by neil kearney | Aug 13, 2025 | Uncategorized |
The media is filled with stories of foreclosure, especially in Colorado. It is clear that there are many people losing their homes all over, but what is the cause. Here are a few 
of main reasons:
- Divorce – Most people count on two incomes to pay for the mortgage. When a couple separates all of a sudden there are two homes to pay for instead of one. On top of that there are attorneys to be paid and it all doesn’t happen quickly.
- Prolonged Illness – Medical bills along with lost income is a recipe for disaster.
- Employment Problems – When you lose your job and don’t have enough savings you have to choose what bills get paid.
- High Loan Balance – Mortgage money is easy. Between a first loan, a second loan and a home equity line of credit many people have used their homes as an ATM machine. When the time comes to sell, they do not have enough money left over to pay selling fees and are forced to try to sell for a price that is above the market value. When it does not sell, many times it is too late and the Sellers are forced to move on. sometimes it is easier to leave the house with no equity than it is to delay your life or make double payments.
- Adjustable Rate Mortgages – When the adjustment takes place the payment becomes more than what they can afford. Sometimes the payment increases by 40% or more. However, most people right now are able to refinance into a fixed rate mortgage for around 6%, which should be able to mitigate the increase.
Each situation is different but the main reason we are seeing foreclosures now is that home values have not risen. When home prices are rising bad decisions do not become disastrous decisions. I remember locally when our appreciation rates were annually around 20% homeowners were spending taking out equity loans to go on vacations, buy cars etc. As long as the prices kept rising they were dumb but okay. In our market there are areas that have been selling for the same price for the last five years. A high mortgage balance and a slow market does not allow homeowners to liquidate their bad decisions. They are stuck. In the end the underlying reason for most foreclosures are stagnant or declining market values.
by Neil Kearney | Apr 20, 2016 | Featured, Uncategorized |
Within a six month period in 2015 and 2016 both of my parents, John Kearney and Jo Kearney, passed away. I mention this and post it here, because many of you who will read this have done business with or have had contact with them over the years. It is a great loss to our community not to have them still around. I was very lucky to have had two great parents. They laid the foundation on which I have built a wonderful life and career. I worked with them both closely for over twenty years and together they were my steady and consistent mentor. They taught me mostly by example. Here are some of the lessons I learned from my parents on how to conduct business.
- Lead with service. The number one goal is to be of service to each person who comes through the door. Whether it results in a sale or not.
- Treat everyone well. Not just the people who you think can help you. It all comes around in the end.
- Be grateful. Know how lucky we are to be doing what we do. Relish in the opportunity to meet nice and interesting people.
- Love is reflected with love. It’s amazing how nice everyone is to work with when you don’t take the bait at any point to make it confrontational. The attitude that “everyone is a friend” makes it much easier to make friends. “The Golden Rule” works in all instances.
- Go the extra mile. Take the time to do something special. Make someone’s day. Do the unexpected. Not only will others notice, you will feel great about yourself.
- Be Consistent. Be someone people can count on. Being dependable and doing small things consistently adds up to big things over time.
- See the best in others. Look for the best in others. Look to compliment, don’t look to criticize.
- Have compassion for others. Give someone a break. Be kind. Do something unexpectedly nice. Take a chance on someone where others have passed. Use your intuition about people, not always their credit score.
- Win-win-win negotiations are best. Be the first one to suggest a reasonable solution. Go more than half-way when needed. Take a long view and don’t take negotiations personally.
- Have an abundance mentality – Be generous. Expect the good to continue and don’t be afraid to share it with others.
- Do everything with integrity. Honesty, transparency, fairness are always the right things to do. If it seems like it’s in the grey area, it’s probably the wrong thing to do.
- Don’t burn bridges. Treat everyone with respect. Never leave on a sour note. Don’t take advantage of an opportunity to say “I told you so”.
- Work hard. Showing up every day and working hard when you are at work ensures longevity.
- Have fun! Deciding to have fun wherever you are is a great recipe for having a happy life.
- Set goals. If you can see it and believe it you can achieve it. Aim high and write them down.
- Take a long view. Everything that you do should be congruent with the person who you want to become and should be leading you in the direction that you want to go.
- Smile. A warm and genuine smile help every situation and it puts people at ease.
- Take responsibility. Don’t pass the buck. Do more than your share. Be the first to find a solution and the last to place blame.
- Be loyal. Take care of your clients, your friends and your family.
Obviously I have a wonderful legacy to fulfill and I’m striving every day to embody these principles into my thoughts and actions. In in doing so I remember and honor my parents.
by Neil Kearney | Jun 25, 2015 | Uncategorized |
I recently sold a beautiful home in Erie. My sellers had already moved to another state and needed help from afar. Here is what they had to say about using me as their Realtor.
“Hi Neil,
We just wanted to take a few moments to thank you so much for all your tremendous help in the recent sale of our home! From our very first contact to the very last, it was such a pleasure to work with you!
As you know, ours was a “long distance relationship” (plus a tenant!) and thus there were some added complexities; however, you managed to keep the process on track for us and worked so hard to streamline everything as much as possible. In addition, your extraordinary marketing tools (the custom website of our home, the ads, flyers, etc.) brought many qualified people to our house, and most importantly, a buyer in a short period of time.
Once we were under contract and hit some of the typical snags, you were there every step of the way to guide us in our decision making and offer suggestions and advice. You went the extra mile to help us out with the things that we couldn’t handle personally because we were on the other side of the country, such as working with our roofing contractor to get some repairs done. At other times it was just a matter of “holding our hands” and we appreciate the support! Thank you!
You can be sure we will recommend you to our friends/family in the Boulder area whenever we hear of a real estate need. In fact, we have already! Please know that we do sincerely appreciate ALL your hard work and wish you much continued success both in your business and personally!”
Mark and Lisa Wilson
by Neil Kearney | Jun 5, 2015 | Uncategorized |
Yesterday a team of us from Kearney Realty Co. volunteered our morning to do yard work for an elderly lady a few blocks from our office in downtown Boulder. We participated in Project H.O.M.E (Help Our Many Elderly) which was organized by the Boulder Area Realtor Association in Conjunction with Boulder County Care Connect. As an association we used to do this type of thing all the time but lately it had fallen by the wayside. This year was a great time to pick it up again. As a side note I wore my Project H.O.M.E t-shirt from 1996.
Kristy Kearney, Debra Flora and Kathleen Winegardner and I tackled the yard of a local resident who can no longer take care of her yard. You could tell that in the past she had spent many hours in her yard but when we arrived we found it filled with weeds and very overgrown. It was an oversized condo yard so it wasn’t huge but it sure hadn’t been touched for quite some time.
Throughout the morning we removed trash, pulled weeds and cut branches and generally cleaned everything up. We had a great time helping out and know that it made a big difference for one of our local residents who doesn’t get out of her house much anymore. Here are some photos from our day. The first two show the “before” photos and the last two show the “after”.
by Neil Kearney | May 23, 2014 | For Sellers, Real Estate 101, Uncategorized |
Selling a home can seem like a daunting process. Especially if you haven’t done it before. There are many facets to the process and enlisting a good Realtor is a very important piece of the puzzle. I help people list their homes all the time and for many it’s their first time. Here is a detailed overview of the process of selling your home.
Preparation
There are three factors in which your home will be judged; location, condition and price. Location is fixed, after you purchase the property you can’t do much about it. An appropriate price can make up for deficiencies in the location and condition. Condition is what you, as a seller has most control over. The question you should be asking yourself as you prepare your house for the market is “how will my house compare with others in this neighborhood and price range?”. If your home compares well, you will be rewarded by your home appealing to more buyers and this will result in a quicker sale and more money. Your home needs to have finishes that appeal to buyers and be in really good showing condition. This article on when to upgrade may be of help to you as you consider some last minute upgrades to your home. Here are some tips on getting your home ready to sell. Your Realtor will be able to give you advice as to what needs to be done. Here is an article on the top 5 ways to maximize value that you may be interested in reading. Be sure to have the house ready for photos. The photos posted represent the initial showing for all potential buyers. If the house doesn’t look good in the photos many buyers won’t take a look in person.
Another part of the preparation process is to review and sign the listing paperwork prepared by your Realtor. Filling out a Sellers Property Disclosure is part of this process. In Colorado there is a standard form which helps in this process. My advice as you fill out this form is to be through and clear in your disclosure. Don’t leave the buyer asking for more information. If you indicated that you have had a past roof leak give all the information you have; when it happened and how it was fixed. In my experience, the more information on the disclosure, the more confidence the buyers have in the sellers and the transaction. This is also a good time to gather any documents that would supplement the disclosure. You will be asked for these in the buy/sell contract so it would be good to start gathering anything that is of material fact about the house (roof warranty, survey, past inspection, insurance claim, etc.)
Showings
In order for your house to sell it must make an emotional connection with a buyer. In order to make an emotional connection with a buyer your house must be a clean and inviting environment. They must be able to picture themselves living there. Here are a few tips for creating a successful showing.
- Leave it to the buyers – Many Sellers think that they can be of help during a showing, answering questions or giving a tour. This is what the buyers agent is for. Sellers get in the way and buyers tend to rush through and showing and are not able to talk openly about the home.
- Light and Bright – It’s best if the house shows brightly. This means that the blinds are open, interior doors are open and many of the lights are on.
- Neat and Clean – You only have one shot to make a first impression so make sure that the house looks as good as possible as you leave each morning.
- The Extra’s – You may want to go the extra mile and put out refreshments and play some tasteful music. These are not required and especially with the music should be done with discretion. When there is music being played I usually turn it down to see what noises the music is covering up.
Offer
If all of the above goes well you can expect an offer! In most cases the buyer has their own agent who represents them and will prepare and deliver the offer to your agent. Your agent will then meet with you to discuss the merits of the offer. Some of the criteria your agent will help you think through are: price, closing date, financing terms and qualification, inclusions, inspection dates and additional provisions.
If you are lucky enough to get multiple offers you will want to read this article. In a normal situation you will have one offer who will submit an offer that isn’t exactly what you are offering. Your agent will then help you formulate a negotiating strategy and prepare a counterproposal to send to the buyers. This process continues until the buyers and sellers reach an agreement or it doesn’t come together and you wait for a new buyer.
From Contract to Closing
Finding a buyer and agreeing to an acceptable price and terms with a buyer is one of the high points of a real estate transaction. No more daily showings, no more uncertainty, making plans for the future, it’s exciting stuff. But then comes the realization that you are only part way to the finish line. There is still work to be done. This is a checklist of items that the seller is responsible for between contract and closing.
Order Title Commitment – In Colorado the seller is responsible to providing the buyer a title insurance policy in conjunction with a real estate purchase. The first step of this process is ordering the title commitment. The listing agent usually handles this for the seller. This is also a great time to provide to the title officer the information on your existing loans which will need to be paid off at the closing.
Homeowners Association Documents – As per the Colorado approved real estate contract the seller will provide the buyer a copy of the relevant HOA documents. This shall include bylaws, rules and regulations, financial documents, minutes from the most recent meetings. Again, this is something that the listing agent usually tries to supply (at least I do) but sometimes the information is embedded in a members only website and the Realtor might need help with this.
Gather Paperwork – The buyer will want to have any relevant documentation regarding the home. In conjunction with the disclosure requirements the seller must supply the buyer any prior inspections or reports that give insight to the condition of the home. This would also be a good time to gather any manuals and warranties and set them aside before your packing gets into full gear.
Prepare for Inspection – Just because most of the showing activity has subsided it doesn’t mean that you are off the hook for keeping the home looking good. I would argue that the inspection is your most important showing and the house should be prepared as well as possible. In addition to the general cleanliness here are a few tips to help the inspection. Replace the furnace filter and clean the humidifier filter if you have one. Move boxes and or furniture away from access points for plumbing, heating and electrical. It is common that a buyer will perform a radon test and the protocol for a radon test is that the house will be closed up for 12 hours prior to closing as well as 48 hours throughout the test. However, it is a really good idea to “air out” the lowest level of the home prior to the closed house conditions.
Make Your Arrangements – Start making arrangements for moving, storage, packing and cleaning. Consult with your Realtor so that you are sure that you understand the timing of when you need to be out and cleaned. After the inspection it is also a good idea to contact the utility companies to let them know about an upcoming transfer in service. Once the deal is rock solid, put in your change of address request to the postal service.
Inspection Items – Once the inspection has been done and the agreements surrounding the inspection has been made, some work will need to be done. My advice here is to get the work done as soon as possible, don’t cut corners and follow the letter of the agreement to a “t”. The listing agent is there to help you get this work done if you need help.
Clean and Closing – The days surrounding closing will be busy days. You will need to pack, clean and supervise work maybe at two locations. My advice regarding how you leave the home is based on two things. Look at the contract and make sure you are doing the minimum required and then consult the Golden Rule. How would you really like a home to be left for you? When the house is really left in good shape and the buyers feel that they are being treated well, the closing is much easier for all involved.
Costs
Many of the traditional closing costs like appraisal, discount points, inspection fees are handled by the buyer but here are the costs that the seller is responsible for.
Commissions – The commission fee that you agree to with your agent when you sign the listing papers includes fees for both the listing agent and buyers agent.
Title Insurance – Sellers in Colorado customarily pay for the title insurance policy that insures that the property is transferred free and clear. The fees vary on sales price but a typical fee for a $400,000 sale is around $1,450.
Paying off and Settling up – At closing the title company will make sure that all of the financial obligations of the seller regarding the house are settled. This means paying off any loans or liens and prorating the taxes (don’t forget they are paid in arrears) and HOA fees.
This list is based on my experience and is from the sellers perspective for a sale in Colorado. If you hire a good listing agent, many of these items will happen seamlessly and you will be left to focus on getting your stuff packed and ready to go. I have been a Realtor based in Boulder Colorado since 1991 and I love doing those small things that make it easier for you. When you are ready to list, give me a call – Neil Kearney 303-818-4055
As always, I’d love to be of service. Give me a call and I’d love to show you how your home fits into the local market.
