Tracy Shaffer

1048 Garfield as Young August Sees It

Tracy Shaffer — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:13:16 +0000

I used to give my sons a box of Crayons and some newsprint, now it’s a zip file and video software.

The best solution payday loans

Three Reasons Why We Love February (yes, February)

Tracy Shaffer — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 21:18:24 +0000

1. Because it snowed a lot in the mountains.
2. Because it’s over…and we don’t have to deal with Valentines’Day for another year.
3. Because the Denver Housing market continues to thrive, pushing aside all seasonal norms like an anxious crocus pushes a blanket of March snow.
If you’d like to have your very own copy of the February market stats, shoot me an email, a text or do that old pick-up-the-phone-and-call-me thing. I’m all about sharing.

Buying a Home? Find what makes you feel good.

Tracy Shaffer — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:23:02 +0000

If you’re like me, you suffer buyer’s remorse any time you get a new pair of jeans. So what happens when you plunk down a quarter, half or million dollars for a house? Here are some great “homeopathic” remedies to help you avoid (or reverse) that bitter pill.

1. Before you start, imagine your life after you close the deal & move in. What are you trying to accomplish? What lifestyle are you creating by this move and how does it change your daily life? Write down everything that is good and what is changed, including the financial aspect. Write down your wants, needs, musts and deal makers/breakers. The more detailed you are, the more you will have something to compare your actual house to. Does your dream house a reasonable match to these things?
2. Ask yourself “How does this decision make me feel?” This is a highly emotional process, a decision made with head and heart. Approaching it with only reason or emotion might land you somewhere you don’t want to be. Check in with yourself about how the idea of living in a particular home makes you feel. Now ask yourself how you’ll feel when the mortgage is due or the water heater breaks. (I can feel really good about those jeans until I get my Visa bill.)
3. Don’t get caught up in the worry. If you hated renting and can’t wait to be a homeowner, take care of the details (like turning in your paperwork to your lender, finding homeowners insurance, etc.) and relax into the process. If you have a calm real estate agent*, that should rub off on the whole transaction. It is natural to be nervous and “high-center” as you move from contract to close, so practice gratitude. Stay in the remembrance that you are fortunate enough to own your own place on this earth and say lots of thank yous, it really helps. [*Don't let my vivacious exterior fool you, I'm very calm under pressure.]
4. Stay grounded in reality. Getting lost in the illusory great deal you could have gotten last year doesn’t help you close the good deal you have today. Remember, home-prices are rising but interest rates are still at historic lows and that’s where your real savings lie.
5. Remember Rule #1: There are no stupid questions in real estate. If something doesn’t look right, feel right or seem right on your contract, with the inspection, or you don’t understand the loan paperwork ASK! Then ask again and keep asking, until you understand or it’s fixed. One thing real estate pros can forget is that it maybe perfectly clear to someone who does this all day long, but not for the one who’s doing it once.
6. If you’re planning to remodel, live there for a few months before you go all HGTV on yourself. Unless you know exactly what’s up and you can’t move in until the reno is done, I suggest habitation prior to rehabilitation.
7. Run your numbers and take responsibility for them. Over-spending on your home is as fashionable as acid wash jeans and a scrunchy. Just because I met George Clooney, doesn’t mean he wants to marry me. The best counsel is to find out the most you qualify for and then buy what your monthly payment says is comfortable.
8. If you still have post-purchase regret, try to resolve it systematically. Make a list of what drives you nuts and what you can change and work to change those things. Go back to the list you made in step one, the gratitude you had in step 3… If that doesn’t help, go buy a great pair of jeans. You never know when Clooney’s coming round the corner.

How Low is Denver Housing Market Inventory?

Tracy Shaffer — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:28:41 +0000

It’s “Cruiseship Limbo Contest” winning low. It’s Barry White “Can’t Get Enough of Your Love” low. It’s “Bring out the charts and graphs!” kinda low. When you look at the housing market, it’s all relative. “Fewer people buying houses with a lot more people having to sell them”, that’s the kind of market we got used to after the shock of the bubble burst wore off. Then there was a stasis where the flood of foreclosures had receded and there was a nice level of inventory, but buyers wary of further market drop stayed on the fence: 2011 in a nutshell. Last January the shift began and like a flash flood, buyers filled the streets. Now we have lots of buyers and where are the sellers? Denver housing market inventory is at a 23 year low. What does that mean for you? Buyers should buy now, sellers should list while they have no competition, and you should call me with any questions you have about either.

Congress Park Bungalow For Sale: Artisan & Craftsman

Tracy Shaffer — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 14:00:28 +0000

Congress Park Craftsman New on the Denver Real Estate Market.
1048 GARFIELD STREET is one of those rare Congress Park homes where the upgrades don’t interfere with the integrity of the original Craftsman architectural detail and design. Quarter Sewn Oak built in hutch in formal dining room, gleaming hardwood floors, updated kitchen and baths, enlarged master suite, heated floors in the glorious sun room, enclosed front porch and in the master bath. Plumbing and electrical have been completely updated as well as a brand new hot water heater. OPEN HOUSE ON SUNDAY MARCH 10TH FROM 12-4:00

Marketed exclusively by Tracy Shaffer, Your Castle Services MLS # 1165404

Sell Your House in a Weekend? Happens every day

Tracy Shaffer — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 20:53:05 +0000

It’s a snowy March Monday. Getting ready to take some clients on round two of shopping trip for second showings of properties. The market is moving fast so there is no time to lose, especially if you’re going to list one home for sale and buy another. “Neither rain, nor snow, nor sleet, nor hail shall keep this agent from her appointed rounds”.

I want to take a minute to share January’s Metrolist Market Snapshot with you so you get a clear understanding of the trend. Another month of market flourish points not only to recovery but tips over into “healthy” status. If we keep it up thorough Springtime we’ll see a preponderance of adjectives like “Vigorous” and “Robust” popping up in Realtor blogs faster than narcissus.

Your Castle Real Estate office showing stats are up 10% in February 2013 over 2012 and that means buyers are out there BUYING. I called on a property we saw yesterday and found out the agent listed it on Friday, had 18 showings over the weekend (that’s a lot) and 3 offers by this morning. We’re hearing this story over and over… and over, at all price points.
If you are looking to sell your home, please do. Prices are up, inventory is very low and the buyers that were hibernating in 2011 have woken up, are out in full force, and they are hungry.

Okay, now I’m off!

Photo courtesy of Metrolist, Inc

Georgia O’Keeffe: the Beautiful and the DAM

Tracy Shaffer — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 07:56:51 +0000

There’s nothing like a room full of O’Keeffe to make me want to take a road trip and the “Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico: Architecture, Katsinam and the Land” exhibit at the Denver Art Museum is no exception. Horizontal landscapes of rugged terrain, softened under pastel lights and sharpened on the shadow stimulate my need for the wide and the wild. When Georgia O’Keeffe came to the badlands of Abiquiu she was already an established and successful New York artist. The untamed West, rendered by a soul who’d found her place on earth brings serenity to every city wall she hangs on. Heavy with landscape, the exhibit takes us away from the larger, more familiar cow skulls and flowers of our collective remembrance and sits us down on a rock at sunset. Shapes, shadows, fine strokes and drama draw the viewer deeper down the river. Hopi influences aside, or perhaps front and center I found myself transported to a different time and place, staring at a church or a chasm as if alone in the enchantment. O’Keeffe crowds solitude with the thick heat and thin air of the high mesa desert, in a tone-on-tone moment that contains life and death without judgement.
“I longed for quiet, a sense of personal attachment and a place that held meaning”, Georgia said of New Mexico. Not only did she find it she became it, inspiring us as layers of light call to the mind to open up, to share. A pencil sketch becomes an intimate whisper, the high blue mesa a best friend. Georgia O’Keeffe is the retreat you long to give yourself, and now she has come to you.

Georgia O’Keeffe in New Mexico: Architecture, Katsnim & the Land at the Denver Art Museum through April 28, 2013

But My Brother’s Wife’s Uncle’s Best Friend’s Daughter Sells Real Estate…

Tracy Shaffer — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 06:41:46 +0000

My friends were thrilled to be putting their home on the market. The empty nest felt expansive and overwhelming: they made their decision, rang me up and started packing up the tchotchkes in preparation for the photos. The one big downside to their downsize would be telling their other Realtor© friend they’d listed with me.

This is not an uncommon scenario for real estate agents; everyone has a friend or twelve in the business and Realtors© are a social bunch. You meet someone at a gathering, strike up a conversation about the market, put them in your database, follow up with them regularly and drive by their home a year later to find another gal’s sign in the yard. Sometimes you get “the phone call”, which is nice… sort of. Nice because they’ve shown great grace in making the difficult call but rejection requires an equally graceful response. But it happens. Things happen, people make decisions all the time for reasons of their own and a good agent knows it’s not personal. If the Realtor who sold you the house has retained your loyalty, props to that agent. Statistics show the number one reason sellers don’t use the same agent is because once the deal was closed they never heard from him again.

So, can you work with friends? My answer: some of them.

Buying or selling your house means juggling emotions, finances, paperwork, inspections and rolls of packing tape is enough to make you want to chuck it all and run away with the circus; the last thing you need is a clown for an agent, even if that clown is your best friend. But if that red-nosed friend has character…

Most of my business comes from friends or their referrals, and many of my referrals become my friends. A close working relationship is crucial in the home buying process, but if it’s not based on great communication then a bit of distance might help to keep things sane.

What about that family member, or the family friend? I mean, who’s gonna have your back if not your family? I hate to say it but the most difficult client I’ve ever had was my sister. Not because she’s a difficult woman, convivial would be a more apt description, but family relationships can pack more powder than a clown being shot from a canon. I felt that extra pressure to get things right and make her happy, because if the water heater went out in a month it’d be my fault, right? In the trenches of a transaction it’s nice to have your agent say “Let me think about that and get back to you”, not “Remember how many dresses you had to try on before the prom? Just pick a house and buy it!” With all good intentions, knowing everything about each other could be a drawback. ( Of course, if she hired another agent, I’d have to sick the Shriners on her.)

I find what works best is an unequal partnership, one where an agent of character offers sound advice as a trusted counselor to a trusting client who is in command. I want to know my clients feel 100% right about their decisions, supported and informed every step of the way. Even if those steps are made in a pair of big red shoes.
*honks horn*

Before I Die… A Community in Communion

Tracy Shaffer — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 03:15:45 +0000

Before I die, I want to…
Driving the streets north of Downtown Denver one might turn some dodgy corners. The gentrification of Curtis Park, Ballpark and Five Points neighborhoods has pushed up real estate prices as artist lofts and galleries, restaurants and the urban infill townhomes that follow, found their place beside the old Victorians. This quilted mix of luxe and lush is what gives the area its unique charm, but if you’ve ever stopped at a red light near one of the triangle parks you may have wondered… why doesn’t somebody clean that up? Often dirty, neglected and filled with those for whom a triangle in traffic is as close to home as they have, these inauspicious spaces have fallen through the cracks. So, whose responsibility are they?
Meet the Community Coordinating District No. 1, whose job it is to transform these hot spots into vital, safe and manageable environments for those who live and work in the area. Community works best when in communion; yet all too often disparate interests work, immune to or in spite of one another, making civic progress slow if not impossible. Created as an ad hoc adjunct “collaborative policy platform”, the CCD brings together government, public, non-profit and private sector organizations to facilitate those public improvements which are often dreamed up and less often realized. Adding working capacity to city-led initiatives, creating opportunities for revitalization and economic development, the CCD will scout out areas of the city that need attention and make sure they get it. Think of them as Denver’s Den Mother.
Born in 2010 as the brainchild of a collection of civic visionaries who’d been trying for decades to improve the areas northeast of Downtown Denver, the Community Coordinating District works across geographical boundaries to unite community stakeholders and thoughtful partners to leverage their assets, pool their resources and more efficiently effect change throughout the city.
Targeted areas of enhancement are Eddie Maestes Park directly across from the Denver Rescue Mission at Park Avenue West and Broadway. Long known as a staging area for the homeless, the park has been riddled with crime and drug-related activity. Rather than just “displace” these issues, the District is exploring opportunities for positive change and working through plans to implement them.
Last summer, Sonny Lawson Park gained some renewed energy with the installation of “Before I Die”, a world-wide, interactive art piece by Candy Chang . The interactive mural is like a giant blackboard with the words “Before I die I want to…” painted on it as a universal writing prompt. Visitors are encouraged to pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on their lives, and share their personal aspirations in a public space. The original Before I Die… mural was installed in New Orleans, where Chang transformed the side of an abandoned house in her neighborhood into a giant chalkboard and stenciled it with the sentence. By the next day the wall was entirely filled out and it kept growing. The wall turned a neglected space into a constructive one where neighbors had an outlet to get to know each other and remember their loved ones.
Having been installed in more than 20 countries around the globe, Candy Chang’s Denver incarnation has made its way downtown, where it lives outside the newly renovated McNichols Building at the corner of Colfax Avenue and Bannock, inspiring denizens through February.
The Community Coordinating District offers many opportunities for civic engagement and public participation through its weekly Monday morning meetings, volunteer ops and upcoming events. Strategic partnerships with Arts & Venues Denver, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Parks and Recreation, Denver Police Department, Department of Public Works, Denver’s Road Home, Ballpark Neighborhood Association, City Parks Alliance, Curtis Park Neighbors, Denver Biennial of the Americas, Denver Rescue Mission, Redline Gallery, St. Francis Center, Denver Shared Spaces, Ballet Nouveau Colorado/Wonderbound, Betterweather Inc., Dept. of Community Planning and Development, City Councilwoman: Judy Montero and City Councilman Albus Brooks, promise to keep it interesting.

“Before I die…” was brought to Denver through a partnership of Arts and Venues Denver, the Community Coordinating District, Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design, and Denver Design Build LLC. For more information on Denver’s Public Art Program, click or call 720-865-4313.

Color Me (Re)Blue

Tracy Shaffer — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 22:56:58 +0000

One of my favorite things about being in real estate is looking at houses. I’m mad about architecture, color, design, shape and style. I love staging that brings out the best features in the home while keeping it homey. Watching home improvement shows, HGTV, and all that real estate porn… I must admit, excites me. And when January rolls around and the color wizards announce the nominees, I feel as dizzy as an ingenue on Oscar morning.
On any given power-shopping Saturday, I can take buyers to look at five to fifteen properties. After house number 10, you’re beginning to feel a sense of overwhelm and the ‘buyer’s blur’, as each house starts to blend into the next. As the day progresses, the copious notes you started out taking become chicken scratches or a simple “NO!” until you get to my favorite place… walk in, walk out.
At the beginning of a house hunt, we feel the need to take the time to visualize ourselves in the home, our colors on the wall and grandma’s hutch in the dining room. Once you get the “Blur” it’s like triage, you identify what’s wrong quickly and assess if you can fix it or if you have to move on.
So sellers, what is it that buyers are responding to? First off I’d say CLEAN. And I mean clean to the point that a team of pros came in and scrubbed every corner with a toothbrush! Even an old house will look new when it’s sparkling clean. It inspires trust, helps us believe you’ve taken good care of your home. And by all means DECLUTTER. I know you’ve heard this before, from me and a thousand other HGTV Realtors, because we’re right. We’re the ones in the house when you’ve left for the showing and we hear EVERYTHING. When I say declutter, I don’t mean get rid of those things you’ve been planning to take to the Goodwill, I mean take all that to the Goodwill and then come home and pack up half of what you own!
Now comes the good part; UPDATE! The new 2013 colors are out and they are sensational. Spend some time browsing around to see if there’s something that speaks to you. If you’re prepping to sell (and right now you should be), look at the new neutrals, look at the latest accent colors and see if there’s something you can do to make your home feel au currant. You’re going to have to break out the paint brush, may as well add some pop! A word of caution though, if you’re not comfortable taking the lead on this bring in a color consultant or a stager for a professional eye. It can make a big difference in how much your home sells for and how quickly it sells.
The Denver market has changed. Home prices are up a stout 7% but that doesn’t mean you can just plant a sign in the yard and ask top dollar. If you want the most for your home, put the most into it. I guarantee you, that’s what your neighbor’s doing.
So… I guess it’s time to start moving on moving.