Colorado Springs Vintage Homes Blog
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10 questions to ask the Neighbors
Neighbors are often the best source of information about a Colorado Springs neighborhood
- How long should it last?
- 14 Things to Know when Negotiating to Purchase a Home
- 134 questions for sellers to disclose
- What are you scared of?
Once you’ve found your Colorado Springs dream house, there are many things you can do before you make the final decision to put in an offer. I often suggest to potential buyers that they should talk to the neighbors; and here’s some of the questions I suggest that they ask:
- How do you like living here? Would you buy here again?
- What are the other neighbors like?
- What’s the homeowner’s association like? Do they do their job?
- What community issues do you see? Have you had any trouble with crime?
- Have you ever been burglarized?
- Do dog owners in the area put them on a leash or are they allowed to roam free?
- Have you ever noticed anything odd about this house?
- Do you know why the seller is selling this house?
- What do you like best about living here?
- What do you like least about the neighborhood?
You’ll be surprised what the neighbors might tell ……
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Kathy (719-287-1049) KTorline@msn.com
Must know facts about buying a Colorado Springs short sale
Colorado Springs Short Sale Buyers need to know facts
Related post: Buying a short sale vs. a foreclosure, what’s the difference? and 5 things to know about buying a short sale
For a FREE List of Foreclosures and Short Sales email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
Good Deals: YES, this is a good opportunity for the buyers. NO, this is NOT a foreclosure!
Offers for a Short Sales YES, you can make offers on what you think it is fair market price, but NO, you can not 
buy 50 cents on a dollar of what the owner pay for, unless the owner overpaid and/or the market has dropped 50%. Lenders will not approve a short sale below fair market value. Buyers, if you are planning to buy a Short Sale property, please manage your expectation.
Time Frame For a Short Sales: YES, you have to be patient, as part of the process. The Short Sales sellers have to submit a Short Sales Hardship package, and both buyers and sellers will have to wait. NO, you cannot expect bank to get things done faster; they work on their own timetable.
In the case of Short Sales, the Buyer has to wait Read the rest of this entry »
Bargains are out there
Colorado Springs has a foreclosure problem — but it’s not as bad as the newspapers would make you think
For a FREE List of Foreclosures email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
In the past two years, Colorado Springs and surrounding communities have seen a record number of foreclosure filings: in El Paso County there were 4,602 in 2008, and 3,556 in 2007. Those numbers may seem high, but in 1988 (over 20 years ago), it reached a high of 3,476 and the population was probably half of what it is now. Year-to-date, according to the Public Trustee’s web site, there have been 522 foreclosures; an average of 174 foreclosures a month.
As a result, it’s a great time for buyers and investors in Colorado Springs and anyone relocating to Colorado Springs to find some bargain opportunities in foreclosed homes. Many people that may not have been able to buy before, now have a better selection of homes in the lower end price category.
A
s I’ve been setting up some automatic property searches from the local MLS database for some buyers I’m working with, it made me think on how much the market has changed. A couple of years ago, it was almost impossible for a buyer to find a habitable home in Colorado Springs for less than $150,000; and there was very little under $100,000. So of course, I thought I’d research some numbers and see what the statistics showed. Sure enough, in 2008 there was almost twice as many single family homes under $100,000 that sold than the year before.
Here’s some foreclosure facts
A foreclosure is a legal action that a lender(s) takes against a homeowner who miss several mortgage payments. Read the rest of this entry »
Buying a Home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset! Part VI
Colorado Springs Vintage Homes is happy to feature a great article
on Managing Your Credit Score – Part VI
Anza Goodbar, President of Clearview Mortgage 
Previous Posts by Anza:
- Tips for Colorado Springs Consumers – what is identify theft?
- Want to buy a home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset!
- Buying a Home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset! Part II
- Buying a Home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset! Part III
- Buying a Home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset! Part IV
- Buying a Home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset! Part V
Now that you understand the individual components of your credit score and how they factor into your total score, let’s talk about what you can do to increase your score.
How to build your credit score:
You may be young and just starting to build a credit history, you may have been married and all of the credit history was in your husband’s name or you may have experienced difficulties in your past that have caused blemishes on your credit report.
The first step is to pull a tri-merged report to verify it is accurate. For this example, let’s say everything reporting is correct. You may not have a score because you have not applied for credit in the past. It may be difficult for you to obtain credit Read the rest of this entry »
Buying a Home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset! Part V
Colorado Springs Vintage Homes is happy to feature another great article
on Managing Your Credit Score – Part V
Anza Goodbar, President of Clearview Mortgage
For a free Buyers Guide, Email Kathy Torline at KTorline@msn.com
Previous Posts by Anza:
- Tips for Colorado Springs Consumers – what is identify theft?
- Want to buy a home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset!
- Buying a Home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset! Part II
- Buying a Home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset! Part III
- Buying a Home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset! Part IV
- Buying a Home in Colorado Springs, manage your most valuable asset! Part V
Your Credit and You!
Let’s take a look at the final category that impacts your credit; the type of credit you use.
Types of Credit Used:
While this area has a lesser impact on your credit score, it is still important. The credit reporting formula is complex and takes many factors into consideration when calculating your score. It looks at the types of credit you have, the number of accounts you have and the mix of accounts.
There are two basic types of credit:
- Revolving
- Installment
Revolving credit is a credit card, a retail account Read the rest of this entry »
