THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED; WE WILL UPDATE YOU WITH FUTURE DATES FOR THIS GREAT CELEBRATION OF WINTER!

Season’s Greetings! I hope everyone is enjoying the final days of 2011.

I want to invite you all to this new event at the Stagecoach State Park/Reservoir next weekend, Jan 7-8. It is a new event, with dog sledding teams, free ski bike demonstrations, snowmobile test drives, bake sales, etc. The park also rents free snowshoes, and there’s a great sledding hill too. A flyer is attached with more details.  It should be a lot of fun! Please come join us for a festive event to start of 2012!

Moving can be stressful. Moving with children can be more stressful. Moving with children over the holidays…is there even a word that accurately describes what that feels like? It happens of course. There are just some things that you can’t plan for, even when you have been planning for months. We asked some of our top van line partner’s to provide tips that they had for making a holiday move easier on everyone. Here is what they said:

• One: Remember monkey see, monkey do. If you act disappointed about moving over the holidays, or are moping because you won’t be celebrating with the extended family, your children will pick up on that and follow your lead. Be positive and excited. Tell them about their cool new room that they can paint whatever color they choose, or all about the park and mall nearby. Show your excitement and your children’s excitement will follow.
   
• Two: Don’t forget the decorations. Whether you decide to decorate at the old house and once again at the new house or at the new house only; bring the decorations in the car with you so you can set them up the minute you arrive, or buy all news ones when you get there. However you choose to do it, decorate.
   
• Three: Start a new tradition. We all have time honored family traditions at the holidays. Since you are starting a new beginning, why not add a new tradition? For example: if you plan on a driving long distance to the new location, open one present each day in the car. Or maybe buy a new decoration at each place you stop for the night. Each year when you are putting up the decorations you will remember your journey to your new home.
   
• Four: Listen to holiday music. You’re driving, so what else are you going to do? Stock up on CD’s or tune satellite radio to a station where holiday cheer can be found. It is a great way to feel connected to the familiar holiday spirit when things are feeling anything but familiar.
   
• Five: Make the trip memorable. We all remember those “fun” family vacations in the car. Why not give your children some of those memories? If you can plan your route around fun attractions, cities family members live in, historical sites, and famous landmarks. Consider staying the night in a nice hotel and make sure it has an indoor pool for the kids!

Q: If you make an offer on a house and the owner comes back with a counter offer and you agree to it, can the owner still change his mind and sell to someone else?

A: In Colorado, if a buyer agrees to a counterproposal, signs the counter and delivers it to the seller or the seller’s Realtor, then generally speaking the owner can not change his mind and sell to someone else. I say “generally” because sometimes short sale scenarios can change the game on this (that’s a whole other topic.) Also, occasionally a seller will withdraw the counter before it has been accepted by the buyer.

If you’re not talking about a short sale or some other issue involving a bank, or some other unique situation, then the seller has to honor the counter offer accepted by the buyer and proceed to closing.

However, after the counter is accepted by both parties, the seller can accept a back-up offer (to be in full force and effect if the first contract terminates for any reason). In this case, if the first buyer wants to ask the seller to fix an inspection item, the seller can refuse to fix the item and the buyer can terminate because of this, and then the seller is free to work with the next contract, which is in back up position.

If you are still confused, give us a call and we can talk about it in more detail. Thank you!

It is almost a given that every year, on Halloween Night, the skies above Steamboat will open with a flurry of snowflakes. This year, it actually seemed to be one of th warmest Halloweens we can remember. Main Street was closed from 5-7 for the annual Trick or Treat Town Stroll in which downtown businesses hand out candy for a safe, festive Trick or Treat party. Monsters, lego men, and princesses scurried door to door to see who could be the fastest. The Steamboat Fire Rescue, Routt County Search and Rescue, and local police force were handing out candy and greeting the locals. Even those without youngsters were out enjoying the festivities.

To see a video of the Trick or Treat event, click here.

Here at Prudential, we celebrated with some Pumpkin Carving, seed baking, and candy eating!

As for the expected storm that didn't happen on Halloween, it is finally here! While it snowed all night long, accumulations were only 1-2 inches in town and the roads were icy this morning. Hopefully Mt. Werner enjoyed a little bit more! Check out our web cam to see for yourself! 

In almost all cases, it is better to attempt a successful Short Sale than to Foreclose on your home. The Steamboat Heritage Title Office gave us some great information to share with you about what effects foreclosures and short sales will have on future loans, credit score and even your current and future employment. It is really amazing how much can be affected by a foreclosure. To discuss with the Heritage Title Office directly, phone them at (970) 879-1611 and let them know the Boyd Team provided you with their Homeowner Consequences pamphlet, or call Cam at (970) 846-8100 if you have specific questions about needing to sell your home before it forecloses.

Issue: Future Fannie Mai Loan, Primary Residence

Foreclosure: A homeowner who loses a home to foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage for a period of 5 years.

Sucessful Short Sale: A homeowner who successfully negotiates and closes a short sale will be eligible for a Fannie Mae-backed mortgage after only 2 years.

Issue: Future Fannie Mae Loan, Non-Primary Residence

Foreclosure: An investor who allows a property to go to foreclosure is ineligible for a Fannie Mae-backed investment mortgage for a period of 7 years.

Sucessful Short Sale: An investor who successfully negotiates and closes a short sale will be eligible for a Fannie Mae-backed investment mortgage after only 2 years.

Issue: Future Loan with an Morgage Company

Foreclosure: On any future application, a prospective borrower will have to answer "YES" to question C in Section VIII of the standard 1003 form that asks, "Have you had property foreclosed upon or given title or deed in lieu thereof in the last 7 years?" This will affect future rates.

Successful Short Sales: There is no similar declaration or question regarding a short sale.

Issue: Credit Score

Foreclosure: Score may be lowered anywhere from 250 to more than 300 points. Typically will affect a credit score for over 3 years.

Successful Short Sale: Only late payments on mortgage will show, and after sale, mortgage is normally reported as "paid as agreed", "paid as negotiated", or "settled". This can lower teh score as little as 50 points if all other payments are being made. A short sale's effect can be as brief as 12-18 months.

Issue: Credit History

Foreclosure: Foreclosure will remain as a public record permanently, and on a person's credit history for 10 years.

Sucessful Short Sale: A short sale is not reported on a credit history. There is no specific reporting item for "short sale". the loan is typically reported "paid in full, settled."

Issue: Security Clearance

Foreclosure: Foreclosure is the most challenging issue against a security clearance outside a serious misdemeanor or felony conviction. If a client has a foreclosure, and is a police officer, in the military, in the CIA, security, or any other position that requires a security clearance, in almost all cases clearance will be revoked and position will be terminated.

Successful Short Sale: On its own, a short sale does not challenge most security clearances.

Issue: Current Employment

Foreclosure: Employers have the right and are actively checking on the credit of all employees who are in sensitive positions. In many cases, a foreclosure is reason for immediate reassignment or termination.

Successful Short Sale: A short sale is not reported on a credit report and is therefore not a challenge to employment.

Issue: Deficiency Judgment

Foreclosure: in 100% of foreclosures (except in those states where there is no deficiency), the bank has the right to pursue a deficiency judgement.

Successful Short Sale: In some successful short sales, it is possible to convince the lender to give up the right to pursue a deficiency judgement against the homeowner.

Issue: Deficiency Judgement (amount)

Foreclosure: in a foreclosure, the home will have to go through an REO process if it dose not sell at auction. in most cases this will result in a lower sales price and a longer time to sell in a declining market. this will result in a higher possible deficiency judgment.

Successful Short Sale: In a properly managed short sale, the home is sold at a price that should be close to market value, and in almost all cases will be better than an REO sale resulting in a lower deficiency.

Your Question:

What are "HUD homes," and are they a good deal?

Answer:

HUD stands for U.S. Housing and Urban Development. The homes that HUD sells come into HUD's possession as a result of defaults on FHA (HUD) insured mortgages, so they are like bank owned/REO homes but the bank in this case is a government entity.

They can absolutely be good deals, but it depends on the condition of the house and how much money you have to spend to fix it. There are many HUD homes that have very low prices but that is usually because the previous owner did not maintain the home (probably because they didn’t have the money to spend on regular maintenance as well as fixing problems. It makes sense that if they stopped paying their mortgage and knew they would lose the house, they also stopped paying other house expenses.) So, a good inspection is key to knowing whether or not the price is a good deal. If the inspector discovers that there are structural issues and roofing issues (and you will probably hire a roofing contractor and a structural engineer to give you their opinion on the extend of the damage and an estimate to repair) that will cost $40,000 (for example) when the asking price is $150,000 then it is not a good deal when the other houses in the neighborhood are selling for $190,000. In many cases the homes will not have any appliances, so budget about $5,000 for a new stove, fridge, dishwasher, microwave and washer/dryer. (You could certainly pay more, but let’s assume you’ll be buying the basics.) In this example you buy the house for $150,000 and put $45,000 into it for a total of $195,000. Since the neighbor’s houses are selling for $190,000 then it’s not really a good deal even if the rest of the house is in mint condition, because you have to spend a lot of time and energy hiring the roofer and the engineer to do the work needed. However, if the neighbor’s houses are selling for $250,000 and you paid $195,000 for the house then YES this could be a good deal. The key to knowing the difference is teaming up with a Realtor. Realtors have been looking at houses every day and they know the neighborhoods, the school districts, the contractors to recommend, etc. Find a good one and stick with them. Tell them all your thoughts, questions, fears and desires relating to the home you want to find and they will be a priceless resource. They will save you so much time and energy…and hopefully make the process fun! As a Realtor, I know that navigating the real estate market can be intimidating, so I try to keep it fun and exciting. When you’re ready to start talking about homes for sale in or near Steamboat, CO give me a call and we’ll find the best match for you. 970-819-1131

Steph Fairchild

Question:

In addition to the mortgage payment, what other costs do I need to consider when buying a home?

Answer:

When you purchase a home, the majority of the costs are associated with your loan.  In addition to your loan fees (origination fee, appraisal, credit report, flood certification, tax service fee, pre-paid interest and any additional loan fees) you will be looking at a closing fee by the title company of $100-$200, lender’s title insurance policy fee of around $150-$500 (based on lender requirements), any fee for a survey that you ordered, a loan closing fee from the title company of $300-$400, any fees for your inspection if you decide to order one, (typically $250-$500), recording fees/transfer charges of $200-$400), homeowner’s insurance, prorated Homeowners Association dues and working capital contribution as well as any legal fees if you decide to hire an attorney to represent you.  

In reference to your carrying cost, as they say there are only 2 things in that you can count on in life, death and taxes.  So, included in your monthly mortgage payment will be an estimate of 1/12 of the taxes that will be owed that year.  Your lender will also want to make sure you have insurance in case something happens to the property since that is their collateral.  The lender will let you pick the insurer, but they will collect 1/12 of that amount in your payment as well.  The acronym for everything is PITI for principal, interest, taxes and insurance.

-Cam Boyd

From the Steamboat Pilot and Today:  Steamboat Springs — The Routt County real estate market has produced some noteworthy values in 2011, but perhaps nothing to match this week’s sale of a family home in Elk River Estates.

The 3,814- square-foot home was sold for $405,000 out of foreclosure by Wells Fargo Bank. That’s $106 per square foot for a home on 3.3 acres.

The home was built in 1998 and sold for $865,000 in 2007.

The lot sold for $33,000 in 1993 and then again for $40,000 in 1994. Both of those numbers would have sounded unrealistically low as recently as 2005. During the middle of the past decade, it would not have been unreasonable to think the lot alone would have sold for $405,000. Ulrich Salzgeber, of Buyer’s Resource Real Estate, agreed.

Research by Stan Urban, of Land Title Guarantee Co., shows there were 11 home sales in August within the $300,000-to-$500,000 range. The year-to-date total for that price range as of the end of August was 64 sales, or 18 percent of dwelling sales.

Bump up the price to a range of $500,000 to $700,000, and there had been just 43 homes sold through the first eight months of 2011.

Realtor Scott Wither, of Colorado Group Realty, said traffic at his agency suggests a substantial number of prospective buyers appear to think the real estate values still will get better.

Wither said he surveyed his colleagues and found that his office did 150 showings in July and another 150 in August.

“I asked them, ‘Where are these people coming from?’ And the typical answer was, ‘I’ve been working with these people for a year.’”

Salzgeber confirmed that Elk River Estates (on Routt County Road 129 north of Steamboat Springs Airport) has been on a hot streak and that finding the right property can take a year or even longer.

He represented the buyers in the $454,000 sale of a home in Elk River Estates on Sept. 9 — after four years of looking.

“They were bound and determined to be downtown,” Salzgeber said. “They had no intention at all in looking anywhere (in the lower Elk River Valley). He wanted to be in biking range” of work and shopping.

However, Salzgeber had toured the former home of longtime Steamboat residents Jim and Leslie Ryan and had a strong feeling it was right for his clients, despite their strong feelings about location.

“They were in the home for 10 minutes, and he said, ‘This is it,’” Salzgeber said.

They paid more on a per-square-foot basis than the buyers of the foreclosed home, but the gross prices weren’t far apart. To begin with, it sits on a larger 4.95-acre lot.

The 2,528-square-foot, three-bedroom house worked out to $179 per square foot, still well below replacement cost.

Although it was built in 1981, it had undergone a recent refurbishing that brought finish levels up to the standards of the second decade of the 21st century.

The wife is a location-neutral worker who got the large office she needed, and the home includes a large family room.

— To reach Tom Ross, call 970-871-4205 or email tross@SteamboatToday.com

Do zoning laws prevent you from living in certain areas?I want to buy land in an industrial area of town and build a workshop with a live space above it. Are there any zoning laws that would prevent me from living in an industrial area without being in a designated live/work complex building?

This all depends on the specific zoning laws and building restrictions in your area. Generally speaking, there will be guidelines that may limit you more than you want. For example, are you allowed to have more than one water or sewer tap for the residential bathroom(s)? Will you be allowed to build a garage without having to call it “storage” or a warehouse? And don’t forget that when you are ready to sell it, there will be less buyers that want to live anywhere with zoning issues. Bottom line: call your local building department of your city or county and find out the nitty gritty of what is acceptable and you will save yourself some headaches.

If our mortgage falls through because of the appraisal, what happens to the down payment at the title company...it's about $20,000?We qualify for a 30 year loan, but the house appraisal came back with a 25 year lifetime according to the appraiser. We're first-time home buyers and are worried about losing the $20,000 down payment left with the title company if our financing falls through. Our loan officer and her boss tell us that with our credit and such, the only reason the underwriter would deny the loan is because of the appraisal. We are buying from a more than patient owner who is using a company who helps him with this. We love the location, and understand some upgrades are needed, but we're willing to make them over the years. It's so close, and taking so long. We just wonder how much of a hole we are in if this doesn't work because the appraisal won't meet the underwriter's requirements. any help will be appreciated. Thanks

I have some questions about your question. You say “the house appraisal came back with a 25 lifetime..” do you mean that the appraiser’s opinion is that the house will only last for another 25 years? If so, that doesn’t seem like a good investment, but I need some clarification on that point. My other question is “What does your contract say?” Are you past your appraisal objection deadline and your loan conditions deadline? If not, then your earnest money is not at risk. If these deadlines are already passed, then your earnest money could be at risk. It depends on what has been agreed to in the contract and any extensions. Your Realtor will be able to explain it to you in more detail, based on the terms in your purchase contract. Good luck!

Ask Your questions!

Q: 

What is a buyers agent, what does this specifically do for a buyer and who usually pays this "buyers agent"?

A: 

A buyer’s agent is a Realtor working for the buyer. To be specific, a buyer’s agent works solely on behalf of the buyer to promote the interests of the buyer with the utmost good faith, loyalty and fidelity. The buyer’s agent negotiates on behalf of the buyer and acts as an advocate for the buyer. This is the opposite of a seller’s agent, which is a Realtor working for the seller.

Typically sellers pay the buyer’s Realtor, but in real estate, everything is negotiable. Sometimes a seller will offer a low commission and in that case, the buyer’s agent may request that the buyer pay the difference. For example, it is becoming common for sellers of short sales and REO’s (see previous post on the topic if you’re not sure what a short sale or REO property is) to offer a lower commission, say 2%, when the Realtor charges 3. In this case, the buyer’s agent may ask that the buyer pay the 1% that the seller is not offering. This fee is typically paid only at closing, so if the buyer doesn’t buy a property, the buyer’s agent doesn’t get paid. However, in some areas, Realtors are charging retainers or hourly fees especially if they are working on short sales, since they require so much extra work and they often don’t close. Short sales and their complications are a whole separate issue, and you asked about buyer’s agents so I’ll stick to the question at hand. In summary, the client of a buyer’s agent is the buyer, not the seller. Find one you want to work with, and together you’ll get answers to all the questions on what it takes to have a place to call your own.