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It’s not much of a secret that home prices in Fort Collins have been on the rise over the last couple of years. While finding affordable housing has become more difficult, it isn’t impossible. Fort Collins has assistance programs that can help buyers to get into a home and interest rates are still very low. But an alternate strategy this time of year is to look outside of Fort Collins in the surrounding areas. The zones around the city of Fort Collins have been growing. With as much growth as Fort Collins has seen over the last five years, the city is beginning to develop “mini suburbs,” if you will. This article posted by the Coloradoan shows how the median single-family home prices compare between Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor, Wellington, and Timnath. Homes in Fort Collins and Timnath top the charts at $375K and $425K respectively in 2016. Let’s talk about the other choices. Windsor is a great option for those looking around Fort Collins. It’s only about 15 to 20 minutes from either Old Town Fort Collins or the southeast tech corridor, which makes it a perfect place to look. Home prices in Windsor are slightly cheaper right now than those in Timnath and Fort Collins, coming in right around $360K. Not only is it slightly cheaper, but Windsor offers many of the same amenities of the city without feeling too crowded or congested, and homes were actually cheaper in 2016 than they were in 2015. Another option is Wellington, which is not only growing, but it is growing FAST. The median home price for single-family homes is about $312K – which is up from $281K in 2015. However, there is a large influx of new condos and townhomes in Wellington that are as nice – if not nicer – than any you might find in Fort Collins. New townhomes in Wellington are comparable with existing townhomes in Fort Collins. Finally, Loveland is also another go-to area for home buyers who are looking in Northern Colorado. The median single-family home prices are up 14% from 2015, but still around $50K less than Fort Collins and $35K cheaper than Windsor. Of course, it is a little bit longer of a commute if you are working in the Choice City, but the savings on your home price more than make up for it if you don’t mind a 20 minute drive. To learn more about listing your home or your home buying options in Fort Collins, Loveland, Wellington, Greeley, Windsor, and throughout Northern Colorado, call me at 970-342-3568 or visit www.coloradorepros.com today.  Colorado Real Estate Pros
6407 Compton Road Fort Collins, CO 80525 970-342-3568 Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter See our Google+ page Find us on Pinterest View our Youtube Video We all know that Fort Collins is a great place to live, and this is why it can be challenging to find a home that has everything you are looking for at a price you can afford. Nonetheless, it’s still a great time to buy a home in the Choice City. Colorado Real Estate Pros has put together a few reasons why now is the perfect time to buy your dream home here in Northern Colorado.  Prices are Plateauing
Even though we’ve seen home prices skyrocket in the last couple of years in Northern Colorado, the market seems to be stabilizing. Home prices are leveling off which is a good thing for home buyers. This means that home values won’t unexpectedly drop off or crash any time soon. While many homes are still going at or above the asking price, the cost-to-value ratio is as good as it has ever been. Interest Rates are Still Low We’ve seen record low interest rates over the past 24 months, and it’s a great time to pick up a fixed long term loan before the rates go back up. On top of this, there are many programs that can help buyers come up with the down payment on a home. Along with other programs, the City of Fort Collins has Home Buyer Assistance (HBA) that can reduce your down payment to as low as 3% down. Newer Neighborhoods are Abundant While it can be tempting to want to buy in an established area of town, often times you will pay the same price for a home near old town or mid town that you would for a brand new home in one of the many blossoming developments around Fort Collins. Sure, having a home closer to the middle of town can mean convenience, but if you are willing to be on the outskirts of Fort Collins, you can get a great home at a great price. Some areas that are north of town or southeast of town are offering affordable homes that are brand new. Surrounding Areas are growing This piggy-backs on the point above, but many of the surrounding areas including Windsor, Wellington, and Timnath are growing rapidly, and offering gorgeous homes that are lower in cost to similar homes inside the city limits of Fort Collins. Loveland is also growing, and offers generally lower prices that Fort Collins. For this reason, it could behoove you to expand your search outside Fort Collins. As long as you don’t mind a little bit of a commute, these places can be great options when looking for a home in Northern Colorado. To learn more about listing your home or your home buying options in Fort Collins, Loveland, Wellington, Greeley, Windsor, and throughout Northern Colorado, call me at 970-342-3568 or visit www.coloradorepros.com today. Colorado Real Estate Pros 6407 Compton Road Fort Collins, CO 80525 970-342-3568 Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter See our Google+ page Find us on Pinterest View our Youtube Videos From mortgaging to painting to actually moving all of your furniture in - there’s a lot to do when you buy a new home. With this much on your plate, it makes sense that you might want to hire professionals to take lawn care off your hands.
Hiring a lawn care team will save you time, protect your lawn with the safest and most effective products and techniques, and can actually save you money by providing all the equipment you need for a beautiful landscape! When you’re ready to work with a lawn care company to improve or maintain your lawn, your primary concern is choosing a team that you can trust - but it can be hard to determine what a trustworthy lawn care team looks like! We asked the local experts at American Turf & Tree Care for advice on what homeowners should be looking for in an high quality lawn care company, and what questions they should ask before agreeing to a lawn care program. Does the company have experience in the area? While it might be tempting to just go with a national name-brand corporation, you might see better results and higher quality customer care with a locally-owned lawn care company. Local lawn care companies also have specific expertise working in your climate and with common invasive species or wildlife. A larger company is more likely to use standardized methods across the country, which can have a negative impact on your lawn if it’s not tailored to your soil pH and grass seed! Is your technician licensed and certified? There are different laws and regulations in every state - but you should never cut costs by picking an unlicensed, uncertified lawn care professional. Without a license, they may not have the proper experience or training to do the job right, and you might even be held liable if one of their technicians gets hurt on your property. Does the company have a good reputation? The internet makes it easy to see what other homeowners in your area have to say about a product or service. If you’re on the fence about a lawn care company, it might be worth a quick check on Yelp or Google+ to see if other people have had good or bad experiences with them. Is there a service guarantee? There are some things that lawn care technicians have no control over - but there are several things you should be able to expect from each service. If a company can’t promise that technicians will be polite and prompt, that they’ll clean up after they finish servicing your lawn, or that you won’t be billed for more than your agreed rate - you should think twice. Will they keep your family safe? It’s likely that a lawn care company will use fertilizers, pesticides and other chemicals on your property. Some companies offer organic options and low risk techniques, but if they do use something that might be harmful to kids and pets playing in your backyard, they are required to tell you and provide you with safety information. Trust The Experts! When you put your grass in the wrong hands, you risk seriously damaging your landscape. Homeowners who cut corners can find themselves with damaged and dying trees, or with a completely dead lawn. Not doing your research can also rack up expensive bills for services that don’t work, or on services you didn’t need in the first place. When you decide to work with a lawn care company, make sure you’re putting your trust in a reliable team that will get the job done right. When I woke up on the first of January this year, I didn’t know what to expect as far as my Real Estate business was concerned. It’s kind of like that for every real estate agent, no matter where you are. You have a certain expectation that you will be able to help quite a few families step foot into a nice new home, but you really never know where the market will take you. For about 10 years, I worked for other companies, and had to sometimes depend on the type of marketing that they used, or just pound the pavement to introduce myself to as many people as humanly possible. Now with the advent of the internet, and other marketing tactics, Realtors in Fort Collins and other cities can position themselves to help famiies by meeting them on the internet. Don’t get me wrong, most of the business that we do is because of referrals, and that will probably always be the case. Luckily, both our referral business and our internet marketing has been very good this year, and as a result, this week alone, we have 7 closings where we will turn over the keys to lucky owners of new homes. If you would have told me that on January 1, we would have 7 closings during the last week of September, I would have said ‘you’re a little crazy’, but still thought it was possible.  What’s great about having all of these closings in the Northern Colorado area is that I have also been fortunate to befriend a lot of the clients that we help buy or sell homes. This means that we not only are able to help them with their real estate needs, but we are also able to enjoy the friendship that comes as a result. We don’t just want to be the fly by night real estate company or agent that is seen as a ‘transaction manager’, we want to build a relationship with everyone that we work with. That’s what real estate, and business is all about – relationships.
Colorado Real Estate Pros is almost two years old, and we’re so glad that we stepped out of our comfort zone to start the company that I had dreamed of a few years ago. Not only do we want to offer the very best in real estate services to Fort Collins and Loveland customers, we want to make sure that you and your family have a trusted real estate agent for life in Northern Colorado. To learn more about listing your home with me, or sitting down to discuss your home buying options in Fort Collins, Loveland, Wellington, Greeley, Windsor, and throughout Northern Colorado, call me at 970-342-3568 or visit www.coloradorepros.com today. Colorado Real Estate Pros 6407 Compton Road Fort Collins, CO 80525 970-342-3568 Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter See our Google+ page Find us on Pinterest View our Youtube Videos Landmark Properties is building out 1200 new student apartments off West Prospect and Lake Street, just across from the new on-campus stadium at Colorado State University.
Why is this significant? Because these is sure to be the newest, nicest apartment complexes that are close to campus and the new digs of CSU Rams football. The details – The project will consist of 3 new complexes, the largest one called ‘The Standard’, and should be open for residency the same time as the opening of the new stadium, in the fall of 2017. With CSU and Fort Collins growing year after year, this is a very important development in the maturity of the city, especially close to campus. To find out more, visit this link here: http://www.coloradoan.com/story/money/business/2016/08/22/housing-projects-would-add-1100-students-near-campus/89100606/ To learn more about homes that are for sale in your area, reach out to me at www.coloradorepros.com or by calling 970-342-3568. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter See our Google+ page Find us on Pinterest Subscribe to our YouTube Channel  Here’s some tips to help homebuyers get the most out of their money when it comes to buying a home.
1. Get ready to write a few letters. Because of the multiple bidding wars that are taking place on quite a few homes in the Northern Colorado area, buyers are writing multiple letters to sellers letting them know why they would be a good fit to buy their home. Some sellers want to get the most out of their sale, while some want a great family to buy their home and live there for a very long time. Think about your story and why it would appeal to a seller. This could be the difference in you buying the home that you have your heart set on. 2. Think about newer neighborhoods. We love seeing neighborhoods with mature trees as much as the next person, but newer, less established neighborhoods will be a little easier to find a better deal in than something in, for example, Old Town. If you are looking strictly in Fort Collins, consider new construction or a neighborhood a little off the beaten path. If you are willing to move your search outside of Fort Collins into Windsor, Loveland or Wellington, you will have many more options. 3. Look for short sales or foreclosures. Homes like this are a rare find in Northern Colorado, but they are out there. If you can stomach doing some major renovation work on a home, or you have the ability to wait a long time to find that diamond in the rough, you might be able to come in a little under your buying budget. Cash is a better option, but you can still get into a short sale or foreclosure by financing. 4. Be ready to act quickly! If you have the ability to close quickly and can make fast decisions, you will increase your chances of buying a home. We have seen a lot of buyers take their time, and lose a home in the process. Get your ducks in a row, and be able to make a confident decision when it comes to buying. 5. Work with a realtor. Many people try the For Sale by Owner route, and it rarely works out well. Realtors have your best interests in mind, will be able to advise you on the things you need to know, and will help you get the transaction completed quickly. For any help with your home buying or home selling in the Northern Colorado area, give me a call today at 970-342-3568. Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter See our Pinterest Page Find us on Google+  Choosing the top 10 reasons to live anywhere in Northern Colorado is not an easy task. Since we have had the good fortune to live here for almost 20 years, we think we have a good idea about the best reasons why Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor and the surrounding areas is so greatly appreciated. This is our best crack, and we welcome any comments or topics of discussion.
1. Fort Collins is home to some of the best microbreweries not only in the US, but in the world. Not only is New Belgium located in Fort Collins, but you can find Odell Brewing Company, Fort Collins Brewery, and many other fantastic small craft breweries located in the city limits. For more info visit this brewery tour site. 2. The people .If you haven't visited Northern Colorado lately, one of the best parts of our region is the people. When you walk down the street in Loveland, you will be greeted with a smile from people who realize how great it is to live in Colorado. We are lucky to live in a state where people are genuinely happy. 3. The outdoors. We don't want to so broadly categorize this, but there's enough hiking to the west of Fort Collins and Loveland to keep you in the mountains for a while, bike trails that go for days, and a few lakes and reservoirs to enjoy boating on. 4. The grub. Fort Collins has more restaurants per capita than anywhere in the United States. Yeah, we have mentioned this before, but we feel it's worth saying again. From Old Town to south Fort Collins all the way to Loveland and Greeley, you can find some of the best food west of the Mississippi. 5. The foliage. Fort Collins has been previously called 'Tree City USA' by the Arbor Day Foundation. There's just a few trees lining such streets as Mountain Avenue, which brings us to the topic below. 6. Mountain Avenue. If you have never driven from Old town all the way west on Mountain Avenue, you're missing out on a spectacular drive. The tree lined street boasts spectacular homes, some built before 1900. If you're lucky enough, you can even ride the trolley from City Park to Old Town for some Walrus Ice Cream! 7. Colorado State University is located in Fort Collins. For all the former Rams (like me) who love CSU, you know how fantastic the university here is, and for those who have never been here, you might want to think about visiting! 8. The city of Loveland has been named one of the top 10 best cities to live in throughout the United States (Westword, 2015). Long known for it's proximity to Fort Collins, Loveland is becoming a destination for many to move to. 9. Breathtaking scenery. If you hike to the top of Horsetooth rock, you can see for miles in all directions, and looking over Fort Collins and down into Loveland never ceases to amaze us. 10. The climate. Visitors sometimes think of Colorado as a cold weather state because of the mountains, and the elevation. Truth be told, there are 4 distinct seasons, and although it might snow one day, you still might be able to run outside the very next day. With over 300 days of sunshine a year, Northern Colorado is one of the best places to live because of the weather. Now that we've rattled off our top ten reasons for living in CO, what are yours? Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter See our Pinterest Page Find us on Google+ Living in Colorado is very desirable. We have known this for a very long time, and as the population explodes throughout our state, many more people are also realizing the same. Loveland, Fort Collins, Windsor, and Greeley are experiencing a significant incline in home prices as a result. As demand for anything grows, so does the price of housing. As of the first quarter of 2016, and according to IRES, the median home price in Larimer, Weld, Broomfield and Boulder Counties combined was $334,250. This figure is up almost a full 8% since the first quarter of 2015. See the link here from BizWest. Clearly we are seeing a huge uptick in home values throughout Colorado, and this has been expected by realtors all over Northern Colorado including Fort Collins, Loveland, and Windsor.  We are also seeing cash offers nearly quadruple since the start of 2015. As investors are realizing the time is ripe to buy property in Northern Colorado, many more homes are going up for rent as a result.
That said, families are still able to get into homes in Northern Colorado for under $350,000. Whether you are looking for a single family home, condo, townhome or apartment, there are still many options out there for you. Just this week, we had two condos go under contract for under $180,000, and have some listings coming up for just over $350,000. When we work with buyers, we want to make sure to inform them of all their options in the low inventory market that we are currently in. Where you find your perfect home depends on your search parameters. Are you looking for a specific area like Old Town or Parkwood? If that’s the case, you might have to be a little more patient. If you are flexible, and you’re just looking for a great home in a great location, then you’re in luck. Northern Colorado, whether it’s Fort Collins, Windsor, or Loveland, has some of the best neighborhoods throughout the United States, and finding a home in a desirable location, despite the low inventory, is still very achievable. If you are considering buying or selling a home in Northern Colorado, we would love to be the realtor that you consult throughout the process. Give Brad a call today at 970-342-3568 or visit www.coloradorepros.com to learn more about us. Thanks! Brad Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter Find us on LinkedIn See our Google+ Page Find us on Pinterest  Over the next two weeks, we will have 5 listings going on the market in Loveland, CO. While we're based in Fort Collins, we have sold more homes in Loveland than anywhere else in the last 2 years. Maybe it's because of the inventory that Loveland can offer, or the fact that Loveland is becoming more of a destination for families in Colorado. We think it's becoming an alternative to Fort Collins when people and families grow tired of the bidding wars that come with looking for property in Choice City.
Some great reasons to live in Loveland: 1. The proximity to Fort Collins, Windsor, Berthoud, and the rest of Northern Colorado. In Loveland, you're simply closer to Denver, you have access to more lakes than Fort Collins (Boyd, Horseshoe, Boedecker, etc.), and can still get to the Poudre Canyon in about 30-40 minutes. 2. The shopping. While Fort Collins has just opened up the newly redesigned and fantastic The Plaza at Foothills Mall, Loveland has Centerra, which gives you anything from shopping to restaurants to a movie theater, and plenty of attractions for the kiddos. Don't forget about the Outlet shops at Loveland as well. 3. Loveland has landed on Westword's list for Ten Best Cities to live in for Colorado Families (courtesy Westword, 2015). We've known this for a while, but Loveland is growing at a rapid rate, and has offered young families a small community feel with an abundance of amenities. 4. Loveland has actually been named as one of the best places to live in the entire country by Money Magazine. 5. The low unemployment rate, combined with a greater number of jobs being offered by employers gives Loveland the growth stability for years to come. Some more things that we love about Loveland? The golf courses - Mariana Butte is our favorite, but the Olde Course at Loveland is also a must play, and is centrally located in Loveland. The lakes - we mentioned above Horseshoe Lake, Boedecker Reservoir, and Boyd Lake. There is also Lake Loveland which has a nice swim beach, Carter Lake, and many smaller lakes that you can canoe and kayak around at will. To learn more about why you should consider moving to Loveland, CO, give me a call at 970-342-3568 today, or visit this page here: http://www.coloradorepros.com/loveland.html Like us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter See our Pinterest Page Follow us on Google+ See our LinkedIn Page Why you should consider Berthoud as a viable option! For those of you living in Fort Collins, you clearly know that your Real Estate search is much more difficult than it was even two years ago. Less inventory, more expensive home prices, and the competition that just gets fiercer and fiercer every single year. We hope that you don't interpret this post as telling you not to look for a home to buy in Fort Collins. Rather, we hope that you look at this post and realize that there are other options that may be a bit easier both on your psyche and your wallet.
We spoke a bit about Johnstown in our last post, because we have been seeing more and more families look for affordable housing just south of Fort Collins. While we love living in the Fort, and will do whatever we can to help our real estate clients find the perfect dream home up here in Choice City, we have been getting quite a few requests to see some homes in the Berthoud area. What do you know about Berthoud? We spend a lot of time there, from our involvement with Berthoud athletes, and of course as a sponsor of the Berthoud Sports Hall of Fame. Up until about two years ago, we had only sold a handful of homes in Berthoud, as we stayed around Loveland and Fort Collins pretty exclusively. But Berthoud has become one of our favorite cities, for a number of reasons. 1. Berthoud is a town of about 6,000 people, and it has an incredible small town feel to it. You won't find anyone in a hurry unless they are wizzing by on Highway 287, which is very accessible and close to downtown Berthoud. 2. The schools. Berthoud has two elementary schools - Ivy Stockwell Elementary, and Berthoud Elementary. Turner Middle School provides the education for the 6th-8th graders, and Berthoud High School takes care of everything through a student's senior year. 3. The proximity to everything in Northern Colorado. Berthoud is just minutes from Loveland, and about 35 minutes from downtown Fort Collins. Denver is easily reachable in under an hour via I-25, and Longmont is just 20 minutes south of Berthoud on CO 287. 4. There are some very nice new construction housing developments being built in and around Berthoud currently, and the PGA Tour just broke ground on a TPC golf course, to open up in 2018! We couldn't be more excited to offer our Real Estate services in Berthoud, CO, and if you would like to schedule a consultation to get started with your home search in Berthoud, just give me a call at 970-342-3568. You can view our web page about Berthoud here: www.coloradorepros.com/berthoud.html Find us on LinkedIn Colorado Real Estate Pros on Twitter Like us on Facebook See our Youtube Videos Colorado Real Estate Pros on Google+ Colorado Real Estate Pros 6407 Compton Road Fort Collins, CO 80525 970-342-3568 www.coloradorepros.com |
AuthorI'm Brad, owner of Colorado Real Estate Pros. This blog will talk more about my day-to-day as a Fort Collins Realtor, and my life as well. Enjoy! Archives
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Colorado Real Estate Pros
5903 Tilden St Fort Collins, CO 80528 (970) 342-3568 Email: brad@coloradorepros.com
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