November 8th, 2007 Bob
I remember reading the book The Millionaire Next Door a few years ago and being surprised at a few of the common habits of millionaires. I had this picture of the typical millionaire in my head: fancy car, huge house, expensive lifestyle and habits. It turns our that most of the millionaires interviewed were quite frugal. That is:
“economical in use or expenditure; prudently saving or sparing; not wasteful”, according to dictionary.com.
I would say that most of our real estate clients fall into this “frugal” category. The simple fact is that traditional real estate fees are not a frugal way to spend your hard-earned equity. The equity in your home is, after all, yours. Why not keep it? Why not spend it wisely? Be frugal. It’s a common theme echoed by some of our recent Boulder real estate clients. They see the services that our company offers in a simple, side-by-side comparison to traditional real estate and realize that their money is better spent with us.
To quote Paul Clitheroe: ” The amount of money you have has got nothing to do with what you earn.. people earning a million dollars a year can have no money and.. People earning $35,000 a year can be quite well off. It’s not what you earn, it’s what you spend.”
Well said.
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Posted in Colorado Real Estate, Boulder, CO | No Comments »
October 23rd, 2007 Bob
The title of this post is taken directly from the US Department of Justice’s new website which focuses on competition in real estate. Needless to say, we were very happy to see that the Department of Justice supports companies like Real-a-Save, going so far as to say: “Offering rebates and incentives is one way that real estate brokers can compete for consumers’ business, leading to lower prices to consumers.”
The bottom line is that consumers benefit whenever companies compete for their business. We know for a fact that our own efforts have saved consumers hundreds of thousands of dollars in commission expenses.
Here’s another interesting quote from the FAQ section of the Department of Justice website:
“Do refunds and incentives pose any risk to consumers?
Some have argued that refunds and incentives can tempt consumers into closing on real estate transactions against their best interests. The Antitrust Division has found no evidence that refunds and incentives harm consumers. On the contrary, they can dramatically lower the price that consumers pay for brokerage services.”
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Posted in Colorado Real Estate, Our Company, Denver, CO, Boulder, CO | No Comments »
October 18th, 2007 Bob
We’re thrilled to announce that we’ve just launched our new website. New features include:
- Custom home-search feature
- Detailed neighborhood pages
- Easier navigation
- Comparable sales information
- Home-valuation tool information
- Saved search feature
- Emailed update feature- allows you to receive the most recent listings every morning
We’ll be adding to the website on a daily basis. A couple items that we’ll be bringing to you in the very near future include:
- MLS listings for Summit County and Colorado Springs. Soon thereafter we will have coverage of the entire state of Colorado.
- Detailed schools information
We hope you enjoy the new site. Feel free to contact us with any feedback at info@realasave.com
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Posted in Colorado Real Estate, Our Company, Denver, CO, Boulder, CO, Niwot, CO, Longmont, CO, Littleton, CO, Lafayette, CO, Highlands Ranch, CO, Erie, CO, Superior, CO, Louisville, CO, Broomfield, CO, Fort Collins, CO | No Comments »
September 11th, 2007 Bob
We’ve been working away at Real-a-Save to create an entirely new website. Our new home search feature will be the best one in the entire state of Colorado. We’re confident that you’ll love the new site, and we’re really looking forward to feedback from our loyal users.
Give us about another week or so and you’ll see an incredible new site, with a really cool home search feature.
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Posted in Colorado Real Estate, Denver, CO, Boulder, CO | 2 Comments »
July 20th, 2007 Bob
Just a quick note to those who still think that Denver real estate is a 98-pound weakling: the last few homes we’ve helped on the sellers side have gone on to close for 98% of list price. That’s anecdotal evidence to be sure, but it simply goes to illustrate what I tell my clients all the time: there is stability in the Denver real estate market.
There are even incredible pockets of strength. And the great thing is, we continue to see a rise in out-of-state folks who are calling us with intentions of moving here. Let’s face it, this is a beautiful corner of the country with lots of innate charm and exciting things to do. This fact does not change no matter what the nations real estate experts say.
Just remember that we never saw the huge, double-digit gains over incredibly short periods of time that regions like Chicago, Boston, and areas of Florida saw. So we’re not going to see pricing free fall that some of these places are experiencing now.
Slow and steady appreciation. You can count on it.
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July 13th, 2007 Bob
Many people have reservations about allowing strangers to stroll through their home while their not home. But this is the way that showings are handled in Colorado: the buyer’s agent accompanies their buyers to your home, and you are generally not there. Is this safe?
It depends.
You can do a few things to make it safer. Your Realtor can start by embracing SentriLock, the new digital lockbox technology which requires a key card, code, and logs all visitors. One of the problems with traditional lockboxes is that once a person knows the code, they can come back anytime and you’d never know it. With digital lockboxes anyone who opens the door is logged in, and if an agent does not have a key card then they must apply for a one-day code. That code changes everyday, and everyone who asks for one is logged in the moment they use the code.
Pretty nifty, right? So far, our Boulder real estate clients just love it.
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Posted in Denver, CO, Boulder, CO | No Comments »
July 9th, 2007 Bob
Sometimes a deal is as good as it sounds. Flat-fee listing companies like ours offer Colorado real estate clients radical savings without a reduction in service.
I’m confident that our services rival or exceed the marketing services that you’d get at a more traditional company. Take a look at our side-by-side comparison if you’d like to see for yourself.
I get lots of calls from folks who are a bit skeptical that we can market a property in an effective manor for such a huge savings. Well, we’ve got lots of customer testimonials to verify that we do a great job.
We understand the skepticism, which is why we offer a side-by-side comparison of services. It’s also why we’d be happy to put you in touch with any of our previous clients. We’re entirely confident that you’ll be thrilled with the level of service and savings that you’ll experience at Real-a-Save.
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Posted in Boulder, CO | No Comments »
June 26th, 2007 Bob
You’ve just got to take a look at this fantastic green-built home in Nederland. Architect Mela Breen and her husband Dave Good have poured their talent and their souls into this spectacular remodel.
With features that include:
- bamboo and cork flooring
- Energy Star systems and appliances
- recycled materials
- salvaged Redwood
- concrete counter tops
- on-demand hot water
Boulder real estate is about more than just homes on The Hill in downtown Boulder. Nederland is a gem of a town located a few miles up Boulder Canyon Road towards Eldora Ski Resort. This particular home is located on Hurricane Hill. And the views are just magnificent. Take a look at these photos and I think you’ll agree that Boulder county is home to some wonderfully dedicated and talented folks.
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Posted in Boulder, CO | No Comments »
June 21st, 2007 Bob
I took a little hiatus from trail-running over the past few years and I’m happy to say that I’m back. It’s my favorite sport/activity by far. Colorado has so much to offer in the way of wonderful trails to run that I’m at a loss as to where to start. The Boulder area in particular has many of my favorite trails.
My current favorite spot is the Flatirons Vista Trail over off of Hwy 93 towards Golden. It’s such a great spot. I did about 15 miles the other day and the time just flew by because of the sheer beauty of that place.
Like many folks who are in their late thirties, I’m noticing some changes. Especially in my knees. In order to avoid injury, I’ve been experimenting with a type of running that the Mexican Indians use. (I’m not quite at the barefoot level yet, but I’m consider trying it )These guys are famous for sending 50-year-old runners up here to kick the collective asses of our best 20-somethings. It’s also advocated by Dr. Nicholas Romanav as the “Pose” method. It simply involves landing on your mid-foot instead of the heel, and also using a different gait.
It seems to be working. I’ve done a bunch of 15-mile runs and I’m no worse for it.
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Posted in Boulder, CO | No Comments »
June 4th, 2007 Bob
Driving around town this weekend looking at some Boulder real estate I noticed that these Prius hybrids are everywhere. I’m pretty sure that those other drivers are having much the same experience with their hybrids that I am. Namely, I’m loving it.
Toyota has really knocked the ball out of the park with the 07′ Prius. The interior continues to surprise me and my clients with it’s roominess and comfort…I don’t even like driving my wife’s Acura any more because I’ve gotten spoiled by the ergonomics of the Prius.
The guys at Mountain States Toyota told me not to really start paying attention to the gas mileage until the car was fully broken in–sometime around 5k. But over the first 2200 miles I’ve put on this car I’m getting 48.5 mpg. And it keeps going up week by week. I’m going to reset the odometer at 3k and see what I’m really getting for mileage.
When I saw the movies Too Hot Not To Handle, and then Who Killed The Electric Car, I knew I wanted to do my little part for our environment by creating a company that conserves on every level possible. The decision to go with a hybrid for our official company car was an easy choice given the enormity of the problem we face, but I never expected to really enjoy driving the thing.
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Posted in Boulder, CO | No Comments »