9th Annual Colorado Environmental Film Festival Is Coming, Feb. 19-21

[Published Feb. 12, 2015, in the Jeffco editions of the Denver Post's YourHub section and in four Jefferson County weekly newspapers]

Next Thursday through Saturday is the one film festival focused on environmental issues, and it happens right here in Jefferson County at Golden’s American Mountaineering Center.

You can see the schedule and purchase tickets at www.CEFF.net, or just show up. There will be two theaters showing films during each time slot.   See a fantastic trailer at CEFF’s website above.

Each year this festival attracts filmmakers, activists and adventurers from around the world to share and honor the best environmental films, screening 45 shorts, features and other films from nearly 100 submissions.

 

Friday the 20th is “community day” and all films are free (donations accepted), so there’s no reason not to come.

 

Golden Real Estate is proud to be a co-sponsor and will be among numerous exhibitors at the “Eco Expo” on Saturday the 21st, 10am to 7pm.  Come say hello!

Below is a still from an “ultra short” being screened at this year’s festival.

Going Green in Your Home Is More Doable Than Most People Think

[Published Feb. 5, 2015, in the Jeffco editions of the Denver Post's YourHub section and in four Jefferson County weekly newspapers]

Last week I wrote about week 1 of the 3-week EcoBroker class which all nine broker associates at Golden Real Estate and I are taking.  As promised, here is my report on week 2 of the class.

I had written that this week’s class was about solar, but that was only a small segment in a class that was largely about financing energy efficiency improvements in homes.

Even now, the energy efficiency of any home you might buy can be improved. Every time  Rita and I have bought a home, we have invariably invested thousands of dollars in improving the home during our first year of ownership.  That has entailed such things as adding solar PV, installing sun tunnels (such as Solatubes), replacing incandescent bulbs with CFL’s and LED’s, and dramatically improving insulation.

What I have failed to recognize, however, is that the cost of these improvements could have been included in an Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) instead of paying for them out of pocket later on. For some buyers, this might well be the only way they could finance improvements that they want and which could both reduce the operating cost of their home and improve comfort and quality of life.

As a result of this week’s training, my fellow agents and I will be diligent in telling buyers about EEM’s as well as the 30% federal tax credit that applies to the improvements that can be financed by EEM’s.

The process of getting an EEM need not take longer than getting a conventional mortgage, and the EcoBrokers at Golden Real Estate can guide you through the process. It involves obtaining an energy rating/energy audit of your home during the inspection process and developing a list of improvements, with cost estimates for each of them. The appraisal will be based not on the home “as is” but rather “as improved.” The lender would then release the money for those improvements as they are completed.

Soon I will publish a schedule of public seminars we’ll be hosting on such topics as lead-based paint, mold, radon, windows, solar — and EEMs.

Extraordinary Applewood Home on Cul-de-Sac

[Published Feb. 5, 2015, in the Jeffco editions of the Denver Post's YourHub section and in four Jefferson County weekly newspapers]

 

3400 Braun Court, Golden

$654,900

www.ApplewoodHome.info

 

Backing to a lake is this 5,128-sq.ft. home, with five bedrooms and five bathrooms, a 5-car garage, and an in-ground swimming pool — all on a half-acre lot.  Listed by broker associate Chuck Brown, I got a private tour of it recently and was super impressed. The quality of construction, the new kitchen with slab granite counters and stainless steel appliances, the epoxy floor and finished walls in the garage, the 10-zone hot water heating — they all make this house a great value at only $131 per finished square foot.  You can take a narrated video tour of this home at www.ApplewoodHome.info, then call Chuck at 303-885-7855 for a private showing.  As with all our listings, the buyer gets free use of our moving truck and free moving boxes, even if they have their own agent. Don’t have an agent? Then we’ll provide free labor & gas, too!

The Inspection Objection and Resolution Process Explained

[The first three paragraphs were published Feb. 5, 2015, in the Jeffco editions of the Denver Post's YourHub section]

One of the more confusing and stressful aspects of any transaction can be the inspection objection notice submitted by the buyer and the inspection resolution that is necessary in order to proceed toward closing.

The “Inspection Objection” document, signed only by the buyer, is merely a notice from the buyer laying out their requests for repairs.  The “Inspection Resolution” document is what really matters, because it spells out what both parties agree will be done. Often the buyer’s agent will attach the inspector’s full report to the inspection objection notice. This serves two purposes — one is to provide documentation (usually including pictures) of the defects which the buyer wants addressed by the seller. The second purpose is to inform the seller of all the problems found and not just the ones which the buyer wants addressed.  Because the seller and the listing agent have been informed of these problems, they would have to disclose them to a future buyer if the current contract falls due to failure of the buyer and seller to agree on repairs.  For a listing agent to refuse to accept the inspection report for that reason would raise serious questions of ethics and law.

There are several strategies available to the seller and listing agent in responding to the buyer’s demands. Take for example, the buyer’s request that everything be done by licensed professionals. If the job can be done by a qualified handyman, there's no reason not to specify that in the inspection resolution document.  The buyer usually accepts that.

Some buyers will ask for every defect in the inspection report to be addressed by the seller. When I represent a buyer, I point out that the inspector's responsibility is to point out every single defect, but that it would be unwise to request repair of any but the most serious issues -- typically described as "health & safety" issues.  Those would include electrical and plumbing issues, as well as furnaces with cracked heat exchangers emitting carbon monoxide gas.  When representing the seller, I recommend addressing only those serious issues.

When a seller has multiple offers, I try to get one of the losing bidders to agree to being in back-up position, because that can help when it comes to inspection issues.  More than once I've been able to tell the buyer's agent that the seller has a back-up buyer who has read the inspection objection and seen the full inspection report and has agreed to accept the house "as is" if the buyer terminates.  The result is that the buyer usually agrees to withdraw their inspection objection.

If a seller is reluctant to make repairs to any major issue and we are unable to get the buyer to withdraw his or her request, it's my responsibility as the seller's agent to point out that if they let this contract fall, they are still bound to disclose these uncorrected problems to the next buyer.  

Usually there are both big and small defects and I'm able to negotiate that we will fix this one big problem but not these smaller ones -- or vice versa.  Years of experience at negotiating inspection issues on the part of an agent can really pay off for the client -- whether buyer or seller. 

Often the seller would rather pay for the repairs rather than handle them before closing.  This can take the form of a price reduction or the payment of some or all of the buyer's closing costs -- or a combination of the two.  The value of these concessions can be a matter of negotiation -- not necessarily covering the full amount of all requested repairs.  Alternatively, the seller might pre-pay a contractor for a repair to be completed following closing.  A seller will prefer a price reduction over these other alternatives, because it reduces the amount of commission paid to both agents.

Since the Inspection Resolution document must be provided to the buyer's lender, it's not always acceptable to have critical repairs -- such as a new roof or furnace -- be made following closing.  The lender needs to know that the repairs are made and that the buyer won't simply pocket the money and not make those critical repairs.  As a way of hiding the uncompleted repairs from the lender, it's a common but questionable practice -- because it could be seen as a form of mortgage fraud -- for the buyer to withdraw the inspection objection and, along with the seller, sign an amendment to the contract reducing the purchase price without explaining why. 

Recently I had a buyer demand that the 20-year-old water heater be replaced, but since the water heater was in working condition despite its age, I suggested that the seller pay for a home warranty which covers the water heater, and the buyer accepted that alternative, saving my seller hundreds of dollars.  (Of course, if I had a back-up buyer, even that expense could have been saved!)

Sellers who choose to sell their home without using an agent should remember that securing a contract with a buyer is only step #1 in selling their home.  By employing a listing agent, the seller not only gains the possibility of multiple offers and a higher price for their home, but they will have the experience and expertise of a good listing agent when it comes to negotiating inspection and other issues prior to closing.