All posts tagged Colorado Real Estate

Climates are Extreme in Colorado – Think about Energy-Efficient Windows

by BULL Forms in Real Estate with No comments
Colorado Real Estate Contracts

Image: Ambro / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Climates Can Be Extreme in Colorado. Think Energy Efficiency

The Colorado climate can be very extreme from month to month. From rain to sun to snow and blizzards, the rapid change in the weather and the change from one extreme to the other can really take a toll on the energy bills. Energy-efficient windows may be able to help reduce heating and cooling costs and help you save a nice chunk of change at the end of every month.

How Energy-Efficient Windows Work

As the sun beats down on your home, your windows become hot and will conduct the heat, bringing it through the glass and into your home. The same thing happens in winter when it’s freezing outside. With regular, one-pane windows, you might lose as much as 30% of your heating or cooling energy through those windows. With energy-efficient windows, like double-pane, argon-filled windows, reduce the amount of heat or cold that is conducted through the window and into your home. This saves money and energy.

Stopping Air Leaks

Another way you lose heating and cooling energy is through leaks. Some experts suggest that about half of a home’s heating and cooling energy is lost through leaks in windows and around doors. Typically, cheaper windows are the ones more likely to have leaks. Energy-efficient windows are designed to seal better and prevent leaks from happening. This can also save a great deal of money, as your heating and cooling unit will have to work less to make the home comfortable for the occupants.

High Visible Transmittance

Another form of energy-efficient window is the high visible transmittance window. These kinds of windows are created to be easier to see through and easier to let the beautiful Colorado daylight inside your home. This helps to provide more natural daylight so you don’t need to use as many lights. This reduces the electricity and energy you’re using, as well as your utility bill costs.

Energy-Efficient Benefits

While you’re thinking about energy-efficient windows for your Colorado home, you may also want to think about integrating other energy-efficient products. There are huge benefits to doing so, and the most important one is that you’re going to save a lot of money. Some individuals may even be able to get a tax credit by installing energy-efficient windows and other products. If you’re attempting to become more eco-friendly or you simply want to save money, energy-efficient is the way to go.

While energy-efficient windows may originally cost a little more than the single pane or ordinary windows, you will save money in the long run. In fact, a house full of these energy-efficient windows could end up paying for themselves in as little as 6 months’ time. By considering all of the energy-efficient moves you can make in your Colorado home, you can save a ton of energy and a significant amount of money. You may be able to take that vacation or purchase that big screen television after all!

Rental Income from Colorado Real Estate

by BULL Forms in Real Estate with No comments

Looking for Rental Income from Colorado Real Estate?

Look no further Rental Income from Colorado Real Estate can provide that extra money you need.  Renting out your Colorado real estate can result in a steady, monthly stream of income. The great thing about renting out properties is that the income doesn’t end with a sale, but rather is continual for many years if you choose. There are some tips to follow if you plan to rent out your Colorado real estate.

Rental Income From Colorado Real Estate

photo by Arden

Look for Top Tenants Only

You should spend a little time and perhaps a little money to make sure your tenants are top-notch. This will result in regular rent and fewer problems than if you simply rent to the first person who calls your number. Ask for references for the past several years and actually call those references to determine the potential tenant’s rental history and whether they’ve had any issues with previous landlords. Anything that might raise a “red flag” should be looked at more in-depth, and if red flags are raised, it’s probably time to move on to another potential tenant.  There are several companies that will perform in-depth background checks that include criminal backgrounds and credit checks.

Market Well

You’ll want to market the property well, both in the newspaper and online. Craigslist is a great option for you, as many people check there when trying to find a place to rent. Search Craigslist in your area to see if there are a good amount of listings in the area.  If there are not it is possible that most rentals are in the MLS.  It might be beneficial to contact a real estate professional to inquire about listing your property for rent. If you do list your property online, make sure you create an eye-catching headline that offers up a few benefits about the property. For instance, if it’s across the street from an elementary school or a park, use that in your headline. “3-bdrm 2-bath home across from park, new appliances – $700 monthly” is a great way to incorporate those benefits into the headline. This will draw the eye of potential tenants who have smaller children and want a nice place to live.

Make Your Expectations Known

During the process of selecting a tenant, it’s important to make your expectations known. For instance, if you want the rent paid on a certain day of the month, let your tenant know that and warn them that if the rent is not paid that day, there will be a late fee that they must also pay. If you want the lawn maintained, make sure they know it’s their responsibility and suggest a schedule that they use to maintain the lawn. It’s best to have these things drawn up in your contract so that there’s no confusion and the tenant knows exactly what is expected of him or her.

Know the Law

Finally, if you plan on generating rental income from Colorado real estate properties, make sure you’re familiar with the tenant/landlord laws in the state and county your property is in. This way, when you run into any situation, you will know precisely how to act so that you’re in compliance with the law.  If you are not familiar with the tenant / landlord laws it is probably best if you contact a real estate agent that is.

This is a great investment opportunity and can be a great monthly income stream. As long as you research beforehand and know your rights and the law, you can make your Colorado properties into lucrative investments.

Holding a Successful Open House in Colorado

by BULL Forms in Real Estate with No comments

Open House In Colorado

One of the best ways a Colorado real estate broker can successfully sell a home is by holding an open house in Colorado. It gives the realtor a chance to bring in several prospective home buyers and allows those potential home buyers to see the home and personally experience everything it has to offer. There are a few important tricks to holding a successful open house in Colorado, and by using them, a real estate broker can increase the chances of selling the home.

Accentuate What Buyers are Looking for in Colorado Homes

Individuals who are in the market for Colorado homes are typically looking for a few important things. For instance, if the house you’re selling is a beautiful ranch-style home with an open floor plan, make sure there is no clutter and that the potential buyer can easily envision his or her own things within the home. If the home has a large basement area, make sure it’s completely cleaned out and make a point of showing the homeowners the space and talking about the different things that can be done with it. Accentuating the home’s features is a great way to succeed in Colorado real estate.

Deep-Cleaning the Home

While cleaning is a no-brainer, before holding an open house, it should be completely deep-cleaned. This means everything should be gone over with a fine tooth comb to ensure that the house is spotless. Use dusters to clean baseboards and crown molding, make sure all corners are dusted and clean, scrub bathrooms until fixtures look brand new, and make sure any furniture remaining in the home is spotless. One thing that can really help is a fresh coat of paint to brighten walls.

Staging your Open House in Colorado

One of the most useful marketing tactics in selling Colorado real estate is to ensure that the home is staged properly. Great staging helps the prospective buyers see the potential in a home without seeing the connection to the previous owners. All personal items should be removed (pictures, clothing, etc.) and only neutral furnishings and decorations should remain. If walls are painted an eccentric color (magenta, teal, lime green, etc.), they should be repainted to a neutral color. This allows the home to act like a blank canvas that visitors can mentally project their stuff into, making them more likely to really consider the home.

Extra Tips

There are a few great tips Colorado real estate agents use to hold a successful open house in Colorado homes. Simmer a small pot of spices (orange peel, cinnamon, cloves, etc.) on the stove to create a delicious, welcoming scent or bake cookies. Provide flyers with pictures of the house to those who visit and want to think about it. Another great tip is to talk about the home as if the buyers were already seriously considering it. For instance, “This would make a great playroom for the little one on the way.” This will make the potential homeowners look at the house as if it were theirs and envision what they might do with the different rooms and areas.

Using these Colorado real estate agent tips and tricks, as well as advertising the open house as much as possible, can help you hold a more successful open house. That will translate into selling more beautiful Colorado homes.

Looking for an affordable Real Estate Form Solution to write up the contracts you get from your open house in Colorado? Look no further.

10 Tips for Selling Vacation Homes in Colorado

by BULL Forms in Real Estate with No comments

Tips for Selling Vacation Homes in Colorado

Tips for Selling Vacation Homes in Colorado

photo by Lena

Selling vacation homes in Colorado requires careful planning in order to ensure that the property sells quickly for the highest possible price. To successfully achieve this, it is essential that the property stands out from all others on the market. Here are 10 tips for selling vacation homes in Colorado to assist in a quick sale:

Tip #1 of Tips for Selling Vacation Homes in Colorado:  Buyer’s Perspective

It’s important to take a step back from a much-loved property and view it as a potential buyer might see it. Ensure that the home is viewed with a critical and objective eye in order to see things that need to be changed, fixed or improved upon. Looking at things from the buyer’s perspective is one of the best tips for selling your home.

Tip #2 of Tips for Selling Vacation Homes in Colorado: De-personalize

When a potential buyer visits, it’s important that they can see themselves in the house. Many will already be imagining how their furniture will look, where they can put their photographs and so on. With this in mind, ensure that they can view the property as a ‘blank canvas’. If rooms are full of your personal belongings, photographs and clutter, it will be impossible for a viewer to imagine themselves in that setting.

Tip #3: De-clutter

Work on clearing things out – don’t simply shove clutter into cupboards. Be ruthless in throwing things away as viewers will obviously look into cupboards and storage spaces. Imagine a potential buyer who’s in love with your property opening a closet only to have ten-year-old fishing equipment fall on their head. These tips for selling your home are important to apply to all areas of the property.

Tip #4: Local Knowledge

Be enthusiastic and prepared to offer plenty of useful information on the local area and available services. Remember that buyers are looking for a vacation spot so it’s important that it sounds as attractive as possible. Mention how good the food is at a local restaurant and talk about how many activities can be enjoyed at the lake down the road. If there is a rental program, mention it.

Tip #5: Fixtures and Fittings

Put any furniture or fittings you do not want included in the sale into storage – this will stop viewers from falling in love with something and experiencing disappointment when they realize it doesn’t come with the property. Similarly, mention anything that you’re willing to leave.

Tip #6: Essential Repairs

Ensure that all repairs are carried out before placing the home for sale. This is essential to listing any property and, in particular, for selling vacation homes in Colorado. Sales can be held up if the house fails inspection, which is easy to prevent in many cases.

Tip #7: Clean & Fresh

Make sure that the homes are sparkling clean when selling vacation homes in Colorado. Hire professional cleaners if necessary and make sure the home smells fresh and inviting at all times.

Tip #8: Curb Appeal

Curb appeal can make the buyer feel instantly welcome or put off before even stepping foot inside the house.  Ensure that the exterior paint is fresh, the flowerbeds are weeded and the lawn is freshly cut to make potential buyers see the beautiful of the home.

Tip #9: Natural Beauty

The natural beauty of Colorado can make it easier to sell a vacation home.  This is our 9th of the tips to sell your vacation homes in Colorado.  Ensure that you add emphasis to the mountains, lakes and areas that surround the property.  Many of these treasured places may be tucked away and not well known about.  Buyers can easily fall in love with a home and area if you share these local treasures with them.

Tip #10: Aesthetics

A home’s overall aesthetic appeal can make or break a sale when selling vacation homes in Colorado. The general design and flow of a house is what can help to see it as a home. Use a neutral palette in your décor and add touches of color with natural items such as cut flowers.

Remember to follow us on twitter if you want to stay up to date on other tips for selling vacation homes in Colorado.

If you know of any tips for selling vacation homes in Colorado please feel free to add them in the comments.

 

Showing Colorado Real Estate in the Snow

by BULL Forms in Real Estate with No comments

Showing Colorado Real Estate In The Snow

The three most important things when considering the value of real estate are location, location and location! What should you do when you’re trying to sell a piece of real estate located in an area constantly buried by snow? Often, Colorado real estate endures between 50 and 150 inches of snowfall per year, which can make selling real estate a risky business. Luckily, a few simple tricks can turn the pesky snow into a much appreciated ally.

Clear a Pathway

Shovel or clear the walkway that leads up to the building with a snow blower. The idea is to make the property look cleaner than the rest. When the piece of real estate on the market appears cleaner and better kept than the rest of the neighborhood, it gives potential buyers the impression that the building is of value. A clean walkway also decreases the chances of immediate rejection. If a potential buyer has to walk through mounds of snow, they are more likely to lose interest in purchasing the property because it gives the impression that the property is dirty and requires a lot of maintenance. Once the pathway is cleared, sprinkle it with salt or a de-icing product to prevent the build up of ice.

Remove Excess Snow

Remove snow from any roof, section of gutters, patio, balcony, deck or porch. The idea of showing real estate to potential buyers is to show the actual real estate, not how much snow it can hold. Clearing excess snow allows potential buyers in the Colorado real estate market to see the property clearly, which is a big selling point. Removing excess snow is also a safety precaution because falling snow or ice can injure a buyer and open up an unwanted legal can of worms.

Protect the Floor

Lay plastic or runners, which are small rugs, on the carpeting near the entrance way of the building. Shoes that are wet and dirty from the snow may track filth onto the carpeting. Dirty carpet is something that no buyer in the Colorado real estate market wants to see. Clean carpets present potential buyers with the image of a clean property. If the carpets do get dirty, have them professionally cleaned immediately.

Turn on the Heat

Turn on the furnace and warm the property so it is a comfortable temperature. If the property doesn’t have a furnace or an electric heating system, purchase space heaters and place one in each room of the property. The last thing potential buyers want in Colorado real estate is a cold building. Providing a warm environment for potential buyers not only encourages them to stay and look at the property without rushing through it, but it also gives them a sense of comfort when they walk in from the cold. The comfort associated with the property just might be the tipping point that gets them to put an offer on the property.

The Colorado real estate market is unlike any other in the United States. Constant snowfall and winter-like conditions may make it seem difficult to sell real estate in Colorado, but removing snow and maintaining the property will prevent potential buyers from being deterred by the snow.

Looking for a Colorado Real Estate Form Solution.  Give us a try.

November Agent Spotlight – Debra Christensen

by BULL Forms in Agent Spotlight with No comments

Introduction

It has been a while since our last agent spotlight, and we have improved our product drastically over the course of the past 3 months thanks to feedback from our users. Please keep giving us your feedback here. Let’s dive right into the next edition of our agent spotlight:

BULL-Forms-Colorado-DORA-Christensen

Name: Debra Christensen

Company: Keller Williams Foothills Realty

Website: www.DebChristensen.com

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How Long Have you been in Real Estate?

6 Years

What areas of Colorado / Type of Property do you specialize in?

I specialize in the Foothills of Denver – Evergreen, Conifer, Pine, Bailey, Morrison, Genesee – I-70 and the 285 corridor.  I have earned the ABR (Accredited Buyer Representative designation and the CMAS (Certified Mountain Area Specialist) and feel very strongly that if you’re looking to buy and/or sell in the Mountains, you should use a Mountain Specialist.  We know the questions to ask.

What other real estate contract software did you use before switching to bull forms?

I’ve used RealFast, QES, Metrolist’s Instanet and tried CTM econtracts before finding Bull Forms.  I’m not changing again – love this product!

Tell us how BULL Forms has helped you in your day to day business

I decided to go with electronic contracts when I was in a situation where we had to get an inspection notice and Amend/Extend delivered and I had another appointment looming. I had to rush home, boot up my computer, quickly write the documents, email them to my client who had to print them out, scan them in page by page, email them back to me to deliver to the agent on time.

Bull Forms is so easy! I can access it on my Droid phone, my Tablet and any computer when I’m with clients. Clients love it, the learning curve is fast and fun.

What are your favorite features of BULL Forms?

Love that I can write as much as I need to, that my clients name can be (almost) as long as it needs to be. (Don’t know why i work with so many Trusts and Estates??). Compared to CTM the learning curve is quick and easy and I’m always learning new features. Signing is a dream and I like that I can decide where and when I want initials and/or signatures.

My company has it’s own econtract system and I’m trying to learn it, but it is so not as easy as Bull Forms. I like that I can add my own documents.

What issues have you had using BULL Forms?

1. Would like the Seller’s Property Disclosure be an open form where clients can check their own boxes. I am not allowed to fill this out or help them with it, so I have to go back to the old system and make them fill it out by hand and get it back to me.

BULL Forms Comment: We are in the process of adding this functionality. Hopefully it will be launched within the next few weeks!

2. I’ve experienced difficulty with scanning a document in and the file is too large with my scanner at home, so I’ve had to go to the office to scan it. Sure this is my fault, I’ll figure it out.

3. For some reason, the auto populate still isn’t working right with my contact information (office, name, phone, etc). I have to really check each form-switching form views, and sometimes don’t realize that it’s been placed incorrectly before I get to signatures, then have to go back and correct it and start the signature process again. I would like my information visible on the Auto Populate form, so I can make sure it is correct.

BULL Forms Comment: We apologize for this issue as it is unacceptable.  We will do everything in our power to ensure this feature is working properly.

WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOU ARE NOT SELLING REAL ESTATE? WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES?

I play the piano and accompany the high school group at our local theatre: StageDoor Theatre in Conifer. Currently we’re performing “Hello Dollly”.

WHAT OTHER ONLINE APPLICATIONS OUTSIDE OF FORMS WOULD YOU FIND HELPFUL IN YOUR DAY TO DAY LIFE OR BUSINESS?

My sister-in-law is a graphic designer and very envious of me with these electronic contracts! She wants a easy application for her contracts!

BULL Forms Comment: Just as an FYI, we launched our full featured e-signature solution here.

We would like to thank Debra for taking time out of her busy schedule to chat with us. If you are interested in signing up, please do so here.

 

Cheers,

-BULL Forms Support

Colorado Real Estate Contracts in Color

by BULL Forms in Features with No comments

If you have not checked out some of our other new features, please do so by clicking here.

The information you input into DORA Colorado Real Estate Contracts now shows up  in the color of your choosing!

As usual, our users have continued to provide us with invaluable feedback. Another frequently requested feature was the ability to complete DORA Colorado Real Estate contracts with different color fonts to differentiate the agent generated information from the information on the standard real estate contract.

Good news as BULL Forms now supports this feature.  Let’s take a look at how you can set your account to print DORA Colorado Contracts in different color fonts.

First, login to your dashboard, and click on the preferences tab:

Once on the preference tab, scroll down to the bottom of the page:

As you can see, you have the option of the default black text, or you can opt for Blue or Red font colors.  Once you have made a change, click on the update button.  Moving forward all of the information you add to the DORA Colorado Real Estate Contracts will appear in the color you selected.

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If you have any other questions, please contact us via our contact form.