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        <title>Denver Real Estate Blog</title>
        <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/tags/denver/</link>
        <description>Denver real estate topics including local metro Denver community news and events.</description>
        <item>
            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/how-to-react-to-a-low-offer.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/how-to-react-to-a-low-offer.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>How to React to a Low Offer</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
You have waited for what seems like eternity and now, out of the blue an offer comes in to purchase your home. The excitement builds and turns into relief, then you realize that the offer is much lower than your list price. What should you do?


Give every purchase offer for your home due consideration. Is it truely unacceptable? If so, your best response is to propose a counteroffer with price and terms that are acceptable. In this market many home buyers submit an offer to check the motivation level of the seller, expecting a counteroffer if it is unacceptable. Keeping a dialog going with a potential puchaser of your home and keeping them involved often times will result in a sale.


Check your Emotions at the Door


Even a low purchase offer still means that there is someone interested in purchasing your home. It deserves a response so stay calm and talk over the different options you have in responding with your Realtor. 


Prepare a Counter


A counteroffer signals the buyer that you are willing to negotiate. Some buyers have a fear of paying too much for a home and want to test a sellers limits. The best response to unacceptable offers is to counteroffer with a price and terms that you are willing to accept. This is true even in multiple offer situations because in competition a low offer could come back with the best offer in the end.


Be careful in how you counter an offer because you could counter yourself out of a deal by changing some things. It is common practice today for a seller to request closing cost assistance. Often times the purchaser needs this assistance in order to close and countering it out of the offer could kill a deal. Make sure your Realtor discusses what is truely important to buyer with their agent.


Talking Terms


Price is usually the first component of any agreement but it is not the only factor. Other negotiating points include closing dates, posession dates, inclusions. In some cases it may make sense to leave price and remove the refrigerator, change a closing date or possession date. By making one part of a transaction more appealing it can make the entire package more appealing.


Check Comparable Home Prices


Check with your Realtor for any new comparable homes either on the market or sold since you listed your home for sale. If those new market statistics indicate the prices have fallen you may need to lower your expectations to match the marketplace if you truly want to sell.


Check the Buyers Comparables


Many times a purchaser or their agent will submit comparable prices with an offer to convince a seller that the offer is fair. Give any comparables submitted with an offer due consideration. Are they similar and truly comapable? If they are, you may have to adjust your expectations. If those comparables are not valid you may want to include comparables with your counteroffer to the purchaser to validate your own price. If the buyer does not include comparables to try and justify the low purchase offer, your Realtor can ask the buyers agent to provide those comparables.


Talk it Out


In many cases having your Realtor discuss the offer with the buyers agent can help to identify what is truly important to both parties and make a counteroffer more likely to be acceptable.


 
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:36:27 -0700</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/lines-drawn-in-the-sand-often-lead-to-failed-negotiations.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/lines-drawn-in-the-sand-often-lead-to-failed-negotiations.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Lines Drawn in the Sand Often Lead to Failed Negotiations</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Give and take is part of every successful negotiation. Ego and stubborness are the primary obstacles to achieving your goals of selling your current house or purchasing your dream home because they leave little room for agreement between buyer and seller.


An adversary in negotiations is rarely inclined to capitulate to lines drawn in the sand. Negotiating with lines drawn in the sand raises defense mechanisms that most often leads to failure and feelings that prevent the negotiation process from moving forward.


Small accomodations and compromises will often keep lines of communication open and move both sides closer to an agreement. These compromises show a willingness and interest in continuing to talk in order to keep negotiations moving forward.


Believe it or not, it is not always about the money. Time after time a simple accomodation can bring the two sides together for a done deal.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Tue, 25 Oct 2011 17:24:42 -0600</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/the-six-contributing-factors-when-selling-your-metro-denver-home.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/the-six-contributing-factors-when-selling-your-metro-denver-home.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>The Six Contributing Factors When Selling Your Metro Denver Home</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
These have been touched upon in many articles in many different ways. We thought that bringing them together in a simple format would be helpful for those who are considering selling your home. There really are only six factors that contribute to the successful sale of your home.


When looking at these six factors it is vital to understand exactly who has control over them and their relationship to each other. 




The seller (you) controls three of the six factors.


The real estate marketplace controls two of the six factors.


Only one of the six factors is controlled by your Realtor®.




Sellers Control




Condition – A well maintained home will affect how long it takes for the home to sell and the price finally agreed upon. A home buyer spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on a home rarely wants to make major repairs. The pool of home buyers looking for a home they can move right into is much larger than the pool of buyers willing to make repairs.


Terms – All parties to the transaction (both buyers and sellers) have needs. A sellers willingness to understand the needs of the buyer and negotiate terms that will accommodate both parties will dramatically affect the success or failure of a transaction. It is common for the pricing and terms to be negotiated together.


List Price – Sellers always have the final word in determining the list price for their home. Choosing the wrong price to list your home will have a huge impact on a successful outcome. Overpricing will mean little buyer interest and no offers. Your Realtor® can go over comparable sales in the neighborhood and make recommendations on pricing to achieve your goals.




Controlled by the Marketplace




Competing Homes – The number of choices available to home buyers searching in the community has a large affect on the time required to sell your home and the pricing. Selling a home is both a beauty contest and a pricing war.


Timing – There are factors that operate independently of the home selling process (price, condition and terms). Such factors include economic conditions, weather and seasonal fluctuations.




What the Realtor® Controls




Promotion – This includes internet marketing, network promotion, advertising, Multiple Listings Services and other techniques used in the marketing of a home.




What does this Mean?


There is no single factor that by itself will cause a home to sell timely. It is the proper combination of all six. Throughout the process the Realtor® should provide feedback from previous showings and information on changes in the marketplace.


A home sellers willingness to consider feedback including changing market conditions and use that information to make adjustments to the three factors within their control (price, terms, condition) will be the primary determining factor of how quickly their home sells.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Wed, 10 Aug 2011 14:09:44 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/real-estate-homeowner-associations.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/real-estate-homeowner-associations.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Real Estate Homeowner Associations</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Homeowner associations are essentially corporations established by developers of real estate. The association works initially to market and sell the homes in the subdivision. The developer is granted the right to vote about association policies while also allowing him or her to transfer the ownership of the association to individual homeowners upon the sale of a certain amount of lots. When a home within a homeowner association is sold, the home buyer is normally not allowed to reject the homeowner association membership. There is typically a board of directors established to run the association, collect dues, and hold meetings. Many of them retain the services of a property management company to carry out those duties.

Homeowner association regulation is varied by state, with some states having practically no laws governing them and others, such as California, having a wide branch of law devoted to homeowner association laws. Homeowner associations have become very common in the U.S. since the fast growth of residential development of the 1960s. Many of the original deed restrictions were biased and racially exclusive, aiming to keep any non-white person from purchasing homes in certain areas. The U.S. Supreme Court outlawed this practice in 1968; however, there are still restrictions on race to be found on deeds across the nation.

Homeowner associations can force their members to pay a portion of expenses that arise for the maintenance of common areas of property such as private streets, pools, and streetlights. Often a homeowner association will place restrictions upon the type of roof a home may have or the color of paint or siding that may cover a home. Fines can be imposed upon homeowners who defy those rules or go against any of the other regulations. While detractors of homeowner associations claim that the restrictive nature of the rules is too limiting to the homeowner's personal rights, supporters claim that the rules and regulations of a homeowner association can keep their property values high and maintain a sense of conformity.

There are states within the U.S. that allow a homeowners association to foreclose or place a lien on a member's home for the purpose of collecting fees, fines, or any other assessment they deem reasonable. Some states require a judicial hearing to take place before the lien or foreclosure can occur. While the overwhelming cause of this is ostensibly to maintain property values, some have claimed it a practice of bias in some communities as a way of removing members the board doesn't like.
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            <pubDate>Thu, 09 Jun 2011 09:13:43 -0600</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/internet-denver-home-searching.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/internet-denver-home-searching.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Denver Internet Home Searching</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The internet is a powerful source of information and searching for a home using the internet can be easy and fun. Many websites are dedicated to real estate and can help greatly with your search. Real estate websites have search options to help narrow your search and find the house you want at the price you want. Searching for a house on the internet can be easy. Using a search engine for house hunting has never been easier. If you're searching for agents rather than houses, its just as easy. Finding an online agent is the same as finding a house. Using a search engine, you can search for websites with housing agents and find one for you. Agents over the internet can e-mail or call you after you contact them to help you find a great house.&nbsp;

Most agents can supply pictures and video tours of a house to help you make your decision over what houses to further investigate. Finding houses on the internet is a common way of house searching. You can find houses from the comfort of your home. Getting the information is easy and simple. Many houses are put up on the internet for sale so availability is never a problem on the internet. The only hardship will be figuring out which house to get. Contacting an agent is easy as well. Agents post their contact information online often and are willing to help someone find a house at any cost. Finding houses without using the internet is stressful and often leads to dead ends. Using the internet is easy and makes finding a house so much easier you willnever believe it until you do it.&nbsp;

Many homes are being put on the internet for sale waiting for you to buy them. Using the internet for home searching has many advantages, one of them, being the convenience. No more driving around looking for signs, or searching newspapers daily, now you can type in your housing preferences and find a house for you in a snap. With online house searching, all the information is there and you don't have to look far to find it. It's readily available and easy to find. With non online home searching that may not be a reality. Newspapers may not have all the information you need to decide whether or not that house is for you. Online houses have the information (and pictures) you need to make an easy decision about a new home for you.


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            <pubDate>Mon, 23 May 2011 09:14:53 -0600</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/how-landscaping-adds-value-to-your-denver-property.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/how-landscaping-adds-value-to-your-denver-property.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>How Landscaping Adds Value to Your Denver Property</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
Experts say that a well-manicured lawn will help increase the value of your home. A home that has trees, flowers, and a well maintained lawn can increase the chance of selling your metro Denver property by ten percent. Any well-established real-estate agent will tell you if your yard looks unkempt then nobody is going to buy it. Landscaping is not very expensive and can be fun. When landscaping your yard make sure to use colorful flowers that stand out and give your yard a wow factor. You could even put in a pond if that is the look that you want for your yard.

Landscape lights can help extend that hard work into the night for everyone to enjoy. They also can make the yard look magical at night if done right. Landscaping lights will enhance the vibrant colors of the fresh flowers and make the lawn furniture stick out at night. Yard lights are also important because it makes the house safer which in turns makes the value go up and beside who wants to trip in their backyard anyway. Although appraisers inspect the railings other safety stuff in your home, home buyers look for lighted pathways or walkways so they make sure to get a safe yard.

The biggest problem that a homeowner faces when he or she decides to landscape is that they usually have too many ideas and cannot decide on which idea to act on. The thing to do so you will not get overwhelmed is to start small. Pick a small spot of your yard, start there, and work your way up. The goal of landscaping to add value to your home is to wow buyers and make them comfortable so they will want to buy your home at a greater value and to make you feel better about your property.

If you do not have time or are not able to landscape and you want to increase the value of your home then you could hire a professional. Make sure that if you do hire a professional landscaper that they are licensed and have good references. They can help you with bringing your idea to life and it will be fun and add value to your property. Landscaping can be hard work, but it will be worth it whether are planning on selling your home or just making it beautiful. Remember that landscaping can add twenty to fifty thousand dollars to the value price, so it is definitely worth the work.
 ]]> </description>
            <pubDate>Sat, 21 May 2011 20:34:29 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/real-estate-foreclosure.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/real-estate-foreclosure.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Real Estate Foreclosure</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The word foreclosure is not a pleasant word in the world of real estate for either the lender or the mortgage holder. Foreclosure essentially means the mortgage is being terminated, typically because of lack of payment of the part of the mortgage holder. Foreclosure proceedings can also refer to the process of the government foreclosing on the property owner for unpaid taxes.

Most mortgages, whether for commercial or residential real estate, operate on the basic principle of borrowing money from a bank or other lending institution for the purchase of property. The bank needs to secure the money they have lent, so this requires security, which is often the property itself. The lending institution is then relatively safe in the event the mortgage holder reneges on the mortgage in any way.

Foreclosure is a process which varies by jurisdiction. In some areas it is a very quick and process, and in others it is quite lengthy and arduous. In most cases there are other alternatives that have been offered to the mortgage holder such as refinancing or bankruptcy. In the event that proceedings are necessary, the bank requests the deed or note for the property in satisfaction of the debt. This is a legal, court action whereby the lender sues the borrower. In most cases the lending institution will be awarded the property and they will immediately put the property back on the market. Sometimes the bank will attempt to sell it by means of an auction. In this event, the sheriff of the local county sells the property on the courthouse steps and the deed is awarded to the highest bidder.

In most cases, foreclosure is not only a negative impact upon the borrower's credit rating, but also has negative impact upon the bank in many situations when the full amount of money cannot be recovered on the foreclosed property. For example, if the housing prices of an area drop, a bank will not want to foreclose on a property simply because they will not be able to recoup the money they lent for the original purchase. For this reason, many lending institutions require lenders to purchase Private Mortgage Insurance. PMI guarantees the lender will receive a majority of their loan value in the event of foreclosure.

In some jurisdictions a bank or lending institution can sue the lender after foreclosure proceedings have completed in the event they cannot recoup their entire investment from the sale or auction of the property. There are many rules and exceptions to this policy however, and the laws vary by state.
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            <pubDate>Fri, 20 May 2011 06:38:18 -0600</pubDate>
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        <item>
            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/real-estate-escrow.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/real-estate-escrow.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Real Estate Escrow</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
The word escrow can mean many things depending upon which context it is applied to. In generic terms, escrow refers to a deed that a third party holds until a transaction is complete. There are four basic types of escrow - banking, Internet, law, and real estate.

In real estate escrow, a mortgage company sets up an escrow account separately from the mortgage in which the deposited funds are set aside for purposes of paying certain responsibilities such as the property taxes and property insurance payments for the term of the mortgage. An escrow agent is assigned to the purchase of a specific piece of real estate and they are expected to account for the money deposited into the escrow account and make sure that the money is used expressly for the intended purposes.

An escrow company is typically hired to make sure that the new homeowner pays their property tax, as mortgage lenders do not want to risk the taxes might go unpaid. When there is a transfer of property that is very expensive and valuable, whether personal or business, escrow companies are used to ease the worries of each side of the transaction. With the advent of the Internet, lower priced escrow companies have been established online and now are bringing the benefit of escrow services to cheaper transactions.

Escrow payments in real estate terms are meant to pay expenses that are outside of the principal and interest portion of the mortgage. Most escrow accounts are established to cover the cost of real estate taxes and hazard insurance, which is why they are commonly referred to as T&amp;I accounts. While some mortgage companies require escrow accounts, other lenders only offer it as an option. Government mortgages such as Federal Housing Administration loans do require an escrow account to be maintained for the entire lifetime of the loan.

The escrow company determines monthly escrow payments by combining all of the estimated tax and insurance costs of the year and the dividing by 12. Some escrow companies also require their clients to maintain a minimum balance in the account, which is often equal to two monthly payments. If they estimated too low and more money is owed at the end of the year, the client is required to pay the difference. In many regions, including the United States, if there has been more money collected by the end of the year than what was due, there is a refund sent to the customer of the overpayment.
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            <pubDate>Thu, 19 May 2011 09:24:38 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/life-estates-in-real-estate.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/life-estates-in-real-estate.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Life Estates in Real Estate</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
In the realm of real estate, a life estate is a limited ownership for a period of time. Specifically, a life estate lasts for the lifetime of the tenant who is allowed to enjoy all of the rights of ownership until their death. A life tenant is allowed to live in the home or rent it out for money or any other use they can conceive of.

The life tenant is however unable to sell the real estate or leave the property to their heirs, as the ownership reverts to whoever was designated in the agreement of the life estate, normally called a remainder man. During the life of the tenant, he or she is responsible for the maintenance of the property as well as the right to either live in the home or rent it out. The life tenant is not allowed to damage or devalue the real estate as they are only temporary owners of the property. In the event another person wishes to purchase the property, it must be by the express consent of the remainder man.

The reason most people set up life estates are as a part of estate planning. By setting up a legal life estate, a person can avoid the headaches of probate in the event of their death. Occasionally, when a property enters probate, the intended heir either does not receive the property at all or it takes several years to clear the title for the heir to own the real estate outright.

There are many benefits of establishing a life estate in the United States when a person needs protection against Medicaid recovery in their particular state. In the case of a person who is elderly and their biggest financial asset is their home, they would likely be more willing to establish a life estate for their heirs in the event of their declining health and need for Medicaid to cover the medical expenses. As Medicaid coverage would require the elderly person to sell their home to cover some of the medical expenses, the person would be without a home as well as have nothing to pass on to their family.

Of course life estates aren't for every situation, as people with large estates will be facing considerable estate taxes and there are many other options to consider when planning your estate and asset protection. Discussing the options with your attorney in regard to every aspect such as real estate taxes, Medicaid, and applicable laws of your area is an important first step in adequate estate planning.
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            <pubDate>Wed, 18 May 2011 07:20:39 -0600</pubDate>
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            <guid>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/most-common-real-estate-categories.html</guid>
            <link>http://www.bruceswedal.com/blog/most-common-real-estate-categories.html</link>
            <author>bruce@bruceswedal.com (Bruce Swedal)</author>
            <title>Most Common Real Estate Categories</title>
            <description> <![CDATA[ 
In many areas of the world, real estate refers to a piece of land and any type of improvement attached to it. Real estate is often synonymous with real property or realty, while personal property refers to any other possession that is not a fixed or immovable part of the real estate. It is disputed as to the meaning of the word 'real' as it refers to property, with the main argument since it refers to the reality of matter. The other side of the case states that 'real' refers to the French meaning of the word - royal in which feudal ruler owned all of the land and his or her subjects paid rent to live upon the land.

The laws of real estate differ across the globe, but there are main categories throughout. Within the realm of residential real estate, there are subcategories such as attached or multi-unit housing, whereby the owner of the property rents or leases out individual space, in terms of an apartment building or duplex to each tenant for a specific amount of rent per month. Condominiums are also multi-unit housing complexes, but the individual units are sold outright and the community areas and grounds are shared ownership.

There are a few more subcategories of residential real estate such as single-family homes, portable homes (mobile homes, tents, and boats), and semi-detached homes. Within each subcategory, there are specific laws and regulations that differ from region to region. In some areas of the world, the size of living space is measured only in terms of actual &quot;living&quot; space, and in other areas the measurement might include garage space and other non-&quot;living&quot; space.

Commercial property is identified as any structure in which business is conducted. This can be a retail store, a manufacturing facility, a service business, or even a school. Commercial property is essentially any type of real estate that is used for the purpose of making a profit. Subcategories of commercial real estate include retail, industrial, office, and multifamily housing units.

In both residential and commercial real estate categories there are specific legal regulations that have been established to constitute the use of mortgage loans in order to buy real estate. As most real estate is more expensive than people can afford to pay outright, mortgage are required in order to own property and the legal regulations set forth guidelines of the commercial and residential real estate for the benefit of both owner and lender.
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            <pubDate>Tue, 17 May 2011 13:22:27 -0600</pubDate>
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