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!    

Eric & Sara - Trading Up for the Same Price

Web Designer, Eric Nance and his wife Sara needed a bigger home.  They had two young boys, two large dogs and Eric's business, Epiphany Graphics (http://epiphanygraphics.com/), all operating out of their 2000 sq ft home.  Eric needed a separate work space, away from the rambunctious play of their boys and accessible enough that he could help out if needed.  Sara had done her research on schools and was intent on being in the Divinny school district of Jefferson County.  They are avid gardeners and given the dogs a large and sunny back yard was also in their top 5 "must haves".  And of course they wanted a great deal!  To achieve their goals we needed to sell their current home and finding the perfect new Live/Work home to accommodate both Eric's growing business and their expanding family.  

Sara & Eric went to work completing the work we'd identified together that needed doing before going on the market & the TAA team got busy putting together the marketing materials to sell Eric & Sara's home.  In April we went active in the MLS.  Two weeks later we received a full price offer and began the transaction process to close on the sale.  Once past the inspection phase for the sale we began in earnest to look for their new home.  All together we looked at approximately 20 homes over the course of a few weeks.  Working with TAA lender, Matt Hanson, http://hansonplanninggroup.com/ they got a great mortgage and chose a 5 bed, 3 bath short sale house that met all their criteria but desperately needed some TLC.  The house was ideal in every way - 3 beds on the main level including a master suite, formal living & dining rooms, a working kitchen with an opening overlooking a large playroom that opened out on 2 sides to a wrap-around deck & the huge back yard.  And downstairs - a fantastic TV/Media room w/ fireplace, laundry w/ tons of built-in storage and best of all towards the south end 2 bedrooms and a 3rd bath easily divided off from the rest of the downstairs space and perfect for Eric's offices!  

Comparing Basics      Current Home          New Home

5 Must Haves:

Sq footage:                     2,108                        2,940 Beds:                              4                              5 # of Baths:                       2                               3 Lot Size:                        10,057                       10,541 DOM:                             15 days                     92 days Appraised:                       At list price               $10,000 over purchase price

• Separate work space for Eric • School District • Generous Family/Play room for the boys • Sunny Back yard for gardening • Master Suite w/ private bath

Were there challenges? YES! The biggest being that short sales take longer than usual to close.  In this case, 2 months longer.  So Eric & Sara stayed with friends while we worked with the bank through the bureaucracy of a short sale.  The in June the family moved into their new home.

I just met with Eric and Sara for their first anniversary in their new home.  Life is unfolding even better than they'd imagined.  Eric's business has gone through a focused evolution specializing in marketing for the medical community (http://omnimedicalmarketing.com/), baby number three is on the way!  They've renovated the master bath, put wood floors in the playroom, added a dog run to the back yard, installed A/C and completed some upgrades to the kitchen.  From start to finish the process took about 5 months.  Eric & Sara got everything they wanted for the sold price of their previous home with $10,000 in instant equity and great terms on their mortgage.

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.