Tony & Lisa - A Place to Start Their Life Together

 Tony & Lisa had just arrived in Denver and the college sweethearts were ready to find their first home.  They wanted to be in central Denver; Baker, Park Hill and they wanted a great deal.  Tony is handy so they were open to distressed properties- short sales or foreclosures.  We found a charming bank owned bungalow in Park Hill.  The house was in great shape with room for Tony to apply his building skills to improve the unfinished areas.

We proceeded thru the due diligence period and then days before closing the city placed a sewer lien against the home and they were requiring the sewer be replaced before closing!  I set to work negotiating with the city to allow Tony & Lisa to close on their home as planned.  The city agreed, Tony & Lisa closed on time, moved in & then fixed then sewer line.  One year later they were married.

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Jeff Ball & Remi Darby - Having an Agent Who Listens is Vital to the Process

I met first time buyer, Jeff, when he was Executive Director of TOSA (The Other Side Arts) a non-profit arts organization he created.  Jeff, a photographer (http://jeffballphotography.com/), & his partner Remy, writer & assistant to Mondo (Project Runway runner up) had been working with a real estate agent but to no avail.  Jeff shared, "She isn't hearing us and doesn't get what we are trying to do."  Approximately 25% of my creative clients come to me after working with another agent who "doesn't get" them.  What Jeff & Remy wanted was a way to Live & Work from home.  As a photographer, Jeff needed a space he could achieve black out conditions in but would have natural light when he wanted.  They also wanted higher ceilings, a place for guests, 3 beds, 2 baths & wood floors - all for under $115K.  

We found their home our first day out!  A turn of the century ranch-style farm house in the E-OP Arts neighborhood that had been added onto.  That owner had dug a basement under the addition that was perfect for Jeff's photo studio!  The original house had 1 bed/1bath attached to a living room with walls covered in the pressed tin ceiling panels you see in old Victorians - very funky, charming, uniqueness that Jeff & Remy loved.  The addition held 2 additional bedrooms: a master bed & bath plus an additional room for Remy's writing office.  An extra benefit - the back yard gate opened out to the bike path that runs along the Platte River Greenway.  And it was in their price range!    

Dwight & Danielle - The Importance of Having an Experienced Negotiator

We love musicians at TAA! Bassist, Dwight Thompson and his wife Danielle came to us via referral from another musician client, drummer, Matt Amundson.  Dwight & Danielle were ready to start their family and Dwight needed private teaching space for his students.  A young couple with no "fix it" skills, they wanted a home that wouldn't need any work, centrally located to the DPS schools Dwight teaches in and to Danielle's job in the Tech Center with room to grow, a nice yard and a garage.  It so happened that another TAA client had just completed a fantastic fix n' flip that was perfect.  Danielle instantly fell in love with the 4 bed/3 bath tri-level in the Fitzsimmons Medical Center neighborhood and we began to move forward with the purchase.  That's when we hit the first big snag.

Danielle is from Tobago, a US citizen by marriage, but she had no credit history here and that posed some problems with the mortgage approval process.  So TAA negotiated a deal that allowed Dwight & Danielle to move into their new home and rent from the Seller for 4 months until her credit history got established.  It was a win-win for everyone: Dwight and Danielle moved into their new home on time and the Seller received a profitable monthly rent equal to what would be the mortgage payment once financing came through.  

The second snag came when the appraisal was done.  Appraisals are the wildcard in real estate these days with new rules & regs that have appraisers making "CYA" conservative valuations.  The appraisal came in considerably lower than the agreed upon purchase price.  Why? This deal happened at  a key juncture in the market.  Fixed up homes had just begun coming on the market.  So when the appraiser pulled comparable sold properties there were no fixed up comps to compare it to.  The appraiser's hands were tied.  So again TAA set to work negotiating - everyone gave a little and in the end Dwight & Danielle got their home.