You are thinking about buying, now what?

I work with a lot of first time buyers.  I have ones that come thinking they are totally prepared because they have read Home Buying For Dummies and I have ones who just decided to buy on a whim.  The thing is the process is different for each and every buyer.  No two deals are the same.  Buying a house is full of unexpected twists and turns and those twists are what a realtor like myself is here to help you navigate.  

There are some basic steps to the process though and the first one is key to starting out on the right foot.  

The First Step – Identify a Lender or Mortgage Broker

I will help you find a house that meets your needs and a whole slew of steps come up in that process but a lender will help you get started by telling you how much house you can afford.  They are full of other interesting pieces of information like how much closing costs will be and if you need to think about paying things like up front mortgage insurance. These amounts and options change depending on your credit, your income, how much of a down payment you have so it is always best to run scenarios through with a lender before falling in love with a house you can’t quite afford.  Or lately with interest rates so low clients have been able to afford more of a house than they expected. Pleasant surprise!  

It is good to start building a relationship with a lender prior to starting to look.  They can confirm your credit is in good standing and help you strategize to clean it up if need be.  I have had clients start working with a lender a year prior to buying sometimes although sometimes when you are ready to go it can all fall into place in a matter of a couple days.

Once you have a firm understanding of how your payments work and are comfortable with the pricing we can hit the pavement with a preapproval letter in hand ready to write an offer on your dream home! 

Feel free to call me if you are thinking about getting started and I would happily refer you to one of the lenders that has done a top notch job for a previous client.

Emily Chaney – Kentwood Real Estate – Emily@DenverRealEstate.com – 303-564-3534

Selling Real Estate & A Lifestyle!

What’s up with the Denver real estate market?

It feels like there have been more questions lately about Denver’s real estate market. I have heard comments from you all like “I hear we are at our peak” and “Prices are high aren’t they”.

Well prices have gone up in Denver and have continue to rise through the year into the fall.  We usually see more of a slow at this point in the year going into winter which means to us realtors we are likely to finish this year strong and have a strong start to 2013. So I am confused when people talk about the market hitting it’s peak, what does that mean prices will just stay the same from now on or go down? I use to live in Seattle I purchased my house there for $132,000, I sold it two years later for $234,000. Last time I checked it sold for over $600,000. I bought my current place for $208,000 and I would say after 12 years it worth $450,000 maybe more because of my lot. I would guess in 12 more years my house will be worth another $200,000 more. I just don’t see how prices can’t flatten out when you live close to the city.

Sure some areas won’t increase as rapidly and some neighborhoods can be hit by government factors but over all if you live close in you will continue to see an increase because here is the thing…Denver isn’t Detroit.

We aren’t dependent on any one industry to keep our economy going. In addition we are protected from most major weather impacts earthquakes and hurricanes. I mean other than if for some reason the world stops and major transportation doesn’t come to Denver anymore or if there is a zombie apocalypse I just can’t see how we aren’t going to continue to rise.

Now I am not talking about Broomfield, Lakewood, Thorton, Parker, Arvada or any other suburb. I am talking true metro Denver. Really what I am saying is careful what reports you listen to out there because the market is always way high or way low in the news and some places just stay steady due to convenience. When you think about buying remember to buy for your lifestyle and not for the increase in profits but if you have your heart set on making money buy brick and buy in the city!

-Emily

Emily Chaney – Kentwood Real Estate – Emily@DenverRealEstate.com – 303-564-3534

Cleanse My Life of Cleanses Please!

My roommate Lucky (yes his name is lucky) works for this company based out of Denver that sells weight loss teas and cleanses.  He signed up to blog about his experience for the company and some how has suckered me into joining.

It involves drinking their special formulated juice for two days, then three days of shakes and you can have lunch, then two more days of no good special juice and you are done.

We are on day three.  On a positve I didn’t find the purely juice days nearly as painful as expected.  In part I think their specially formulated cleanse juice is quite delicious. Like I would cleanse one day a week if it worked that way and I had it around.  Really good.  Plus they give you these specially formulated supplements which I know swear by.  They are so helpful and I have no idea what is in them.

My negative…The shakes.  Today has been the hardest for me and I even got lunch. The reason it has been so hard for me is I really really really dislike their shakes.  I have had good protein shakes so I know they exist but I can’t figure out why more people can’t make them.  I am not looking forward to the one tomorrow and I am hungry.

But just to finish with another positive overall I feel really good, I was down 4 lbs this morning.  I am anxious to see if my skin looks better in the end.

When I am done I will fill you in the company at this point I don’t want to recommend or not recommend a product I haven’t finished using.

More to come! We get to eat Sunday night or Monday.  I am not sure which one but as soon as we do I will write a full results blog!

– Emily

Emily Chaney – Kentwood Real Estate – Emily@DenverRealEstate.com – 303-564-3534

Burn Baby Burn – My Victorian Fireplace Remodel

Well after many years of trying to get my fireplace remodeled and running I think I have finally found the crew!  I have lived in my house 12 years and never, not once, used my fireplace.  I don’t even know how to turn it on. Plus it was faux finished into the ugliest fireplace in the world.  The only thing uglier is my faux finished kitchen but that’s another blog post.

So here is a picture from last christmas. I have a screen from my grandmothers in front of it so you can only see part of it.

Fireplace Before

I had picked out a white tile in a lantern patterned tile and stalked Home Depot until they had it in stock again because before they had so many color options it sold out quickly!

Lantern Tile in White

Then I tried to find someone who could figure out what to do with the mantle visually and someone else who could make it function. Now I have tried to find the right contractor many times over the last 12 years but now that I had the tile in hand I was focused and I still couldn’t find someone priced fairly or who would call me back.

One of our fix and flip clients referred me to George Bahr of The Chimney Doctor last week.  He came out and gave me a smart and thoughtful bid and I can’t wait for him to get fire started!  He was even willing to work with this antique fireplace insert I moved from my Grandmothers house in Ohio.  Weirdly enough we both had 1890’s victorians with the same size fire box.

Antique 1890’s Fireplace Insert

So now my next challenge was to find someone who understood my aesthetic.  I mentioned it to my “current” boyfriend who responded saying “My uncle and I can do that project for you, no problem”.  Now I am very hesitant to work with friends or family let alone my boyfriend.  It hasn’t always worked out well in the past, which is while I will call him “current” until this project is over, but I decided to take a chance based on no one else apparently wanting the job.

So I explained what I wanted which was a shadow box mantle similar to the one on 4 Men 1 Lady

White on White Fireplace

The boys got started right away (well minus a truck break down and several trips to the hardware store).

The frame for the shadow box

Here is where they are after the weekend.

Shadow Box Dry Walled

I spent the weekend decided on a tile for the floor and landed on this marble from Lowe’s.

Marble Tile from Lowes

I can’t wait to see it all come together!  I will update with photos once it is finished and decorated for xmas!

-Emily

Emily Chaney – Kentwood Real Estate – Emily@DenverRealEstate.com – 303-564-3534

Denver Still A Good Buy!

A new study by Move Inc. came out today showing the top ten cities where buying a home is still a good idea.  Denver came in fifth! Hopefully this news keeps buyer’s shopping and seller’s selling.

See the whole list here.

As always call me if you are thinking about buying or selling.

-Emily

Emily Chaney – The Kentwood Companies – 303-564-3534

Highland Clean Up Day!

 Neighborhood Cleanup Day is this Saturday (5/21) North High School parking lot @ 9:00 a.m. .  Come lend a hand to help beautify School!
As an added bonus North High School will be accepting your debris including mattresses. They also will be accepting used clothing and household items for Goodwill. Great time to clean out that garage we have all been putting off.

Keep Denver Beautiful – Welcome Message

www.denvergov.org

March 1 – May 31 — Community Cleanups & Beautifications – Any one! Any day! Any time! If you’ve got an hour or two, we can use you. Pick an area or we’ll suggest one for you. Perfect for groups (families, employee, sport & youth groups, etc.). Show your community pride!

Recycle your books!

Tennyson Street Coffehouse does a great event each year and for those people out there who still read real books it is a great way to recycle, trade or earn an extra buck!

 

 

 

 

 

 

So head over Saturday April 2nd for a cup of joe and possibly a new read!
Learn more about the coffeehouse and the event here!

Tiny Space? Big Veggies!

A friend of mine Zoe Wood recently started a new company here in Denver. I think it is so perfect for so many of us who live close in to the city with small yards or rooftop decks. The company is called Colorado Backyard Farms. They can help you on all levels of planning your garden. They will build you raised beds. They can also then plan them and maintain them to any level that you want. Helping you grow fresh organic produce in your own yard!

Here is Zoe hard at work making a small space grow big flavors!

They really encourage all levels of involvement and lets be honest starting and maintaining a garden can be a ton of work! I know many people who would be fine maintaining if someone could just help them get started. What a cool concept!
Learn more about Zoe and check out pictures of her beautiful gardens and produce on her website:

Colorado Backyard Farms

Good luck Zoe! I hope to see more of your organic gardens pop up all over my neighborhood and all neighborhoods in Denver! I can’t wait to see them in the smallest strangest places!

Emily Chaney – Kentwood Cherry Creek – 303-564-3534
Selling Real Estate and a Lifestyle!

Finding Your Neighborhood Association Online

Facebook is really where I get most of my event info.  The more stuff that is on Facebook the happier I am that I can have one destination to find out about what’s going on in Denver, at venues, with my friends or in my neighborhood.  I know, I know, we all spend too much time on Facebook but it really is convenient!   So if you want an easy way to find out about neighborhood meetings or events “like” your neighborhood association on Facebook.

You can find Highland United Neighbors Inc  (HUNI) here.

or West Highland Neighborhood Association (WHNA) here.

or Sunnyside United Neighbors Inc (SUNI) here.

or Berkeley United Neighbors (BRUN) here.

Really it is a great way to get info and get connected with your neighborhood association!  I liked them all!

-Emily

Kentwood Cherry Creek – Broker Associate – The Kris Berton Team – 303-564-3534

Valentine’s Dating in LOveHI

The other day someone said to me LoHi must be a great place to live if you are single and dating!  I thought to myself no not really.  I think it is a great place to be single.  I know on any given night I can go out to one of my local haunts and find someone I know from the neighborhood.  I can grab a cup of coffee with David or Glenn who own Gallop Cafe and even play poker there on Thursday’s with neighborhood friends.  I can wander down to Paris on the Platte and run into a friend a I have known since childhood.  Or belly up to the bar at Forest Room and see a familiar bartender from my show going years.  But dating in Highlands?  Its rough because you know people every where you go!  And if it doesn’t work out you have to see them every place you go!

Sure we have some of the most romantic restaurants to snuggle up in.  From Z-Cuisine’s fabulous intimate french bistro feel to the charming Squeaky Bean with it’s seasonal local menu to the hip Root Down with its hopping bar and easy to share plates of yum.  The variety of food and atmospheres is endless and wonderful. But consequently us highlander’s don’t leave our hood.  So for now I am going to stick with dating people from Uptown, Baker or Capitol Hill.

Hope that those of you with a Valentine in the neighborhood have a romantic night! I will probably be hanging with incredible friends being happy as a single!  I love LOveHi!

-Emily

Kentwood Cherry Creek – Broker Associate – The Kris Berton Team – 303-564-3534