A great, big THANKS goes out to all of those who have supported my business this year, from my clients who allow me to help them, to the service providers who always respond quickly and professionally, to my colleagues at Staufer Team Real Estate. I am so very grateful to have you all in my life, and I hope you find yourself overwhelmed with blessings this Thanksgiving!

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I would love to help you with your real estate journey. 

Please contact me at 303-917-7143 or robbin@stauferteam.com

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LEED Certifications

The U.S. Green Building Council launched the LEED certification program for homes in 2008, after a successful decade of commercial implementation. LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, recognizes four levels of certification for incorporating green principles into the construction of homes without driving up price: Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum. Each category consists of prerequisites (required elements) and optional credits. It is an internationally recognized system, constantly evolving to incorporate new processes and materials and encourage adoption globally.

Homes can earn points in an 8-category rating system:

• Innovation and Design Process
• Location and Linkages
• Sustainable Sites
• Water Efficiency
• Energy and Atmosphere
• Materials and Resources
• Indoor Environmental Quality
• Awareness and Education

For a few hundred dollars, new construction and renovated homes can apply for a LEED certification at the USGBC website. LEED homes can see energy use reductions of 30-60%, depending on the certification. This translates to savings for owners and increased resale value, as younger generations of homebuyers often site improved energy efficiency as an important factor in their purchasing choices.

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I would love to help you with your real estate journey. 

Please contact me at 303-917-7143 or robbin@stauferteam.com

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Home Safety Tips

A real estate agent in Arkansas was murdered recently while showing a vacant home to a prospective buyer. The attacker was a stranger to her, who targeted her because she "was a woman who worked alone."

My husband and I own a martial arts school, Saeng Myong Martial Arts, in Broomfield. We've taught traditional self defense as well as Model Mugging and various seminars over the years, to groups from law enforcement to girl scouts. A big part of self defense is awareness - acknowledging existing threats and coming up with plans to deal with them should the worst happen.

My real estate job comes with risks which agents mitigate as well as we can. The best approach is to think about your lifestyle and prepare for possible dangerous scenarios. Just as your family has a plan of escape from your home in the event of a fire, so should you have a plan to rescue yourself should you be threatened. Then, you can proceed with your life knowing the plan is in the back of your mind should you need it. Any preparations or actions that can add a layer of protection for yourself or your home can be a deterrent to criminals, who are looking for the fastest way to commit their crime and get away without detection.

When it comes to your home, there are many steps you can take to remove yourself from the "victim pool:"

• If you leave your house during the day and return at night, be sure there is adequate lighting. Install motion or light sensing lamps mounted high over entries so that they can’t be messed with.

• Close your curtains or blinds at night. For full coverage on the first floor, turn blinds up so people outside can only see your ceiling. On higher floors the opposite is needed. Go outside and see if can see in your own place at night.

• Close and lock your door immediately after entering. While at home, keep your doors locked. Some criminals will walk right in, even if there are people inside. Install a peephole, and remember that answering your door is a choice, not an obligation. Ask who’s there, and be prepared to fight if you open it to a stranger.

• Install double cylinder locks (the kind that require a key) on any door with a window that can be broken allowing someone to reach the lock.

• Homes with dogs are less likely to be burglarized. Never shrug off barking, and even keep the dog with you when you answer the door. Do not install doggy doors that don’t lock as people have been known to squeeze through them.

• Make sure your garage door is completely closed before you get out of the car. When pulling in, put on the high beams, put the car in reverse and press the brake to illuminate the driveway behind you.

• Close your windows at night. If you must keep them open, make sure they are not open enough for someone to fit through and install a locking mechanism for the open position. 

• In an apartment building, never let someone in that you don’t recognize, even if the approaching person has their arms full. Your safety and your neighbor’s safety come before convenience. If you see someone suspicious loitering, call the police. They may no longer belong there but still have a key.

• Change your locks immediately when moving into a new place or after having ended a relationship with someone who has a key.

• If you have a common laundry room, avoid doing laundry alone, and spend as little time there as possible. Never enter if the light won’t come on. If someone comes in who is making you uncomfortable, leave immediately. 

• Consider installing a deadbolt on your bedroom door if you have roommates since you don’t control everyone who comes in and out of the apartment. Lock the bathroom to provide one more layer of safety. 

• Loud radios/TVs cut down on your ability to hear and sense a presence. When showering, turn off the noise so you can detect movement better upon shutting off the water.

• Pretend to be burglar looking for hiding places and vulnerabilities about your home. Periodically check the exterior for signs of break in or wear and tear. Make your home look occupied; cut bushes back, mow, secure your tools, don’t allow mail or newspapers to accumulate. Project the image that you care and pay attention to your safety and the maintenance of your property.

• Keep a phone by your bed. Cell phones are okay, but land lines help 911 track calls much faster.

Nothing is guaranteed to eliminate all danger, but the irony of self defense is, the more prepared you are to fight, the less likely you will have to.

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I would love to help you with your real estate journey. 

Please contact me at 303-917-7143 or robbin@stauferteam.com

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Zuliagate

That's what some internet commentaries are calling the proposed merger between Zillow and Trulia.  Last week, the FTC made another request for information from the companies to determine if antitrust laws would be violated by the move. It seems that the agency is debating whether all real estate advertising - online and off - is viewed equally or if they will regard the online market specifically. A chief executive for Zillow maintains the former which, if the FTC agrees, will pave the way for the merger. I disagree.

I've done many different types of marketing and talked to agents who have been in the business for decades. While there is still value in print advertising in some situations, the National Association of Realtors® reports that 9 out of 10 buyers rely on the internet as a primary data source, with 52% starting their home search there. I believe those numbers will continue to rise with the upcoming generations.

I also think that third party sites such as Zillow and Trulia are hurting the real estate industry and my clients, and here's why.

Imagine I go to a listing appointment at a potential client's home. One of the points I make to him is that I am managing his transaction from beginning to end. I know his home and it's features thoroughly, I bring in experts when needed (who have been tested and proven), and I make it a priority to sell, sell, sell his home. I get the listing, and gain the confidence of my new client. Then I put someone else's sign in his yard and outsource the phone calls and leads that come in. If you were my client, would that make you happy with my services?

If you tool around these home search sites, you'll find a few interesting features. One, the listing agent is never (or almost never) one of the agents that pop up next to the pictures, encouraging you to call for more details. The Premier Agents there have no connection to the property, except for that they've "bought" the zip code that property resides in. That means when a potential buyer clicks on an address, the agents who have purchased the biggest advertising packages will be front and center. And how did they acquire the stars? Zillow says stars are awarded to those who have "contributed the most to the Zillow community."

I've conducted my own small experiment, and I've heard the results echoed by other real estate brokerages who've run the same tests. Give a call to one of those agents and you'll get one of several answers: 1) No, they haven't been in the property themselves and can't answer any questions, but would be happy to take you through it; 2) Yes, they saw the listing and would be happy to schedule a showing for you, along with a few others that they happen to have listed themselves; 3) Yes, they are the listing agent but the property is no longer available. (!!!) Gratefully, this last one only happened once, as most agents I've worked have a higher level of integrity than that.

Speaking of the availability of properties, some sites will often leave homes that have already been sold or withdrawn from the market on their website so they can claim to have a larger inventory than their competitors. I've heard from colleagues that they've seen their listings return to the websites again long after they were taken down, and that homes in pre-foreclosure are now being posted For Sale even though they are not yet on the market officially. What do you think your feeling would be if you were researching and calling repeatedly on properties you couldn't have? Would this instill confidence in the process or just aggravate you?

As obvious as this is to those of us who conduct transactions day in and day out, it can be hard to convince the public that these household name sites are really doing them a disservice. Sellers want to see their property pictures on every real estate site they've seen and not seen, but this exposure doesn't necessarily mean a faster sale. The sites measure their "success" in the number of hits received, but data shows that there is no correlation between hits and actual sales. In fact, statistics show that these third-party sites have an extremely low success rate. The growing opinion among professionals in the real estate industry is that sharing listings with these types of sites is doing more damage than good, and the risk of losing exposure by not utilizing them is much smaller than it may seem.

I also find my conversations with potential sellers starting more often with damage control. They've seen an estimate of their property online and they're setting their expectations based on this sometimes grossly inaccurate figure. Whatever algorithm is being used, it doesn't take into account the local market or neighborhood, or even improvements on the home they can't know about. I've seen two nearly identical homes estimated with more than a 15% difference in value, or basement square footage being valued the same as above-ground. Not only does this sometimes create an initial mistrust in the relationship (where the expert is not the one getting the benefit of the doubt) but it sets up false expectations for the seller and can even mislead them to make choices not ideal for their family.

Slowly but surely, real estate firms are starting to recognize this and reexamine their marketing strategies. Those who have pulled out of third-party syndication for their listings have actually seen sales improve by significant numbers; one California firm said their revenue went up by 40% shortly after they made the change, once again receiving the buyer calls for their clients that were once lost in cyberspace. 

If you're looking for a helpful replacement for the sites I've mentioned above, see if you can find the public portal for your local MLS; some places have them but some don't, check with a local agent. In the Boulder area, ours is coloproperties.com. It's timely, accurate, and will give you the right person to call. Better yet, ask your friends for a referral to an agent they like and ask to be set up on a listing alert. This is a daily, weekly, or hourly search and email  from your MLS customized to the kind of home you're searching for.

I've chosen real estate to build a career, both because I am interested in all aspects of the housing industry and because I get a lot of satisfaction in putting families in homes they love. I like the flexibility in my schedule, the variety in my work days, and I think it's a pretty positive way to make a living. Anyone who's worked with me knows that I really do care about my clients and want to ensure that they get what they need with a minimum of hassle. 

I'm not just a real estate agent, but a Realtor®,which means I subscribe to a code of ethics. I have found that the business practices of many third-party real estate sites are just incompatible with that code. Do we all have to make a living? Sure. Do we all have the same priorities? Absolutely not.

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I would love to help you with your real estate journey. 

Please contact me at 303-917-7143 or robbin@stauferteam.com

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Setting the Stage

Staging a property to sell is more than adding a few candles and throw pillows.  It's about maximizing a home's best features and minimizing the less than ideal.  This can involve such things as rearranging furniture to improve traffic flow, harmonizing a room's color palette, removing clutter and distracting items, and guiding potential buyers to see themselves living in the home.

Vacant properties are a wonderful opportunity to bring personality to a clean canvas.  Sometimes, sellers are hesitant to spend money renting furnishings for staging as they aren't sure they will see a return.  However, there is plenty of evidence that staged homes sell faster, and the sooner homes go under contract, the more likely they are to get a higher price.  Properly sized and placed furniture can reveal just how large a room is, and what the best use for a space might be.  Randomly placed plants or chairs add nothing and might even detract from the space.

From a recent showing in Denver - an example of what not to do...

Staging doesn't always have to cost big money, though.  As part of my listing services, I provide a professional stager early in the process to consult with the seller.  We take a tour of the property together, making a list of items that should be repaired or improved, and our recommendations for priority.  The seller can then decide which items to tackle before listing the property.  Paying attention to items before listing usually gets the seller more money - if a seller identifies an item needing attention, he can repair it.  If a buyer finds it during inspection, they may want it replaced instead.

Cleaning, decluttering and painting to make the best first impression possible is important.  If a buyer sees a lot of repair items - even small ones - they will begin to mentally subtract those costs from their offer price.  Additionally, they may begin to worry that there are other items they can't see that have been neglected, possibly discouraging them from making an offer at all.

The final stage before listing involves the stager coming back to stage the property for photographs and showings.  She will use some of the furnishings that are already there and add to them with other things she feels are in keeping with the character of that particular home.  A well-staged home can make buyers want the lifestyle represented and make an emotional connection with the property.  Remember - the way a home looks while you are living in it is often much different from the way it should look when it is up for sale, just like how your children look when they come back from the park and when you ready them for family portraits.

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I would love to help you with your real estate journey. 

Please contact me at 303-917-7143 or robbin@stauferteam.com

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Can a 1031 Exchange Help You?

For a lot of people, their home is their most valuable asset.  The long-term appreciation and equity in the property is likely to be their biggest investment, so the IRS allows sellers to exclude $250,000 in gains from the sale of their primary residence from taxes; $500,000 for a couple filing jointly.

For investors who use their properties to generate revenue, this exclusion is not available.  However, the IRS provides another avenue to defer the tax liability for a time by reinvesting the sale proceeds into another like-kind property, called a Section 1031 Exchange.  Business entities can also use this vehicle to protect assets.

The simplest exchange is a simultaneous swap of one property for another.  If the exchange does not happen at the same time, a qualified third party will hold the funds from the sale of the first property until they can be used toward the purchase of another.  Several rules govern this process.

First, the seller must identify, in writing, one to three replacement properties within 45 days of the closing of the sale.  All three properties may be purchased in exchange, or they can be treated as back-up options should one of them become unavailable after identification.  The purchase of the replacement property must be completed within 180 days of the initial sale.

There are other rules related to the value of the replacement homes identified and the percentage of the value that is actually acquired in the final sale.  In addition, if there is still additional money left after the purchase of the replacement property, that gain, or "boot," could be subject to taxation.  It is highly advisable to hire an exchange service to account for all funds and handle this sometimes complex transaction.  These experienced professionals can also help you make long-terms plans regarding the best way to handle or even reduce the deferred tax liability.  If you would like a referral, don't hesitate to contact me.

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I would love to help you with your real estate journey. 

Please contact me at 303-917-7143 or robbin@stauferteam.com

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Colorado Ranks 6th Best for the "New Economy"

With a score of 81.4 out of 100, the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) has ranked Colorado in the top 10 states in the nation for the "new economy." ITIF, a nonprofit think tank, defines the new economy as, "marked by globalization, technological innovation and entrepreneurial development."

ITIF used 25 indicators in 5 categories to asses a state's ability to adapt to more a technological culture and encourage development.  The categories are knowledge jobs, globalization, economic dynamism, digital economy and innovation capacity.  The Foundation indicated that states are better focusing on high quality innovation than incentive packages to bring new companies in.  Policy makers need to support measures that prioritize retaining high-skilled workers, access to education and laboratories, and research and development.

Colorado came in 6th behind Massachusetts (#1), Delaware, California, Washington and Maryland.  Colorado's strengths were listed as workforce education, initial public offerings and high-tech jobs.  If you're looking to move here, I've helped many families get to know Colorado and find a great house in the Denver and Boulder areas.  Through listing alerts, local news articles and property previews, I'd be happy to help you with your search.

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I would love to help you with your real estate journey. 

Please contact me at 303-917-7143 or robbin@stauferteam.com

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