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Short Sale Addendum help answer questions
Mandatory Colorado Short Sale Addendum is part of the contract
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It continues to look like short sales in Colorado Springs are going to be here for awhile longer, and they are definitely a viable option for some buyers. Even though they can take some time to get short the sale acceptance from the lien holders, for a patient buyer, they can definitely be a good deal.
Having written two short sale offers this week for buyers, I thought it would be a good topic to discuss the short sale addendum that is required in Colorado. The Colorado Real Estate Commission has came up with a couple of forms called a “Short Sale Addendum.” These forms try to cover some of major and minor complexities a short sale brings to the purchase and sale of property.
The addendum should be included with the Contract to Buy and sell Real Estate between the buyer and seller and has several key points.
** The buyer enters details on how long the seller has to submit the short sale information to the lien holders.
** The buyer can also say how long they will wait for short sale acceptance.
** The buyer can also check a box regarding Early Termination that says either the seller or the buyer can terminate at any time with written approval. This is a very helpful clause for a buyer who has waited for months for approval; and essentially just wants to give up on this property and find something else.
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Disadvantages of buying a new home
Interested in buying a new home in Colorado Springs
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- 9 reasons to use a buyer’s agent to help you find a house
- 6 things to add to your budget when buying a house
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- Inspections involve more negotiations
I certainly understand the appeal of buying a new home. Nothing better than being the first owner of a house; everything new, everything in good shape. BUT, there are some
disadvantages to buying a new home. Since I spent part of this week looking at new builds and visiting model homes; it reminded me of some of these disadvantages.
Window coverings not included. Don’t underestimate the cost of what it will take to get window coverings on all your windows. If you are buying a $300,000 to a $500,000 home, I’m guessing you don’t want the cheap $20 blinds that you can buy a Home Depot. Make sure and include this in your budget
Landscaping is also important to include in your budget. Many of the communities include front landscaping, most don’t include back landscaping. But some new communities don’t include it and they required the landscaping to be completed within 6 months to a year after you move in. By the time you put in sprinkler systems, install sod, put in bushes, trees, rock, etc, it doesn’t take long to spend $5000 to $10000; and even more if you have to put in retaining walls or terraces for sloped lots.
And then there is the lot premium for the more desirable lot. The large cul-de-sac lot, or the lot with the great view can cost anywhere from $20,000 to $100,000 more. Granted the lot a house sits on is extremely important, but almost always you won’t get that money back when you go to sell it. There is some consideration in the resale market for a nice lot with a view, but it’s not even close to the amount charged when you originally buy the property.
Also, if you need to sell within a year or two, you are competing against the other homes that are still being built and can be customized. Buyers will almost always choose a brand-new home rather than a 1-year-old home.
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To find out more information about buying a home or an investment property in Colorado Springs area, call ….
Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Less Inventory = a more stable Colorado Springs housing Market
Colorado Springs housing inventory is down
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Why should you care that there is less inventory on the market?
Real estate has always been about supply and demand. When there are more houses on the market then the demand, the market conditions start to adjust and pricing goes down. When there is less houses on the market, pricing starts to stabilize and go up. As the information listed below, housing inventory, is down. In fact, it’s way down.
I’m not sure if this means we are going to start to see a rise in pricing, but I do think the market has hit bottom. As usual, time will tell ………………
Existing Single Family Homes on the Market
April 2012 4,433 Sales 2,289
April 2011 4,866 Sales 2,252
April 2010 6,228 Sales 2,382
April 2009 5,304 Sales 2,009
April 2008 6,787 Sales 2,298
April 2007 6,372 Sales 3,007
April 2006 6,114 Sales 2,725
April 2005 6,512 Sales 2,659
April 2004 6,181 Sales 3,068
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Don’t forget about the pipes
It’s important to check the sewer lines in older homes
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Related Articles
- 9 reasons to use a buyer’s agent to help you find a house
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If you are looking at buying an older home in the Colorado Springs area, especially a Historic Home, don’t forget about inspecting the sewer pipes.
Why should I check the sewer lines?
Sewer lines are buried underground and are susceptible to intrusions like tree roots and excess waste products and paper, not to mention the general aging of the pipes. Common sewer line
problems can include roots in the lines, holes, cracks, and pipe separation.
Once tree roots get into sewers, they are often expensive and messy to deal with. It can mean calling in a backhoe to dig up the your yard which adds additional costs to the sewer replacement. Also, it can bring up interesting questions, such as what if your neighbor’s tree rots finds its way into your pipes?
A residential sewer is critical in the proper operation of the whole home’s plumbing system.
Should I get my pipes replaced?
There are several different types of sewer lines, including clay (85+yrs old), cast iron (50+yrs old) and ABS or PVC. Clay can collapse on its own as it ages and can be expensive to replace. Some experts believe that cast Iron, is the best. A plumber can advise you whether you should get the pipes replace or not.
What is a sewer scope?
A sewer scope is a fairly inexpensive procedure performed by an experienced plumber, involves inserting a cable into the sewer line from the main in the home or in the clean out all the way to the connection with the municipal sewer or a septic tank. The clean out may be located in the basement, crawlspace or outside where the sewer line exits the home.
On the end of the cable is a tiny television camera that “scopes” through the pipes and detects blockage, breaks and potential clogs in the line. These images can be recorded on a DVD and may be reviewed by the homeowner and/or prospective buyer to verify the condition of the sewer line.
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To find out more information about buying a home or an investment property in Colorado Springs area, call ….
Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Cash continues to drive the REO Market
Cash is still King
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There was an interesting article in DS News about how cash investors are pushing down prices. According to a quote in this article “In December 2011, data collected for the HousingPulse 
Survey shows that the overall proportion of cash buyers in the housing market surged to a record 33.2 percent, up from 29.6 percent a year earlier.” There is also a Press Release put out by Campbell, that essentially was repeated by DS News.
I did a quick calculation of Colorado Springs home transactions for 2011 and came up with the following information on what type of financing was used for home purchases in the area;
Cash 19%
Conventional Financing 31%
FHA Financing 19%
VA Financing 31%
One of the reasons that the numbers are different from the national average in the Colorado Springs Housing market, could be because of the strong military presence in the area which is shown by the 30% of home buyers that use VA financing.
This article has several key points on why Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t Assume anything in Real Estate Series, #1
I’ve decided to start a new Series, Don’t Assume Anything in Real Estate.
This series is really just a bunch of random articles about the many assumptions buyers and sellers make when selling, leasing, or purchasing a home.
Search for homes in Colorado Springs
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- It’s taking longer
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You aren’t under contract yet!
Some buyers are under the mistaken impressions that once they write an offer on their dream home, or their first investment property, they are under contract to purchase the home. This 
is definitely not correct.
After they put together their offer, their Buyer’s Agent submits the offer to a Listing Agent, and the offer is then presented to the seller. The seller has many options on how they respond.
- They can reject the offer and not respond.
- They can counter the offer
- Or they can accept the offer.
THE MOST IMPORTANT THING Read the rest of this entry »
3 reasons to get building permits
3 reasons to get a Building Permit in Colorado Springs
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- Why do you care about building permits?
Some people complain about getting a building permit from the local code enforcement office for changing something in their house, erecting a deck, adding a garage or making any other improvement to their property. I think it’s very important to get permits.
Before you start your next home improvement project, here’s 3 reasons to get a building permit:
- It might be a law that if you make enhancements of a certain nature to your property you must get a building permit to begin the work.
- The permit keeps everyone honest. There won’t be any shortcuts by the contractor that might affect your investment or safety. If there have been shortcuts that affect
safety, the code enforcement officer would typically find it. - You get free inspections of the work the contractor does. The code enforcement officer typically comes out to check the work and to ensure the work is up to code. Wouldn’t you prefer to know about problems on your your remodeling project? Especially before you make the final payment to your contractor.
As an example, we’re currently getting the electric panel upgraded on a Colorado Springs rental house that my husband and I own. Even though we’ve done our homework on the contractor we’ve hired, we won’t know if the work is “up to code”, as we’re not trained electricians. Pikes Peak Regional Building will come out and inspect the work to make sure it meets code requirements. It certainly gives me peace of mind.
According to information on the Pikes Peak Regional Building web site, “The main goal of the Department is to safeguard life and limb, health, property and public welfare by regulating and controlling the design, construction, quality of materials, use and occupancy, location and maintenance of all buildings and structures within all zoned areas of El Paso County through the enforcement of minimum building code standards.”
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Don’t forget about the outside
The outside is just as important as the inside
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- 9 reasons to use a buyer’s agent to help you find a house
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In today’s age of Internet savvy buyers, the pictures of a property that are posted online are everything. And lately it seems like more and more buyers focus just as much on the outside of the property, including the landscaping, the backyard, the deck, the hot tub, the views, the front porch; just as much as they focus on the inside of the property. They are buying more than a home, they are buying a lifestyle.
Many buyers moving to Colorado Springs are doing so because they want to enjoy the beautiful views and the outside space; yet over and over I see listings that don’t include any outdoor pictures. Too bad for the sellers, as the outside can be just as important as the inside.
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
It’s taking longer
Why should you care about Days on Market?
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Why should you care about Days on Market? Why is this number important? Sellers know that the longer their house is up for sale, the less likely they have of being offered their asking price and are often willing to discuss a lower price. Buyer’s often look at properties and want to know the Days 0n Market; and essentially the longer the property has been on the market, the more buyers think they are in a better negotiating position.
But just as important as the current days on market, is the trend for the days on market. If the days on market continues to drop in a neighborhood, the market is starting to become more of a seller’s market in this particular area; and the more the days on market continue to increase, the more the housing market in this particular area becomes a buyer’s market.
Here’s some of the facts about days on market in Colorado Springs:
- Single Family homes in the Colorado Springs area lingered on the market this year 136 days as of June 30th versus 105 as of June 30th, 2010.
- It took an average of 31 days longer to sell single-family homes in the Colorado Springs area in June 2011 than it did in June 2010.
- The average days on the market for June was 90 days for the 2nd quarter in 2011 vs. 70 days for the same quarter in 2010.
- Denver is currently at 86 days for a house to sale. Phoenix is 106 days on market. Las Vegas is 159 days.
- Breckenridge is 90 days. Pueblo is 125 days. Fort Collins is 59. Aspen is 300 days.
I know I always write articles about real estate is local, but this chart really shows the differences in the Colorado Springs area. The shortest days on market in the area is 78 days in the Southeast, which also happens to be one of the lowest priced areas in the city. The highest days on market are in Black Forest and Manitou; which are areas where the house prices are above the average in Colorado Springs.
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
More Research required
The El Paso County Assessor’s office provides a wealth of information
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- Embracing Technology
One of the many things I do when I’m getting ready to write an offer for a buyer, is to look at the property at the Assessor’s Office. In El Paso County, the Assessor’s web site site, provides a wealth of information for perspective buyers.
In El Paso County, you can search by address, by a range or addresses, by Schedule Number, of by Last name.
Once you go to a specific Colorado Springs address, or schedule number, the web site Read the rest of this entry »
Don’t plan on closing yet
Closings don’t always happen
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Just because you’ve signed the Colorado Real Estate contract and came to terms on the price, it doesn’t mean you own the house yet. I don’t 
know the exact percentage, but I’m guessing 10% to 15% of real estate contracts don’t make it to the final closing. There are many reasons for cancelled contracts, but here’s the 4 most common.
(1) Financing
Even though you got a prequal letter from your bank, things can still happen when your loan gets to underwriting. Maybe the requirements changed for the loan, your credit score may have changed, the underwriters may require additional documentation on expenses. These are just a few of the things that can cause a loan not to get approved. Loan guidelines change daily.
(2) Buyer’s Remorse
As a buyer, you may feel remorse after you submit the contract. You may start to feel you made a big mistake. You may think there are so many great homes on the market, is this one really the right one? Is there something better you haven’t seen yet? Is your dream house still around the corner? Do you think you can get a better price on a different house? Read the rest of this entry »
Colorado Springs on list of most affordable Homes in Colorado
Colorado Springs is affordable
Search for Colorado Springs Homes
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- Neighborhood profile: Kissing Camel custom homes in West Colorado Springs
Since I’m a statistic fanatic, I read every article I can that talks about pricing and comparing home prices in Colorado Springs with other parts of the U.S. Caldwell Banker does a home
listing report that compares pricing in 2300 cities across the U.S. The report includes a list of the top 10 most expensive markets and the top 10 least expensive market. 6 of the most expensive cities were in California, and some of the least expensive homes were Georgia and Ohio
According to the report, In Colorado, the average four-bedroom, two-bathroom home is $357,556. The national average price is $293,251.
The top five most affordable Colorado markets were
- Pueblo at $141,160
- Alamosa at $186,890
- Montrose at $208,875
- Colorado Springs at $222,936
- Thornton at $234,856
The top 5 least affordable Colorado markets were:
- Evergreen at $922,183
- Boulder at $860,671
- Durango at 472,147
- Broomfield at 470,345
- Golden at 470,244
The prices come from the average home listing price between September 2010 and March 2011 in more than 2,300 North American markets.
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To find out more information about buying a home or an investment property in Colorado Springs area, call ….
Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
How accurate are real estate listings on the Internet?
It’s on the Internet, it must be correct
Search for Colorado Springs Homes
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As a Buyer’s Agent in Colorado Springs, I work with many buyers from all parts of the world looking to relocate to Colorado Springs. The Internet is a wonderful tool for buyers, as they can find out so much information about the Colorado Springs area as well as check for 
potential homes. BUT, not every home listing they find on the Internet is correct.
Each Realtor is typically responsible for inputting their home listings in the local MLS system, which is called PPAR in the Colorado Springs area. Many Realtors have office administrators or assistants that input the data for them; but the Realtor is ultimately responsible for the the information. Even though most Realtors strive to have the information correct, it’s extremely easy to get something wrong. I’m guessing that the average listing has 100 to 150 fields of data that need to be filled in; which leaves alot of room for error.
But even more important than the initial input of all of the data about a home, is all of the places the information gets distributed to line. Every web site has a different way they get their information and different ways their information gets updated. As an example, as a member of PPAR, my listings get distributed to Zillow and Trulia and Realtor.com. But there are many, many other web sites out there; and some of them get updated more often than others. According to a recent quote in the Wall Street Journal, “21% of the data agents individually submit for posting on real estate websites isn’t updated when changes are made to the price or when the property is sold, according to a report released last month by listing web sites, Trulia.com”
Remember, just because it is online doesn’t make it accurate
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Townhome and condos continue to see pressure on pricing
Why are Colorado Springs condos and townhomes harder to sell than houses or townhomes?
The Colorado Springs housing market for Condos and Townhomes continues to see a decline in pricing and numbers of units sold in 2011. 2010 pricing decreased by 3% from 2009 and 2011 pricing has currently declined by 5% from 2010. There were more units sold in 2010 vs. 2009.
Search for Colorado Springs Condos and Townhomes
Related Articles:
There are 5 main reasons that condos and townhomes are currently harder to sale than a Single Family Home in Colorado Springs
- As foreclosures continue to hit the Colorado Springs home market, buyers are now choosing houses over townhomes since they can get them for about the same price. Read the rest of this entry »
10 renovations that don’t add value
Are you getting ready to remodel your home in the Colorado Springs Area?
If so, this article is for you. Not all improvements add value, in fact, some improvements can detract from the value of a house.
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- Goodbye Itty Bitty Paint Chips
- How do I hire a Colorado Springs painter?
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Swimming Pools (These definitely don’t add value to a home in Colorado Springs)
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Over remodeling for the neighborhood and the style of the house
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Room additions (Renovating a garage and making it into a living room doesn’t always add value.)
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Extensive Landscaping (too much work for most people to maintain)
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Carpet everyplace, including in the kitchen and in the bathroom
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Unusual additions (a closet that takes up an entire room, a hot tub in the family room)
- Additions and changes that aren’t up to current building codes (Don’t finish a basement or build a deck without getting the proper permits)
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Poorly done renovations (If you aren’t qualified to do something, don’t do it. I’ve seen many houses where the home owner has installed the cabinets, or the flooring, or the windows and has done a horrible job. These projects actually detract from the home.)
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Cheap materials (installing cheap flooring doesn’t work when you are in a higher-end house.)
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Newly painted walls in unique colors (For most buyers neutral colors are better, also, the “in colors” during one year quickly turn to outdated colors a couple of years later.)
If you’d like more information about real estate in the Colorado Springs area, contact Kathy at 719-287-1049 or email at KTorline@msn.com
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
How do I hire a Colorado Springs painter?
What questions should I ask before hiring a Colorado Springs Painter?
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As part of updating our Colorado Springs investment property, we’ve hired a local Colorado Springs Painting company to paint the inside of the duplex and the small single family home on the same lot, as well as the outside of both of these units. As usual, my day-to-day life as a realtor and a real estate investor, continues to provide an unlimited source of things to write about; hence the article.
Since we purchased our rental property from a bank (it was an REO); we don’t have any idea when the last time it was painted; but it has been a very long time.
At first glance, hiring a painter may seem simple. But I think it’s much more complicated than you realize. Let’s start with some basic questions you should ask any painter you hire:
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Are you a member of the Better Business Bureau?
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Do you carry Workmen’s comp? What other insurance do you cover?
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When you paint the outside of a house, what do you for the prep work? Do you power wash the outside?
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If there is siding that needs to be repaired on the outside, do you have access to a recommended person to fix it; or do we need to take care of that ourselves?
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What type of paint do you use? Why do you choose this paint?
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What type of warranty do you provide for labor and for the paint?
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How many people are on your crew?
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How long do you expect the project to take?
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Will you paint a small sample of the building with the paint colors we’ve picked out; just to make sure we like it before the entire building is painted?
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Do you clean up after the project?
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How do you handle a home that may have lead-based paint?
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What do you require for payment?
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Do you have any past clients we can talk to?
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Will you provide a written estimate?
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How will non-painted surfaces be protected?
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Will you be using a paint primer before painting?
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What areas will be caulked before painting begins?
There are other questions to ask for inside paint jobs, but this should provide you a good starting point for interviewing a painter.
If you’d like more information about real estate in the Colorado Springs area, contact Kathy at 719-287-1049 or email at KTorline@msn.com
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
How hard can it be to measure square footage of a house?
Square Footage Calculations can be challenging
Related Articles:
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- 14 Things to Know when Negotiating to Purchase a Home
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Across the US, different MLS systems have different rules for reporting the square footage in a house. Homes in Colorado Springs that are listed in the local MLS, include abov
e grade square footage as well as below grade square footage. Many area in the U.S. only use the above grade square footage; consequently basement are not included in the calculations.
You may wonder how hard can it be measure a house. These are just a sampling of some of the issues that come up:
- If you have stairwells, do you include it on the main level or the upper level?
- Do you include closet spaces?
- What do you do with fireplaces? Read the rest of this entry »
Goodbye Itty Bitty Paint Chips
Iphone application for paint chips
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I’ve been working on picking out paint colors for a Colorado Springs rental property we recently purchased; and once again I’m faced with picking out paint colors from those little itty bitty paint chips in the store. In the middle of me going back and forth to the paint stores, I came across an article in the Wall Street Journal about some new phone applications for picking out paint, and I thought it would be some great info to share with my readers.
Sherwin Williams has an application that you can use to capture a color that inspires you and match it to one of 1,500 Sherwin-Williams paint colors. It’s perfect if you see a color on an existing wall that you want to duplicate; but you don’t know the code. It’s a free application, and I just went to the Iphone application store, searched for, and it downloaded in a couple of minutes. I think it’s also available for Ipads, and Android phones.
The only glitch I found is that if I took pictures of the wall color I was trying to duplicate, I got different results depending on how the light was entering the room and what wall I took the picture of. So, not totally sure I’d use it to touch up paint on a wall, but if I wanted to paint a room the same color, I think I’d get close with this tool.
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Private transfer fees are a rip off
HOA’s and Transfer Fees for Colorado Springs Townhomes
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One of my pet peeves is the amount of money HOA’s charge to potential home sellers and home buyers for transfer fees and status letters. I 
recently had a closing where the status transfer fee cost $350.00 for a home in Colorado Springs that was governed by a HOA. Sounds to me that I should manage an HOA, as it probably took them 15 minutes to do the status letter, and they charged $350.00. Essentially every time a property is sold, the private transfer fee must be paid.
There currently is a bill in the Colorado legislature that looks like it is going to address these fees, it’s Bill SB 234; which would change these charges. I’ve received conflicting information on what the bill will and will not allow but it does look like it will only be for covenants recorded on or after July 1, 2011.
These private transfer fees are typically paid by the seller, or split by the seller and the buyer, and is typically a a fixed amount. The original property owner (which could have been a real estate developer) records a covenant subjecting the property to a private transfer fee. As long as the covenant is in place, this private transfer fee must be paid.
One of the problems with these transfer fee is that they are often times hidden; and don’t surface until a couple of days before the closing. It does look like the bill will still allow management companies to charge a fee related to work performed by the management company in relation to the conveyance of a unit.
Regardless of what it does or does not cover, it’s still a step in the right direction.
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Read the fine print on Zestimates
Zillow Zestimate can be a good tool
What is a Zestimate?
The Zestimate (pronounced ZEST-ti-met, rhymes with estimate) home valuation is Zillow’s estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula.
How accurate is Zestimate?
Zillow has a complete explanation of estimates on their web site. Alot of the data they pull is from public records, and it has a chart that shows it’s median error rate. It states, in El Paso County, the average margin of error of the Zillow Zestimate is 10%, and in Douglas County it’s 9.1%. What I do 
find interesting, is that it takes a little bit of digging to find this info on their web site about the accurancy; and my guess is that most homeowners and potential buyers don’t even go far enough to find the accuracy chart. I’ve had many sellers and buyers quote me on what Zillow says a house is worth, and I always tell them that it is a good starting point on value; but more research is required.
Here’s the “fine-print” verbiage about pricing on Zillow’s web site:
“The home data we have compiled to generate a Zestimate home valuation varies by location. Some counties provide all the data we could hope for, but others are lacking such key things as the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, or, in some cases, the square footage of the home. The more data we have, the more accurate the Zestimate. And, we’ve made it easier for our users to help us improve accuracy by incorporating edited home facts into our Zestimate calculations. In some areas, we might not be able to produce a Zestimate at all, but we do have some basic information on the homes. The tables below show you where we have Zestimates and other home information.”
A 10% variance may not sound like much, but on a $200,000 house it can make a swing in pricing of $20,000, or on a $500,000 home that equates to $50,000 price difference.
In my opinion, the the best source for pricing a property to purchase or to sell, is to have an experienced Realtor who is familiar with the neighborhood complete a comprehensive CMA on a property. But, having said that, the Zillow web site can provide some good guidelines, as long as you realize there is a margin or error built in the numbers. It’s a starting point.
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
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