Boulder Archives - Agents for Home Buyers

From the Newsletter

What Time of Year Do Prices Increase?

What Time of Year Do Prices Increase? by Norris Minick When people hear that house prices are going up 12% a year, most assume that they are going up about 1% a month over the entire year. As we’ve told our clients for years, however, that’s not how it works. In market where prices are surging, nearly all the price increase for a given year occurs between the months of January and June. So, when we have a 10% price increase, a house that sold for $500,000 house in January will tend to sell for $550,000 by the end of June.

November 27, 2018 No Comments

Home Buyer Issues

Meth Testing as Part of Your Inspection

Meth Testing as Part of Your Inspection by Norris Minick After attending a 5-hour house inspection in a wonderful house he had under contract in Arvada this summer, our client walked out with a headache and some nausea. He went home, laid down, and slept for 3 hours. Worried that maybe that had 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 our meth screening samples from the house. The meth levels in the house were from 100 to

November 27, 2018 No Comments

Home Buyer Issues

The Market in 2018…and 2019?

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

November 27, 2018 No Comments

Home Improvment

If you got it…flaunt it! When it comes to a fireplace, that is.

If you got it…flaunt it! When it comes to a fireplace, that is. by Shannon Weissleder Fireplaces are highly sought after here in Colorado. Buyers dream of getting cozy and nestling up fireside next to loved ones. Fireplaces are where people want to hang stockings during the holidays and have lazy Sundays lying around watching movies while the fire crackles. In the design world they give a room a feature wall to work with and place furniture around. When putting your house up for sale, make sure the fireplace takes center stage because buyers will be attracted to a room

November 2, 2018 No Comments

Home Improvment

Using Salvaged Items to Create Architectural Details in Your Home

Using Salvaged Items to Create Architectural Details in Your Home by Shannon Weissleder I have remodeled and flipped dozens of homes over the last decade. The easiest and most surefire way to add character to new homes or even older homes that lack charm is to incorporate found and salvaged items. New spaces need a bit of patina to create that desired character effect. Many of these items are meant to be architectural but they don’t necessarily have to be to give the illusion of architectural interest and detail. The picture in the above photo shows a pair of antique

October 25, 2018 No Comments

Buyer Agency

Our Dual MLS System Explained

Our Dual MLS System Explained By Claudia Lewis In Colorado, the Multiple Listing Service, the database of homes for sale, is a crucial tool for helping real estate agents bring home buyers and sellers together. Without it, agents and their clients would be reduced to driving around looking for yard signs. There are TWO MLS Systems Along the Front Range and the Denver Metro Area, there are TWO major MLS systems, REcolorado and Information and Real Estate Services (IRES). These are both accessed online by subscription only. Many real estate companies only subscribe to one system as a cost-saving measure

September 10, 2018 No Comments

Home Improvment

Give Your Dated Bathroom a Facelift

Give Your Dated Bathroom a Facelift By Shannon Weisleder Don’t let dated bathrooms scare you. They are fairly easy and inexpensive to update. This “pink lady” was easily transformed into a modern bathroom with tons of style. Flooring First, we simply updated the flooring with sheet vinyl that resembles vintage hexagon tiles in a neutral tone. The flooring was installed in about an hour for approimately $150. Fixtures We replaced the pink vessel sink with a small floating vanity we ordered online, which gives the illusion of more space since it doesn’t take up any floor space. The old high-water

September 7, 2018 No Comments

Home Improvment

Value Adding Curb Appeal Ideas

Value Adding Curb Appeal Ideas by Shannon Weissleder Creating major curb appeal can greatly increase your home’s value. Most buyers are looking for a house that instantly looks like a “H-O-M-E”. Here are my top ideas for creating maximum impact: #1: Update the exterior body color and dated looking brick with paint. I usually choose a bright color that will warm up a tired house. In this case I selected a classic white and black color scheme and brought in warmer wood tones through cedar fencing, cedar wrapped posts and redwood gorilla-hair mulch. The house was painted a bright

September 5, 2018 No Comments

Finding your new home - Set your Goals & Criteria

Buyer Agency

Now that there’s Zillow and Redfin, do I still need an agent?

Now that there’s Zillow and Redfin, do I still need an agent? Since the beginning of the new millennium, Zillow, Redfin, Trulia and other web-based real estate search engines have become widely used tools to help home buyers, sellers and real estate agents find each other. But, heads up, 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, make sure you have a bit of knowledge about how the real estate business actually works. The agent seems

July 9, 2018 No Comments

Home Buyer Issues

Should You Get A Meth Test Before Buying a Home?

Should You Get A Meth Test Before Buying a Home? By Lindsey Wolf Lunney Meth labs can be found anywhere, and you cannot always tell whether a house is a meth lab by just looking at it. We routinely advise our clients to test for meth contamination as a part of 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 test came back at 60 micrograms of meth in a space of about 4 square inches. The Colorado state standard is no more than

May 25, 2018 No Comments

A4HB Homebuyer's Blog

Meth Testing as Part of Your Inspection

The Market in 2018…and 2019?

If you got it…flaunt it! When it comes to a fireplace, that is.

Using Salvaged Items to Create Architectural Details in Your Home

Our Dual MLS System Explained

Give Your Dated Bathroom a Facelift

Value Adding Curb Appeal Ideas

Now that there’s Zillow and Redfin, do I still need an agent?

Should You Get A Meth Test Before Buying a Home?

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