Sell Your Colorado House

Are you looking to relocate to Colorado Springs? Sometimes, relocation to a new city can be scary. New neighbors, new streets, and new surroundings can be a little intimidating if you don’t know the area. Let’s take a brief look at what you can expect when you relocate to Colorado Springs so that you can more easily adapt to your move.

When you move to Colorado Springs, the one thing you can count on is beautiful surroundings. Colorado Springs is located right at the base of Pikes Peak, the highest peak of the Rocky Mountains. Each year, this city attracts millions of visitors looking to experience a small part of the beauty that it has to offer. Within the Colorado Springs area, you will find a variety of parks for nature lovers including the Garden of the Gods, the Native American tribal grounds, and Seven Falls. Wherever you go in this city you will be surrounded by sky high mountains, unique rock formations, and natural beauty.

If the gorgeous scenery is not enough to help you adapt to your relocation in Colorado Springs, perhaps the weather will be. Because Colorado Springs is surrounded by the Rocky Mountains, the climate here is quite mild and dry. In the summer, average temperatures range between 70 and 80 degrees, making it the perfect weather to catch a tan. In the winter, temperatures are mild reaching an average of around 28 degrees.

When it comes to relocating to Colorado Springs you will find that most of the economy is based around military installations, aerospace, and tourism. To give you an idea of how strong the military influence is, one fifth of all people in the city of Colorado Springs are employed by the military! Aside from the military, however, Colorado Springs also places a great deal of emphasis on space research. The Combined Services Space Center and the Consolidated Space Operations Center are both located in Colorado Springs, making it the perfect location for those interested in aerospace. As for tourism, Colorado Springs is booming. On average, the city drives over one billion dollars each year in tourism alone, one of the main attractions being Pikes Peak.

If you are looking to raise a family in Colorado Springs, you have plenty of educational opportunities to choose from. Colorado Springs offers access to over 39 different elementary schools, 9 middle schools, 9 high schools, and 6 alternative learning schools. Colorado Springs also has a lot to offer in terms of post-secondary education. With over 20 different colleges and universities in the surrounding area, Colorado Springs is home to Colorado College, the University of Colorado, and the United States Air Force Academy.

Relocation to a new city can be scary, but be assured that relocation to Colorado Springs, you will adapt quickly. Surrounded by beautiful scenery, a booming economy, and excellent educational opportunities, it does not take one long to adapt to life in Colorado Springs!

So you have decided that you want to purchase a home for sale in Colorado Springs? The next step is to hire a realtor! A Colorado Springs real estate agent can help you through the process of finding and purchasing a home. Let’s take a look at how a real estate agent can help you in your quest to find a new home.

When you first speak to a real estate agent in the Colorado Springs area, one of the first things that you will do is discuss your wants and your needs. Once the real estate agent knows what you are looking for, they can begin searching through the Colorado Springs MLS listings, finding homes that match your needs. Real estate agents can help to limit your house search based on housing type, housing price, location, and a number of different amenities such as number of bedrooms and bathrooms. A real estate agent can help you to pick through the long list of homes for sale, showing you only the houses that match your exact needs. Need a pool? Your real estate agent will find you houses with pools. Need air conditioning? Your real estate agent can find that too!

Not only can a Colorado Springs real estate agent help you to find your perfect home, but they can also help to choose the perfect location for you and your family. One of the things that make Colorado real estate agents so good at what they do is the fact that they are very familiar with the different neighborhoods. They can tell you any information that you need to know about schools in the area, crime statistics, demographic statistics, or anything else you wish to know. If you are new to the Colorado Springs area, this knowledge can be very beneficial to your decision!

One of the most important jobs that a Colorado Springs real estate agent has does not come while you are searching for a house, but rather while you are purchasing a house. Real estate agents are responsible for any communication between the buyer and the seller. The best part? Real estate agents have excellent negotiation skills, helping you to negotiate a price that works for both you and the seller.

Once you have reached your agreement with the seller, a real estate agent will handle all of the paperwork for you. When it comes to purchasing a home, there can be a great deal of paperwork that needs to be read and signed. Most of these papers, however, are written in a real estate code that is difficult for the average person to understand. A real estate agent can help guide you through the paperwork process, explaining any contracts that you may sign and answering any questions that you may have.

If you are looking to purchase a home for sale in Colorado Springs area, your first step is to hire a real estate agent. Colorado realtors can help you find the perfect home and then guide you through the process of purchasing it!

Homeowners whose homes have been put up for foreclosure are unfortunate but investors are somewhat lucky to find these deals on the market. Even with a “run-down” property, an investor can flip it and make a decent amount of money on its resale. The process of colorado springs foreclosures is somewhat simpler than other areas of the country as there is no need for a court appearance by neither the lender nor the borrower.

How does a foreclosure work?

When a borrower has defaulted on a loan, the lending institution issues a notice to the borrower and trustee. The lender requires a 3-moth reinstatement period to give the borrower the chance to pay the debt. When this time period elapses, a trustee’s sale is publicized, typically in the form of an auction. All costs related to the foreclosure and the principal amount is deducted from the winning bid. The balance is then given to the borrower.

Why foreclosures are good news for investors

A foreclosure is a good opportunity for an investor to snag real estate. This is especially true about Colorado Springs foreclosures. Though the market has experienced a dip in prices, the housing values in Colorado Springs are at a steady rise ranging from 2% to 6%. In addition, defaulted banks are willing to sell foreclosures at lower than normal prices in order to recoup what they have lost. They aren’t interested in real estate, they are more interested with lending money to new buyers.

There is actually an even better situation for investors as it relates to foreclosures. There is the instance when a property is sold in pre-foreclosure which means less cost and time. The buyer has more power to negotiate as the seller is willing to forego equity on the property to evade the tarnish to their credit report.

What are the steps that a buyer should take?

As a buyer, you should do a lot of research to find the right property. If you are planning on using the property as a primary residence, then factors such as the school district, the crime rate, local amenities, long-term plans for the area and comparable properties in the area should all be considered. When a property is decided upon, the next step is to approach a bank to get pre-qualified for a loan.

During this time, it’s recommended that you avoid making huge purchases. Lenders use your debt-to-income ration to establish what you can afford. It will include monthly housing costs, car payments, credit cards, student loans, etc. Additional debt will negatively impact the amount the lender will finance.

The next step is to either contact the seller or go to the auction to submit an offer. The ideal price will take into account the fact that banks hardly want less than 90% of the loan balance. Also, you should get the property professionally inspected. It makes no sense getting a “money pit” that has a lot of shortcomings which will end up costing a lot of money to fix. Keep this in mind when negotiating a price.

Colorado Springs is an amazing place to live so if you’ve decided to live there then congratulations. However, that doesn’t make the moving process any easier. Here then are some tips to help make your relocation to Colorado Springs a lot smoother and the transition process faster.

Use the Internet

The internet is an amazing tool that you can use to make your life a lot simpler. You can conduct searches online whether you plan on renting or purchasing a home. There are a lot of real estate websites where you can do MLS searches. You can even do virtual tours to really get the idea of where you’ll be moving to. No longer are the days when you would have to drive around in search of the ideal place to live as you can do a complete search online or at least narrow down the search.

Altitude

Colorado Springs has an altitude of 6035 feet. Sure the air is purer but for some it’s hard to breathe. For this reason, I would suggest hiring a moving company to help you unpack. Altitude sickness is a problem for some people who aren’t used to this kind of altitude. Add to that the stress of moving and you may end up gasping for air. Drink lots of water and take it easy and you should be fine. In addition, keep an eye on your pets as this change in altitude could affect them as well. Altitude even has an affect on the cooking process. So, you will have to make water boil longer and keep things in the oven longer too.

Pets

Moving is not only stressful on you but your pets too. They may get discombobulated for a couple of days as they are in a new environment. It is your responsibility to watch them carefully and make sure they are kept inside or find a way to keep them from running away. They are most likely to do this as they are getting used to the new situation. Not to mention that the wild life in Colorado Springs such as foxes, mountain lions, large birds and bears would love to spot your pet alone. On the lighter side of things, Colorado Springs is not only a top rated place to live for humans but for pets as well. It was rated the number 1 Pet Friendly City in the country. You’ll find there are many parks and trails for your pet’s exercise needs and lots of vets as well for their health needs.

There Are Others Like You

A lot of people living in Colorado Springs are “newbies”. Whether it’s because they moved there because of the positive ratings or they are expatriates working for some of the large companies situated there or because they have been assigned at one of the military posts there, a lot of them aren’t natives. This is a great way to meet people and acquire friends. And yes, relocation to Colorado Springs is full of “friendlies”.

Many Colorado Springs house hunters have lost confidence in the housing market due to some news released in the media. Here are some of the misconceptions out there which after this, hopefully will be dismissed.

Misconception number 1: Home loans are impossible to get right now

Traditional loans are available from as low as 5% and less. Another option is an FHA loan and they only require a 3.5% deposit. If you have not owned a home for 3 years, you even qualify for a first time home buyer loan. El Paso County has a 14 million dollar bond for you that you can get with a 3.9% fixed rate and down payment aid that you won’t have to repay. Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHAFA) also has funds that carry a small interest rate and down payment.  There are other ways to receive assistance to purchase a house both on the local and national level.

The misunderstanding comes from the fact that the way in which persons qualify for loans has changed. For example, currently, you have to be able to prove appropriate income and a good credit score to get a mortgage loan. All that means is that the days with little or no documentation for loan approval are over. This is a good thing as this is one factor that led to the amount of foreclosures now being experienced. In addition, if you have a real estate broker that’s a good negotiator, you may be able to include your closing costs in the final agreement further reducing your home-buying expenses.

Misconception number 2: Rates aren’t increasing now so there’s no rush

Let’s look at an example. The typical 30 year fixed mortgage rate for the year 2003-2007 was 5.75%. Therefore, if you had a $200,000 mortgage, the monthly payments would work out to $1,167. Today, the same 30 year mortgage is between 4% to 4.25%. That same $200,000 mortgage at 4.25% would work out to $983. Imagine if you sold the $222,000 house and purchased a $300,000 house. The payments would move from the 5.75% rate to the recent 4.25% rate so that equates to a difference of $144 per month in payments for $80,000 more of house.

Misconception number 3: You’re better off waiting until there’s an improvement in the market

History always repeats itself. It’s not the first time that prices have fell. Markets are cyclical and knowing this we know that once again, prices will go up. If you do not currently own a  Colorado Springs house, or are considering an upgrade to what you currently have, then this is the perfect opportunity for you to buy. If you are even only thinking about investing, it makes sense to buy when prices are low as well as interest rates and there is a lot of inventory.

Prices are beginning to stabilize and the economy is in the process of improvement. As a result, prices may increase soon in order to keep inflation steady so it is the best time to buy. Not to mention that banks want to get rid of their foreclosures and are reducing prices.