Bill Kosena

Hi Leslie,

Although financing has become much more restrictive in today's world, if you have good credit and employment, you should have no difficulty finding construction loan financing to use when you purchase a "fixer-upper" type of home. Typically, you will need to have your fix-up/repairs approved by the lender in advance.

Lets say you are interested in buying a home for $250,000 and then doing a $20,000 home improvment on the home after closing. Assume you are putting down $25,000. At the closing the lender will loan you $225,000. Then as you or your contractor begin to purchase materials for the home improvment, the lender will advance you funds needed. The lender will want to see building plans for the home improvment and/or bids for specific types of improvments such as new carpet, new appliances if they were missing from the home when you purchased it. In other words, so long as you can prove to the lender that you are actually making improvments to the home on a plan that they agreed to, they will continue writing additional checks to cover the improvments and associated labor costs. The lender wants to be sure the home is actually being improved not that the borrower is just putting the extra cash in their pocket.

The lender would not approve such expenditures for such things as big screen TV, or media room equipment nor furnature.

Hope this helps. Let me know if you would like the names of lenders who would make this type of loan.

Best wishes,

Bill Kosena, ABR, CRS, SRES - Fri Jul 11 2008, 06:44

Hi Katherine,

The facts are the facts in our real world. There is no such thing as a free ride - once your parents get you out on your own. I too had to face reality every time I sold a stock that went down in price from what I paid for it or even if it stayed at the exact same price. The selling costs were still there and I had to pay them if I indeed elected to move on. I guess the same holds true for you now that you are indeed interested in selling your home. You still need to pay your lender back the money you borrowed and you still need to pay the title insurance company their insurance fee, their closing fee and all the other misc. fees if you want to sell your property. So, if you want to use the services of a professional Realtor to represent you and to market your home, you will need to pay that fee too.

Your other choice might be to take on the role of a professional Realtor and try and sell your home yourself. After being in the business for the past 30 years and representing over 1,800 clients through the process, including negotiating that many contracts for my clients, my guess is a seasoned professional will do a better job and net you far more than you will be able to on your own. But, selling by owner is always an option.

The other option might be to just bite the bullet and realize the market has gone down and just like when you sell a stock for less than what you bought it for, you will jus need to come out of the transaction with less than you hoped for. You may have to tap into other assets to complete the sale and be able to move on with your lives in your new location.

The last option would be to trash your credit and just give the home back the lender. Thousands of other home owners across the nation have done just that in the past couple of years. I sure hope you have other assets available to you so you do not have to go down that road.

If you would like to explore the option of using a broker, I would suggest you interview at least three. Be sure to ask them to leave with you a detailed outline of exactly what they will do for you to market your home. Be sure to also ask them how many homes they have sold. (The more the better for you). What professional designations they have. How many years they have been a full time Realtor and of course, what brokerage fee they would charge to sell your home.

I hope this helps you. And, unfortunately, there just are no easy answers for your situation.

Best wishes,

Bill Kosena, ABR, CRS, GRI, SRES - Mon Jun 30 2008, 08:46

Hi Rinh,

The sellers do not have any options to back out of the Colorado contract under the Inspection Paragraph IF you do not request/require them to do any work or pay for anything related to the inspection findings.

The sellers also do not have any outs regarding the title documents. You, the buyer, have the rights to back out - not the seller.

Best of luck,

Bill Kosena, ABR, CRS, SRES - Wed Jun 25 2008, 09:36

Hi Rinh,

All may not be lost! (explore the following points with your own attorney - let me know if you need the names of a few good real estate attornies.)

The Colorado Contract To Buy And Sell Real Estate contract requires specific performance on the part of sellers. That means once they sign the contract, they are bound to sell providing they don't have an out because of non performance on your part and you are not requiring/requesting repairs be made at the seller's expense. - As Joetta mentioned below, you sure have the right to withdraw any request for repairs prior to the Inspection Resolution Deadline.

So, if you meet all of the dates in the contract and you are not asking the seller to complete any repairs, the seller really has no further "outs" in the pre-printed portion of the Colorado Contract To Buy And Sell Real Estate. If the seller refuses to transfer title to you on the closing date, an attorney would be able to assist you in getting the county court to issue you the deed to the property. (The seller can not decide to terminate the contract on their own.)

If the sellers believe they were pressured into signing the contract, that issue is between them and their agent. The courts would have to determine who is right and wrong independent of your sale.

Now to the subject of your $550 inspection fee. If you proceed and eventually close on the home, you got your money's worth so no harm done. If you decide not to proceed to the closing you may ask your broker to request that the sellers re-imburse you for your expense as a part of you signing a mutual agreement to terminate the contract. If the sellers really want out of the deal, they should be willing to cover your expense just to be done with everything. I sure would not agree to terminate a perfectly good and binding contract without at least being reimbursed for my hard expenses.

- Again, be sure to visit with your own attorney to explore these points.

Best of luck to you.

Bill Kosena, ABR, CRS, SRES - Wed Jun 25 2008, 08:41

Hi Sue,

Take the first street you can find going east. Take it to University, then go right (south) to1st Ave. and turn left.

Mapquest.com or Google.com are both great for their maps too.

Best wishes,

Bill Kosena - Sat Jun 14 2008, 19:11

Hi Georgia,

All areas of Denver have good neighborhoods for you to consider. You might be a bit more careful in the Thonton areas for bentonite in the soils. Broomfield seems to have a lot less of it than Thornton. My web site has a very informative article on the subject.

Another consideration might be your price range as compared to the average price range for the community. You will find Broomfield has a higher average price range of homes than does Thornton.

Let me know if you would like specific homes sent to you for both areas so you can make your own evaluations.

Best wishes,

Bill Kosena, ABR, CRS, SRES - Wed Jun 11 2008, 09:22