NAHREP Colorado Springs Christmas Party Photos 2008

The Colorado Springs Chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP) had their Christmas Party last night. We are a new chapter and this was our first party. I do believe everyone had a great time. We had a Salsa Dancing Teacher, a "White Elephant" gift exchange, some really food and desert at a no-host Sports Bar in town, Rhino's. And the most exciting of all...we raffled a Garmin Nuvee 200. (I didn't win. Rachelle Nardo did.)

Anyway, I did take lots of photos of the event. And thought you all might like to see them.

I left my silly mug out of this posting! Aren't you glad??

A Great Christmas Story

This isn't my work, it's one of thse emails that goes around. But it was so cute that I thought you all might enjoy t, too.

~ A Baby's Hug ~

     We were the only family with children in the restaurant. I sat Erik in a high chair and noticed everyone was quietly sitting and talking. Suddenly, Erik squealed with glee and said, 'Hi.' He pounded his chubby baby hands on the high chair tray. His eyes were crinkled in laughter and his mouth was bared in a toothless grin, as he wriggled and giggled with merriment.
     I looked around and saw the source of his merriment. It was a man whose pants were baggy with a zipper at half-mast and his toes poked out of would-be shoes. His shirt was dirty and his hair was uncombed and unwashed. His whiskers were too short to be called a beard and his nose was so varicose it looked like a road map.
     We were too far from him to smell, but I was sure he smelled. His hands waved and flapped on loose wrists. 'Hi there, baby; hi there, big boy. I see ya, buster,' the man said to Erik. My husband and I exchanged looks, 'What do we do?' Erik continued to laugh and answer, 'Hi.'
     Everyone in the restaurant noticed and looked at us and then at the man. The old geezer was creating a nuisance with my beautiful baby. Our meal came and the man began shouting from across the room, 'Do ya patty cake? Do you know peek-a-boo? Hey, look, he knows peek- a-boo.' Nobody thought the old man was cute. He was obviously drunk.
     My husband and I were embarrassed. We ate in silence; all except for Erik, who was running through his repertoire for the admiring skid-row bum, who in turn, reciprocated with his cute comments.
     We finally got through the meal and headed for the door. My husband went to pay the check and told me to meet him in the parking lot. The old man sat poised between me and the door. 'Lord, just let me out of here before he speaks to me or Erik,' I prayed. As I drew closer to the man, I turned my back trying to sidestep him and avoid any air he might be breathing. As I did, Erik leaned over my arm, reaching with both arms in a baby's 'pick-me-up' position. Before I could stop him, Erik had propelled himself from my arms to the man.
     Suddenly a very old smelly man and a very young baby consummated their love and kinship. Erik in an act of total trust, love, and submission laid his tiny head upon the man's ragged shoulder. The man's eyes closed, and I saw tears hover beneath his lashes. His aged hands full of grime, pain, and hard labor, cradled my baby's bottom and stroked his back. No two beings have ever loved so deeply for so short a time.
     I stood awestruck. The old man rocked and cradled Erik in his arms and his eyes opened and set squarely on mine. He said in a firm commanding voice, 'You take care of this baby.' Somehow I managed, 'I will,' from a throat that contained a stone. He pried Erik from his chest, lovingly and longingly as though he were in pain. I received my baby, and the man said, 'God bless you, ma'am, you've given me my Christmas gift.' I said nothing more than a muttered thanks. With Erik in my arms, I ran for the car. My husband was wondering why I was crying and holding Erik so tightly, and why I was saying, 'My God, my God, forgive me.'
     I had just witnessed Christ's love shown through the innocence of a tiny child who saw no sin, who made no judgment; a child who saw a soul, and a mother who saw a suit of clothes. I was a Christian who was blind, holding a child who was not. I felt it was God asking, 'Are you willing to share your son for a moment?' when He shared His for all eternity.  How did God feel when he put his baby in our arms 2000 years ago?
     The ragged old man, unwittingly, had reminded me, 'To enter the Kingdom of God, we must become as little children.' Sometimes, it takes a child to remind us of what is really important. We must always remember who we are, where we came from and, most importantly, how we feel about others. The clothes on your back or the car that you drive or the house that you live in does not define you at all; it is how you treat your fellow man that identifies who you are.
     It is better to be liked for the true you, than to be loved for who people think you are...'

Notes on a Recent Purchase (Or Getting to Know My Work):

My nephew works for a local auto dealer and was sweet enough to send one of his co-workers to me. The wanted to sell their home and purchase a new one.

The family was very nice; a couple and their 8 year old daughter. But, Mrs. Buyer was set on purchasing a new home build from one of our local builders. When you are that set on a particular builder and home, you loose all your negotiation power. I strongly urged her to check out other builders. And to facilitate that, I offered to take her around to them.

We visited over 30 different model homes. Probably 10 different builders, too. She found a home she liked and had it down between that home and the one she'd seen before I started helping her. In the end, she decided they liked the home I'd shown them best.

They made an offer, and I started the negotiations for them. They got the home and at a sizeable amount off the asking price, plus we got the builder to come in and finish the basement.

Mrs. Buyer and her family love their new home. All's well that ends well!

Notes on a Recent Listing (or Getting to Know My Work):

The property is located in Monument, CO. I was called into the listing by a friend that was getting out of the business. He'd already sold them a townhome, which was downsizing for them.

When I first met the clients, the house was almost empty. They had a few things in it and as we got to know each other and toured the house, I gave them tips on staging the property. Inside of a week, they had everything ready to go.

I immediately put it on both broker tours that I regularly participate in. And both groups had comments about what they thought would make the home sell more quickly. I had the best clients ever. They took all the suggestions and implement changes are they could.

We got had two showings and our first offer! Wow! Great ratio. However, the offer was too low, in fact, it was rude. My clients turned it down. Next month, we had another showing and another offer! Fantastic showing to offer ratio! This offer was also low, but not as low as the first one.

I advised my clients to be aware that we were moving into the fall; that to keep the property on the market would require more expenses in heat, water, and upkeep. Besides of course, tying up your money and spending more on insurance. My very smart and brilliant clients did a spread sheet on how much they would spend between then and the spring when the property MIGHT sell. And decided that they'd be spending as much money waiting for the higher price in the spring as if they'd taken the lower offer now. The big plus was that they would no longer be responsible for it.

They took the offer, we closed in 15 days! And in retrospect, it was probably an even better decision than the spread sheet could have hinted at, since the next month in Monument only three homes were sold!

This property sold in less than 100 days. In this market, that was fantastic!

Colorado Brokers - Beware!

In today's market, we all have to know something about the foreclosure process. Many of us know more than we ever wanted to know. LOL

One of the designations that has interested me lately is the Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE). The way they teach to deal with a distressed property is completely different than the way you've handled regular residential home sales. Perhaps you all have more knowledge about this designation than I do, and I offer this forum to share that knowledge with all, please.

But what we, in Colorado, need to be aware of is our Director of the Colorado Division of Real Estate, Erin Toll, has recently set down a new law or regulation for us to follow. We are no longer allowed to negotiate with our client's mortgage holder to restructure their loan to keep them in their house! It seems that if we do, we can loose our license.

I just heard of this today and in time, the bulletin will cross our desks. Until then, be very careful!

Here's a follow up to this post:

Important Message from Bob Golden at CAR

Dear CAR Director:

As you know, there has been considerable confusion relating to the Division of Real Estate’s position statement on short sales/loan modification and the impact on real estate brokers. We have been in contact Division and requested a clarification and anticipate a statement from them within the next few days.

In the meantime we have asked CAR Legal Counsel Dick Clark for his interpretation which is shown below. We encourage you to distribute this information to your members and leadership. Once we receive additional information from the Division of Real Estate we will forward it to you.

The Colorado Association of REALTORS®

(Note: this information is also available on the CAR website)

Clarification of DRE's Position Statement and Short Sales

On November 19, 2008, the Colorado Division of Real Estate issued Position Statement MB1.5 which among other things reiterated the requirement that an individual negotiating a loan modification must be licensed as a mortgage broker under C.R.S. 12-61-901 et. seq. Given the confusion and concerns among REALTORS® relating to handling short sales, CAR has discussed the Position Statement with the Division of Real Estate and obtained a clarification. Additional clarification from the Division is expected.

The clarification is that the Position Statement does not pertain to real estate brokers working for a seller in a short sale situation even when the real estate broker communicates with the mortgage lender in efforts to extinguish the loan. The rationale is that in a short sale the real estate broker is working with the seller to help that seller exit the home, not modify the loan so that the seller can stay in the home. Also, in a successful short sale, the original loan is usually extinguished and there is not a modification to the mortgage. CAR anticipates that the Division of Real Estate will issue a clarification in the next few days.

REALTORS® are reminded that the real estate broker short sale exclusion from mortgage brokerage licensing does not apply if a homeowner engages a real estate broker to seek a loan modification, as opposed to a sale of the home. Also, a REALTOR® not licensed as a mortgage broker should never seek or receive compensation from an owner for obtaining a loan modification. In a short sale the REALTOR'S compensation should be the real estate commission earned and paid at closing.

For a Night of Fun and Frivolity, please join us at one great event! Location? Colorado Springs, CO. Oh, and bring a friend, or two.

Colorado Springs National Associaton of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals is a little over a year old now. We were established in the summer of 2007, and our first board was elected and has served a full year. It's time to elect and install new board members. We delight in all that have participated in the last year, and their continued participation and look forward to building on that foundation and growing bigger in 2009.

Planning a Visit to Colorado?

It should be on your list of things to do soon. Colorado is one of the most beautiful states in the U.S. There's everything to do and at the same time, places to relax.

Hiking? Skiing? Snowmobiling? Swimming?

There's so much to do in Colorado, in every season. There are hiking trails everywhere! Even in residential areas there are hiking trails running thru the neighborhoods.

Skiing in Colorado is famous. Everyone either skis or snowboards. And not all the ski areas are in Vail and Aspen, where prices are over the top. Local to where I live is Cooper Mountain. Prices start at $60/night for lodging.

Another really great ski area is Winter Park. In the Winter Park area are several ski resorts with numerous lifts, some for the gentle skiier and some for the max skiier! Mary Jane is one of the ultimate ski resorts. Also, Winter Park is on the west entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

These photos are of some of our trips into The Rocky Mountain National Park. The one on the right is a a moose in the meadow on the west side of the park. You can snowmoblile in the National Park on the far southwest side. There are groomed trails, well marked and away from homes and people.

Fall in the Park is beautiful. Some of the Aspen have dropped their leaves and some are still yellow. Below, waiting in line for the lift at Cooper Mountain. Everyone gets into skiing!

Swimming at Lake Granby. The lake freezes in the winter, and still isn't very warm in the summer.

Colorado Springs

I live in Colorado Springs, it's one of the most beautiful cities in Colorado. Here's a photo of one of our gorgeous sunsets behind Pikes Peak. Just about every home in the area has a great view of Pikes Peak or the Front Range.

In the Springs, the mountains are on the west side and everything in the east just flattens out to Kansas.

Besides beautiful sunsets, we also have glorious rainbows and unusual cloud formations.

This photo was taken in Colorado Springs during a most unusual storm. It never rained, but the clouds were absolutley remarkable.

Every snow fall is beautiful in Colorado. Unlike the east and midwest, Colorado snow melts between snow falls. It always looks like the very first snow fall of the season.

 Like Gambling? Try Cripple Creek

There are quite a few casinos in Cripple Creek. Each of the casinos have good deals on meals. And the table minimums are better than Las Vegas.

This is a photo of the narrow gauge railroad that runs frequently, out and back. Gorgeous views to be had...but bring your jacket, the coaches are open air, and breeze.

This photo is looking down main street. The casinos are on both sides, they are in the old buildings and look regular main street buildings.

So, if you're planning a trip to Colorado this summer or winter, and you should, be sure to enjoy all the lovely scenery and sights to be had!

Later, a post on local things to do in the Colorado Springs Area. Covered will be Garden of the Gods, Manitou Springs, Pikes Peak Cog Railroad, American the Beautiful Park, and the lovely Victorian's in the downtown area.

To see all listings in the Colorado Springs area, and El Paso County, click here.

Still Having Trouble Understanding What Twitter Is?

• If you don’t like writing, then blogging probably isn’t for you!
• If you do decide to blog, you'll need to drive traffic to your sites.
• When you do become active in these social networking sites, you’ll want to just be yourself. Share with others, and read what others are saying. Participate as you do in your current sphere of influence using common sense, Golden Rule interactions.

Debt Consolidation

Wicked Maine!

My husband and I took a little time to visit Wicked Maine...Lobsters, Clam Chowder, Oceans, Inlets, Antiques...what a great time we had. Here are some photos of wicked Maine!

This is the Portland Head Light...probably the most photographed lighthouse in America.

This photo is of the colorful vegetation in the rocks below the Head Light.

The grounds around the Head Light are just gorgeous! Did you notice the compass rose?

Here the Head Light from the north side.

This was taken from the new bridge overlook and the hamlet across the river is Bucksport. Beautiful!

Here's a shot of the bridge from the overlook. I hate heights

One day we had fog, all day. This is a shot of Camp Ellis boat ramp.

Sun Rise at Camp Ellis. Magnicificant! And for this Colorado gal, it was really early in the morning!

We had a fantastic time. I would love to live there all year round. Lobsters, the Ocean, inlets, wicked cool! Have you been to Maine? Or are you lucky enough to live there??? If you're a realtor there with a good deal...call me! LOL