Thread: Looking for a new place in Denver

Hello,

That is a tough question, I wish you the best with your venture. I do agree with you, you need to trust the agent you are working with. I can only offer some insight on this topic, wish I knew more about dealing with agents.

My suggestion is to do some research on your own in the area you are looking to buy. My background is I help people to purchase properties at auction/sales, all across the country, that are called Tax Deed Sales. There are sales where county officials sell off properties that the owners are not paying their taxes on.

Unfortunately, Colorado is a Tax Lien state, so they have annual auctions where they sell the delinquent tax lien, (just an investment), not the deed to the property. Here are some things to keep in mind......

First, just rememebr this is a buyer's market right now. Realtors and agents are still going to try to sell the proeprty for close to or full market value, but depending on the area there may be lots of room for negotiation. In many parts of the country, like here in Florida, 50-60 cents on the dollar would be the retail price. There are auctions all over this state where people jsut like yourself can purchase homes for 20-30 cents on the dollar. So if the properties you are looking at are not a great bargain, then offer something substantially lower, and see what happens..what do you have to lose?...you can always look at another property...sometimes, the seller is very eager to take a shorter deal if they just want to sell.

Second, call a few counties, and see if they have any "distressed tax sale properties" that you can go and purchase. You never know, you might find a county that has some properties that are just sitting there they you may be able to purchase. It is a long shot for your state, but doesn't hurt to try.

For example, my mother just bought a piece of land in Holderness, NH. (about 4 months ago) on the cleanest lake in the state (right next to Lake Winnepesaukee which is very famous in that neck of the woods)...the land was listed at $100,000, and my mother wanted to offer $90,000...I told her she was crazy, have some fun and do some hard negotiating.

I convinced her to offer $60,000, and she did...the seller came back saying no way...wouldn't even consider for less than $92,000. So, I told her to offer $65,000 and that was it....the seller said no...So, I told her to politely thank the realtor for his or her time, and say I'll keep looking.

about 2 weeks later, the realtor called her and said, "are you still interested in the property, she said Yes." the realtor said I can't do $65,000 so let's come to an agreement....I told my mother to offer $67,500 and take it or leave it.....well, guess what, the realtor accepted...and now she owns a kick-*** piece of land with 4.5 acres.

So the point is, if you negotiate the right way and use some smarts, you can most likely save yourself a bunch of money..I helped my mother to get the price discounted by $32,000...not a bad deal for a little strategy and effort.

Good luck with your purchase, make sure it is a bargain, and try to make the realtor sweat a little if you can.

I have actually been posting all over the web looking for someone to really lay everything out straight for me, and your response was great to read. I am still searching, still rather skeptical, but I see that taking charge of the situation no matter who I end up with is most likely the most important piece of this puzzle.

While I have your attention, what should I look out for in regards to mortgages? With our economy so fluttery, I don't want to get locked into the wrong company/rate/etc.

thanks again for all your help !

You can read my blog on Buying 101-The Cliff Notes you can go to bolderrealestate and go to my blog. I don't sell in Denver; sorry. Tell me more about what you are concerned about. you can call me if you would like to talk. I am not trying to sell you anything but I will give you some solid advice on how to pick an agent you can trust. Michael

I would suggest visiting open houses. Since you are new to the area I would ask friends, colleagues, etc about what Realtors they have worked with that they:

• Know
• Like
• Trust
• Are in "Flow" with (good rapport+not pushy+will look out for you)

I hope this helps.

Well, After coming back here and reading everyones suggestions , I think I will go with the same group that my boss went thru to find his new place.
They seem to have a great review from him, as well as some really friendly staff.

Now regarding my financial questions, I would love to hear what I should look out for !

Hello,,I want to tell you my opinion on what advice you gave to this person..yes, reality is that it is a buyer's market..but..the real estate industry is losing mega money at all levels..your advice is part of the reason...stealing property will never help our economy or rehousing estate to recover..housing is a large part of our country's value and if we can't get the market values back up on real estate everybody loses..just my opinion as just one of many sellers who are saddled with property that has decreased in market value due to the current sales history and buyer's strategies..I would hope that realtors would work hard to get those home values back up so everybody involved benefits from the overwhelming sales.

Originally Posted by taxlienadvisor

Hello,


That is a tough question, I wish you the best with your venture. I do agree with you, you need to trust the agent you are working with. I can only offer some insight on this topic, wish I knew more about dealing with agents.
i
My suggestion is to do some research on your own in the area you are looking to buy. My background is I help people to purchase properties at auction/sales, all across the country, that are called Tax Deed Sales. There are sales where county officials sell off properties that the owners are not paying their taxes on.

Unfortunately, Colorado is a Tax Lien state, so they have annual auctions where they sell the delinquent tax lien, (just an investment), not the deed to the property. Here are some things to keep in mind......

First, just rememebr this is a buyer's market right now. Realtors and agents are still going to try to sell the proeprty for close to or full market value, but depending on the area there may be lots of room for negotiation. In many parts of the country, like here in Florida, 50-60 cents on the dollar would be the retail price. There are auctions all over this state where people jsut like yourself can purchase homes for 20-30 cents on the dollar. So if the properties you are looking at are not a great bargain, then offer something substantially lower, and see what happens..what do you have to lose?...you can always look at another property...sometimes, the seller is very eager to take a shorter deal if they just want to sell.

Second, call a few counties, and see if they have any "distressed tax sale properties" that you can go and purchase. You never know, you might find a county that has some properties that are just sitting there they you may be able to purchase. It is a long shot for your state, but doesn't hurt to try.

For example, my mother just bought a piece of land in Holderness, NH. (about 4 months ago) on the cleanest lake in the state (right next to Lake Winnepesaukee which is very famous in that neck of the woods)...the land was listed at $100,000, and my mother wanted to offer $90,000...I told her she was crazy, have some fun and do some hard negotiating.

I convinced her to offer $60,000, and she did...the seller came back saying no way...wouldn't even consider for less than $92,000. So, I told her to offer $65,000 and that was it....the seller said no...So, I told her to politely thank the realtor for his or her time, and say I'll keep looking.

about 2 weeks later, the realtor called her and said, "are you still interested in the property, she said Yes." the realtor said I can't do $65,000 so let's come to an agreement....I told my mother to offer $67,500 and take it or leave it.....well, guess what, the realtor accepted...and now she owns a kick-*** piece of land with 4.5 acres.

So the point is, if you negotiate the right way and use some smarts, you can most likely save yourself a bunch of money..I helped my mother to get the price discounted by $32,000...not a bad deal for a little strategy and effort.

Good luck with your purchase, make sure it is a bargain, and try to make the realtor sweat a little if you can.