting of the REO (Real Estate Owned by Lender) paradigm to meet a more streamlined business model, professionals are enabled by technology and informative resources. Our objective is to elevate the standards by which REO professional operate on every level.”
By offering thorough education on the valuing of properties, the resources and tools on how to determine values, marketing tips, as well as where to obtain new REO business, UniversalREO.com is providing a service that not even real estate colleges offer. After spending years as an REO Specialist for the top REO Real Estate Marketers in the nation, Mr. Waterman realized his true calling as a teacher. His trial-by-fire education in technology was what gave him the foresight to provide this knowledge to the masses via the information highway.
In this “Web 2.0” universe there exist many one-offs offering overnight REO Business success schemes on the web. UniversalREO.com offers more. Education, Valuation, and Marketing are the keys to success in a real estate market flooded with properties for sale due to default mortgage payments. Cutting-edge concepts on moving these properties into the appropriate hands while maintaining value to companies like Countrywide Home Loans who recently took out an $11.5 billion dollar loan to aid their default mortgage deficit is the only way this country will ever jump back on track. By conveying knowledge through on-line video courses, eBooks, blogs, podcasts, certification, and connecting REO Management companies and direct lenders with the educated real estate agent, as well as the end consumer, UniversalREO.com is blazing new trails throughout the nation. UniversalREO.com currently covers over 50% of the nation for Real Estate Agent and Vendor clientele.
Jul
9
Lowes vs Home Depot
Filed Under denver, personal finance | 4 Comments
Growing up in suburban NYC, there was one choice when it came to hardware stores - Pergament. When I went to college in upstate NY, there was one choice as well - Chase Pitkin. When I first moved to Denver, there were several choices including Builders Squares and Hugh M Woods.
Today, these stores don’t exist. They’ve been replaced by two home improvement mega centers: Lowes and Home Depot. These home improvement centers are growing at a rapid pace and leaving a closed hardware stores in their wake.
A few years ago we planned on remodeling our bath room but after getting two quotes from contractors we decided that our money was best spent on a Mexican vacation. This year we revisited the idea of remodeling our bath room but we decided to set a budget and keep things within reason since we’re planning to go to Mexico again next year. In order to keep things within reason, it means doing it yourself and going to Lowes or Home Depot.
To make life easier my wife and I ventured to Arapahoe and I-25 in the Tech Center where Home Depot and Lowes are about a block apart. Plus, if we didn’t like their selection, the Great Indoors, was a stone throw away on I-25 and County Line. We went shopping. I hate shopping but you don’t have to twist my arm to go to a home improvement center. We looked at flooring, vanities, sinks, counter tops, faucets, and just about everything in between.
This shopping adventure brought up a great question: How do you pick between Lowes and Home Depot? You can go with Nick Bakay’s “Tale of the Tape” method:
Number of Locations: Way too many (Home Depot) vs Not enough (Lowes) advantage Home Depot
Location of restrooms: At the Front (Lowes) vs At the Rear (Home Depot) advantage Lowes
Parking: Even on a busy day it’s not bad (Lowes) vs No matter what time you go, it’s just plain bananas (Home Depot) advantage Lowes
Checkout: Self Checkout (Home Depot) vs No Self-Checkout (Lowes) advantage Home Depot
NASCAR driver: Jimmie Johnson (Lowes) vs Tony Stewart (Home Depot) push
So far we’re even 2-2, so here’s the tie breaker:
Closing time: 10 PM (Lowes) vs 9 PM (Home Depot) advantage Lowes
So there you have it, Lowes wins 3-2!
Update: We ended up getting the vanity, sink, flooring and counter top at Home Depot. My wife simply didn’t care for my affinity to Lowes.
Jul
6
Colorado Real Estate/Mortgage Bloggers Meet
Filed Under blog, colorado, denver | Leave a Comment
I’ve been blogging for well over a year here at Denver Lender. It’s my third blog iteration. My first blog was on blogspot, google’s blogging platform, however, I didn’t like the platform. My second blog was on Active Rain, a real estate networking site. Active Rain is a neat place but again, I didn’t like the platform. For my third blog, I chose wordpress as the platform since I’m quite proficient in PHP and MYSQL. For the name of my blog I had to choose between www.Denver-Lender.com and www.denvuh.com. Would people get the NY pronunciation of Denver? I wasn’t too sure so I went with a domain name that was fairly easy to say and even easier to remember.
In a few weeks, I’ll get to meet others who blog about Colorado at the first ever Blog Fiesta.
Here are the details:
Blog Fiesta will be held at Garcia’s Mexican Resturant, on July 18th, from 11-3. Garcia’s is in the Denver Tech Center (South Metro Denver), near I-25 and Belleveiw. We have a room reserved to seat 60, and can spill into another room to support as many 100 attendee’s.
Appetizers, soft drinks, lunch & expert blogging will be provided!
11:00-12:00 - Meet & greet with appetizers
12:00-1:00 - Our expert panel on starting your own blog with Q&A
1:00-3:00 - Have lunch and socialize!
The event is free, but registration is required if you want to guaranty a seat. Register Here
Nov
1
Bob Beauprez sighting
Filed Under colorado, denver | Leave a Comment
When I lived in DC, I’d go to bars near the capitol. Irish Times and Tiber Creek are two bars that come to mind. My friends who were into the political scene would always spot and point out a congressman or a senator. On my own, the only politician I ran into was Oliver North (from Iran-Contra fame) who was running for the Virginia Senate seat in the mid 90’s and was pressing the flesh at the Roslyn Metro.
Denver is a different story. I’ve seen our mayor, John Hickelooper, and governor, Bill Owens, speak at several engagements. Senator Ken Salazar spoke at a dinner I attended a few years ago. Yesterday while I was eating lunch at Panera on Ulster and Belleview in the Tech Center I was stunned to see gubernatorial candidate Bob Beauprez sit down a few tables away to nosh (east coast term for eat) on a sandwich.
Next Tuesday, November 7th, Congressman Bob Beauprez (Republican) will be going against former District Attorney Bill Ritter (Democrat) in the race for governor. Bill Owens, our current governor, will be stepping down because his two term limit ends.
According to Real Clear politics, Bill Ritter has a sizable lead.