Colorado Springs Real Estate Journal

Vol.3 No.1 www.csrej.com September 27, 2010

Direct Connect w/Larry Kendall and Empire Title

HBA Chili Wing Ding Brew Fest

MUCHMORE

INSIDE!

Taste of First & Main at Wolf Ranch

PAGE 5 PAGE 10PAGE 7

PRSRT STDUS POSTAGEPAIDPERMIT 745 COLO SPGS CO

National News ................. Page 2Local News ..................... Page 8On the Move ................... 3Local Expert ................... Page 14Around the Corner ............ Page 15

2010 HBA Parade of Homes Award Winners

Wally RoyBranch Manager(719) [email protected]#305901

Aric UlmerLoan O� cer(719) [email protected]#257977

Sharon HigashiLoan O� cer(719) [email protected]# 100019804

Honest & Ethical Service from People You Know.5 3 3 3 N o r t h U n i o n B l v d . S u i t e 1 0 0 , C o l o r a d o S p r i n g s , C O 8 0 9 1 8

HELPFUL TIP:Check the license status of your mortgage broker at the Colorado Division of Real Estate’s website:

www.dora.state.co.us/real-estate/index.htm

The Housing & Building Association (HBA) of Colorado Springs announced the names of the People Choice Awards and the Industry Awards of Excellence from the 2010 Parade of Homes. This year’s featured homes ranged from $150K to just over $1 million.

These award-winning homes were judged by industry professionals from around the country on a number of fea-

tures including: land-scape design, floor plan, architectural exterior, and interior decorating. Each year the buying public also has its say when those attending the Parade vote for the cov-eted People’s Choice Awards. Both The People’s Choice and Industry Awards

of Excellence are given to homes based on price range– Industry Awards of Excellence are further broken down and given to winning homes in the following eight catego-ries: Best Kitchen, Best

Master Suite, Best Interior Design, Best Exterior, Best Landscape Design, Best

Architectural Exterior, Best Innovative Feature, and Best Overall Home.

On Wednesday, September 1st win-ners of both the People’s Choice and Industry Awards of Excellence were hon-ored by the HBA at the Parade of Homes Awards Banquet held at the Olympic Training Complex.

STARTING OUR THIRD YEAR!

NAR hails bill to hasten lender response to short sale requests

Readers not buying Time Magazine cover story attacking homeownership

Homeowners who are underwater with their mortgage may find that relief is on the way from a bill strongly supported by the National Association of Realtors® that would impose a deadline on lenders to respond to short-sale requests.

The legislation, H.R. 6133, “Prompt De-cision for Qualification of Short Sale Act of 2010,” was offered yesterday in Congress by U.S. Reps. Robert Andrews (D-N.J.) and Tom Rooney (R-Fla.). The bill would require lend-ers to respond to consumer short sale requests within 45 days.

“The short sale, which requires lender ap-proval, is an important instrument for home-owners who owe more than their home is worth,” said NAR President Vicki Cox Golder, owner of Vicki L. Cox & Associates in Tuc-son, Ariz. “While the lending community has worked to improve the size and training of their short sales staffs, they still have a long way to go on improving response times.”

“As the leading advocate for homeowner-ship issues, NAR believes that quicker atten-tion to the short sales process is vital to help homeowners who are underwater and their communities, as well as the nation’s economy,” said Golder.

The number of potential short sale prop-erties is rising across the country. According to NAR data, in the second quarter of 2010, Nevada, California, Florida and Arizona are states where significant shares of all proper-ties on the market are potential short sales: 32 percent, 28 percent, 27 percent and 24 per-cent, respectively.

“Unfortunately, homeowners who need to execute a short sale are severely hampered because lenders (loan servicers) are unable to decide whether to approve a short sale within a reasonable amount of time. Potential home-buyers are walking away from purchasing short sale property because the lender has taken many months and still not responded to their request for an approval of a proposed short sale price. Many consumers have mentioned that the delay in short sale price approval ex-ceeds 90 days, and in many cases never arrives,” Golder said.

She commended Reps. Andrews and Rooney for their efforts on the bill and urged Congress to pass the bill quickly.

© Copyright National Association of Realtors. Reprinted with permission.

Time magazine’s Sept. 6 cover story, “The Case Against Home-ownership,” has drawn sharp criticism from home builders responding to its many inaccu-racies but has also apparently raised the hackles of the publica-tion’s readership.

The article by Barbara Kiviat, who has covered business and economics for Time for more than nine years, launches an all-out assault on homeownership, describing it as a “cult” and a “fe-tish,” and charges, among other things, that it “may have triggered the financial crisis,” has “contrib-uted to the hollowing out of cit-ies,” has “fed America’s overuse of energy and oil” and “made it more difficult for those who had lost a job to find another.”

“Perhaps worst of all,” she writes, “it helped us become ca-sually self-deceiving: by telling ourselves that homeownership

was a pathway to wealth and sta-ble communities and better test scores, we avoided dealing with these formidable issues head-on.”

The article, which appeared first in excerpted form on the magazine’s website, elicited a blistering response from NAHB Chairman Bob Jones.

See Time Article page 6

See Parade Winners page 8

http://www.csrej.com

2 Colorado Springs Real Estate Journal www.csrej.com September 27, 2010

Director of AdvertisingRachelle Nardo

[email protected]

Director of PublishingJosh Olson

[email protected]

Colorado Springs Real Estate Journal LLC (CSREJ) is locally owned and operated out of Colo-rado Springs, Colorado. CSREJ is published once a month and dis-tributed through US Mail to nearly all members of The Pikes Peak Association of Realtors® and The Colorado Springs Housing & Build-ing Association and many other industry-related professionals.

CSREJ is not responsible for any opinions or facts expressed by non-staff writers. CSREJ shall not be held responsible for any errors in advertising or editorial content.

Realtor® is a registered trade-mark. Sometimes the word Re-altor® or Realtors® will appear without the “®” symbol for the purpose of saving space. The reg-istered trademark should be as-sumed if it is not present.

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• Article SubmissionPlease submit articles no longer than 700 words in a Word document with an accompanying byline and appropriate contact infor-mation. A headshot is also welcomed. Please submit headshot in JPG format.

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Following a sharp drop in the months immediately after expiration of the home buyer tax credit, pending home sales have modestly risen, ac-cording to the National Association of Realtors®.

The Pending Home Sales Index,* a forward-looking indicator, rose 5.2 percent to 79.4 based on contracts signed in July from a downwardly re-vised 75.5 in June, but remains 19.1 percent below July 2009 when it was 98.1. The data reflects contracts and not closings, which normally occur with a lag time of one or two months.

Lawrence Yun, NAR chief econo-mist, cautioned that there would be a long recovery process. “Home sales will remain soft in the months ahead, but improved affordability conditions should help with a recovery,” he said.

“But the recovery looks to be a long process. Home buyers over the past year got a great deal, and buyers for the balance of this year have an edge over sellers. For those who bought at or near the peak several years ago, particularly in markets experiencing big bubbles, it may take over a decade to fully recover lost equity.”

Yun added, “Affordability could reach a generational high in the second half of this year because of rock-bottom mortgage interest rates, helped partly by the Fed’s very accom-modative monetary policy. The loan underwriting standards are tighter,

Pending home sales rise

See Pending Sales page 4

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September 27, 2010 www.csrej.com Colorado Springs Real Estate Journal 3

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National News

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but home buyers can improve their chances of get-ting a loan by staying well within their budget.”

The PHSI in the Northeast rose 6.3 percent to 62.5 in July but is 21.1 percent below a year ago. In the Midwest the index increased 4.1 percent to 66.7 but remains 25.7 percent below July 2009. Pending home sales in the South rose 1.2 percent to an index of 86.3, but are 15.6 percent lower than a year ago. In the West the index jumped 11.6 percent to 95.0

but is 17.6 percent below July 2009.The national index had fallen 29.9 percent in May

and another 2.8 percent in June.

*The Pending Home Sales Index is a leading indicator for the hous-ing sector, based on pending sales of existing homes. A sale is listed as pending when the contract has been signed but the transaction has not closed, though the sale usually is finalized within one or two months of signing.The index is based on a large national sample, typically representing about 20 percent of transactions for existing-home sales. In develop-ing the model for the index, it was demonstrated that the level of

monthly sales-contract activity parallels the level of closed existing-home sales in the following two months. There is a closer relationship between annual index changes (from the same month a year earlier) and year-ago changes in sales performance than with month-to-month comparisons.An index of 100 is equal to the average level of contract activity during 2001, which was the first year to be examined as well as the first of five consecutive record years for existing-home sales.

© Copyright National Association of Realtors. Reprinted with permission.

Pending Sales from page 2


Direct Connect with Larry Kendall and Empire TitleSeptember 16, 2010

Above: Larry Kendall and Bill McAfee, President of Empire Title.

Left: Keven Cleveland with Keller Williams Clients Choice and Debby Elliott-Shultz with The Masters Group.

Below: Terisa Soto-Flannery with Park Avenue Properties and Laurie Herring with There’s No Place Like Home Real Estate.

Above: Lisa Riley and Gigi Williams with RE/MAX Properties.

Right: Erin Eubanks with An Even Vida and Treasure Davis with RE/MAX Properties.

Above: The Campbell Homes Sales Team.

Right: Trish Ingels and Sharon Sutherland with Prudential Rocky Mtn. Realtors.

Right: Carmen Molitor with RE/MAX Properties and Mike MacGuire with The Platinum Group.

Below: Entire 220 agents!

Right: Suzannah Mattson and Mike Brown with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.

Below: Stephanie Hawthorne, Doreen Hussmann and Peggy Carmack with Empire Title.


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National News

“Homeownership is not the monster under the bed here,” Jones said. “It is the bulwark of our society. Home-ownership provides shelter and stability to tens of mil-lions of Americans and their families as well as to count-less communities and neighborhoods. Real estate taxes on owned homes are a prime component in local gov-ernment budgets.

“Homeownership is by far the single largest creator of wealth for Americans. And, over the long term, real es-tate has consistently appreciated, even through periodic adjustments in local markets in response to economic conditions.”

In his letter, Jones also suggests that restoring the health of housing is needed to move the U.S. economy more decisively along the road to recovery.

In her Time piece, Kiviat acknowledges the economic importance of housing and discusses how it has been in-strumental in providing economic stimulus when it was needed in the past, yet concludes that now would be a good time for the nation to step back from its commit-ment to homeownership.

“Housing remains a drag on the economy,” she says. “Existing-home sales in July dropped 27% from the prior month, exacerbating fears of a double-dip recession and accelerating the accompanying slide in stock that took the Dow Jones industrial average to a seven-week low.”

Retracing the history of the housing finance system, she writes: “The 30-year mortgage was a revolution, a stark contrast to the short-term loans that had been the norm until then; it put homeownership within the reach of many more families. It made perfect sense. At a time when 25% of workers were jobless and a third of the lost jobs were in construction and related trades, kick-start-

ing housing was a smart piece of economic stimulus.”Yet looking at the situation today, she observes: “If

there were a time to start weaning America off the idea that homeownership cures all our ills, now — after the worst housing crash in 75 years — would be it.”

Howard Kurtz, a staff writer for The Washington Post, reported on Aug. 30 that Time magazine, in an effort to draw readers during perilous times for the print media, has shifted to what its managing editor, Rick Stengel, calls “reported analysis,” stories with a clear point of view.

Hard-hitting cover stories, along with more emphasis on its website, are getting results for Time, Kurtz says, boosting its audience by 47% in the last two years, to seven million monthly visitors, according to Nielsen.

The magazine’s competitors — Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report — have fallen far behind.

However, there is evidence on Time’s website that the tirade against homeownership may have backfired. On Sept. 1, the cover story was in 11th place on a list of the most frequently read articles by time.com readers. Rank-ing in first place was “Why Do Heavy Drinkers Outlive Nondrinkers?”

The article did succeed in garnering a heavy response from readers, but the comments tended to be unfavor-able.

“So Time magazine makes a case for doing away with summer vacation for kids, and now questions the wis-dom of homeownership,” writes one reader. “What’s next — arguing the economic case against maintaining

national park? …. I understand the business rationale for Time magazine’s apparent new trend of front-cover challenges to traditional American values in order to sell more magazines. But I am alarmed at Time’s either weak or altogether non-existent portrayal of the real reasons why these values existed in the first place; why they have eroded; or why we just might want to keep them in place after all.”

Other reader responses:

“In my honest opinion, a home will always be a good long-term investment. The need will always be there since it’s a necessity and you will always need a home regardless if you buy or rent. Keep in mind that renting is not cheap either.”

“I think this is a very misguided and irresponsible article. Homeownership is a great thing, but overextending your in-come is not.”

“This Time magazine article just goes to show that even ri-diculous ideas can be on the front page of a national maga-zine.”

“I strongly disagree with the premise of this article. The au-thor is taking what happened over the last eight years and extrapolating it over the last 100 years.”

“The dream remains valid. A place that you can call home for as long as you choose, a place where the rent can’t go up ‘willy nilly,’ a place where you can make improvements for your own good, a place where you can grow equity as you pay down a mortgage are just some of the reasons to consider buying a home. These reasons were true centuries ago and remain true today.”

“The ‘cult’ of homeownership?! Those greedy Americans are at it again. How dare a family own a piece of land? This ar-ticle is more than a little unfairly slanted against suburban-style living — even in trendy older houses located in many ‘first suburbs.’ However, the idea of homeownership wasn’t foisted upon an unwilling public. People love their houses.”

“I’d be interested in knowing how many writers and editors at Time own a home at this time.”

“Nothing has fundamentally changed about the advantages of owning a home. I love how journalists come up with these non-stories. This is probably one of the most worthless ar-ticles I have seen in recent memory.”

NAHB continues to aggressively challenge anti-homeownership messages, which have been surfacing lately with greater frequency in national and local me-dia outlets. The association has been working with such groups as the National Association of Realtors®, which immediately responded to the Time story.

The above article has been provided to you compliments of NAHB and Nation’s Builder News.

got

let usnews?

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There is evidence on Time’s website that the tirade against homeowner-ship may have backfired.

Time Article from page 1


Karen BloserCell Phone:[email protected]

Lisa WesselCell Phone:[email protected]

Terry DavisCell Phone:[email protected]

Shirlee DobbsCell Phone:[email protected]

Debbie WilsonCell Phone:[email protected]

Greg WolffVice [email protected]

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Taste of First & Main at Wolf RanchSeptember 13, 2010

Above: Creekstone Homes sales manager Jason Rose and salesperson John Held standing in the Hunter's Moon floorplan.

Above: Realtors and guests at Triton Communities with salesperson Kaylene Helling (far left).

Above: Carly Triz and Yvonne of Rock Bottom Brewery.

Above: Joni McCoy, owner of The Couture Cupcake.

Left: Liz Von Glahn and Maureen Miller with Vantage Homes.

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Parade Winners from page 1

HBA is proud to announce the win-ners of the 2010 Industry Awards of Ex-cellence and People’s Choice Awards as follows:

2010 Parade of Homes Industry Awards Of Excellence$150,000 - $250,000

JM Weston Homes - LegacyBest Kitchen, Best Interior Design, Best Overall Home

Challenger Homes – RosemontBest Master Suite, Best Architectural Exterior, Best Landscaping

Ari Homes / Rocky Mountain Community Land Trust - American DreamBest Innovative Feature, Best Floor Plan

$250,001 - $350,000

Oakwood Homes - The Turner Best Landscaping

Richmond American Homes – GenevaBest Master Suite

Classic Homes - The Providence Best Floor Plan, Best Architectural Exterior

SilverWood Homes – SausalitoBest Kitchen, Best Interior Design, Best Innovative Feature, Best Overall Home

$350,001 - $400,000

Oakwood Homes - The Kendall Best Kitchen

Hammer Homes - SerenityBest Master Suite, Best Architectural Exterior

SilverWood Homes- CoronadoBest Interior Design, Best Floor Plan, Best Landscaping, Best Innovative Fea-ture, Best Overall Home

$400,001 - $475,000

CreekStone Homes - ChapmanBest Landscaping

Goetzmann Custom Homes - BerkeleyBest Interior Design, Best Architectural Exterior

Vantage Homes - PalominoBest Floor Plan

Vanguard Homes - HillingdonBest Kitchen, Best Master Suite, Best In-novative Feature, Best Overall Home

$600,000 - $725,000

Copperleaf Homes - Bristol Best Landscaping

Saddletree Homes - Monte VistaBest Kitchen, Best Master Suite, Best Architectural Exterior, Best Innovative Feature, Best Interior Design, Best Floor Plan, Best Overall Home

$1.0 Million & Above

Hi-Point Home Builders dba G.J. Gardner Homes - Haven at Red RockBest Kitchen, Best Master Suite, Best Interior Design, Best Landscaping Best Floor Plan, Best Architectural Exterior, Best Innovative Feature, Best Overall Home

People’s Choice Awards$150,000 - $250,000

JM Weston Homes – Legacy

http://www.allcocolorado.com

http://www.ltgc.com


Parade of Homes Awards BanquetSeptember 1, 2010

Local News

Congratulations! From everyone at CSREJ.

$250,001 - $350,000

SilverWood Homes – Sausalito

$350,001 - $400,000

Hammer Homes – Serenity

$400,001 - $450,000

CreekStone Homes – Chapman $450,001 - $575,000

Goetzmann Custom Homes – Berkeley $650,000 - $725,000

Saddletree Homes – Monte Vista

$1.0 Million & Above

Hi-Point Home Builders dba G.J. Gardner Homes – Haven at Red Rock

La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries provided a grand prize of a $5,000 shopping spree. Parade goers who visited all 23 homes in the Parade and either registered at one of

the homes or on-line were entered into the grand prize drawing. This year’s winner was Cris Finn a resident from Monument, CO. a Parade attendee for over 15 years, enjoys seeing the interior decorating and innovative features at the Parade of Homes.

This year the Parade of Homes part-nered with Care and Share’s End Summer Hunger campaign, with each home in the Parade serving as a designated drop off location. More than a quarter of a ton of food was brought in through the generous donations of Parade attendees, Through these donations HBA and Care and Share were able to provide much needed food to help families in our community.

HBA would also like to thank the fol-

lowing Parade of Homes Sponsors for their generous support:Presenting sponsorThe Gazette

Title sponsorsLa – Z – Boy Furniture GalleriesMike Shaw – Buick – GMCWells Fargo

Corporate SponsorsColorado Springs UtilitiesChampion Windows

Supporting SponsorERA Shields Real EstateHBA CaresCare and Share

Left: Brian Olson and Jim Harris with Wells Fargo and Martinna Stahlmann and Mark Howard with the Colorado Springs Business Journal.

Below: Judy Ingels with HBA Cares, Michelle Grove Reiland, HBA President and Greg Wolff with Fidelity National Title Company.

Above: Rose Marie Barton, Linda and Rob Demith with Bella Vita Custom Homes, Jason Rojas and Jessica Brown of La-Z-Boy and Sarah Murphy with Murphy Custom Homes.

Above Right: Jason Rose with Creekstone Homes, Bobby Cotton with EcoFoam Insulations, Tom McDonald with Creekstone Homes, Shelley LaJudice with LaJudice Marketing Group and Connie Christofferson with Christofferson Commercial Builders.

Above: Amy Cox with Eon Today's office, Mike Law with Merrill Lynch, Robert Merrill with Mike Shaw and Randy Slaybaugh with Land Title Guarantee Company.

Right: Ty Olson and Jenna Thompson with Classic Homes and John Cassiani with Banning Lewis Ranch.

Left: Susann and Mark Long with Vanguard Homes.

Below Left: Joan and Dennis Hathcock with D&J Electric, Maureen Miller and Robyn Flak with Vantage Homes.

Below: Shirley Rouse with HBA and Glenn and Allison Montjoy with Colorado Media Systems.


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Annual HBA Chili Wing Ding Brew FestSeptember 15, 2010

2010 WINNERS

Best Red Chili1st Schroll Cabinets 2nd Fredell Enterprises3rd Heritage Title Company

Best Green Chili1st Bank of America Home Loans2nd Builders Showcase Interiors3rd Stewart Title

Best Chicken Wings1st C & C Sand and Stone Co.2nd Fusion Sign & Design3rd Heritage Title Company

Best Desserts1st Timberline Landscaping2nd Heritage Title Company3rd Fusion Sign & Design

Best Presentation1st Vantage Homes2nd Bank of America3rd Fusion Sign & Design

Right: Courtney Miller, Danielle Skeele and Tammy Hauck of Chicago Title Company.

Below: Sherri Scott, Anglela Parlet, Shelly Farmer, Cindy Stimits and Nicole Richardson of Heritage Title Company.

Below: The Band Five Alarm plays – Steve Gordon, Bruce Longton, Tom Dermody, Richard Keene and Kenton Pass.

Left: Reinvent Your Yard's David Smith andPaul Fredell.

Left: Randy Novak, Frank Callaio and Andrea Inhoffer of Schroll Cabinets.

Above: Shirley Rouse of HBA and John Holdren RE/MAX.

Above: Timberline Landscaping serves up some chili.

Above: The Bank of America booth.

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Year over year increases in average and median prices tempts sellers to over price their homes in the beginning of the sales process. (See bullet points below)

In our current market this could be a se-rious error. Inventory levels are at 7.99 months. They have not been this high since October of 2008. (See slide #1) There are 5,839 homes listed in the MLS. Discounting the previous 2 months, there has not been this many homes listed in the MLS since October of 2008. (See slide #2)

Another reason sellers need to price their homes correctly is Bank owned (REO’s) will be hitting the market at an increas-ing rate. Sources are telling me that some

Banks are asking Realtors to price their homes to sell in 30 days. Non-REO’s will have to compete in this market. Increasing supply and banks trying to sell prop-

erties in shorter times will have down-ward pressure on price.

If demand does not pick up, prices will drop further. Sellers who start too high will chase the market and will sell for less or not at all. I am sure buyers are expect-ing a decrease in price as well. Prices may fall further but year over year we are up. We may or may not be at the bottom. One thing is for sure and that is the inter-est rates are at historic low.

If rates increase by one percent from current levels, the payment on a $250,000 loan will raise $150.66 per month. If they raise two points the payment will in-crease $309.45 per month. (See slide #3) In addition, the buyer may not qualify for the house he wants. Buyers should take advantage of the low interest rates as it is uncertain how long they will remain at these levels. To sum it up, sellers should sell at market value and buyers should buy to protect current interest rates.

* This information is deemed reliable but not guar-anteed. Resources: Pikes Peak Multiple Listing Services, National Association of Realtors, El Paso County Clerk and Recorder, IRS, Freddie Mac.

Sellers need to sell, buyers need to buy

Local News

By Bill McAfeeEmpire Title—

Alliance Financial Partners, an estab-lished 25 year banking firm, has expand-ed its lending capabilities, locally, to 16M monthly allowing them to offer the entire suite of mortgage products and decision making – right from the downtown , Col-orado Springs office.

Alliance Financial Partners who spe-cializes in private equity lending and business efficiency consulting is now a full service mortgage banker and is continuing it's investment in Colorado Springs since opening it's mortgage

branch here 12 months ago. The ability for a mortgage services company to ap-prove, underwrite, close, and fund all in one place is crucial to enabling a stream-lined customer experience. All decisions for mortgage products, including FHA/VA options, are made in the downtown Colorado Springs office, not an out of state regional processing center, and that is a critical component to customer re-sponsiveness, as well as loan closure time. In-house underwriting and approval typ-

Alliance Financial Partners continues local investment

See Alliance page 13

http://www.etcos.com


On the Move

Courtney KlineCherry Creek Mortgage

Courtney Kline, an 18 year veteran in the mortgage industry has joined Cherry Creek Mortgage located at 6265 Lehman Drive in Colorado Springs, CO.

Moving from a large national lender to Cherry Creek Mortgage allow for a more flex-ible platform “in today’s topsy, turvy mort-gage world”. Cherry Creek Mortgage offers in house processing, underwriting and closing which is “Vital” according to Kline. Cherry Creek Mortgage also allows the ability to place loans with multiple investors which increase flexibility and gives the consumer a more competitive interest rate opportunity.

“I am really excited to find a private com-pany with over 650 employees that have the ability to be interact with the decision makers”

New Additions toERA Herman Group Real Estate

ERA Herman Group Real Estate is ex-cited to announce another real estate broker has joined its family of REALTORS. Donald Cox is a veteran of real estate sales. He is very knowledgeable in pricing properties to get the quickest transaction, at the highest price with the lowest amount of inconvenience. Mr. Cox also works very closely with mortgage profes-sionals to help him buyers find the right pro-gram for their needs. Don knows that one size does not fit all and that Real Estate is a very personal transaction.

Angie Parker, Vice President of Southern Colorado recently shared with the ERA Her-man Group team the addition of another ex-pirenced broker to their fast growing organiza-tion. Allen Haynes is an experienced broker. Mr. Haynes has chosen to live in Colorado Springs because of the great quality of life. He enjoys the active Colorado life style. Allen enjoys working in real estate. Regardless if he is working with a buyer or a property owner, Allen works to make sure that the real estate transaction is as smooth as possible. Allen is always paying attention to the many details of real estate transactions.

We are pleased to announce that Pierce Stanton an experienced REALTOR, has joined the ERA Herman Group Real Estate team. He specializes in residential property in the greater Pueblo areas. Pierce’s experience has allowed him to develop a great knowl-edge of our real estate market. Regardless if the property is large or if it is small, he gives

each client her undivided attention. Pierce is a member of the Pueblo Association of Real-tors, and the Colorado and National Associa-tion of REALTORS.

ERA Herman Group Real Estate is excited to announce another real estate broker has joined its family of REALTORS. Debi Stan-ton is a veteran of real estate sales. She is very knowledgeable in pricing properties to get the quickest transaction, at the highest price with the lowest amount of inconvenience. Mrs. Stanton also works very closely with mortgage professionals to help her buyers find the right program for their needs. Debi knows that one size does not fit all and that Real Estate is a very personal transaction.

Angie Parker, Vice President of Southern Colorado recently shared with the ERA Her-man Group team the addition of another expirenced broker to their fast growing orga-nization. Carol Taylor is an experienced bro-ker. Ms. Taylor has chosen to live in Colorado Springs because of the great quality of life. She enjoys the active Colorado life style. Carol enjoys working in real estate. Regardless if he is working with a buyer or a property owner, Carol works to make sure that the real estate transaction is as smooth as possible. She is al-ways paying attention to the many details of real estate transactions.

New Addition toKeller Williams Partners Realty

Keller Williams Partners Realty is thrilled to welcome back Rinku Sharma to our family! Rinku started his Real Estate career in 2005 and we are very pleased to have him back!

See Page 2 for details

[email protected]

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ically reduces the overall loan closure time by at least 25%, which, in today's market, translates to significant savings for both primary borrowers and investment borrowers.

AFP is also the only certified company in Colorado Springs that offers the revolu-tionary Homeownership Accelerator loan, specifically designed to pay less interest on your mortgage, lower your monthly payment, and not change your current spending habits.

“Our unique, value base portfolio, spans Business Start Up & Optimization Services to private and conventional residential Lending. We will continue to provide the com-munity of Colorado Springs a robust, fact based, financially solid, relationship oriented experience that enable successful & predictable financial outcomes. We plan on im-mediately adding job growth and expanding our downtown presence.” says President Salvatore Como.

For more information visit www.allcocolorado.com .

twitter.com/csrej

Alliance from page 12

http://www.legacytitle-llc.com


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In the past 24 months, we’ve seen more stringent rules and regulations from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA and even VA loan programs. You may be noticing more loan denials as underwrit-ing guidelines have significantly tightened. As I review loan applications at my credit union, I’ve noticed some common reasons for deni-al. Nevertheless, an initial denial isn’t always the final answer. There are things you can do to help your client turn a denial into an ap-proval – if not right away, at least in the future.

Now days, a more common denial reason is a low credit score. Statistics show that 25 percent of all consumers have a credit score that is below 599. This is a dramatic drop from just a few years ago. Credit scores are based off a borrower’s payment history, types of credit accounts and length of history, among other criteria. Credit reports might not always be ac-curate. It’s important to encourage your client to review

their reports at least once a year. Any wrong information can be disputed and removed which may help increase

their score. Another common reason is the lack of a

down payment. Most loan programs today require borrowers to put some money down to get into a home. You can encourage your clients to set up a budget for themselves that includes a savings plan. By cutting corners in other areas of their spending, they may be surprised how quickly a savings account can grow. There are many free budget systems out there – have them check with their lo-

cal bank or credit union for help setting one up. Some financial institutions even offer this service for free on their websites.

In addition to a down payment, lenders are also look-ing for consistent income and a low debt ratio. They want to make sure the borrower has the ability to make

their monthly payments and isn’t overextended. If your client just started in a new job, they may need to wait a while to build a strong employment history. During this time, they can work on paying down other debts if need-ed so they will be well positioned to buy a home when they’re ready. Not only will this make their application numbers look better, but they’ll also be more comfort-able with their new house payment and may be able to afford a nicer home.

Showing consistent income can also be a challenge for a self-employed borrower. With the current econo-my, and an increase in layoffs, a lot of people have gone into business for themselves. It’s important for a self-employed borrower to keep their tax returns and other business documents in order. Reporting all their income is critical when it comes to qualifying for a mortgage, so they need to make sure they have the documentation to back it up. Suggest your client meet with an accountant on a regular basis to make sure all their business infor-mation is up to date and accurate.

Self-employed borrowers aren’t the only ones that need proof of their income. With more stringent un-derwriting rules comes the need for more thorough documentation of income history. Make sure your client keeps good records – at least three years of tax returns and six months worth of recent paystubs and bank state-ments are a good rule of thumb. Lack of documentation is an avoidable reason for a denial.

Having a client’s loan get denied can be discouraging, but you can work with your client on the most common causes such as credit score, down payment, income and debt ratios and their proper income documentation. With a little attention to these areas, you can make the dream of home ownership attainable. While the rules of lending may seem overwhelming, the basic fundamen-tals for an approval are still the same. Whether your cli-ent has challenges with one or many of these areas, there is a step-by-step solution for each area to help them reach their goal of home ownership.

Mr. Paukovich oversees the direction and management of mortgage lending, including loan servicing, at Ent Federal Credit Union. He can

be reached at [email protected]

Understanding common loan denial reasons

By Jon PaukovichEnt—

What you can do to turn denials into future approvals

Statistics show that 25 percent of all consumers have a credit score that is below 599.


SEPTEMBERWednesday, September 29Wet Wednesday Class (Check cshba.com)11:30am – 1:00pm @ [email protected]

OCTOBERFriday, October 1Pikes Peak Exchangers8:00am – 9:30amValley Hi Golf Course RestaurantJohnny Revious, 719-527-8838

Tuesday, October 5Social Networking Workshop11:30am – 1:00pm @ [email protected] 719-592-1800

Wednesday, October 6REALTAC8:00am – 9:30am @ PPARHolly Skelton at 719-593-1000

Wet Wednesday Class (Check cshba.com)11:30am – 1:00pm @ [email protected]

Thursday, October 7B.L.E.E.P. (Black Forest & Eastern Marketing Group)8:30am – 10:00amThe Grill at Latigo Trail Equestrian CenterRoxene, 495-6213

Aspen View Homes Exclusive Party4:00pm – 7:00pm @ Freedom Heightswww.aspenviewhomes.net

Friday, October 8Pikes Peak Exchangers8:00am – 9:30amValley Hi Golf Course RestaurantJohnny Revious, 719-527-8838

Tuesday, October 5HBA Membership After Hours5:00pm – 7:30pm @ Kitchen & Bath [email protected] 719-592-1800

Wednesday, October 13Wet Wednesday Class (Check cshba.com)11:30am – 1:00pm @ [email protected]

New Contract Class1:00pm - 5:00pm @ Fidelity National Title Woodland Park OfficeLisa Wessel - 719-590-1711

Thursday, October 14Farm and Land8:00am – 9:30am @ Maggie Mae'sJim Crossey, 719-579-0404

New Contract Class8:30am - 12:30pm @ Fidelity National TitleLisa Wessel - 719-590-1711

Women's Council of Realtors11:30am – 1:30pmEmbassy Suites HotelRenate Carrier, 888-313-5928


Saturday, October 16PPAR Halloween Party7:00pm – 11:00pm @ Mr. Biggs Event CenterTickets at PPAR Office (see page 4)

HBA Golf Tournament10:45am – 6:00pm @ Kissing Camels [email protected] 719-592-1800

Tuesday, October 19Empire Title Haunted Open House4:00pm @ Empire [email protected]


Thursday, October 21Colorado Springs Networking Group8:00am – 9:30am @ Colo Springs Country ClubRuthie, 719.492.3998



Thursday, October 28Farm and Land8:00am – 9:30amMaggie Mae's RestaurantJim Crossey, 719-579-0404


Saturday, October 30Third Annual Howl-O-Ween at the Wolf Ranch Recreation Center ClubhouseGoes through Sunday, October 31.

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