Tag: Real Estate Dangers

Selling Your Home Yourself in this Hot Sellers Market?

It is easy to think that when it is a Seller’s Market, inventory is low that you could and should just go ahead and sell your home yourself. After all, buyers are snatching up any home that comes on the market and buying those homes at top dollar.  So, thinking of selling your home yourself in this hot sellers market. We know itt is tempting to be a for sale by owner.  But, in a word, DON’T.  

I know that it is easy for me to say that.  I am a Realtor and I benefit when someone uses me to sell their home.  So, why is it a mistake to sell your home yourself.  Most sellers decide to sell their homes themselves so that they will save the commission and net more money.  Research has shown that this is not the case.  Most sellers who sell their homes themselves end up netting a lower median price on their homes.  It is hard to negotiate for yourself. The buyer is wanting the best deal.  The agent for the buyer is looking our for their clients.  You have no one looking out for you and helping you insure that your needs are met.  

Another concern in selling your home yourself in this hot sellers market is Safety!  When you are a for sale by owner it is difficult to control who enters your home.  You do not know if the people that are entering your home are “real” buyers or someone casing your home to later steal from you. 

When you are a for sale by owner it is difficult to have a strong online strategy.  Over 97% of all buyers shop online for their home.  How are buyers going to find your home?  What type of photos are you going to have of your home?  Are you going to provide a virtual tour?  All of this is important. 

When you are a for sale by owner how will you make sure that the buyer that wants to buy your home really can afford it and the lender that they might be working with can really close the deal?  You do not want to waste time with a buyer that cannot buy.  How do you insure all of this?

In our litigious society how do you make sure that you are providing the buyer with the necessary forms and information as a part of the process so that they will not sue you for failure to disclose or any number of other things.  A Realtor can help you avoid legal jeopardy. This alone can save you thousands of dollars.  

It is tempting to think that selling a home is easy and anyone can do it.  You just stick a sign in the yard and the buyers come and they will want to buy.  Then you just go to closing and collect your money.  Things are not always as they seem.  This is one of those situations.  Hire a trained, experienced, top agent to help you sell your home and look out for you.  You will be money ahead in the end. Contact us today and find out how we can help. 

Colorado Water Law

For those from back East our water laws in Colorado and the rest of the West can seem quite confusing. In fact even when you understand the basics a Colorado resident can still still get a little bit turned around when trying to work through where water rights may have gone. We would like to supply you with a simplified and abbreviated lesson on water law in Colorado, however, this knowledge is no substitute for ones own due diligence or utilizing legal council as water ownership can easily be worth tens of thousands of dollars.

In the West

Water law is based on the prior appropriation doctrine. The simplest way to remember this is “first in time first in right.” In the East water law is based off of riparian rights. This means that abutting a river or stream grants you access to utilize this water. Western water rights holders do not need to be near to the water source in order to obtain rights, which is why there are a substantial number of water pipeline projects in Colorado.

Purchasing a property in Colorado

May mean several things when it comes to gaining water for the property. Some properties are under the service of municipal service providers or other water districts. This means they simply pay their monthly water bill and have water provided to the property through existing water infrastructure. This is the typical situation for most homes within city limits throughout Northern Colorado. Others may have access to a well. In this case the well will have been permitted for a specific use. This could be for residential use only or for agriculture or livestock use as well. Finally, you might have to buy shares of water in order to participate in the water district where your property is located. This is most often the case in areas outside of major towns and cities, and when you are building a new home.

Still Have Questions?

Hopefully, that provides a very brief overview of Colorado water law. There is obviously a great deal to be concerned about when it comes to water and the real estate transaction in general. We are happy to work with you to provide guidance through all the unknowns and to make sure your new property meets your needs. If you have any questions feel free to contact us.

What is Wire Fraud?

You have just gone under contract to buy a property.  Congratulations.  Now the fun starts.  You will be getting many emails requesting information and sharing information with you.  Additionally, you will regularly be hearing from the title company, lender and of course your agent.  You will receive title work, requests for additional documents from your lender and documents to sign from your agent.  This is an exciting, happy time, but a time to be careful.  Know who you are sharing your personal information with and know who you are receiving information from. You might be wondering what is wire fraud.

What is Wire Fraud? How It Begins.

In the beginning of the under-contract period, your contact information will be provided to the title company so that they can provide you with title work on the property that you are purchasing.   You will be receiving multiple emails from the title company.  As you progress through the under-contract period you will need to prepare for closing.  In order for you to close you will need to provide money for closing. This money will be the total of your down payment and closing costs.  Your lender will provide you with documents that will tell you the amount of money that you will need. Additionally, this money cannot be provided to the title company in the form of cash, personal check or cashier’s check. 

Most title companies today require that the money be wired to them in advance of closing, usually 24 hours prior to closing. In order to wire the funds, you will need wiring instructions. Warning…be very careful who you receive your wiring instructions from.  Your real estate agent will not provide you with wiring instruction, nor will the title company call you to tell you what they are.  Instead, you could expect to receive the wiring instructions by a secure email from the title company.  It is wise to also call the title company yourself and verify that the instructions that you have received are correct.  

Why does all of this matter to you?  Wire fraud is occurring in Northern Colorado.  Here is what is happening.  Buyers are receiving wiring instructions that seem very real.  The instructions may look like they come from the title company or even from the real estate agent.  The buyer follows the instructions and wires the funds for closing. 

The Day of Closing

The buyers arrive at the title company the day of closing.  They are told when they arrive that the title company has not received the wire for the down payment and closing costs.  The buyer tells the title company that the money was sent.  The buyers provide the title company with the wiring instructions that they used to wire the funds. Moreover, the title company reviews the instructions and realizes that the wiring instructions are not correct and that the money has not been sent to the correct place.   If the buyer is able to tract where money went, they could find that the money is in some off shore account and are not able to get it back.  This has happened more than once in Northern Colorado.  One buyer lost $160,000.  

Now What?

The money is impossible to retrieve. Additionally, you will not be able to close on the home that you have under contract that you planned to be moving into.  This is devastating. This is nothing that you want to happen to you. Verify any information that you receive.  Double and triple check.  Always pick up the phone and verify with a human being on the other end of a known phone number (never click links in emails, or correspond/call with emails/numbers provided in emails). Additionally, look up phone numbers on Google to make sure you are calling the right person. Do not become a victim of wire fraud.