Love it… or … List it?

With so much change occurring in the Denver real estate market I have encountered many people that are at a standstill attempting to determine their next step. Do major renovations for the home to fit the family’s needs? Pop the top? Sell? If you find yourself facing these decisions, know you are not alone! Be sure to consult a real estate professional, as a real estate agent, it is my pleasure consult with folks about their next steps. I will sit down to get an idea of the home and the needs of the family before crunching numbers to determine the best option while considering the current market in their neighborhood. 
In addition to writing for Daigle’s Digs, Elizabeth works full-time as a Real Estate Agent with  Keller Williams Realty Downtown, LLC. Elizabeth’s expertise is in buying and selling a home, first time home buyers, short sales, and investment properties. Contact Elizabeth for any real estate needs. Cell 303-819.73.71. Work 720-314-8352

Denver Public Schools

I have gotten very integrated into the school system through offering the Homes for Heroes program which gives discounts for teachers (also, administrators and support) when buying or selling a home. Denver Public Schools is the school system for the city of Denver and it covers elementary, junior and high school. 

With so many moving to Denver, the school district is thriving but also has had to accommodate which has resulted in change in the schools. Go here to see the facts about the school district. As I have mentioned before, there are 50,000 people expected to move to Denver yearly and that trend will continue for upwards of ten years. All of the new people will change not only the landscape of the Denver Metro area but also the school districts. The Denver Public School has a long-term plan for the schools in the District to accommodate the change and provide the best education for its students.
Are you relocating to Denver or changing school districts? There are a number of resources that could be helpful to you. Take a look here for the individual school’s ratings for both the current year and years past. On this page you can also find a description of the rating system to help you better understand how the schools rate. In addition to the public schools offered in the District, Denver Public Schools also offers the option of Magnet Schools. Students that join the Magnet Schools are chosen through a lottery system or based on academics.  
If you are wondering about the public’s view on individual schools; greatschools.org offers a forum for the public to rate schools and provide their comments about their experience of the school. If you have any questions about a school, please do not hesitate to Contact me. 
I spend a lot of time weekly in the schools talking about how I provide discounts to teachers buying or selling a home through Homes for Heroes and have met a large network of people in the Denver Public School System. I can offer a high level of support helping you chose the right neighborhood and school for your little one. 

In addition to writing for Daigle’s Digs, Elizabeth works full-time as a Real Estate Agent with  Keller Williams Realty Downtown, LLC. Elizabeth’s expertise is in buying and selling a home, first time home buyers, short sales, and investment properties. Contact Elizabeth for any real estate needs. Cell 303-819.73.71. Work 720-314-8352
 

Sell? Pop the Top? Renovate?

 With the high demand for real estate and very minimal inventory prices for homes are drastically rising. In addition, Denver’s high demand is also changing many neighborhoods. Smaller homes are scraped and larger homes are built on the lot. Neighborhoods of original ranches, Denver squares and tudors are now amongst massive modern homes. Homeowners in Denver that need more space face a number of decisions with what to do with their home. 
Sell.
The lack of inventory, low interest rates and high number of buyers make it a great time to sell. Homeowners can get top dollar for their home and in most cases walk away with a hefty profit. 
Pop the Top.
If you need more square footage popping the top is always an option. This would involve creating another level on the home. 
Renovate.
The final option is to renovate – which would encompass any general updates to the home. Updates may be to kitchen appliances, floors or adding a bed/bath for the space to work better for you. 
If you find yourself at a crossroad with what to do with your home, I’d be happy to help go over the options. Most importantly we can discuss how much any additions or upgrades would add to your home’s value vs. what you would get if you sold as is. 
In addition to writing for Daigle’s Digs, Elizabeth works full-time as a Real Estate Agent with  Keller Williams Realty Downtown, LLC. Elizabeth’s expertise is in buying and selling a home, first time home buyers, short sales, and investment properties. Contact Elizabeth for any real estate needs. Cell 303-819.73.71. Work 720-314-8352

Trust

Trust was a common theme in my life this week. Trust is the building block of my business, I spend time getting to know my clients and have consultative conversations about what they are looking for to build a strong level of trust. This allows me to work for them by selling their home at top dollar and/or finding them the home of their dreams. 
Along with trusting others is the opportunity to trust yourself. This is one concept that is more difficult for some (myself included). Although, I have heard the saying “trust your gut” plenty of times, I seemingly have heard it more in Denver. You know that feeling that you get in the pit of your stomach when you meet someone, are presented with an idea, have a dream, etc.? Go ahead and listen to it. We have a tendency to add logic to that feeling which will immediately discount the gut feeling experienced. 
This week I moved all my accounts to a dear friend I met in Denver. I spent years in finance and am very logic and numbers based and as I was driving away from our appt., I thought to myself I really didn’t run as many numbers regarding the decision as I would have before. It just felt that it was right. I thought back to this as someone told me that they did not jive with someone they recently met and she had no explanation for it. My thought is, first and foremost, you have to jive with the person that is working with you. If you do not, do not question it, rather, go find someone you jive with.
This week I also found myself on the opposite side of a real estate transaction as I am trying to rent my condo in New Hampshire. The new real estate agent wanted to change the rent I charged slightly and seemed to be very confident that my condo would be rented quickly. I was skeptical. I was nervous and probably micro managing the process a bit too much. Want to know what happened? We had a person put a deposit on my condo sight unseen before we allowed showings and we had about 10 showings the first day. Moral of story? I probably should have trusted the professional I hired. 
Sometimes it is hard to just trust yourself or give up your trust to someone else. Life is more emotional than we give it credit for. Buy or selling a home can be emotional but you have to trust the process and the people in place to help you. Sometimes you have to walk away from the perfect house and trust that there is something better. Or, maybe you have to trust that selling your home is the last step to your next chapter. 
In addition to writing for Daigle’s Digs, Elizabeth works full-time as a Real Estate Agent with  Keller Williams Realty Downtown, LLC. Elizabeth’s expertise is in buying and selling a home, first time home buyers, short sales, and investment properties. Contact Elizabeth for any real estate needs. Cell 303-819.73.71. Work 720-314-8352

Personal Updates and Resale of Your Home

I was recently asked to join a private interior design Facebook page. Of course it brings me nothing but happiness to be part of a design community where people post pictures, tips and ask for and offer advice. Recently someone had posted that they had just moved into a place and were wondering what type of updates they should do knowing that the home was probably not their forever home. This is a question that is near and dear to me as a lover of design and a realtor. The short answer would be that it is always about balance. As you are decorating or renovating your short term goal would be to create a home that is YOURS but your longer term goal is to make sure it is not so personalized that it will deter future buyers. When a client asks me this question, I have a number of follow up questions:
  • How long do you think you are going to stay in the house?
         Interior design trends change over the years and what you do today inevitably will be outdated    in 15-20 years even if update to everything a possible buyer wants now.
  • What changes are you thinking of making?
        Changes such as paint, window coverings and furniture in any room in the home can always be changed prior to selling. Larger changes such as fixtures and flooring can be changed but also is expensive.
  • What rooms are the changes in?
 Kitchen and baths typically add the most value to your home and I would try to keep those on par with what buyers in your market are looking for.
  • What is your budget now and possibly for selling your home?
If you want to personalize your home for when you live in it, do you have a budget to change if when you sell if need be? 
  • Are you open to making changes to your home prior to selling it in the future if need be? 
If you are greatly personalizing your home, keep in mind to get it sold in the future you may need to replace personal upgrades with something more suitable to the current market.
My typical recommendation is to personalize your home with things that can be changed: paint, furniture, art, area rugs, lighting and other decorative items. Fixtures, counter tops, flooring and  appliances should remain close to what sells in your market. If you are making very personal changes that are much different from what your market dictates just keep in mind you may need to make additional updates prior to selling. Otherwise it may take a bit longer to sell as you are looking for a buyer with a very similar style or a buyer willing to do work to make the place their own. If you are considering making substantial updates and are concerned about your home’s resale, I would highly recommend getting the opinion of an experienced real estate agent.

In addition to writing for Daigle’s Digs, Elizabeth works full-time as a Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty Downtown, LLC. Elizabeth’s clients range from first-time home buyers, to sellers, to short sales, to seasoned investors. Contact Elizabeth for any real estate needs. Cell 303-819.73.71. Work 720-314-8352.

Focus on: Swamp Coolers

Depending where you live, you may or may not be very familiar with a swamp cooler. The first time I had heard about a swamp cooler was when I moved to Denver. We certainly did not have them in the North East. Swamp coolers are also referred to as evaporative coolers, wet air coolers or desert air cooler. Swamp coolers are similar to air conditioners in the sense that they both cool the home. The difference is how it is achieved. Whereas an air conditioner unit will cool by employing vapor compression, a swamp cooler will cool a home down in dry climates by enthalpy of vaporization. In this process liquid water transitions to water vapor. The process cools the home more efficiently and with less energy in drier climates. Evaporative coolers are not popular in the North East as there is far too much humidity in the air for it to cool the air. If you live in a dry climate, such as Colorado, swamp coolers can be a cheaper, energy effective and environmentally conscious alternative to air conditioning. 
In addition to writing for Daigle’s Digs, Elizabeth works full-time as a Real Estate Agent with Keller Williams Realty Downtown, LLC. Elizabeth’s expertise is in buying and selling a home, first time home buyers, short sales, and investment properties. Contact Elizabeth for any real estate needs. Cell 303-819.73.71. Work 720-314-8352.