Housewarming Gifts

Spring has sprung in the Mile High City and we are almost into Summer – with the weather changes and the heating up of temperatures, the real estate market is also on the move. Denver’s market has been heating up as well, with a winter that was still busy, we are moving into a time of the year that is busy for all parties involved. My buyers are out in strong numbers during the spring and my sellers are excited to put their homes on the market with all the interest, many getting above asking price.

For my buyers, it can be a bit tedious in the spring to get to first, get under contract and then, to get to closing table. But once we get to that closing table, there are smiles and hugs and happy tears around.

As a Realtor, one thing I really look forward to is getting each of my clients’ great housewarming gifts for their new home. A lot of the time, I like to try and find personal things that go with each client. After spending a lot of time with each of them, I feel this personal touch is a nice way to end our transaction and for them to have something to remind them of me as well in their new place.

For those of you who are wondering what would be a good housewarming gift for a new homeowner, here are some great ideas to add a little something to their new home:

·      A gradient vase – Grab some flowers from your local florist and pick out a great vase

·      Fun door mat – There are lots of great welcome mats out there these days that have fun little sayings or fun pictures on them.  Shut The Front Door Mat, $49; 5 Green Boxes.

Photo By: Shebli Nikkole 

·      Plants – Bamboo, air plants, succulents, you name it and most plant stores have them. What better way to add some green to a new home?

Photo By: Shebli Nikkole  Succulant & Vase 

·      Sonos One Speaker With Alexa  – These devices make it easy for a homeowner to connect their music, tv, lights and other electronics to be activated by them speaking, very fun for the tech homebuyers in your life.  Get it local at Digitique Denver

·      Wi-Fi Smart Video Doorbell – This doorbell syncs to a phone so that the homeowner will never miss a package again and allows the homeowner to ignore or respond to whoever is at the door.  Indoor Security Camera, Starts at $199; Digitique Denver

Photo By: Shebli Nikkole 

·      Electric bottle opener with accessories – New homeowners will also get many bottles of wine and bottle openers can be a struggle so give them this electric opener that can open a bottle with a push of a button.

·      Bar cart – For those of your friends who like a few adult beverages, they might like a bar cart to display their beverages.

.       Locally made longboards and cruisers are the perfect way to see a new ‘hood. Pacto Cruiser, $139; Anonymous Boards

Photo By: Shebli Nikkole | House Warmed Pg 9  @DenverStyleMagazine 

Photo By: Shebli Nikkole 

There are so many great gifts out there and one thing I would recommend is finding a local shop to buy them from, maybe in the same neighborhood as the house the buyers just bought.

Make sure to check out my arrival in Denver Style Magazine about these great gifts and where you can find them in local shops around Denver.  

Why Controlling Expenses Through a Home Warranty Is Always a Smart Move. →

Type A Personalities are always trying to make sure they can control everything in their lives including their monthly budget. However it is difficult to control certain things - for instance, when a repair or replacement of an appliance or other household item will be needed, and how much will it cost. While you can prepare financially for the repair or replacement, you never know how much it will cost in grand total including labour and parts, or whether the repair will work or you will need to further repair the appliance. A home warranty can help the controlling type A persons manage their budget, and level down their stress.

Home Warranty: What is It?

A home warranty is a great way to help keep your repair and replacement expenses under control for your homes appliances and home systems. Home warranties are service agreement policies that cover what’s inside your home, such as the kitchen appliances, clothes washer and dryer and even the furnace and a/c unit.

When one of the covered items breaks, you can get it fixed or replaced for free, although there is a service call fee of approximately $50 on average. There are a lot of companies operating in Denver and each of them has different characteristics. Different home warranty plans with different costs, different service call fees, different level of coverage, and different professionals they are working with.

The cost of a home warranty is dependent on the age of the appliances and what you want to include or exclude from the coverage, as well as the cap on item replacements. On average a home warranty will cost between $35-$65. This regularly scheduled monthly fee is much easier to budget for than the unexpected cost of a repairing or replacing one or more home appliances.

Additional Tips: What Can You Do to Keep Your Repairs Cost Low and Make Sure You are Not Voiding the Terms of Your Home Warranty Policy

Always wanting to keep repairs and maintenance costs low be sure to do regular cleaning and service of your homes appliances and home systems to keep them in good working order.  Here are a few tips I gathered from across the internet.

Clothes Washer- Routinely run a wash of white vinegar through the wash to help keep it clean

Clothes Dryer- Keep the lint trap clear and routinely clear the

Dishwasher- Be sure to clear debris from the collection trap (coarse filter)

Cooktop / Oven / Stove- Keeping your oven clean is key to preventing fires! Be sure to keep your cooktop clear of excess debris on the cooktop and in the oven itself.

Built in Microwave- Keep the filter clean and replace when necessary

Air Conditioning Unit- Have the outside unit inspected twice a year, at the beginning of spring and at the end of fall.

Furnace- Change the filter every three months

Garbage Disposal- Do not put things in it like cold leftovers, those go in compost or trash (meat, potatoes, pasta, eggs shells)

When caring for your home appliances and home systems it is important to ensure that you do them correctly and when needed, if they are neglected they can cause problems and if a home warranty is covering the items, the coverage might be voided if proper care and maintenance was not performed. As type A personality, routine should fall right in line with what you need to help control your homes needs and expenses. You can use an app to help schedule the regular maintenance and cleaning needed to care for your home.

If you routinely provide the care and maintenance on your appliances and home systems you will help extend the life of these items and in turn keep your costs low by not having to repair or replace them. Your monthly expenditures would consist mainly of your home warranty.

Do You Really Need a Home Warranty?

The mother of all questions is whether people actually need a home warranty and will it save them money in the long term. The truth is that whether a home warranty is right for you is a very individual question. Some people may be wasting their hard earned dollars on unfit home warranties which do not provide adequate coverage while others may be preventing themselves from large expenses in the future by working with the right company and choosing the right plan for them.

One of the most pivotal questions when coming to consider a home warranty is the contents of the house and the age of the systems and appliances. If your home is brand new and everything is under manufacturer warranty, there is no use for a home warranty. If your house is very old, it is reasonable to believe that many systems will be deemed as “unmaintained” and home warranty companies will refuse to pay for them if they break.

There are so many variables involved in this decision that it is wise to pay good attention into it, read about the topic, gather opinions about the services of the home warranty company you intend using, and use designated calculators which will help you make the right decisions fast.

Article Source: Nate Simms RevewHomeWarranties

How To Find Off Market Properties for your Clients

Denver is at a record low in inventory when it comes to houses these days, which I’m sure many of you have noticed when you start looking to buy. I am not saying this to scare you from entering the market, just sharing the truths about where our market lies right now. That being said, sometimes it is up to me as an agent to get creative when it comes to helping my buyers find homes.

Recently, I helped a buyer of mine lock down an off market property in One Lincoln Park Tower by sending out a "Buyer Need" professional postcard.  I had an agent call me who had a listing coming available in the floor plan my client wanted and we were able to view it before it hit the market, made a good offer and went under contract a day later. Needless to say my buyer was thrilled! You may have noticed a postcard or two in your mail or an ad or even a personal letter written to you in regards to your home. More and more agents are not waiting for homes to come on the market but are being proactive and if there is an area or home that their buyer really wants to be in, the agent should make an effort to see if they can make that happen.

Here are a few other ways that agents can scope out off market properties and hopefully find a potential seller:

Contact other real estate agents – many agents work in certain areas and if your buyer is hoping to be in a certain area, find homes recently sold, find the agent who sold it, contact that agent and other agents who work in that area to see if they will be putting any new homes on the market soon or know of any off house properties.

Direct marketing – sending out postcards or marketing materials stating that you have a buyer looking in that neighborhood can be a game changer if it gets in the hands of someone who is looking to sell.

Networking – relationships make the world go round and that rings very true when it comes to real estate as well. Contact your family, friends, client and any contractors you have worked with you may be able to help you in your search. Someone always knows someone who is thinking of either buying or selling so if you can get there first, you can have a chance to help your buyers out.

Look around – I always tell my buyers to scout the area they are interested in – drive around, talk to neighbors, check online to see what properties come up. I myself will also take the initiate and ask around in specific areas to see if anyone has heard or any properties coming on the market soon or sellers looking to sell.

Overall, as an agent in this tough market is it my job to be as proactive as possible for my clients especially my buyers. I want to get them ahead of the competition and to do so, I must think outside of the box and look at other options when finding that perfect home.

May DMAR Market Stats

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Why For Sale By Owner Properties Need An Agent

You may have noticed some signs starting to pop up in yards this spring; they are red and white with a hand written phone number, usually hard to read, written on each side. That’s right, those for sale by owner signs really hit the market come spring and summer because sellers know it is the best time of the year to put their home on the market and they also believe they can do it without the help of an experienced agent.

Now, I can understand why sellers would want to try and sell their properties by themselves, the main reason being they don’t have to pay commissions out to an agent, meaning they would save money right? Well I hate to tell sellers this but research shows that houses sold by their owner often sell for 5.5% less them comparable properties sold with an agent posted in the MLS. Agents bring a lot to the table, a lot of behind-the-scenes work that many sellers have no idea about and that is why it is imperative to hire a good realtor to represent you when putting your home on the market.

Here are a few reasons you should hire a realtor instead of attempting to sell your property yourself:

Time – We all understand that time is the most valuable thing you possess and realtors know that better then anyone. If a seller say is out of town for a week and an out of town buyer wants to put an offer on the house but only has a day to do so, how would a seller handle that without help? Realtors have teams and co-agents for a reason. They also respond to emails and phone calls in a timely manner.

Knowledge – Realtors went to school for a reason, to possess every piece of knowledge they could about real estate. Most sellers don’t know the depths of the laws and contracts that could land them in some hot water.

Marketing – Realtors have a budget for marketing their clients homes, do sellers want to pay a large amount of money to have fliers, signs, etc. made? Probably not, but an experienced realtor will have that put in place the minute they represent the seller.

Presentation – Many sellers think their home is “showing worthy” but 80% of the time, there are changes that need to be made and updates before a house is market ready, realtors are the people to help see those changes and make recommendations.

Negotiations and transactions – Negotiating is a lot of a realtor’s jobs, many of us have been trained to handle every type of situation thrown at us. Sellers have no idea the behind-the-scenes talks that go on between a selling agent and buying agent. Without the experience of this and the understanding of the contracts and keeping them in order, a seller could easily lose a deal.

Inspection and getting to closing – The inspection might be the most stressful part of any real estate deal; it can make or break the deal and leaves both the sellers and buyers on edge. Is the seller prepared to fix whatever the buyer asks for? Does the seller have a highly-skilled team of handymen etc. to make corrections? Most sellers do not have the connections to do this while realtors have a black book full of help for any type of problem. Then, handling closing. It is more then just a few signatures and a realtor can guide a seller through the process making it a smooth transaction.

If you are thinking of selling your house by yourself this year, I highly recommend giving it a second thought and to sit down with an experienced realtor like myself to see what I can offer to help you get the best price for your home and make it as easy a transaction as possible!