How Can Appraisals Affect Your Denver Home Sale?

A question I get asked all the time by Denver sellers is, “Should I have an appraisal done before listing?” Today, I thought I would answer the question in detail.

Although I don’t think a pre-listing appraisal is a necessity, it’s definitely a good idea and it certainly won’t hurt to get a little more knowledge from a professional who is objectively valuing your property.

However, one thing to take into consideration when you're looking at the appraised value is that there is often a disconnect between that appraised value and a Denver home’s fair market value. The reason being that appraisers are only looking at historical and sold data as it relates to your property. They may be looking online at sold properties and only have pictures as their reference point. They don’t get to see the quality of the finishes or other different nuances. They also don’t take into account the lack of inventory or the competition currently on the market.

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The fair market value is what you really want to know.

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To get your fair market value, you’re better off talking to a professional real estate agent. They know the market, they know what homes near yours are selling for, and they understand the different nuances that go into determining a home’s value. They will help you find the perfect price.

A pre-listing appraisal is by no means a bad idea, but it’s not the end-all of where you should price your home. If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to reach out and give me a call. I would love to hear from you.

Easy Updates with Positive Returns for Denver Sellers

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When it comes to return on investment, there are some upgrades that’ll bring a highly positive return. They break down into two major categories: inside the home and outside the home (curb appeal).

One of the most common things we find to get a positive return on investment is repainting the garage. If your garage door is a little bit banged up, it doesn’t cost a lot of money to repaint, and it sure makes a good impression on curb appeal. If you have chipped or cracked concrete, have it poured or mud-jacked.

Then look into some typical landscaping. You don’t need to go crazy or plant expensive bushes; even just a little extra water and fertilizer can perk up your lawn and curb appeal.

When it comes to the interior, remember this: Kitchens and bathrooms sell homes! These are some of the most profitable upgrades you can make because this is where people spend the most amount of time and the rooms that buyers are most interested in when looking at a property.

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Get positive returns on these home investments.

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If you’re selling a home vacant and you really don’t want to go through the upgrades and invest the money back into the home, staging can be a really good alternative.

The reason why staging works so well is because the human eye has been programmed over thousands of years to find anomalies and discrepancies and anything wrong with a home. Imagine yourself walking through a vacant home with scratches and dings in the walls and spots in the corner of the carpet. It’s because your eye is looking for imperfections and anomalies.

Even just some furniture or pictures on the wall, staging your home draws the eye away from the discrepancies and help your home show much better, and garner you a better price.
Check out the link I’ve provided below for some interesting stats and figures. As always, it would be my pleasure to be a resource for you regarding anything real estate-related, so give me a call or send me an email and let’s talk about it.

What Denver Buyers Need to Consider for Future Resale

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Are you considering resale down the road when purchasing a home in Denver? There are some key things to focus on with the intent of resale down the road.

There are hundreds of things to do (or not do) when considering a home for resale. Three stand out to me as the most important though.

1. Never buy a home that backs to a busy road. The same goes for homes that back to a commercial property. You’ll eliminate any future buyers who are worried about road noise.
2. Desirability of style. In my experience working with buyers in the Denver metro area, the least desirable styles are bi-level, then tri-level. Ranch and two-story are going to be very similar, but a ranch will always price out higher per square foot than a two-story will.
3. Location. I’ve attached some cool links that show the 20-year appreciation throughout the Denver metro area. You might be surprised to see which parts of the city appreciated better than others.

In this link I’ve included the amount of fix and flips that are taking place here in the Denver area and what those areas are getting for a return on investment.

If you’re curious about any of those hundreds of other do’s and don’ts of to consider for resale or you have any questions for me, feel free to reach out. I’d love to work with you!

Don’t Pay Two Mortgages When Buying in Denver

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Buying a home in Denver’s tight market when you have a home to sell can be tricky. I’ve found that a few select methods are the best approach.

First, if you can qualify for two mortgages, get a loan to purchase your next property. While you’re under contract and before you close, then you can list your home.

Another possibility is something called a “bridge loan.” Prior to selling, local credit unions can help you extract the equity from your current home to use as the down payment on your next home. A big advantage of this method is that you can write offers that aren’t contingent upon you selling your current property.

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A few select methods are the best approach.

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Here in Denver’s tight market, offers that are contingent on you selling your property will make it hard to compete.

Then there’s the option of listing your home, getting it under contract, and have the buyer have their offer continent on you closing on a new property, or you can do what’s called a seller leaseback agreement. That’s when the buyer closes and you then rent your property back for the next month or two, giving you time to write contracts that aren’t contingent on you selling your current property.

There are a lot of details and nuances to each of the options. I’d be happy to go over them in-depth with you to find the option that fits best for you. Give me a call or send me an email and let’s start the conversation.

Should You Accept the First Offer You Receive on Your Denver Home?

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In a strong seller's market, there are two different types of exposure. One has to do with marketing and the other has to do with time. We'll dive into both of these to ensure you understand the best strategies you can put in place to make sure you get the most amount of money for your home with the least amount of stress.

We put a home on the market Thursday of last week. We had 10 showings and two contracts the first day. Both the buyers who submitted an offer tried to pressure us into accepting it within 24 hours. We decided to let the property sit on the market for the entire weekend, which resulted in a total of nine contracts and even some cash offers. The seller was able to leverage all of these buyers against each other and get the best possible offer.

If we would have done this the old school way and accepted the first offer, the seller would have lost out on $11,000 and the chance to rent back the property, which turned out to be a huge bonus for this particular seller. This allowed them to buy their next home while living in their current home after they had closed.

Marketing is also extremely important, even in a strong seller’s market. If we can draw a lot of people into your home in the first couple of days that it’s on the market, we’re going to have a better chance of getting these people to bid against each other. This results in more money in your pocket, better terms, and your choice of financing.

If you have any questions about how our team can use time and marketing to get the best possible results when selling your Denver home, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to help you take advantage of this strong market! 

Hire the Right Denver Real Estate Agent

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Are all real estate agents equal? The answer is no. It’s important to interview more than one real estate agent. Today, I want to share some good questions you should be asking a real estate broker before you hire them.

1. Do you work with a team or are you an independent agent? If you work with a solo real estate broker, there’s a high chance they will have a conflict in their schedule when you’re looking at homes. Homes are selling incredibly fast in today’s market, so missing a showing could mean missing out on your dream home. With my team, you have 6 agents available to show you a home whenever you want.


2. How many properties have you sold in the last 12 months? Here in Denver, there are 16,000 licensed agents, and 8,000 of them have never sold a home. The average real estate broker should sell at least four homes a year. When you hire an agent, you’re getting more than their experience; you’re also getting their connections. An experienced agent who sells more than 4 homes a year will know inspectors, title company reps, structural engineers, and attorneys. The more sales an agent has, the better he or she can navigate tricky transactions.


3. Can you provide me with references or testimonials from previous clients? Is there a website where you can see that past clients had good experiences with this agent? You also need to look for recent testimonials. It doesn’t matter if a client had a good experience with this agent 15 years ago.


4. Follow your gut. Work with the person you think understands your needs best and will work on your behalf to accomplish your goals.

If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. My team and I would be happy to help you! 

Showings On Average Per ​Active Listing in Denver

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Check out this graph. It examines showings to active listings over the past five years. From 2009 to 2012, there weren’t major changes in trends. However, up until around spring 2013, we experienced a slight change in the market. Around this time, interest rates started to kick up with a high level of demand and low inventory. This repeated in 2014, and again, more powerfully, in 2015.

Shortly after January 2015, we still had a huge level of showings on average per listing. This remained true until the end of the summer market. We believe buyers tried to get ahead of the herd in the summer at the same time. We expect this boom to happen again this spring! It’s going to be extremely competitive.

If you’re looking to buy or sell a home, now might be the best time to do it. You might want to get ahead of the other buyers and prepare your home for an influx of showings. For instance, we did sixty showings the three days recently! We can help you sell quickly and for top dollar.

Give us a call or send us an email today. We’d be happy to talk about the opportunities available in the surrounding Denver area.