Snuggle-Up! and Blog

I've started back with my guitar lessons. We have a really great organization here in the Springs that offers music classes, mostly for acoustical, and group. It's called the Black Rose Acoustical Society (BRAS), and it's a great place to take lesson and at a good price. Best of all, my instructor, Charlie Hall, is very funny fellow. Oh, and can he play well!

The worst part about not having played in a while is that I don't have the callouses on my finger tips and it's such a pain, literally, trying to develop them. Does anyone have any suggestions or help for me? I keep hoping that somewhere out there are little finger protectors that I can use.

Tips on Staging Your Clients Property

When you enter the home, try to look at it from a buyer's point of view. Can you see the room or is all you see the furniture and the clutter? Here are some tips you can use.

• De-clutter everything. Keep items in the room to sets of odd numbers, like 1, 3, or 5. Make sure items are large. No small items, it just makes the room feel clutter
• Remove any unnecessary furniture items from all rooms. Arrange the furniture with a focal point, and be sure to allow easy access through the rooms. No narrow spaces in pathways.
• Clean everything! Toothbrush clean. Make your kitchen and bathrooms sparkle.Keep kitchen and bathroom counertops as clear as possible. There should only be decorative items, and those should conform to the large and odd numbered criteria
• Remove all items from the front and top of the refrigerator
• Bathroom towels should be of good quality, tie a ribbon or something around them and don't use them. Keep the towels you personally use in a bedroom closet. Keep make-up and shaving gear inside a cabinet.
• Wash windows, and clean up front and back porch and yard. Curb appeal is important!
• Shampoo your carpets; especially if you have pets and children. Paint walls; a fresh coat of paint is very attractive.
• Make sure your home smells good. Use air fresheners, or bake cookies, bread, or pie!
• Leave the lights on, drapes open, and music playing softly for any showings. And leave it like that when you go to work, you never know when you could have a last minute showing.

If all these things are done, the home WILL sell faster than if it's not done. These days, most homes are staged and they are your competition. You need to outshine your competition. Visit other homes in the area that are selling for what your want to sell you home for.

Colorado Springs Statistics of Active, Solds, Median and Average Sales Price

Good news. According to these stats, we have less inventory on the market in August than in July.

On the downside, there were fewer sales in August than in July. We still have a year's plus inventory. and our home prices have dropped. The average price has declined by 7%, and the median by 11%.

Many sellers are concerned whether they should take an offer now at 7 to 11% less than what they might have gotten if they'd sold in July. But the alternative is holding on to the property through the winter, as sales have dropped off. If you compare the figues of holding on to the property and selling in the Spring as opposed to selling now, and factor in the costs of keeping the utilities on, the snow plowed, taxes, insurance, and regular upkeep. You might be surprised to find you'll break even. And if you accept the lower offer, you won't need to worry about the property any longer.

Now, I don't want to talk myself out of a job, but at this time, if you don't have to put it on the market now, then DON'T! Prices will come back up, and when they do, that's the time to sell. It's just like your money in the stock market...don't sell when it's down-wait 'till it comes back up, again. And it will!

Here's some interesting information from Colorado Housing and Finance Authority

Is money getting tighter? Do you need higher credit scores?

I've heard lately that credit is getting tougher to get. Even if your scores are in the 800's. However, I'm trying to figure out if this is for stuff like department store credit, or if it's actually affecting mortgage lenders.

I did a little checking around and here's a excerpt from the website of one of my lenders, R. Cavendar of Simplified Mortgage Solutions at: http://www.simplifiedmortgagellc.com/RCsBlog. Check out his blog!

 Here's the truth.

1. Mortgages are available, yes even to folks with 500-something fico's.
2. You can still get excellent rates on conventional, FHA, and VA mortgages.
3. There's no shortage of mortgage money for the qualified buyer or refinancer.
4. The stupid stuff - option arms, subprime, etc. is gone - good riddance.
5. High ratio, low down payment loans are still readily available, no - you don't need 20% down to buy a house.
6. Fannie and Freddie are alive and well and doing business.  Lots of business.  The worst of the excess they created will be flushed and we'll have stronger agencies in the secondary market than we've had for years.
7. Congress will pass something within the next week to restore confidence in the financial markets - and when everyone understands that the sky is not falling, at least not this time, our friends in the media will move on to the next topic like nothing ever happened - because their paychecks don't depend on whether or not there's any activity in the Colorado Springs real estate market.
8. If you continue to listen to these lying drama queens and do nothing relative to your housing needs out of fear, you may just miss the best opportunity to buy a home at these prices that you'll see in this lifetime.  Really.

Wouldn't it be nice if we could like just send them a bill for the business that like vanished because of the fear they like created?

R. Cavendar from R C's Blog

I just returned from the NAHREP Convention in Phoenix, AZ. What a great time I had. It was at the historic Arizona Biltmore Hotel, very posh, and expensive. I had a great time. I met many fantastic people and made some great connections. And a plus to it all was that I learned some new things, too. I would urge every realtor to join NAHREP, and our local chapter in Colorado Springs, to meet with some very supportive and knowledgeable real estate professionals.

Our chapter is having it's bi-monthly general membership meeting this coming Wednesday, October 8, 2008, at 11:30, at the East Library in Colorado Sprngs. We serve lunch, but you can bring yours if you like. This month we're featuring lunch catered by Jimmie John's, with a small charge of $10 for non-members and $5 for members.

I hope to see you there. I'm dying to share more of my experience in Phoenix with you...one of the hottest topic discussed there was, you guessed it...blogging!

Short Sale Purchase vs. Bank Owned

I recently acquired a client from a Realtor that was getting out of the business. They had put in an offer on a home that would be a short sale. (A short sale is a process where the seller and his agent try to talk the lender into taking less for the mortgage that what the seller owes.) The offer was made on April 25, 2008.

After 8 weeks we still hadn't heard anything regarding the offer from the bank. By June, my client was anxious to close on his new home and began to think that perhaps he should look at another home. However, we both thought it couldn't be too much longer, we'd just wait and see what the bank was going to do. It's now July 23, and my client and I have given up on it. We were out looking at vacant homes. (Vacant so we could close fast...and definitely not short sales!) When wouldn't you know, while we were looking at homes that morning, we got work that the bank would accept his offer. THREE MONTHS! Almost to the day. We're under contract and planning to close soon.

However, another client decided she'd like to purchase a bank owned home. We placed the offer last Friday. The bank agreed this Friday and we under contract and expect to close sooner than the short sale home.

Moral of the story: You'll need plenty of patience to make an offer on a short sale. However, if you need something quick, try a bank owned or real estate owned property. They can close even faster than a privately owned home.

School is starting back in a couple of weeks. Now is the best time to get moved into that new house. Interest rates are on the rise; you should move quickly.

To see all listings in the Pikes Peak Multiply Listing Service, go to:  www.MarianneSnygg.com.