The Market
A Fresh Perspective on Home Values
Closing on a home and officially entering the real estate market as a homeowner is like that moment on a roller coaster when you’re buckled in, you’ve lowered the bar, and coaster is slowly pulling away from the station with nothing but open track ahead of you. The fun part about this particular ride is that we’re basically in the dark and it’s hard to tell where the track will take us next.
This Vs. That
Mortgage Rates vs. Federal Reserve Rates
News of the Federal Reserve raising “interest rates” to combat inflation has been a big topic in the news lately but which rate is the Fed actually raising? The relationship between the rates the Fed controls and mortgage rates is confusing at best. At the risk of gross oversimplification here’s my understanding of how mortgage rates are influenced by monetary policy.
How It Works
Wheel of Misfortune: 40 Year Listing Memos
Our latest edition of homeowner jeopardy comes to us from a licensed, seemingly legitimate real estate brokerage that is offering to pay homeowners a sum of money, ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand dollars, for the exclusive right to sell the home at some point in the future. The problem? These 40 year memorandums are being recorded as liens against the homes and, in some cases, resulting in threats of legal action and possible foreclosure.
Housekeeping
Your home’s exterior takes a beating during the winter months and a little deterioration of soffits, fascia, siding, gutters and paint can lead to much larger issues if not regularly maintained. With spring fast approaching, the season of exterior maintenance will also soon be upon us so it’s a great time to start exploring what needs to be done and getting on people’s schedules for any work you need to have done. If you need resources, either for inspections or repairs, reach out anytime. We have a list of great contractors who have done a great job helping our clients and we’d love to share with you.
Counting Sheep
Ah yes, the things that keep me up at night. Recently it has been one consistent theme – change. Change is truly the only the thing we count on being consistent from day to day and if the last few years have taught me anything it’s to embrace that change because within it lives opportunity. We may not always see it, or understand its potential, but it is always there and will eventually reveal itself if we look hard enough.
What We’re Up To
With the holidays behind us we are excitedly looking forward to the year ahead. Business is humming along and I’ve found the time to start this newsletter which is something I’ve wanted to do for quite some time. It’s a creative project if nothing else but hopefully it adds some value and allows us to keep in touch a bit better than we have in the past! I was also honored to be elected as this year’s VP of the Northeast District (one of five districts in the state) for our Colorado Association of Realtors which allows me to give back to the industry and help give our local associations a voice at the state level. But it’s not all work – I’m still managing to spend at least a few days a month on the river with a fly rod in hand.
Shannon continues to work toward her degree in psychology (boasting a 4.0 gpa no less) and has also recently started pursuing an opportunity that presented itself to work as a business services consultant handling bookkeeping, event planning, and providing other back-office support for independent business owners. Check out her new venture, Bluebird Business Solutions, here! Oh, and in her free time she’s the treasurer of the PTA, Harper’s social coordinator (a full-time job in itself) and still handling the operational side of Sammons and Company too. You know, because she can.
Harper is entrenched in the second-half of third grade. Luckily she enjoys school and has been trying all sorts of fun new things like choir and ice skating with her forays into gymnastics and horse-back riding lessons coming up in the next few weeks. Until next time!