Tag Archives: Denver

Driving Park over Cherry Creek? Take a look for yourself.

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A few fun factoids:

- Driving Park Historic District (DPHD, also known to most as North Country Club) has held its value, real estate-wise, over the last 5 years better than Cherry Creek north. The list to sale advantage has been 2-3%, but in terms of houses selling upwards of $1 million, that’s $20,000-30,000.

- A few streets in Driving Park actually feed into Bromwell Elementary, long recognized as one of the more prolific schools in DPS.

- Many of the DPHD neighbors who don’t go to Bromwell have choiced into Bromwell, as well as Steele and other schools in the area. Plus, Good Shepherd Catholic School is less than a mile away.

- Depending on your definition of Cherry Creek North, the house at 551 Humboldt Street is actually closer to the Cherry Cricket than a house on Jackson, Monroe and even Madison Streets. Suffice to say that the neighborhood surrounding 551 Humboldt is decidedly more affordable and comes with charm you can’t duplicate anywhere in Denver.

If you want to learn why 551 Humboldt should be your first stop for looking at luxury homes under $1 million in central Denver, go to Karl Sells Denver Real Estate or learn more about the home at Trulia Voices.

Here’s a pic of 551 Humboldt, by the way. Nice, huh?

Karl Lueders presents 551 Humboldt

Search for homes across Denver metro here.

Highlights from 2008 No. 1

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So I just stumbled upon (not Stumbled Upon) this virtual tour link from a listing of mine that sold in less than 30 days just a couple of months ago.

This home sold in less than 30 days

This home sold in less than 30 days

(Check out Virtual Tour here.) So what? So, let’s dance! Check out where this really cool patio home is located:

See the A? Half block from the speedy part of 6th. Sold in 30 days.

See the red A? Half block from the speedy part of 6th. Sold in 30 days.

Frankly, I’m only partially surprised. My client did an amazing job of maintaining and upgrading it, which proves that a good remodel can overcome quite a few challenges, even location. Buyers are picky and sellers’ memories can get awfully short when it comes to when they last updated their home (trust me, I have one of those memories). When you’re ready to sell/list a house, know that the up-front work does pay off!

Karl Lueders is a Realtor with the Kentwood Company at Cherry Creek. You can visit him at his Web site, Karl Sells Denver, or by calling him at 720-971-8267.

Sell Your Home From the Driver’s Seat (2009 edition)

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This post is reprised from my entry earlier this summer, but it’s been slightly remixed for 2009 and beyond. A couple of things to keep in mind when you read this: Denver’s inventory of houses have continued to decline, although the sales rate has not proportionally increased. Also, the million-dollar housing market in metro Denver is in suspended isolation, although indicators from the lower-end markets show promise across the board. If you need any indication, I have a $250,000 buyer right now who just lost a bidding war on a house in central Denver and couldn’t even get another offer in because the house went under contract that fast. Anyway, read, learn and enjoy:

As a Realtor living in Denver’s Driving Park Historic District (which encompasses all houses north of 4th, south of 6th between Downing and High), I have a pretty good view of how buyers and sellers have been reacting to the real estate market. Nine years ago, we moved into a 1400 sf Victorian for way more than we wanted to spend ($350,000 at the time), and struggled for at least 2 years wondering how we would spend the $14.32 left over after we paid mortgage and heat. Eventually, our income caught up to our house payment, and now we can go to the movies together, as opposed to taking turns. Still, we learned a lesson about buying in Denver; you either buy a house in a neighborhood you can afford or you make sacrifices to get the house you really want. People trying to make a living buying houses formerly occupied for the last 50 years by the lovely 90-year-old neighbor are wading in a very shallow pool. But I digress… you want to know how to control the sale of your home, and I’m getting there, I promise. This isn’t about Karl Lueders.

One of the nice things about living in a core neighborhood like Driving Park, Congress Park, Country Club, Hilltop and Washington Park is that we’ve remained relatively bubble-proof. Other than the obvious charm in an older neighborhood, you can’t build location in the outer layers of the suburban sprawl and you can’t build a 90-year old house next to 1000s of other homes just like it. And that makes people want to move -and stay – there.

Currently, there are only 9 (nine) homes on the market out of 500+ homes in the Driving Park district; seven of them are $700k and up (the other two: $695k and $675k). Only house is under contract and 15 homes have sold in this 16-block area in 2008. There are a couple of reasons why this number is strangely low for this neighborhood: the most important reason, I think, is that sellers in DPHD DON’T HAVE TO SELL.

How does this help you? Read on. Once you know the rules of selling a house in a nieghborhood like this one, you will realize how you can take control of the sale of your own house.

THE RULES OF SELLING IN THE DPHD

IMHO, many of my neighbors do not see their homes as their primary investment. In order to buy a home, you have to be able afford it, but, more importantly, you have to be able to update and maintain it. This rule increases 4-5x with $1M+ homes. If you’re reading this, there’s a good chance that your home is your primary investment. That’s the case with most homeowners. But that’s OK! If you can act like it isn’t, then you’re taking the first step to making the rules of selling a home work for you.

Most homeowners develop a strong emotional attachment to their home, but unlike you and I, well-to-do homeowners that aren’t “house poor” bring a little less emotion and more strategy when it comes to pricing their house. Specifically, two distinct strategies:

  • PLAN A: when you live in a great neighborhood and there is no pressure to leave, you can move on your terms. What ends up happening is that many sellers will price their house according to optimal market conditions and let the market come to them. Most Country Club homeowners don’t – and shouldn’t – allow unqualified buyers to tour their homes, thus filtering the number of “tourists” from coming through their houses. Depending on motivation, there are times when houses north of $3 million will stay on the market for more than 2 years!
  • PLAN B: There are times, however, when job, family or some other circumstance will change the motivation of a homeowner. When you lose control of your situation, Country Club homeowners are just like any other homeowner. More often than not, buyers can take advantage of sellers that relist their house within a couple of years of moving in - especially in this market – or sellers who failed to upgrade a house hoping that the great bones and great block would keep it up with the competition. Regardless of where you live, if your house doesn’t show well because you failed to update or (gasp) your taste isn’t as mainstream as the next house, you can almost see the calculator in a buyer’s head deducting huge chunks off your list price. Don’t get me wrong, there isn’t one homeowner on the planet who is going to be happy about taking a loss on their home, but it’s not a coincidence that successful people often possess a healthy mix of reality, proactivity and a desire to move forward with their lives. And it’s no coincidence that many people that live in Driving Park have already found success or are well on their way.

HEY, I DON’T LIVE IN AN HOITY-TOITY AREA LIKE KARL LUEDERS

It doesn’t matter (and for the record, I thought my neighborhood was a little far from downtown… Mrs. Karl Lueders chose it.) Regardless of your neighborhood, you as a homeowner have several options on how to market your property when you need to sell. If you’re electing to move, you can certainly choose Plan A, but eventually you’re going to have be honest with yourself about what your house is really worth in this market or if you just want a change of scenery. This market is very quick to respond to your opinion of your house’s worth, so if there’s part of you that thinks you’re not going to get what you want, you may reconsider listing your house. What you NEVER WANT TO DO is overprice your house to recapture false gains (that’s another post altogether).

Plan B is never the optimal alternative, but it reflects reality, and as many people are loathe to admit, life ain’t fair. The best way to ease the pain of B, especially in this market, is to make a run at a price you’d like to get but be ready to accept what a buyer will bring you.

THEN THERE’S PLAN C

There is Plan C, which I find to be the optimal route for selling a house, but it also forces you to resist the urge to procrastinate and – yuk – do some work around the house.

  • PLAN C: I have clients that will contact me in March/April, letting me know that they’d like to be in a new house by September. While that conversation is nothing new, these clients are prepared to make it happen. They’ll expect me to come by the house and consult with them on what needs to be done to the house in order to have it sold in 4 months.

Sound impossible? Not at all. (Maybe, if they need to gut their kitchen. But if these people are calling 6 months ahead of time, they’ve already made significant updates to their house.) They also recognize that the ultimate goal is to be in a new house, not trying to squeeze every nickel they can out of their current home. These people have either made a profit on their house and won’t led greed disrupt their lives, or their life change is more important than an extra 1-2% of sales price (now that’s another post for another day!) in a bad market. In either case, they’re moving forward with their lives.

What’s my role in moving them forward? To bring as many buyers as possible to the house, present as much feedback as possible, and give the seller the opportunity to react to the market’s criticisms.

Remember, most of us don’t live in the Country Club, but with a little planning, we can be just as savvy when it comes to selling our houses. And when you’re ready, be sure to visit me to get a little more insight as to why I can get you in the driver’s seat.

Karl Lueders is a Realtor in Colorado who specializes in the metro Denver area. He works with buyers and sellers alike to realize their true value of their homes. As a builder of several custom homes, he can provide insight into what it takes if you need to resort to Plan C to sell your home. Karl can be reached via his Website, www.karlsellsdenver.com, or via phone, 720-971-8267.)

It’s the truth nobody likes to hear

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Perhaps you’ve never bothered to think about it before, but about the only thing buyers and sellers have in common is the property that’s being transferred. Buyers have goals to reach when buying a house, as do sellers, and rarely does either set have much to do with the other.

Today’s housing climate doesn’t do much to ease the stress points of a real estate transaction either. Even in the best of markets, buyers don’t want to spend more than they should on a house, whether it be keeping the monthly payments low or making sure they don’t overspend on a property. Depending on comps and finishes, it’s pretty easy to determine fair market value from the buyer’s end.

Sellers, however, tend to have a different opinion of fair market value. Granted, they want to net as much out of the final sale of the house as possible, since they’re likely going to fund their next purchase with those proceeds or simply cover their closing costs. The challenge is making sure that sellers understand what goes toward their final sale price. Actually, a better way to put that is to make sure that sellers understand what doesn’t go into the sale price. Things such as:

  • What you need to make
  • What you want to make
  • What you owe against it
  • Recent appraisals
  • Personal attachment to the home
  • Sales prices of neighboring homes from last year

Of those bullet points, care to venture a guess which adds more value to a home, in a seller’s eyes? In today’s market, it’s probably what a seller owes against the property, but in many cases that I’ve experienced, it’s the personal attachment a seller has to his/her house. Most home-owner bonds are as unique as fingerprints. People buy houses for their own reasons: location, number of bedrooms, backyard size, garage size, brick color. And because the buyer that’s looking at the seller’s home might be interested in most of the conventional aspects of a property, their ultimate reason for buying – or, in most cases not buying a house – can be completley counterintuitive to why you love your house so much.

Yes, you can profile who might buy the house all day long, but in my experience, that’s a bad idea. I’ve seen rock stars move into suburban neighborhoods; I’ve seen retirees look for downtown lofts. You know that cute vaulted ceiling in your living room that reminded you of Paris so much that you bought the house for that reason alone? The next buyer might drywall and insulate it off to save on heating bills.

If you’re looking to find out what your house is really worth on the open market, you can be sure that location, physical condition and the buyer’s ability to get financing will be your deciding factors. Yes, neighborhood comps are a good way to determine list price, but those buyers aren’t in the market anymore and you get to work with someone you’ve probably never met before, and probably have very little in common with, except for the mutual admiration of a property that you need to sell and they would like to buy.

For more real estate commentary: go to Karl Sells Denver for links to more of his real estate resources. You can find his current listings, testimonials from past clients, professional contacts and a complete resource list for vendors, contractors and services for any project you can think of. You can reach Karl at 720-971-8267. Or email him here or at klueders@kentwoodcc.com.

Open House this weekend!

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2465 South Sherman is going to be open this weekend… lucky for you! We actually were under contract for about a minute on Thursday before the buyer got cold feet. So here we are, ready for you to fall in love with it!

The house will be open 1-4 pm and is currently available for $325,000. Don’t miss it! Karl Lueders will be hosting the open house, so don’t hesitate to introduce yourself to him. He’ll be happy to answer any questions about the house, himself, The Kentwood Company at Cherry Creek or about anything in real estate.

2465 S Sherman - Cute in Harvard Gulch!

2465 S Sherman - Cute in Harvard Gulch!

Hey Karl!

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Where’d all my Bad Advice posts go?, you ask. Actually, for those of you who didn’t know me before I was a Realtor, you’re probably wondering, what’s a Bad Advice post?

Bad Advice was simply the most outstanding collection of writing I’ve ever done at a time when the world – and myself – needed a little closer examination.

Without question, it remains my most popular writing amongst my readers from a 12-year journalism career. Partially because it’s self-deprecating, partially because it’s funny, partially because it addresses issues everybody thinks but most are too withdrawn to discuss, and mostly because it’s honest. I had been asked several times since 2004 – when I launched the Bad Advice blog – to continue the posts until I had enough to fill a book. A memoir intermingled with quasi-social commentary, they were going to call it. We figured it’d be a hit for overworked journalists or a career guide for college grads (as in guiding them away from journalism).

What kept Bad Advice off the book shelves? Two things: I tore up my knee and I fell in love with real estate. Actually, the knee gave me a lot more time in front of the computer but once I bounced back, I knew my calling to be in real estate.

For those of you who never got a chance to read Bad Advice, trust me, you will. It’ll either be in book form within the next few years or back to its original blog site. If you’d like to get a glimpse of what Bad Advice was all about, drop me a line at karl_lueders@yahoo.com. Give me a call at 720-971-8267. I’d love to talk about what I wrote and even share it with you.

Great writing should be enjoyed by everyone!

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some clients that need my help…:)

A House for Every Voter!

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(Notes from a conversation with Karl Lueders… as told to Karl Lueders):

So Karl Lueders is likely going to vote for Barack Obam!a in the ongoing Anybody But Bush variety show, but even Obam!a proves his theory about what skills good Presidents must possess: an ability to delegate responsibility (to responsible people), a calming influence on television and the best speechwriters.

This quote from Obam!a, in response to the Fed’s decision to “brace” Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac from further carnage, shows that his free-market advisers might be riding on a separate bus (taken from Monday’s MSNBC article, “Treasury, Fed to prop up mortgage giants:”

“Democratic presidential contender Barack Obama said the government’s main concern should be ‘to make sure that home ownership remains attainable and affordable for American families. Second, any measures should protect taxpayers and not bailout the shareholders and management of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.’”

What part of that scares you? Isn’t it the term “attainable and affordable?” Hasn’t that been the mantra for lenders for the past five years figuring out how to pump out loans to mortgage-starved Wall Street bundlers? Karl Lueders knows this might seem counterintuitive that what we all do for a living, but the reason why this market blows is that homeownership shouldn’t be – by definition – attainable and affordable for all Americans.

Lueders knows there are people younger and more successful than him that live in nice houses with smaller loans. “Do I deserve a break for being older?”, asked Lueders. “If I was to wait until I was 40 to buy my first house, do I get credits for waiting so long, do I deserve a proportionally better house that factors in my age, even if my funds are lighter than my more successful neighbor?” (Answer, by the way: no.) What Lueders assumes Obam!a means by “attainable and affordable” is that there will always be homes in every price range, which is usually dictated by location and quality of construction. (By the way, you can check out the recent Denver metro market statistics here, proving that there are still a lot of homes below the “average price.” Thanks, Vali.)

The problem with presidential candidates is that they can’t be “handled” at every turn, so every once in a while, you get a somewhat candid answer. If this is one of those times, should we assume that Obam!a rents? False: Obama actually owns a mansion in Chicago’s Hyde Park neighborhood (purchase price approx. $1.65 million, of which he got a $1.32 million!!! loan). If you live in Chicago, they call that a business lunch.

Do these kinds of things disturb Lueders? According to Karl, they should bother everyone. “I wish my candidate’s cached memory was slightly more adroit, so he wouldn’t make such semantic errors which sound like quotes from the Liberal Handbook,” said Lueders. As he stormed off, however, he yelled over his shoulder, “Am I going to change my vote? Probably not… at least Obam!a was speaking English.”

Ed. note: I couldn’t catch up with Lueders, but I think he was referring to John McCain’s weigh-in on the same Fed decision. So in the interest of equal time, here’s Johnny (words actually spoken by Douglas Holtz-Eakin, senior policy adviser.) from the same article:

“Republican rival John McCain believes the measures announced Sunday ‘are consistent with the goal of providing support for a path through the current duress toward steps that include regulatory reform, market discipline and mission focus.’”

Hey Obam!a, now that’s good speechwriting!

Are You Picking Up What I’m Setting Down? Denver’s Doing Work!

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I’m not sure if Colorado has truly deserved the maligning it’s received for being a cesspool of foreclosures and slimy lending practices (there’s plenty of blame to go around for either topic) but when you’re a national punchline for so long, regardless of whether it’s true or not, sometime it’s nice for the truth to come out. CNBC just named Colorado as one of the top 5 states to do business in the US!

Wow, how do you go from the outhouse to the penthouse in one fell swoop? First off, it’s not one fell swoop. Second, Colorado was hardly in the outhouse to begin with… first and foremost, Colorado’s faulty definition of a foreclosure is partially to blame for what now could be said are inflated foreclosure rates. According to the Colorado Springs’ Gazette, the state records a foreclosure when the lender files the paperwork, not when the property is sold. The difference is that when a lender files, the homeowner (or lienholder) still has ample time to redeem.

Of course, this is the same state legislature, that up until the beginning of 2008, didn’t require any sort of licensing for mortgage brokers operating in this state. I remember finding a home for a couple that moved here from Chicago and was going to use one of their “boys” to do the loan. When I spoke with this lender to get a pre-approval letter, not only was there no letterhead from his company, but he spelled the name of my firm (at the time, the most recognized real estate company in the world) incorrectly.

When I called him out on it, his reply was, “Hey, it’s Denver. It’s the Wild West out there. Who cares?” I asked my clients if they wouldn’t mind finding a local lender, which they did, and everything went smoothly from that point forward. That was a couple of years ago, but you get the point. Reputations die hard. Which is why CNBC’s article, combined with the DNC’s impending arrival is giving this town a much-needed shot in the arm. I’m reserving judgement on how the city and state capitalize on these invigorations (think Chicago after their DNC hosting, not Montreal after their Olympics).

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How Dare You Low-Ball My Overpriced House?

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Have you heard this tender real estate axiom before? “If buyer and seller both feel like they’re getting screwed, then it must be a fair deal.” This horribly depressing statement works on the principle that if I’m not getting mine, at least you’re not getting yours. Take it from me: I’ve been miserable before and hanging out with other miserable people doesn’t make me feel any better.

What could possibly set a homebuyer or homeseller off like that? Well, in this market, it apparently doesnt’t take much. A buyer’s incredulity when a seller refuses to fix nickel-and-dime inspection items; delays in response time (albeit within the parameters of the contract); a seller’s reluctance to allow a showing at a certain time or a buyer who won’t back off their 2-hr window. And on and on and on…

… however, during a testy market, such as the one we’re all basking in right now, the big “diss” usually comes down to price. For buyers, it’s seeing a house with a price tag that’s out of whack with the neighborhood (sellers aren’t serious, hence they won’t negotiate); for sellers, it’s getting a low-ball offer (“Are they high?” is a common refrain from some of my clients). My colleague Betty Jung in Portland, OR has some sage words on this topic, which you’ll find in Betty’s blog, but the answer, once again, lies in what how well your Realtor can read between the lines of a listing. And trust me, it’s not that hard in this market.

SELLER’S LAMENT

As I alluded to in my “This Lovely Market” post, if you’re selling in this market, it’s likely you HAVE to sell, which means that the SALE of the house is the top priority vs. the PROCEEDS from that sale. (Getting in touch with how your house ranks on the market could mean touring the other active listings with your Realtor.) If the comps reveal a $300,000-$310,000 list price, why would you list your house at $325,000? To end up at $310,000? That’s not a great strategy, unless you’ve been keeping up with your updating and you’re presenting a turn-key house to the buying public. Otherwise, when you go market with a stale, overpriced product, buyers can see you from down the block. There’s also no law against holding firm to your price if you feel it’s competitive; just don’t ignore buyer feedback.

BUYER FEAST or FAMINE?

Having been to Las Vegas a few times in my life (when I say few, I mean quite a few), I can attest to the dull ache of “winner’s remorse.” The pain of losing is swift and painful, don’t get me wrong, but I think the syndrome of wishing you had bet more on a winning hand, game or roll is the true business model that supports Vegas. Ever been the guy/girl at the craps table who had the puniest bet during a hot roller’s streak? Everybody around you is raking it in and you’re getting stack envy. So what happens? You get out fo your comfort zone, stop listening to reason and overcompensate to the point where you actually think you understand horse racing. Today’s buyer is not unlike the modest Vegas winner; the market has provided him with a healthy buy opportunity but he’s pretty sure he can squeeze these “desperate sellers” even more.

The problem is that while sellers shouldn’t be angry at low offers on their overpriced house, buyers can’t expect sellers to roll out the red carpet for any offer, especially when they’re priced fairly.

Good Realtors understand how the market has moved and where it’s headed; at least, they’re in a position to react quickly to it. And since the goal of real estate is to sell and buy homes, not win, reacting to the market is a very good skill to have.

-Karl Lueders