Sell Your Colorado House

If you are thinking about moving to the state of Colorado, then relocation to Colorado Springs, which is its second most populous city, is a good choice.  Colorado Springs is known for its beautiful mountains, elegant restaurants, military installations, and historical buildings.  It is pleasantly located near Pikes Peak, which is one of the most famous mountains in the US, and lies at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  It is definitely a wonderful place to live, and is considered a good place to retire.

Relocation to Colorado Springs will require the services of movers, or of storage services.  The Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce has information regarding relocation on its website. This resource also has directories listing economic facts, top businesses, recreational areas, and other helpful insights.
Of course one of the first things you want to do before relocating is to find yourself a good home.  You will have to decide very early if you intend to purchase a home or rent one.  It will all depend on whether your sojourn will be for a fixed time or for an extended period.

There are many nice neighborhoods to choose from and you can do your own search on the internet regarding property values in Colorado Springs.  However, if you are coming from out of state then in order to make the most suitable selection, you will definitely need sound advice from a Colorado Springs realtor.  A local realtor will be able to provide the advice you need in order to make an informed decision about purchasing a home.  Realtors can also provide information about town profiles, school districts, and businesses.

If you decide to purchase a home then you will have to consider the following:

Budget: This will determine the type of home you will be able to buy, as well as the area in which you will be able to afford to live.  To a large extent your budget will depend on your income.  However, it will also be impacted by other factors such as mortgage rates, the down payment required, as well as the size of any debt that you are already carrying.

Preferred Location:  You have to decide on the type of neighborhood you would like to live in.  Take time to find the one that has the amenities that you require to be comfortable.   Consider such things as the commute to your office, recreational areas, schools, property resale values. Once you have settled on a location, you can then seek out a reputable realtor in the area to help with your search.   If you intend to purchase a home, then opt for an area in which values are higher.

Relocating is never easy, despite your best efforts there will be some apprehension at the outset. However, if you make the effort to find out as much as possible about the city you are moving to, then it can be made a whole lot easier.  If you are considering relocation to Colorado Springs then if you follow these tips the transition can be made a lot smoother.

Located in El Paso county Colorado, the city of Colorado Springs offers many scenic views, surrounded by wonderful mountains and forests.  There are some very lovely homes Colorado Springs, which only serve to enhance its attractiveness and make it more appealing to residents and visitors alike.  Homes Colorado Springs offer several options, there are places you can get away from it all, as well as other areas that are near to the city.  The choice is up to you.

The Powers corridor is a vibrant and growing area of Colorado Springs.  The Powers corridor has become an increasingly popular place to buy a home in Colorado Springs, because of its affordability.  In addition, it is conveniently located near to several shopping and recreational areas, as well as to Peterson Air force Base.  The fact that it lies in the Falcon School District 49 is another plus, as it is the fastest growing school district within Colorado.

There are many housing options available in the Powers corridor of Colorado Springs. The area has condos, townhomes, as well as single family homes.  Condos generally have 2 to 3 bedrooms and many are moderately priced at under $200,000.

Townhomes in the Powers corridors are also available in 2 and 3 bedroom options.  However, there are also some that have 3 and 4 bathrooms.  It is possible to purchase a nice 2 bedroom 3 bathroom townhome for about $150,000.

The Powers corridor also has some nice single family homes on the market.  These range from 2 to 5 bedrooms, with 2 to 5 bathrooms, and 2 car garages.  Many are reasonably priced from $250,000 to $350,000.

The neighborhood of Briargate is another nice residential community.  If you are looking for homes Colorado Springs then make sure to put it on your list.  Briargate is a well-planned region that boasts some wonderful amenities. If you have school age kids then this is an excellent choice as it is located in School District 20, which is one of the top school districts in Colorado Springs.

There are different types of homes located in Briargate including townhomes, condos, and single family homes.   Sizes also differ as there are homes available from a little over 1,000 sq. ft. to 3,300 sq. ft.  In terms of prices, it will all depend on the housing option you prefer, but it is possible to get 2 bedroom 2 bathroom homes for $220,000.  Of course if you opt for a larger home of say 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, then the price may go up by an additional $100,000.

It is possible to get moderately priced homes Colorado Springs.  The price will depend on the type of house you decide to buy, or rent, as well as the location.  Colorado Springs also offers more rural home options, such as those that are available in Woodland Park and Ute Pass.  Real estate in these areas boasts large wooded acres that facilitate very private living.  They offer very scenic views with mountains on every side.

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While the economy has created a ‘buyers’ real estate market with home values plummeting and Colorado Springs foreclosures soaring, who’s buying up the properties that are for sale?  While first time home buyers are on the decline and previous buyers are being turned down because of tight credit conditions, Pink Realty agents are seeing that those with cash are the ones bringing the deals to the table.  And today, it’s typically the investors that have the cash!  Per Lawrence Yun, Chief Economist for the National Associate of Realtors (NAR), “Increases in all-cash transactions, the investor market share and distressed home sales all go hand-in-hand.  With tight credit standards, it’s not surprising to see so much activity where cash is king and investors are taking advantage of conditions to purchase undervalued homes.”

On February 23, 2011, Jon Prior of the NAR summarized the housing sales for January 2011.  All-cash sales increased to 32% of all sales in January, which was up from 29% in December 2010.  Additionally, it was investors that grabbed more of the market share by accounting for 23% of all buyers in January, up from 20% in December 2010 and up 17% from one year ago.

While many investor home purchases will result in a traditional fix and flip sale, the current rental market and trends are also providing a great profit opportunity for investors.  The demand for rentals in Colorado Springs is on the rise because more people are being turned down for home loans and more people are being displaced because of foreclosure or selling their home on a short sale.  Colorado Springs has become a hot rental area because of the number of military personnel in the city, but also because the economy and housing market has caused so many homeowners to lose their homes to foreclosure or because they had to sell their home as a short sale.  All these people are in need of housing and looking for rentals.  This demand has resulted in less than 1% vacancy in Colorado Springs.  Traditionally in Colorado Springs, the 3 bedroom home was always the highest in demand and considered the ’sweet spot’ in the rental market.  The 3 bedroom homes were always rented, never vacant and there were never enough of them to meet the demand for them.  The larger homes that were for rent were not in demand and stayed vacant.
However, today the demand for 4 and 5 bedrooms homes is increasing.  As more and more middle class families are displaced, the need for the larger rentals increases.  These larger rentals also bring a nice price point to the balance sheet.  The current rental rate for a 3 bedroom single family home is $1140 per month and the 4 and 5 bedrooms are $1374 and $1789 respectively.

Call Pink Realty today at 719-393-7465 (Pink) to talk to an agent and see what great deal is out there waiting for you!

There is no doubt the opportunity for investors to ’snag the keepers’ is now.

While wholesaling and fix and flips bring fast and big profits, more investors are adding the right ‘keepers’ to their portfolio mix as rentals for additional long-term passive income.  With the market trend shifting toward larger rentals, investors should also note that the larger homes with higher mortgages tend to get discounted more by the lenders when working a short sale.  Many of these higher end homes are simply in need of paint and carpet.  We have seen nice homes in the Stetson Hills area that needed as little as paint, carpet and linoleum flooring, but the homeowners couldn’t sell to a retail buyer because the buyers wanted a completely fixed home.  Investors can buy homes for sale Colorado Springs for around $125K and get them turned into great rentals for about $10K.  Cash flow on these short sales or bank owned properties would be very high.

If you call a Pink Realty agent, we would be happy to scour the market for you and find you a great property that will meet your needs.

Are you an investor who wants the upside of an investment property and today’s really cheap prices and huge cash flows but don’t want to at it alone?

The owners of Pink Realty are active, experienced investors and are always looking for partners on deals.  Just give is a call at 719-393-7465 (Pink) and ask to talk to Russ or Monica about partnering on deals.  We would be happy to talk to you.  Just tell us what you want to bring to the table and we will see how we can work together.

•    Do you qualify for the loan to buy the house?  A common strategy investors are using now is to buy houses with cash, remodel the houses and then refinance the property with zero money out of pocket.  We have investor friendly lenders ready to do these types of loans.

•    Maybe you have a small amount of cash available and we can short a 2nd loan and bring the 1st mortgage current on a good property.

•    Maybe you have a larger amount of cash available making 1% at the bank or in an IRA and you want to do something more productive with it but don’t know exactly how.  We can find a really cheap house that we can buy, fix up, and rent.

A short sale is when a lender agrees to allow a mortgaged property to be sold for less than what is owed on the mortgage.  While lenders don’t like their mortgages ’shorted’, they do understand the benefits.  Lenders know the loss incurred from a short sale is far less than the loss they will incur if they allow the property to go into foreclosure.  Foreclosure is very expensive process for lenders as it not only incurs expensive legal fees, but also adds the expenses of maintenance, advertising and selling, insuring the home and paying property taxes.  Lenders are not in the real estate business, they are in the business of making loans, so they know that selling a property as a short sale definitely has its financial advantages.

Today, everyone knows the real estate market is depressed.  The majority of Colorado Springs homes are distressed properties that are either advertised as a short sale or a foreclosed home.  Property values across the country have fallen and lenders have tightened their credit requirements.  The market has increased the competition between selling a home as a short sale and selling a home at a retail price.  While this market causes distress for sellers, it creates prime opportunities for Pink Realty agents home buyers to find great discounted deals on properties for their clients.

The current Colorado Springs real estate market also allows home buyers to seriously scrutinize the price of retail homes.  They aren’t willing to pay retail price for a home unless it is in perfect condition as there may be several other similar homes in the same neighborhood selling at a steeply discounted price.  This increases the competition between the short sale and retail properties for sale, however many buyers want to shy away from short sale properties because of some negative stories they may have heard.  We won’t sugarcoat the short sale process for you.  It can take time and be frustrating, however, if you work with a Pink Realty agent who is experienced and knows and understands the short sale process, it helps.  A real estate agent who has a good success record for getting deals done (and the Pink Realty team has closed hundreds of short sales) can make the short sale process appear seamless.

With that said, there are many advantages for buying a home as a short sale.  If you are aware that the process can take longer than a retail sale, you can be prepared and plan ahead.  Below are the 10 top advantages for purchasing a home as a short sale:

1.  With so many distressed properties on the market, you have a huge inventory of homes in a wide variety of neighborhoods to choose from.

2.  Unlike foreclosed or REO homes, you have the opportunity to talk to the seller of seller’s agent about short sale homes and to find out more information about the home.  This allows you to determine what, if any, repairs may be required.  In many cases, the repairs needed for a short sale property are far less than those needed for an REO property.

3.  You can obtain a home for a substantial discount which saves you thousands of dollars and offers you great future equity.

4.  Since the seller is trying to avoid foreclosure, they are cooperative and play an active role in the short sale process, which moves the process along faster.

5.  Because the homeowners are involved, they generally see the process through to the end.  As a result, they tend to keep the properties in better condition than a home that has been foreclosed on.

6.  When you work with a Pink Realty agent that understands short sales and works with an experienced short sale negotiation team, the short sale process is streamlined and takes less time.  Oftentimes, homebuyers work with a real estate agent that is experienced in the retail market, not the short sale market.  If a homebuyer wants to put an offer on a short sale property, but is working with a real estate agent that is not familiar with short sales and the process, it can end up being a nightmare for the buyer.

7.  Another way to minimize the time a short sale takes is to search for short sale properties secured by a FHA loan.  The FHA pre-foreclosure sale program requires that the lender provide the minimum sales price and the minimum net they will allow.  Therefore, you know what offer must be made and it shortens the short sale process tremendously as the ‘price haggling’ part of the process is eliminated.

8.  Additionally, if you purchase the home as a qualifying FHA buyer, meaning you are receiving a FHA loan to buy the property, the short sale lender agrees to pay 1% of your closing costs saving you additional money.

9.  If you are pre-qualified for a home loan from your lender or intend to purchase the property as a ‘cash’ deal, the short sale process also moves along faster.

10.  Buying a short sale property also helps stabilize the market and improve the condition of the neighborhood you are buying in because it keeps one more property from being foreclosed.  Foreclosed properties lower the value of neighboring homes more because they are vacant, less maintained and increase the risk of crime and vandalism to the vacant homes.

Pink Realty is known for its talented and experienced short sale agents.  Our real estate agents know the Colorado Springs foreclosures and they know and understand the short sale process.  Additionally, we work directly with an experienced short sale staff that has a known tract record for successfully negotiating short sale deals.  If you are a home buyer in the market to purchase a home, contact Pink Realty at 719-393-7465 (Pink).  Our agents will help you find the home you are looking for.

Getting a mortgage is one of the most complicated steps in buying a homes for sale Colorado Springs or anywhere.  Will I qualify for a home loan?  What do I need to get pre-approved?  What type of mortgage can I qualify for – FHA, VA, conventional, an ARM, fixed rate, …?  What is the best type of mortgage to get for my situation?  Should I go to my bank or find a Mortgage Broker?  Learning more about what you should know is important.  Preparing yourself and doing your homework will take some of the stress away and speed up the closing process for you once you’ve made an offer on a house.

In other Pink Realty blogs and articles we gave you a lot of information about credit score requirements and how you can best raise your credit score to meet the minimum requirements for conventional, FHA and VA loans.  Referring back to some of this information or even calling Pink Realty at 719-393-7465 (Pink) and asking to speak to our in-house lender will let you know what to expect with your credit and what work you might have to do to qualify.  If you think your credit may need some improvement, our lender will help you and will work with you for however long it takes and at no cost to you to build your score and get you qualified.

Lenders can either pre-qualify or pre-approve you.  What’s the difference?  Getting pre-approved or pre-qualified helps you know how much of a mortgage you can afford, but there is a big difference between being pre-qualified and being pre-approved.  While these terms are used pretty loosely in the industry, generally when a lender pre-qualifies you, they run a credit check and base their determination on information you provide them about your work history , income, and available down payment either verbally or maybe with documentation but possibly not complete documentation for their underwriting.  The bottom line is that a pre-qualification is largely based on what you tell them. It is possible that the pre-qualification results can mislead you on how much of a mortgage you can really afford.

When you get pre-approved, lenders check your credit report and verify all documentation similar to if they were submitting the application to their underwriting department.  This essentially makes the only unknown in the transaction the property.

When you are ready to get pre-approved for a mortgage, be sure to call Pink Realty at 719-396-7465 (Pink) and as to speak to our lender.  She would be happy to give you a good faith estimate of what she can do for you and earn your business.

If you are getting pre-approved before you begin house shopping, consider locking in your rate for a period of time, especially if the rates have been increasing.  Once you have your pre-approval letter, it shows real estate agents and sellers that you are serious about buying a house and you know what price range you can afford.  This not only helps your Pink Realty agent narrow their search for a home into your price range, it also can motivate sellers.

Additionally, once you are pre-approved, don’t do anything that will affect your credit score.  Don’t incur new debt (this includes incurring more debt on credit cards), don’t pay off debt, cancel any accounts, transfer any credit card balances and don’t change jobs!  Your lender will pull your credit again before you close and you don’t want you credit to have changed or you could lose your approval!

Once you have chosen a lender and are ready to begin the mortgage process there is a lot of paperwork that needs to be processed.  You will be required to provide copies of specific financial information.  So when you are ready to begin looking for a house and a mortgage, you can start preparing by rounding up the items you will need.  The following is a list of the information and documents you will have to provide your mortgage lender if you want to get approved for a mortgage loan:

Information about your employment and your income:

1.  Where do you work, how long have you been at your job, and what is your income?

2.  Are you a 1099 contract paid worker, paid on commission only, or do you receive a steady hourly wage or regular salary?

3.  You will have to show proof of your income.  This will include providing tax returns, 1099 statements, paystubs, etc.

4.  If you receive disability pay or social security income, you will have to provide statements.

5.  Depending on how you receive your income, a steady salary with paystubs or irregular income as a 1099 contractor, your interest rate could be higher.  A steady paycheck is generally deemed less risky than pay on commission only or as a contractor.

What are your outstanding debts?

1.  You will have to provide information about your recurring debts whether they are for a car loan, a student loan, or credit cards.  When the lender runs your credit report these accounts will show on your record, so be honest!

2.  The total amount of your recurring debt will be analyzed against your monthly pre-taxed income and a debt-to-income ratio will be calculated.

How much do you have in cash reserves?

1.  How much is your down payment and do you have enough cash to make this down payment and cover the required closing costs?

2.  Is the money you are using to make the down payment your own money or is it borrowed funds or a gift?

3.  You will have to provide the lender with copies of bank statements to show you have enough money to cover these costs.  If you are receiving a gift for your down payment from a family member, a friend or a non-profit agency, you will have to provide a gift letter to the lender.

4.  Lenders need to know if your cash reserves will be completely depleted after you pay your down payment and closing costs because they want to know you will have enough money left in the bank to cover a couple of mortgage payments in case something happens!

What works in your favor?

The following is a list of things that will definitely benefit you when you are applying for a mortgage:

1.  Being employed by the same employer for two or at least being employed in the same line of work for that period of time or longer.

2.  Having minimal debt and no recent large purchases, such as an automobile.  If your debt-to-income ratio is 36% or less, you are in pretty good shape!  You can call Pink Realty, and our lender can help you evaluate your debt ratios.  Call 719-393-7465 (Pink).

3.  If you can afford to put at least 5% of the sales price down with your own funds.  If you qualify for an FHA loan, you may only have to put as little as 3.5% down, or if you are a VA buyer, you may not have to put down anything, but the more you can put down, the better.  If you are trying to qualify for a conventional loan, you can qualify for as little as 5% down, but you will have to pay private mortgage insurance which can be expensive and is added to your monthly payment.

4.  Having enough cash reserves left in the bank to cover two mortgage payments after you have paid your down payment and closing costs.

Things that can make it more difficult to obtain a home loan?

1.  If you are self employed, a contract worker, work on commission only, or have irregular income.  You may be considered a higher risk if your income isn’t steady, based only on commissions or if you are paid as a 1099 contract worker.  If you are self-employed and have tax returns that solidly substantiate your income your risk can be reduced, but in addition to tax returns, you will also have to show profit and loss statements for your business.

2.  If you have a lot of recurring debt or a high amount of debt and your debt-to-income ratio is higher than 36%, you may run into issues or be charged a higher interest rate.

3.  If the cash reserves you have will be completely depleted after you have made your down payment and paid for closing costs, the lender can consider you a higher risk because if you lose your job or get injured and can’t work for a period of time, there is a risk you may not be able to make your mortgage payment.

4.  If you are receiving gift funds for your down payment because you have no funds of your own to purchase the home, you can also be considered a higher risk and may be charged a higher interest rate.

Before Getting a Mortgage, consider the following:

1.  Know what your budget is so you know what size mortgage you can really afford.  You can be given a pre-qualifying mortgage amount by a lender based on your income, but you also have to take your monthly recurring debts into consideration, along with unexpected expenses such as medical bills..

2.  Depending on your cash situation, you need to know if it is more important to offset a higher rate with lower closing costs or a lower rate with higher closing costs.  When you are shopping for mortgage quotes, don’t just look for the lowest interest rate.  You also want to compare the terms and conditions.  There is a lot of competition out there today, so be sure to ask your lender for any special incentives.  Lenders may be willing to waive some fees to attract your business!

When shopping for a mortgage quote, be sure to ask the following questions?

1.  What will my monthly payments be?

2.  Are there any pre-payment penalties?

3.  Are the terms fixed or variable?  If the interest rate is variable, what is the interest rate cap?  In other words, what’s the highest my interest rate can go and what will the payments be at this rate?

4.  Do I have to pay any loan origination fees?

5.  Do I have to pay any discount fees for this interest rate?

6.  Are there any lender incentives?  In other words, will the lender pay any of the closing costs or waive any fees?

7.  Will I have to pay private mortgage insurance?

What not to do after you have been approved!

After you have been approved for a mortgage and have received your pre-approval letter from your lender, do not do any of the following or you can jeopardize your approval:

1.  Don’t apply for new credit as the inquiries will change your credit score.

2.  Make sure you pay all your recurring debt payments on time.

3.  Don’t pay off collections or charge off accounts unless specifically told to do so by your lender.

4.  Don’t charge more on your credit cards and don’t close any credit card accounts or transfer any credit card balances.
5.  Don’t make any large cash purchases as this may decrease your verifiable bank balances.

6.  Don’t quite your job.

7.  Don’t change your job without first consulting your loan officer.

8. Don’t bounce any checks.

Do your homework and become an educated consumer!  Knowledge is power and knowing what’s required to get a mortgage, how to determine the amount of mortgage you can safely afford, and how to shop and negotiate for the best mortgage for your situation will benefit you tremendously.  If you have any questions or want help, Pink Realty is here to help you.  Give us a call at 719-393-7465 (Pink).  Our loan officer will be happy to help you with a loan, and then a Pink Realty can help you find your dream Colorado Springs house!  We want to help you through the whole process and feel all the rewards of homeownership!  Give us a call today.  We are here to help you!