A4HB Homebuyer's Blog

Meth formula, Agents for Home Buyers, Boulder, CO
Buyer Agency
A4HB Team

Meth Contamination Testing as Part of Your Inspection

Meth Contamination Testing as Part of Your Inspection After attending a 5-hour home inspection of a wonderful house he had under contract in Arvada, our client left with a headache and some nausea. He went home, laid down and slept for 3 hours. Because he worried that it might have something to do with the house, he called the inspector the next morning. The inspector reported the same set of symptoms. Later that afternoon, we got the lab results from the meth screening samples we took from several rooms in the house. Unsurprisingly, the meth contamination levels in the house exceeded 100 to 400 times

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From the Newsletter
A4HB Team

What Time of Year Do Prices Increase?

What Time of Year Do Prices Increase? by Norris Minick Prices Increase More in the First Half When people hear that house prices are going up 12% a year, it sounds like they are going up 1% a month over the entire year. However, that’s not really how it works. In a market where prices are surging, nearly all the price increase occurs between January and June. So, when we have a 10% price increase, a house that sold for $500,000 house in January would sell for $550,000 by the end of June. For clients who are starting their house

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Home Buyer Issues
A4HB Team

The Market in 2018…and 2019?

The Market in 2018…and 2019? by Norris Minick Is the Market Slowing? The Denver Post has published several articles suggesting that the housing market in the Denver metro area is slowing. Signs show that we may be returning to a more balanced market than we’ve seen since 2013. Since the market always slows in the fall, it pays to be skeptical of these articles, but it does seem to have slowed a bit more this fall than normal. The Post cites some interesting data, noting that closings on residential properties dropped 20% from August 2017 to August 2018, while the

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Buyer Agency
A4HB Team

Our Market Has Two MLS Systems

Our Market Has Two MLS Systems By Claudia Lewis The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a crucial tool that helps real estate agents bring home buyers and sellers together. In the Denver Metro area, our market has two MLS systems. As you may know, the MLS is the database where seller’s agents list their client’s homes for sale. Buyer’s agents look to the MLS to help buyers find homes to buy. Without it, agents and their buyer clients would be reduced to driving around looking for yard signs. There are TWO MLS Systems Here Along the Front Range and the

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Buyer Agency
A4HB Team

Open Houses are Not the Way to find a Home

Open Houses are Not the Way to find a Home By Claudia Lewis Open Houses are Fun but not a Good Idea For may folks, open houses are a fun way to spend a weekend afternoon. It’s interesting to see what your neighbor’s house looks like and possibly pick up some good decorating ideas. On the other hand, open houses are NOT a good way to buy a home. With all the information currently available on the internet, open houses are an entirely unnecessary way to look at homes for sale. Open houses are, in fact, responsible for selling only

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Finding your new home graphic
Buyer Agency
A4HB Team

Now that there’s Zillow and Redfin, do I really need an agent to find a home?

Now that there’s Zillow and Redfin, do I really need an agent to find a home? Since the beginning of the new millennium, Zillow, Redfin, Trulia and other web-based real estate search engines have become widely used real estate tools. These platforms help home buyers, sellers and real estate agents find each other. You might be asking yourself, “Do I really need an agent to find a home?” This is a buyer beware situation if there ever was one. Just who, exactly, benefits from using these sites? Are your best interests protected? Before you tap into one of these resources,

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Methamphetamine formula, Agents for Home Buyers, Boulder, CO
Home Buyer Issues
A4HB Team

Should You Get A Meth Test Before Buying a Home?

Should You Get A Meth Test Before Buying a Home? By Lindsey Wolf Lunney You Can’t Tell a Meth House by its Cover Meth labs can be found anywhere, and you cannot always tell whether a house is a meth lab by just looking at it. We advise all our clients to test for meth contamination during the inspection phase of the home buying process. Recently, we found a home in Arvada that had no visual signs of meth contamination, but the tests came back at 60 micrograms of meth in a 4 square inche space. The Colorado state standard

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House graphic, Agents for Home Buyers, Boulder, CO
Home Buyer Issues
A4HB Team

Common Home Buying Mistakes

Common Home Buying Mistakes Home Buyers in every age group run the risk of making common home buying mistakes. You can avoid making those mistakes yourself by becoming aware of what they are. Check out this article published in the Daily Camera for more insight.

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Pick Your Best Investment as a Residential Buyer

Pick Your Best Investment as a Residential Buyer By Norris Minick In a recent post, we presented some data on a gap that opened up between 2002 and 2010 between condo/townhome prices and prices for small single family homes. Then we noted that this gap narrowed substantially in most local communities over the past few years. This raises a question: If buyers see a price gap opening up, does it made sense to buy a condo or townhome, rather than a single family home, to maximize the potential of their investment? How do you pick your best investment as a

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It’s a Good Time to Purchase an Investment Property

It’s a Good Time to Purchase an Investment Property Millennials are Waiting Longer to Buy In July 2016, U.S. homeownership rates hit their lowest percentage on record at 62.9%. What is the major cause of this trend? The dip in homeownership is most likely due to millennials waiting longer than ever to purchase their first home. Factors that influence the home buying decisions of the younger demographic are increased student debt, delayed marriage, and waiting to have children. As a natural result, this has impacted rent and vacancy numbers across the state. According to the Colorado Department of Local Affairs,

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