A4HB Homebuyer's Blog

How quickly they sell graphic
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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Prices and appreciation graphics
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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Salvaged window, repurposed, Agents for Home Buyers, Boulder, CO
Home Improvement
A4HB Team

Using Salvaged Items to Create Architectural Details in Your Home

Using Salvaged Items to Create Architectural Details in Your Home by Shannon Weissleder Old Doors are a Surefire Way to Add Character 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. This photo

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Remodeled front view of house, Agents for Home Buyers, Boulder, CO
Home Improvement
A4HB Team

Creating Value Adding Curb Appeal

Creating Value Adding Curb Appeal by Shannon Weissleder Creating major curb appeal greatly increases your home’s value. When selling your house, you want to grab buyers from the moment they pull up to the curb. 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 with paint.    Choose a bright exterior color to warm up a tired looking house. In this example, I selected a classic white and black color scheme and accented with warmer wood tones through cedar fencing, cedar wrapped posts

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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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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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Happy school kids, Agents for Home Buyers, Boulder, CO
Communities and Schools
A4HB Team

Finding the Right School for Your Family

Finding the Right School for Your Family By Claudia Lewis Great Schools in our Area Many of our buyer clients list good schools as one of their reasons for selecting Boulder Valley as the place they want to live. In some cases, parents have already targeted the one school they would like their children to attend. However, if you limit your choice of neighborhoods this severely, it can be a recipe for frustration and possibly failure. Agents Cannot Offer Opinions Under Colorado Division of Real Estate rules, agents are prohibited from offering opinions about local schools to home buyers. Much

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Ranch home, street view, after, Agents for Home Buyers, Boulder, CO
Home Improvement
A4HB Team

Top 5 Strategies When Flipping a House

Top 5 Strategies When Flipping a House By Shannon Weissleder Flipping houses has been a passion of mine for over a decade. I’ve been fortunate enough to purchase and sell 13 properties during that time. Each property needs its own special kind of attention and love. Here are my Top 5 bits of advice if you are itching to flip. #1: Creating curb appeal is essential A home without curb appeal is going to have trouble getting buyers interested in what is inside. Some properties need more work than others to become enticing to potential buyers. The exterior of this

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Confused couple, Agents for Home Buyers, Boulder, CO
Buyer Agency
A4HB Team

Why Hire a Real Estate Professional in a DIY World?

Why Hire a Real Estate Professional in a DIY World? This may be stating the obvious, but I am a real estate agent. It may also be obvious that I feel strongly that you should hire a real estate professional when you’re ready to buy a home. I became an agent in part because my first home buying and selling experience was such a disaster! My motivation for going to real estate school was to do whatever I could to prevent other folks from making the same mistakes my husband and I did. When You Don’t Know What You Don’t

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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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