As professionals we must listen, and help the family explore their options. It shouldn’t be about making a sale or having too many clients. I actually  had one attorney tell me ” It doesn’t matter what she is saying. I’m too busy to deal with this, so the house has to go!”

If we’re not therapists we can’t play that role, but we can bring our individual expertise to the discussion. Explain real estate market conditions and if they should improve in the near future. Consult with a loan originator to establish the ability of one party to refinance. Counsel them about short and long term financial goals or tax consequences. If they are keeping the current mortgage, be sure both parties have access to the loan information to assure it is current.

For most of us, a home is more than just a roof over our heads. It is a foundation for family life, a safe harbor from the demands of the world, and an expression of who we are. So when those things are shaken during a divorce, what to do with the home is frequently an emotional and financial dilemma.

Barraged with major life decisions during a divorce, families need advisers who are listening. The divorce is about their family and not the professionals they turn to for guidance.

2. Review the Final Divorce Decree
You don’t need to, nor would you want to, read the entire document, just the part pertaining to disposition of the home. Frequently, with everything that has gone on and the high levels of anxiety, parties can be confused and will provide the wrong information. It’s also helpful to understand the dynamics before you move forward. I did have a situation in which the court gave the husband complete power to make decisions regarding the home, and all of the proceeds. The wife was still on title and didn’t want the home sold. You can see where this was headed, and yes, she dragged her feet on everything. It was helpful to anticipate this possibility before it became a reality. It would have been easier for her to Quit Claim her portion over to her husband, but her attorney wouldn’t agree.

3. Make introductions to all other team members,
Usually there is a team of advisers in place: attorneys, mediators, financial planners etc., You’re all working together for the benefit of the client, so it’s helpful to have open communication. You will probably have to take the lead on this one, and it shows your professionalism. A phone call is usually appreciated by everyone.

4. Provide a list of professionals referrals
Realtors can be the first call when a divorce is on the horizon. Usually the largest asset they own, families want to know the value of the home and their options as they move forward. It furthers your level of service to have a group of trusted advisers to offer, and establishes a referral network for your business.

5.Clarify the lines of communication
Technology offers an assortment of options and many people are particular about their preference for communication. If you frequently use email and one of the parties never checks email that will present a problem. Be sensitive to a possible generational preference, and also that sometimes a phone call is needed. A person’s voice can convey what a text or email cannot.

6. Separate but equal communication.
Yes, sometimes it feels we do twice the work when helping divorcing couples. To avoid hard feelings, or one party feeling you are playing favorites, you must be sure to copy each person on all communication. Occasionally, one party wants everything copied to their attorney. Be sure the attorneys are supposed to be in the loop and this has been verified. The attorneys I’ve worked with charge for each email they read, so be sure this has been cleared with the client.

7. Create a realistic time line for communication and put this in your Listing Agreement
When working with a hesitant seller, one that resides out of town or travels a lot, your level of frustration can quickly escalate with their lack of response when you need one. Timely communication is key in our business. Gain consensus that 24 hours (or whatever is agreed) to respond is reasonable and necessary to keep the process moving. When the market catches fire again, which is starting now, buyers won’t wait long for an answer. This is a great way to set the tone for expectations, and you can refer back to your agreement.

8. Confirm financial responsibilities.
Who is going to pay for the repairs to get the house ready for sale? How are the proceeds divided? I just had a transaction where the sellers were upside down and the husband’s company was going to give him the funds necessary to close. It was noted in the Listing Agreement so everyone was clear the funds were available. This assures there are no surprises or last minute negotiations on costs, and you have confirmation there won’t be a shortage of funds to close.

9. You’re a Realtor not a therapist
When emotions are running high and people want to vent, don’t be the target. When just starting out, I used to spend hours listening and now I am adept at steering the conversation back to real estate. Remind them this is not your area of expertise and refer them to a mental health professional if needed. As always, be sure to offer multiple resources.

10.Document, Document, Document

It’s important to document everything for your files, but for these transactions it is especially important. Sometimes emotions run high and people aren’t listening as closely as we wish they would. It’s vital you keep a paper trail of all communications, and it will really come in handy should you be called as an expert witness or as part of mediation.

Networking is fun but what to do with all those business cards. I don’t know about you, but I had a stack of cards on my desk that I just kept adding to. Well not anymore! Here’s a resource for scanning business cards to your phone to have them automatically download to your contact database. Visit Shape Services for the app that fits your phone and start this fabulous time saving process.

http://www.shapeservices.com/en/company/

We all need a source for national public records and Netronline is the site to visit

http://publicrecords.netronline.com/

This Public Records Online Directory is a portal to official state websites , Tax Assessors’ and Recorders’ offices. It’s an  easy way to access public records over the Internet. Many of these state sites have birth and marriage records available online too. Most have home pages, and where neither is available, a phone number has been provided.

It’s always a challenge to creatively keep in touch with clients. Everyone likes to be remembered on their birthday, and a phone call or card say a lot. What a quick and thoughtful way to stay connected to clients. To research birth dates for free, visit

http://www.birthdatabase.com/query.php

GREATER METROPOLITAN DENVER HOME MARKET
STATISTICAL NARRATIVE
DECEMBER, 2011

Active Listings inventory continues to decline, 12% month over month and 34% year over year.
Under contract activity and closed transactions activity remains seasonal with a continual decline month over month.

On a Monthly basis, comparison of month over month and year over year:

Single Family takeaways:
The inventory of unsold homes is at 12,531 units, down 12% with November ‘11 level and down 34% from December ‘10.
2,832 units were placed under contract in December, down 16% with November ‘11 and up 5% from December ‘10.
3,156 units sold in December ‘11, up 3% from November ‘11 and up 4% from December ‘10.
Single Family average prices, $253,986 for December ‘11, increased 1% for month over month and even year over year.

Residential and Condo takeaways:
Residential average price, $275,610 for December ‘11, remained relatively even month over month and year over year.
Condo average price, $166,420 for December ‘11, increased 8% month over month and even year over year.
Condo median price, $120,700 in December ’11, decreased 3% month over month and decreased 14% year over year.
Residential median price remained stable at $230,000 in December ‘11 when compared to November ‘11 and increased 2% when compared to December ‘10.

On a Year to Date basis, comparison of YTD 12/2011 to YTD 12/2010:

Residential:
Sales units 31,437 vs 30,777 (-2%)
Median Price $230,000 vs $235,000 (-2%)
Average Price $279,858 vs $282,080 (-1%)
Sales Volume $10.1B vs $10.0B (+1%)
Days on Market 105 vs 90 (+17%)

Condo:
Sales units 7,950 vs 8,041 (-1%)
Median Price $124,900 vs $136,000 (-8%)
Average Price $159,141 vs $161,005 (-1%)

Sales Volume $1.2B vs $1.3B (-2%)
Days on Market 116 vs 98 (+18%)

The above representation may or may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
By definition, Single Family equals Residential plus Condo.

Source: Metrolist, Inc.©2012 Garold D Bauer, All Rights Reserved, Information Deemed Reliable But Not
Guaranteed

While the afternoon was balmy, the forecast called for a snowstorm that evening, to continue on into Sunday. Hard to believe, but that’s the mercurial nature of nature in Colorado. That wouldn’t ordinarily be a concern, but today I had a problem. My sliding glass door was jammed and wouldn’t close completely. Not conducive to comfort or conservation of energy with a major storm rapidly approaching.

What’s a woman to do , especially on a Saturday. I fiddled with the door and tried to locate the source of the problem for quite a while. It was futile, the door wouldn’t budge. It appeared the door would have to be removed for further diagnosis and I certainly couldn’t manage that task solo. So, I called Charlotte.

A Southern belle who exudes charm and confidence, Charlotte arrived a short time later with her tool belt fashionably slung around her tiny waist. We had a good laugh at the contradiction and went to work. Literally minutes later, Charlotte assessed the situation. A pin had come out of its slot and was jamming the path of the door. Charlotte whipped out her crow bar and jimmied the door a bit so I could push the wayward pin back in its proper place. Of course we sat and talked awhile, decided we’d worked up an appetite, and went out for dinner. Mission accomplished, plus we enjoyed an impromptu glass of wine and dinner!

So suggest to your single women clients and friends that they establish this valuable network for themselves. It doesn’t take much time and provides peace of mind and security that there will be help when you need it.

I know I’m heading to the store for a tool belt, just as soon as I finish shoveling the eight inches of snow off the deck!

Key Points to a Credit Report

Personal Data

Trade Lines

Payment History

Recent Inquiries

Public Records

What Goes Into a Credit Score

Number of bankcards or trade lines

Number of finance/mortgage/ loan trade lines

Number of months in file

Number of months since most recent bankcard opening

Number of months since the most recent derogatory credit

Number of months since the most recent derogatory public record

Four Areas of Credit Scoring

Payment history (35%)

30 days late in last 12 months can lower score 70-100 points

Public record and collection items

Severity. recentness and frequency of delinquencies

Categories that Lower Credit Score

Delinquency- Trade Line and Public Record

Overextended Credit or Usage

Lack of credit Accounts and Age of Credit

Steps for Improving Credit Scores

Time

Payoff/Pay down existing debt

Don’t seek new credit

Pay Your Bills on Time

If you make a late payment one month, the plan starts all over again.

METROPOLITAN DENVER REAL ESTATE STATISTICS
AS OF NOVEMBER 30, 2011

Nov,’11         Oct,’11          2010        Oct, ’11         2010

Single Family (Residential + Condo)
Active                           14,275      15,794                20,392        -9.62%       -30.00%
Under Contract           3,365         3,844                   3,101       -12.46%           8.51%
Sold                                  3,068       3,183                    2,666         -3.61%        15.08%
Avg DOM                           100           102                         111          -1.96%         -9.91%
Avg Sold Price    $252,009      $245,546    $258,597            2.63%        -2.55%
Absorption Rate          4.36           4.88                      6.31         -10.66%      -30.90%

Residential
Active                       11,513           12,818              15,659           -10.18%     -26.48%
Under Contract      2,736             3,068                 2,482           -10.82%      10.23%
Sold                             2,468              2482                 2,142              -0.56%      15.22%
Avg DOM                         99                  102                     108              -2.94%     -8.33%
Median Sold Price $230,300      $226,021        $233,990     1.89%     -1.58%
Avg Sold Pric          $275,951      $269,503         $281,466      2.39%     -1.96%
Absorption Rate           4.41               4.96                 6.12           -11.09%    -27.94%

Condo
Active                        2,762               2,976               4,733              -7.19%     -41.64%
Under Contract         629                   776                    619            -18.94%        1.62%
Sold                               600                   701                    524             -14.41%    14.50%
Avg DOM                     105                   102                     125                2.94%  -16.00%
Median Sold Price$125,000      $125,000     $125,000        0.00%     0.00%
Avg Sold Price    $153,526          $160,723      $165,113        -4.48%     -7.02%
Absorption Rate      4.18                    4.55                  7.04            -8.13%    -40.63%

Footnotes: Active, Under Contract, and Sold presented as # of units.
Avg DOM = Average Days on Market

This representation may or may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
Source: Metrolist, Inc.
© 2011 Garold D Bauer, All Rights Reserved, Information Deemed Reliable But Not Guaranteed

Report Provided by Gary Bauer

September marks the end of Denver’s prime home selling/buying market with a lower number of
transactions for the month when compared to the prior month. Of note is the fact that the month
end inventory of active listings is at 17,139 units. This is a new low.
On a Monthly basis, comparison of month over month and year over year:
Single Family takeaways:
The inventory of unsold homes is at 17,139 units, down 6% with August ‘11 level and down
27% from September ‘10.
3,847 units were placed under contract in September, down 15% with August ‘11 and up 6%
from September ‘10.
3,337 units sold in September ‘11, down 16% from August ‘11 and up 13% from September ‘10.
Single Family average prices, $254,078 for September ‘11, decreased 3% for both month over
month and year over year.

Residential and Condo takeaways:
Residential average price, $280,289 for September ‘11, decreased 1% month over month and
decreased 3% year over year.
Condo average price, $159,980 for September ‘11, decreased 5% month over month and
increased 3% year over year.
Condo median price remained relatively flat at $128,950 in September ‘11 when compared to
August ‘11 and September ‘10.
Residential median prices decreased 2% to $229,804 in September ‘11 when compared to
August ‘11 and remained relatively even when compared to September ‘10.

On a Year to Date basis, comparison of YTD 09/2011 to YTD 09/2010:
Residential: Condo:
Sales units 23,956 vs 23,933 (?) Sales units 6,024 vs 6,353 (?5%)
Median Price $229,970 vs $230,000 (?) Median Price $124,900 vs $134,000 (?7%)
Average Price $281,782 vs $282,416 (?) Average Price $158,761 vs $160,280 (?1%)
Sales Volume $6.8B vs $6.8B (?) Sales Volume $1.0B vs $0.9B (?6%)
Days on Market 106 vs 86 (?23%) Days on Market 120 vs 91 (?32%)

The above representation may or may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.
By definition, Single Family equals Residential plus Condo.
Source: Metrolist, Inc.

©2011 Garold D Bauer, All Rights Reserved, Information Deemed Reliable But Not
Guaranteed