Invest in rental property, buy your first home or sell your house and move to a bigger one. Helping the creative community with it’s real estate needs.

Tracy Shaffer
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You Can’t Make Me!

You can’t make anybody do anything they don’t want to do. If you’ve ever had a toddler or a teen, a sibling, a parent or friend, if you’ve been married or had the crazy ex crashing ‘temporarily’ in the basement you know this is true. Some things you just have to want to do, like diet… or… go out with this guy.

Even when what you want to do is what you’d like to do, what you should do, nobody can make you do it. Knowing that smoking is bad and vegetables are good has little bearing on our choice to do one and avoid the other. Doing the good thing actually doubles its positive effect as it tends to steer us away from the bad thing, though I do know some smokers who eat their broccoli. When it comes to other people, nothing is accomplished by force, even if it’s “well-meaning”.
I see this daily as a Realtor. Even though eating broccoli and buying a house are both good ideas to insure a healthy future, no matter how marketing I do on a listing or how market data I present to a buyer, I cannot make someone purchase a home. The Denver market is stable; prices have been slashed from their 2006 highs, leveled out and are slightly up for the first half of the year. More of cool neighborhoods, the ones you were priced out of in the bubble? Well, they’ve become affordable. In short, EVERYTHING IS ON SALE! Including the money.
So why aren’t buyers jumping? Because no one can make you do anything. If you are worried about your job, you may be afraid of transferring your low-interest savings account or CD into a down payment on a home, I get that. Cash on hand is a good thing, in fact I recommend it, but what is your return over the next ten years? Spending money every month on rent and passing an opportunity to invest in yourself makes as much sense as smoking broccoli. Smart buyers are building wealth by paying themselves first and getting more house for their money. Buy and hold and fix ‘n flip investment strategies are helping clients create cash flow.
Even as Irene raged to ravish the East Coast, many chose to stay put and ride it out. Is that the right strategy for you in today’s economy? How will you feel in five or ten years knowing you missed best real estate market for home buyers in your lifetime?

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Tracy Shaffer
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5 Tips for the Motivated Seller

Recently I got a call from a gal I’d worked with on One Book, One Denver. “I’m getting married, relocating, and I need to sell my condo. Can you come meet me?” Of course. We met for a post-work beverage and talked about her marriage plans, the condo and then she popped the question, “Can you sell it for me?” Well, don’t you know how much I love to hear that question? Two days later I met Gina at her Mayfair townhome, a beautifully remodeled, two-bedroom, single story corner unit. We talked about timing her sale with the wedding and the move to Atlanta. All I could focus on is the fact that with so much big life stuff going on, I wanted to make sure the sale would go off without a hitch. Not always easy but always the goal, real estate transactions are an intense mix of business and personal and I consider it my duty to make sure your stress level is as low as possible.
Next we discussed price (usually where sellers feel a bit of an upsurge in their blood pressure) and settled on an opening list price smack in the middle of the competition with the agreement that we’d revisit the subject after a week on the market.
Now, it already looked like a shiny penny, “Pottery Barn Perfect” in Realtor parlance, but being a smart cookie she asked what needed to be done before we put it on the market. And then she did an amazing thing; she took notes and had all the polishing done within a week! I scheduled the photos for the virtual tour, put my marketing strategy in place and blasted it out to the market. After Sunday’s open house, I called Gina to tell her that I wasn’t excited about the showing activity in the first week and we decided to make a slight price adjustment. Monday we had three showings and an offer, lower than what we wanted but certainly high enough to open the conversation. Gina had shared with me the dollar amount she wanted for her home, which was reasonable, so it was very clear going into the negotiations what I was after. And they took it! Ten days, desired price, 30 days to a successful close.
Market data consistently shows that well-priced homes sell faster and for more money than homes which start high and chip away at the list price, especially true in this market. When a seller goes into the relationship with high motivation, reasonable expectations and trusts the advice of their Realtor®, things have a good chance of going smoothly. So what do I consider reasonable? As a seller, you have to be able to wrap your head around a few things.
• Your house is a commodity, not a product. A commodity is worth what the buyer is willing to pay for it. A product, like a hamburger, can be sold with the right marketing, like photos with enough glycerin on the patty to make it look really juicy. No matter how pretty your pictures are, your home is an emotional commodity.
• Just because you added the deck five years ago doesn’t mean you get to add that on to the price. Home improvement is tricky when it comes to selling your home. If you’re fixing it up to sell it, you’re putting that money in to make sure you get the highest amount of its fair market value. If your improvements have happened over time, they have most likely increased the value of your property, and you’ve had the pleasure of living with them. There is no guarantee that the $20k you shelled out for that sparkly new kitchen will result in a $20k return on your investment. I always tell my clients to make the changes they’d enjoy living with and deal with the rest when you want to sell it.
• Expect to pay for some pre-market repairs. You’ve been looking at that paint chip on the threshold, or the gold fixtures in the bathroom for so long you don’t even see it anymore. Buy your buyer will. And the little things mean a lot; new paint, bath fixtures, maybe some lighting and a professional cleaning will do wonders for your home’s appeal. You’re up against a lot of sellers who are doing their best so you gotta bring you’re A game!
• Buyers buy either from emotion, practicality, or a mix of both. If your goal is to sell your home for the most money in the least amount of time, make sure you keep this point in mind. You want them to fall in love with the home and you want them to write an offer. I can look at the MLS and tell you which homes in your neighborhood are going to be the next to go under contract. They’re the ones who hit either or both points. Make your house shine and price it well!
• Choose a good Realtor® and then listen to her. If you’ve chosen wisely, you’ve got an expert in your local market working as your advocate. Market conditions are what they are and they’re changing on a daily basis. You may have bought or sold a few homes over the years but there’s a good chance your agent has closed a few last month. That’s what we do and we don’t want to fire sale your house, quite the opposite. Happy clients refer business.

Hey, it worked for Gina!

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Tracy Shaffer
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Your Creativity is Your Greatest Asset

Creativity is the strongest force on earth; artists, visionaries and innovators lead us into the future. We’ve got some mad skills that actualize potential where others may only see what is possible.  Be sure to click on the Thriving Artist Alliance page above and I’ve created a lovely video to inspire you. CLICK HERE TO WATCH

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Tracy Shaffer
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So Why Don’t You Write About Real Estate?

Because it’s boring. Because any schmo can do that. Because if I want to be generic, I might as well mail Bronco’s schedules to a neighborhood of strangers. Throwing a bunch of stats and market predictions up on the Internet works for some agents, I’m sure. It just doesn’t work for me. Every transaction is a human transaction as well as a business transaction, every purchase or sale is personal. Real estate is first and foremost about my community and the people in it. I write about the things they love to do, and the things they do that I love: art, music, theatre, social and philanthropic events, neighborhoods, gatherings. These are the things that interest me because they are the stories of people’s lives.
In the six years I’ve been in the real estate business I’ve found a few things to be true. No matter what the market data says on any given day, most people buy and sell homes because there lives are in transition. They are either creating change in their lives or their lives are changing them. A new job, job loss, new partner, a marriage, a baby, a second child, more space, less space, taking on a new adventure, making the decision to own vs rent, downsizing, downsized, death, divorce, illness, relocation; these are the reasons people buy and sell homes. I’ve only had one client who bought a home because they wanted more closet space…for their new baby.
Market conditions factor in to these changes, inform decisions and how they may play out, but I am in the people business not in sales… at least that’s what I tell myself.
Your home a lot more to you than a financial investment, it is an emotional one as well. This is where you laugh, you cry, plant seeds and break bread, so whether you are looking to buy or looking to sell, I get that. No matter what is happening in the “market”, houses hold our stories, neighborhoods ground us in community and when there are children and schools to be considered, it is critical to find the right fit. When my son entered school and joined the local soccer team, I remember sitting on the congress Park practice field one autumn afternoon chatting with the other moms and thinking…I’m going to spend the next twelve years with these women, we will share our lives. And we have.
So… you will get stories of the things I love about living and sharing our lives together in Denver. You will hear about what’s going on in your neighborhood, learn about what I like about neighborhoods around town, and find out about some cool things to do on a Sunday afternoon. And yes, you will also get market data in the mix or served up solo. I’ll curate, aggregate and create information I think you will find useful, helpful, and occasionally humorous. We’ll share stories, okay?

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Tracy Shaffer
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Rent or Own? What’s your opinion?

This summer the real estate market feels like it’s at a stand-still. Stifled by negotiations over the debt ceiling, worries about the economy, unemployment, and all the pre-election spin, the market ain’t so hot this July. And yet, I have clients who are making the market work for them. As sellers move from the hopes of spring to the mid-summer “I thought it would have sold by now” pit in their stomach, buyers have ample opportunity to make a move. With mortgage rates low, lots of discounted inventory out there and sellers willing to negotiate, I wonder why so many buyers are still on the fence. I came across some stats from Inman last week that show the desire to own a home is still strong.

Renters: Owning a Home Still a Priority
Most Americans still believe that owning a home is a solid financial decision, and a majority of renters aspire to home ownership as a long-term goal. According to the 2011 National Housing Pulse Survey released recently by the National Association of Realtors®, 72 percent of renters surveyed said owning a home is a top priority for their future, up from 63 percent in 2010.

The survey also shows that we still believe in home ownership as a way to build financial security. With the stock market high and the interest paid on your savings account low, what better time to invest in yourself than when you can purchase a home ‘on sale’ rather than ‘for sale’?

Seven in 10 Americans also agreed that buying a home is a good financial decision while almost two-thirds said now is a good time to purchase a home. The annual survey, which measures how affordable housing issues affect consumers, also found that more than three quarters of renters (77 percent) said they would be less likely to buy a home if they were required to put down a 20 percent down payment on the home, and a strong majority (71 percent) believe a 20 percent down payment requirement could have a negative impact on the housing market.

The way I see it, two things stand in the way of qualified buyers taking the leap:
1. People don’t believe mortgage rates will go up.
2. Fear that the market will fall further.
There has been talk of rising rates for years, and yet they have remained low. Today they are still under 5%, but they will rise eventually and nobody can tell you when. As for market decline, Denver indicators continue to show we have more than likely reached the bottom. At this point we are flat, some fluctuation but nothing too dramatic. Even if home prices were to fall a bit further, as long as you intend to stay in your home for five or more years, the odds of your making money are in your favor.
If I could show you how to get into a home you can afford, with a solid loan product at a good interest rate, would you still be putting money in your landlord’s pocket? Rent or own…what’s your opinion?

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Tracy Shaffer
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Buyer’s Market? May be, but you still have to play fair.

Today an unusual thing happened, I received two offers on two different listings. That in itself would not be unusual in the Denver real estate market, but it’s what came with the offer I found odd and amusing. This morning, two emails hit my inbox. One was the offer, $110k below the list price, and the other was a letter from the potential buyer to the seller. This afternoon, the same thing happened: 20k under a list price that had a generous price reduction on Wednesday, and a lovely card to the seller. Now I am the queen of the hand-written note and I know it’s value, but in both of these instances it was as if the “I really love your house, we are the perfect buyers” missive was going to somehow cover the insulting offer. If you really love the house, you should pay what the house is worth. A letter that says in essence, “I found the house I love, now can you please give it to me?” does little to sway the seller away from his or her profits.
Buyers buy homes with their emotion first and practicality second, sellers are just the opposite. I know this is a sweeping generalization, but most of the time it holds true. A home is an emotional commodity and yes, most sellers would love to see their home go to that sweet young couple of lovebirds with the 20% down, the golden retriever and th 850 credit score. Chances are very good that the seller has had his own emotional roller coaster ride long before you set your showing. Ready to make that move, they’ve called their Realtor, had the listing appointment and swallowed hard when their agent told them what they could expect to sell their beautiful home for in today’s market. When they’ve lowered their price twice in 60 days, is it realistic to expect them to take another 20 or 100k off the top because you love their home? I’d love a new Mercedes for the price of my used Saab, too.
In short, be reasonable. Be fair. Don’t believe everything you read about the “Buyer’s Market”, assuming every home is on the clearance rack. And save your letters. We know you love the home and felt all warm and fuzzy when you walked into it, that’s what writing an offer means. Now write the offer that will match that value, and don’t expect the seller to pay for your dreams out of their retirement.

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Tracy Shaffer
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A Creative Space for Creative People

Home buyers are looking for that perfect space they can make their own. To many sellers, often on the advise of their Realtor, this means painting the whole house in shades of beige and removing anything that makes their home too “personal”. There have been times I’ve said the same to my clients, though I can count them on one hand. As a founder of the Thriving Artist Alliance, I focus my business on helping creative people build wealth through real estate. For some it means moving them from renters to homeowners, for others investing in real estate through purchasing fix-and-flip or rental property is a great strategy, and then there are those who long for a living space that allows for or inspires their creative pursuits. Because the Creative Class relates to the world and their place in it differently, I am rarely looking for or listing a “Beige Box”, it’s more likely I’m on the hunt for something special and unique. When the Smiths called me about listing their City Park bungalow at 3105 Elizabeth Street I arrived at our appointment with no idea what to expect. I took to this house (and to the Smiths) immediately and was blown away! The color pallet, artwork, furnishings and decor made me feel happy and instantly at home and I knew I was in the presence of two highly-gifted artists. Though art is not either of their professions, the artist touch has graced every corner of this home. Mrs. Smith is a part-time painter and Mr. Smith used his considerable craftsmanship on a basement finish that is warm and natural and very comfortable.
This home won’t appeal to everyone, and I’m sure we’ll get some “Why don’t they paint the whole thing neutral” feedback, but that’s okay. I’m not looking for that buyer. I’m looking for that special person, couple or family who understand that self-expression is high art and that individuality is paramount. Oh, and it’d be nice if they love the City Park Jazz concert series, because they’re close enough to walk or roll there every Sunday!

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