Flood for Thought – The South Boulder Creek Floodplain
by Osman Parvez ---- If you live in Boulder, you've probably grown accustomed to sirens blaring at 10am on the first Monday of every month. They are part of an emergency warning system, in place to alert listeners of a flash flood. Recently, the Daily Camera ran a story proclaiming that Boulder is the number one flood risk community in Colorado. In August of 2007, the city completed the South Boulder Creek Flood Mapping Study. It places over 1,100 buildings and structures within a 100-year floodplain (i.e. there is a 1% chance of a flood of this magnitude occurring each [...]
Would You Be My Neighbor?
by Osman Parvez ---- When our clients are getting serious about a house, we advise them to walk the neighborhood, knock on doors, and see what else they can learn. Sometimes we'll even accompany them. Why? Because neighborhood assessment is an important part of buyer due diligence. An hour or so walking your future neighborhood and talking to the people who live there will often reveal details about why a property is for sale, its history, and many important characteristics about the neighborhood. You might learn who has the loud dog or how long it takes to walk to public [...]
Before You Buy, Check for Meth
by Osman Parvez ---- What would you do if you found out your home was once a Meth lab and never cleaned up? Some recent home buyers are facing that unsettling question. From CBS4: As part of a year-long investigation, CBS4 News has obtained, through open records requests, governmental lists of properties that contained methamphetamine labs that were never cleaned up. CBS4 Investigator Rick Sallinger found people living in homes that may still be contaminated with meth. Governmental agencies failed to inform them, and unscrupulous homeowners sold the properties without warning the buyers. There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of [...]
7 Reasons to Love the Post Housing Bubble
by Osman Parvez ---- "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness..." - Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities There's a silver lining to the housing bubble. Sure, it's less sensational than upside down borrowers being tempted to walk away from their mortgages. It's clearly less sensational than what Britney or her sister are up to. But guess what? It's information you can use. Here's 7 reasons you should love the (post) housing bubble. 1. Fewer speculators. Get rich quick schemes are no [...]
Toxic Waste: Mapping Boulder and Beyond
by Osman Parvez ---- When we help you buy a house, we'll advise you to complete your due diligence before purchasing a property. Typical items we recommend include simple steps, like walking nearby streets and talking to neighbors. We'll even walk the streets with you, if you'd like. Some of the check list items we recommend include calculating your commute, distance to grocery stores, and local schools. Articles posted on this blog are one of the ways we help people find the tools to do a better job at investigating the facts. From the list of labels on the right, [...]
Beetle Epidemic
by Osman Parvez ---- Yesterday the Daily Camera had a piece on the Pine beetle epidemic. From the Camera: "It's started to move into the ponderosa pine and forest," said Kevin Zimlinghaus, who works for the Forest Service's Boulder Ranger District. "That could pose a problem. If the beetles do get into the ponderosa pine and continue to move, they could come all the way down to the plains." The tree die-off could have major social and economic impacts on the state. No kidding. How long have we known this? For those following the issue, be sure to read Myths [...]
Myths and Facts: The Pine Beetle Epidemic
by Osman Parvez ---- Dead trees. Rust colored mountainsides. A plague that's spreading quickly. These sort of thoughts are giving people in Colorado a fright. Too bad this nightmare is real. There's a lot of information out there, most of it passed by word of mouth. What's myth and what's fact? What's the biggest risk? And as a homeowner, what can you do about it? #1: The trees are being killed by invasive beetles: Partially true. The bug in question is the Mountain Pine Beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae), also called the Black Hills beetle or Rocky Mountain Pine beetle. But it's [...]
Adverse Possession Brouhaha
by Osman Parvez ---- The comments I've gotten from on the adverse possession of private land by two legal eagles (see Gimme! A Legal Land Grab) has been startling. This issue really sparks a reaction. Although I can't share their off the record comments, some laced with colorful metaphors, here's a few snippets from letters to the editor of the Daily Camera: November 12: "Gaining ownership under adverse possession can only happen when titled owners exhibit an uninterrupted disregard for another's use of their property for many years." November 14: "Bob Greenlee's column on adverse possession (Nov. 4) was a [...]
Gimme! A Legal Land Grab in Boulder
by Osman Parvez ---- Recently, a judge granted a trespassing Boulder couple ownership of land backing open space. The takers of the land are a former judge and lawyer couple. Obviously, they know the law. Seeing the owner's intent to build, they filed an action to possess the land and maintain their access. According to the defendants, this wasn't about access to open space. It was really about protecting their views. The plaintiff's were given a portion of the land, possibly rendering the full lot unbuildable. The previous owners value the lot (and their loss) at $800,000 to $1,000,000. What's [...]
Tell ’em The Facts – Full Disclosure
by Osman Parvez ---- In most states, including Colorado, real estate agents and home sellers must disclose known material facts about a property that could influence a buyer's purchase decision. If you know your roof is leaking, sellers must note this in the disclosure documentation. So what happens if the disclosure is made but the buyer didn't read or notice it? This is a real problem. It recently happened to one of our buyers. He didn't realize that his new HOA banned dogs. Although we had strongly advised him to read the HOA rules and minutes, he didn't do it [...]
Buy Vs. Rent (Download the Model)
by Osman Parvez ---- As part of due diligence, it's very important to do the math before making a real estate purchase. Although I recommend everyone run the numbers, it's especially important for first time home buyers and current renters. About a year ago, I built a model that took your assumptions including length of ownership, appreciation, maintenance costs (and many others) and calculated the difference in cost between renting and owning. I do this because the online calculators I found were woefully inadequate. I've since sent hundreds of copies of my buy vs. rent model to people who contacted [...]
How to Find a Great Real Estate Agent – 12 Interview Questions
by Osman Parvez ---- Recently, I've helped a number of friends and family members find real estate agents in places outside our local market. With Realty Unique's consumer focus and growing online presence we often get these requests. We're happy to help. Yet even with our expertise in real estate, the process to find a good agent can be challenging. In the last few months, I've been getting a fresh taste of what many buyers and sellers go through. Maybe it was a good thing. My recent experiences are the basis for this post. I hope it helps you choose [...]
Due Diligence: Checking Sex Offender Databases
by Osman Parvez ---- Due Diligence. These are the things that all buyers and sellers should do as they move towards completing a residential real estate transaction. Today I'm rolling out a series on due diligence. Here's the first post. --------- An important part of a buyer's due diligence should be to check the database of registered sex offenders. Today, a sexually violent predator is moving from Boulder to Broomfield. Tomorrow it could be elsewhere, perhaps your neighborhood. Two years ago Colorado passed a law to make the databases available online. It's now very easy to check. Please be aware [...]
Radon Scare
by Osman Parvez ---- Worried About Radon? Get the Facts. When I was a little kid, there used to be public service ads on TV about Radon. In the middle of my Saturday morning cartoon binge, up would pop an ad showing children playing in the basement of their home. Suddenly the image would freeze and flip to X-RAY view. There was an alien sounding buzzer noise, and then the image would return to normal. The children would start playing again. The dark and dramatic voice over said something to the effect of, "Did you know that being exposed to [...]
My Lender Lied to Me
by Osman Parvez ---- I happened to check the Searchlight Crusade mortgage blog last night and found an article that relates to my post on option or "pick a pay" loans. It's about a borrower who refinanced his mortgage and was seemingly tricked into a toxic loan by his dodgy lender. The borrower writes, "I recently refinanced and the mortgage broker lied to me about many, many things. I was sold a negative amortization mortgage. The broker provided me a chart showing my payment schedule for 30 yrs; it showed my payment split between interest & principal. I was [...]
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