by neil kearney | Sep 13, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Do you remeber the game show that tempted you with what was behind door #3, Let’s Make a Deal? All
summer I have been fielding calls and emails from people who want to move to the Boulder normally a really good thing. But too many of the calls have seemed like the donkey behind door #3, not quite what I was looking for. Between, slow house sales across the nation, tighter credit and people forced to change careers due to unemployment, there are plenty of reasons why people can’t buy a home right now. So instead of calling me to help them find a home, which I specialize in, they call me to help them find a free place to live.
I have received over 10 calls from people looking to be a caretaker for my vacant listings. They all seem very nice and all have a very believable story about how they want to be in Boulder, have a blue ribbon family, the best (non-shedding) pets and how they can fill my vacant listings with their beautiful furniture for very low or no rent. A win-win right? I haven’t had any vacant listings that would benefit from a caretaker so I haven’t been able to help anyone out. I have however kept their names.
Another scenario that has come up a lot is the lease purchase. Buyers want to get settled, but have not sold their current house yet and only want to make one move. They then look for an acceptable vacant house and ask if the seller in interested in a lease purchase. I will re-print a prior post outlining the nuts and bolts of the deal tomorrow.
Last week I got a call from a potential buyer who is looking to trade up to three properties in Florida for a home in Boulder. Now this is a deal that has some moving parts to it. The Boulder owner must be open to a specific property or properties in Florida, have an acceptable property in Boulder and then we must match up the value. Not impossible, but not an easy deal to put together. If anyone is interested give me a call.
by neil kearney | May 20, 2009 | Uncategorized |
I have been showing a lot of property lately. This is great, I love to do it and it is at the heart of my job. There are however some side effects which throw up a bit of a speed bump as far as personal 
productivity goes.
Before I go forward, I’d like to take a few steps back into history. In the old days, new listings were couriered on a weekly basis by taxi to each of the offices. At that point, all the agents knew of the new inventory and there was a rush (of sorts) to get their hot buyers into the hot new listings. In those days the information cycle was much slower and Realtor’s had a choke hold on the information that would make Hulk Hogan proud.
Today we have transparency. When new listings come out the whole world knows about them within 15 minutes. Emails are automatically sent to interested buyers who instantly begin comparing list price to a proprietary “market” price spit out by an inaccurate algorithm. An algorithim which has one thing in common with the buyer, it hasn’t seen the house either. The blind leading the blind.
Back to my main story. When I set showings for buyers I need to find, sort, route, schedule and then call each listing office for approval. This last step has changed a bit lately. First the good, many offices, mine included, have outsourced the setting of showings to Centralized Showing Service (CSS). All CSS does is set showings, and they do so for 12 hours a day. As more companies use CSS, we who set showings have to make fewer calls to fewer companies. Yea!
Now the bad, there is a trend out there called limited service listings. Basically this means that an agent is hired by a seller to do no more than put their listing in the MLS. I have many problems with this, but will stick to the topic at hand. When I call to set a showing on one of these limited service listings I have to call the seller directly to get approval. Let’s just say that this process doesn’t usually go as smooth as a call to CSS.
The other speed bump to my productivity when showing property, are the flood of feedback emails and calls I receive. They start coming in the minute I set the showing and continue to be sent daily until I have time to respond. I don’t mind doing it but it isn’t my top priority when I have buyers in from out of town. When I am showing 20 or more listings over a weekend, I can find over 40 requests waiting for me on Monday. On a limited service listing I get a call from the owner of the home looking for feedback on their house. I have learned to keep these interactions brief because without the buffer of a competent agent, any constructive comment I make is taken as a personal insult. Yikes, I’m only trying to tell the truth.
I have also found that many of the homes in the limited service genre are over priced. Obviously they are looking to save a buck but many are not getting the advice from an agent which is so desparetely needed. In the end, going with a professional Realtor who knows their area and market will net a seller more money.
by neil kearney | Apr 27, 2009 | Uncategorized |
When you have been around as many real estate transactions as I have, you begin to anticipate the possible challenge points in a transaction. This is one of the reasons you hire an experienced professional, isn’t it? Anyway, when I have a buyer interested in a house which was built in the early 1970’s my thoughts immediately turn to aluminum wiring. 
During the 1970’s aluminum wiring was extensively used instead of copper in many houses. Since that time aluminum wiring has been blamed for many house fires. But don’t panic if your house has aluminum wiring. Aluminum wiring, when properly installed, can be just as safe as copper. Aluminum wiring is, however, very unforgiving of improper installation. It is at the connections where the latent danger can linger.
When purchasing a home that was built in the early 1970’s make sure your inspector checks for the presence of aluminum wiring. If it is present, the inspector should check each receptacle to see if there is any loosening or signs of overheating. What happens to the wire over time is a gradual loosening of the connection which causes oxidation and overheating. If the connection becomes very loose the electrical current can arch and spark. Most homes never reach this stage.
Once the presence of aluminum wiring is established it is important to know that in most cases it is not an immediate hazard. It has been functioning for over 30 years and caution going forward is advised but it is not a reason to run the other way. The wiring can be fixed without tearing apart the walls.
Solutions:
- The traditional fix for aluminum wiring was to pigtail (attach) a small portion of copper wire to the end of the aluminum wiring and then attach the copper to the receptacle. This has worked well but some feel that the connection between the aluminum and the copper can come loose over time.
- Another more recent (and more expensive) solution is a crimping method. It is the same idea but it uses a special tool that fuses the copper to the aluminum wiring permanently.
My inspection philosophy is that it is a time where the buyer gathers as much information about the house as possible so that they know what to expect in the future. It is not a time to use every minor ding to re-open price negotiations, it is a time to identify the major safety and maintenance issues and come to a win-win solution with the seller. It is everyone’s goal for the sale to go through and the inspection can be handled in such a way that the buyer get’s a good house and the seller pays what is fair.
Here are a few links with detailed information on aluminum wiring.
http://www.alwirerepair.com/
http://www.inspect-ny.com/aluminum/aluminum.htm
by neil kearney | Mar 4, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Boulder is celebrating its 150th anniversary but one wouldn’t expect there to be many opportunities for archeology. It’s not quite Pompeii, but current construction on Broadway just a few blocks north of Pearl Street have revealed trolley tracks running under a quite few layers of asphalt.
Thanks to the kind librarians at the Carnegie Branch of the Boulder Public Library who pointed me in the right direction, here is the history of those tracks. The Boulder Railway and Utility Company was founded in 1898 with the idea of bringing an electric streetcar system to Boulder. The initial plan was to provide transportation between downtown and the newly built Chautauqua.
The headquarters for the line was located on the SW corner of Arapahoe and Broadway where Whole Foods (Alfalfas) now stands. A coal fired power house was built on the site as well as storage for the four cars. Rails were put into place along with the electric poles during the first half of 1899 with the idea of opening in time for the 4th of July at Chautauqua.
On June 24th, 1899 the Daily Camera headline stated “She Starts, She Moves”. The 3 mile loop was completed in time for the festivities. The original loop ran from downtown to Chautauqua by way of Broadway, College Ave, and 9th Street and returned via 10th, Aurora and Broadway. It was reported that the desirability of the plateau that is now the Chautauqua neighborhood greatly increased with the installation of the line. The line also provided transportation for the students at the University of Colorado.
The line soon opened a North Boulder loop that served the Colorado Sanitarium (now Boulder Community Hospitals Mapleton Center) and the Newlands neighborhood along Broadway, Maxwell, 5th St. and Evergreen.
In 1914 the line was purchased by the Public Service Company. Boulder’s trolley line closed for good in 1931 when it was replaced by a bus line. Obviously, they opted to pave over the tracks rather than remove them.
Source: Tracking Down Boulder, Colorado’s Railroads by Silvia Pettem, 1996.
Photos: Willie Culkin and the Carnegie Branch Library website.
by neil kearney | Feb 10, 2009 | Uncategorized |
Boulder is celebrating its sesquicentennial this year and today citizens were invited to kick off the extended celebration by ringing a bell 150 times at noon. This was just the first in a series of events to mark the first 150 years of Boulder.
To learn more about the history of Boulder I would recommend the Boulder History Museum and the Carnegie Library.
Here is a timeline and some old photos offered on the Boulder History Museum website.
The best resource for the events surrounding the sesquicentennial is located at http://www.boulder150.com
The Daily Camera has also done a nice job this week in documenting the celebration and the history of our fine city.
Here is a good interactive timeline which gives a good event history with photos. I like the flipbook option.
Here is a video showing the ringing of the bell at the Methodist Church at 15th and Spruce. The Methodist Church was established in 1859, the year Boulder was founded.
Next Tuesday, February 17th you might want to attend the first of six lectures about Boulder entitled Native Americans: the Boulder before Boulder. The lecture will begin at 7 PM at Boulder’s Main Branch Library Canyon Theater and is presented by the Boulder History Museum and the Boulder Public Library.
As a Boulder native I am always interested in the changes that Boulder has seen over the years. I love to hear the stories of what Boulder was like when my dad came to town in the 1950’s to attend CU. Boulder was a much different place than it is now. One story I especially like is the recollection of horse stables at Chautauqua and riding the horses down Baseline Road to the end of town. The eastern end of town at that time was Broadway, from there it was dirt roads to Kansas.
by neil kearney | Dec 30, 2008 | Uncategorized |
I like many set goals for the coming year. Here are a few online resources to help with that task. Remember to think big and to imagine the life you would like to live – because you can make it happen!
http://www.goal-setting-guide.com/
http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/leadership/leadershipcolumnistraysilverstein/article188454.html
http://www.time-management-guide.com/personal-goal-setting.html
