Sowing seeds of success
Seeds in the paper: plant for flowers to grow Watch your real estate needs bloom with us at PRO! Planting directions for the seed paper: Plant in spring when all danger of frost has passed in your area. Select a site which receives at least 4-6 hours of sunlight each day and is somewhat protected from the wind. Prepare the soil to a depth of 3-4″. Lay out the paper and cover with no more than 1/8″ of soil. Soak until soil and paper are saturated; keep moist until plants are established. Sow seeds of success: call your real estate PRO! 303-449-3444...
The Biggest Business Story of the Next Five Years
The Biggest Business Story of the Next Five Years By Conor Sen June 7, 2016 One of the most influential business opeds of the decade was Marc Andreessen’s August 2011 piece in the Wall Street Journal, “Why Software is Eating the World.” It was written during a period where business and economic people were still focused on the financial crisis, while European government debt was imploding, and while the U.S. Congress was contemplating defaulting on the national debt. Not many people were focused on technology. Fast forward five years, and “software is eating the world” and “disruption” have become business and tech gospel, akin to expressions from the late 1990s like “new paradigm.” Over that time period, the stocks of Apple and Microsoft are up more than 100 percent, Google and Netflix 200 percent, Amazon 300 percent, Tesla 800 percent, and Facebook has become a public $300 billion company. Uber has a private market valuation of more than $60 billion. The combined market caps of those seven companies is over $2.3 trillion. Collectively, they still have much growth ahead of them, but from a business power standpoint, these companies have become like WalMart and General Electric in the 1990s, and they’re best thought of as incumbent titans rather than small upstarts with a large greenfield in front of them. Regulators have begun kicking the tires on the business practices of most of these companies. Some are even talking with confidence about self-driving cars and drones and virtual reality. Marc should declare victory. The bigger business story over the next five years is, however, going to be something different: a capacity on strained U.S. economy where the housing sector is taking “inputs,” like labor and capital, from all other sectors. Housing is set to eat the U.S. economy. One way to show how much more growth housing, and construction more generally, has in front of us is to look at construction’s share of total employment. It’s currently 4.6 percent, and in every cycle...
Water Rights
Buying a home that has a well or is located near a ditch? Learn more about water rights. Colorado Realtors: Introduction to Water Rights, Well Permits and the Real Estate Nexus (PDF file) Boulder County: Understanding Water Rights (website) Colorado Division of Water Resource (website)...
What is Title Insurance?
“Why do I need title insurance?” That might be the second most common question new homebuyers ask their Realtors. That’s after they ask the most common question: “What is title insurance anyway?” Most people have never heard of title insurance until it’s time to buy their first home. When they sign the contract, they may notice the reference to title insurance and give their Realtor a blank stare as he explains it. Then, when they see the premium among the long list of fees and charges to pay at closing, they might start asking if it’s really necessary. Oh, and by the way, based on the HUD, it looks like the lender is getting a title insurance policy too, so isn’t that really quite enough? These are great questions and ones every savvy (or even bewildered) homebuyer should be asking. What is title insurance anyway? Let’s take a look at what title insurance is first, then explain in more detail why it’s so important for your real estate transaction. Title insurance is a unique form of insurance because it protects you against ownership claims against your property. Unlike other types of insurance, your title insurance policy, for a one-time premium paid at closing, provides protection to you and your heirs for as long as you own your house. Also unlike other types of insurance, title insurance protects you from events that happened in the past: a forgery, forgotten heir, or other claims by people or entities who may truly (but unbeknownst to you) have a right to your property. Is title insurance optional? Many people think that since it’s protecting against events in the past, title insurance is something they can choose to forego. After all, the title company did a search of the property already. Why not just review the commitment and forgo the policy? It’s a common misconception that a title search will uncover every possible defect in title. Title searches only discover events and documents of public...
How to Make sure a home is appraised accurately
How-To Make Sure a Home Is Appraised Accurately Posted By susanne On July 28, 2012 @ 12:00 am In Today’s Home Spun Wisdom | [1](MCT)—Despite a steadying housing market, sellers and real estate agents still complain that low appraisals delay or kill up to 15 percent of all deals. In recent years, agents and others blamed a 2009 law that they said inadvertently led to less-experienced appraisers working in unfamiliar neighborhoods. Now a common refrain is that appraisers purposely keep valuations down. St. Petersburg, Fla., appraiser Frank Gregoire, who testified before Congress, says banks and underwriters are pressuring appraisers “to be less optimistic and more cautious” to prevent another housing bubble. But that’s “patently false,” says Ken Chitester, spokesman for the Chicago-based Appraisal Institute. He concedes there may be a lag in valuations in a recovering market, but says appraisers can only work with the data available to them at the time. Appraisers make the final call, of course, but here are steps that sellers and their agents can take to ensure that valuations are fair and accurate: —Don’t get greedy. Strong demand for homes is resulting in multiple offers, and some properties are being bid up so high that they won’t appraise, real estate agents say. Cash buyers typically don’t request appraisals, but banks require them so they don’t lend more money than homes are worth. In accepting a bid from a buyer needing financing, a seller would be wise to consider whether the offer can match the appraised value. “Highest is not always best when you’re dealing with an appraisal,” says Jim Heidisch, a broker in Pompano Beach, Fla. —Be accommodating without being intrusive. The change in rules governing appraisals discourages contact between agent and appraiser, but there’s nothing improper about the agent’s being at the home to give the appraiser access and answer any questions, said Michael Citron, of Coconut Creek, Fla. Sellers should not be present because they tend to get in the way, agents...
