Posts Tagged ‘Property Taxes’

House for Sale Colorado Springs

Monday, November 21st, 2011

So, you’re looking for the perfect house for sale Colorado Springs? If so, you’ve come to the right place! Choosing the right house is a huge deal. For many years to come, this house will become your home. We all wish we could search through homes, find our dream home, and call it a day. But sometimes purchasing a home isn’t quite so simple. Just because a home has your ideal design doesn’t mean it is the home for you. There are many other things that you must consider first. Let’s take a look at the four C’s of home buying to help you find the right house in Colorado Springs.

The first C of home buying is cost. This is a biggie. Just because you have found your dream home doesn’t mean you can afford it. Buying a home includes many considerations. Not only will you need to pay for the home, but you will also have property taxes, utility bills, water bills, and other bills that come along with purchasing a house. It is important to take each of these things into consideration when determining how much you can afford. Once you have decided how much you can afford, search only within your price range. Searching above your means may lead you to find your perfect home, only to be crushed that you can’t actually have it. Searching within your financial means will ensure that you find a house you can love and can afford in Colorado Springs.

When looking for a house for sale in Colorado Springs, the second thing you must consider is capacity. Does the house have enough room to fit all of your belongings and your family? When searching for a home in Colorado Springs, be sure to let your realtor know exactly what you are looking for in terms of capacity. Are you looking for 1,2,3, or 4 bedrooms? Do you need a garage? What about a backyard? Is it necessary to have more than one bathroom? Sharing your needs with your realtor will help them to narrow down your search, ensuring that you only explore houses that meet those needs.

The third “C” of house shopping in Colorado Springs is convenience. When purchasing a home, you will want it to be in a convenient location. Perhaps you will want to look for a home that is close to your work. Or, if you have children, you may want to search for a home that is close to a good school. Once again, letting your real estate agent know exactly what you are looking for will help to narrow down your search, making you one step closer to buying your ideal home.

The final “C” of purchasing a house in Colorado Springs is condition. Just because you have found a house that looks great on the outside, doesn’t mean that it is in good condition. Before you make your final buy, always be sure to have a home inspector come in to check for anything that you may not be able to spot on your own. The majority of houses you come across will be in great condition, but it is important to double check before you buy.

So, there you have it – the four C’s of purchasing a home. Use these to help you find the perfect homes for sale Colorado Springs for you and your family in!

Want to Buy Colorado Springs homes?

Tuesday, October 11th, 2011

Buying a home is one of the biggest and most important investments you will ever make. This is why choosing a home should never be a snap decision and should only be based on the best and most reliable information there is. When searching for Colorado Springs homes, your first step is to hire a realtor. A Colorado Springs home realtor will able to guide you through the process of finding the perfect home, ensuring that you get the most for your money. Let’s take a look at some of the many ways a realtor can help you to find Colorado Springs homes.

Upon meeting with a realtor for the first time, one of the first things that you will discuss is your personal preferences. Because Colorado Springs real estate agents are familiar with the homes in the area, they will be able to match your needs with the perfect home. Be sure to tell the realtor what your budget is, what size you are looking for, what features you are looking for, and how close you wish to be to schools, hospitals, or other amenities. Once your realtor has this information, they can search through their MLS system, narrowing down houses in Colorado Springs to ones that match your needs.

If you are unsure of how to go about getting a loan or are unsure of how much you can afford, a realtor can help you with this as well. Purchasing a home involves a lot of financial investments, some that we may not think of right away (utilities, land taxes, etc). Realtors can help you assess your financial alternatives, as well as help you determine how much you can actually afford after all costs are taken into consideration.

When searching for Colorado Springs homes, it is important to hire a Colorado Springs realtor. Colorado Springs realtors are extremely familiar with the different neighborhoods and will therefore be able to provide you with accurate information about your potential living area. Whether you want to know about zoning laws, property taxes, utility costs, or community services, your Colorado Springs realtor will be able to answer all of your questions.

Once you have found your ideal Colorado Springs home, your realtor will be able to help you negotiate the terms of your purchase. Your realtor will communicate to the seller for you, negotiating deals until both parties are happy with the purchasing terms. Once the negotiations are final, your Colorado Springs realtor will help you to handle all of the legal processes involved in purchasing a home. This will involve things such as purchasing home insurance, registering your mortgage, and your legal fees.

If you are looking at Colorado Springs homes, be sure that you hire a realtor to help you in your journey. A Colorado Springs agent will be able to guide you through the process of finding a home, negotiating with the seller, and completing all legal paperwork. Search for Colorado Springs home realtor today and be one step closer to finding your dream home.

10 Homebuyer Advantages for Buying a Short Sale Property

Friday, September 2nd, 2011

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.