CSREJ - January

Vol.6 No.5 www.csrej.com January 27, 2014

Classic Homes Breaks Ground on St. Jude Dream Home

PAGE 8

NAR's 2007MLK $1MDonation

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New Forms and a New Process for 2014

PAGE 10 Mob

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

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Nationwide housing production edges just under 1 Million units in December

Realtors rate exterior replacement projects among most valuable home improvements

2013 was a year of dramatic ups and downs for the mortgage lending industry. While refi nancing initially boomed, once it tailed off , so too did a sizable amount of loan volume. On the regu-latory side, lenders faced the task of in-terpreting and implementing new federal regulations, which signifi cantly im-pacted compliance costs.

Th e biggest story of the year, of course, was the Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau (CFPB) issuing the fi rst set of seven mortgage rules formulated to cease the practices that caused the fi nancial and mort-gage meltdown. Lenders spent the remaining months of 2013 analyzing, seeking clarifi cations and implement-ing best practices to meet the new regulations. While I believe the in-dustry has a prett y good understand-ing of the new rules’ ramifi cations, it’s going to take some time to see their real impact. Additionally, the Senate confi rmed Richard Cordray as the CFPB’s fi rst director and, con-sequently, the fi rst person to oversee the mortgage lending industry on a permanent basis.

Last year also saw the Federal Housing Administration make signif-icant changes to their insurance fund. As you may recall, in 2008 the FHA stepped in when conventional mort-gage funding dried up. Because this included fi nancing subprime loans previously covered by conventional lenders, the FHA incurred higher losses. Th e result: for the fi rst time in history the FHA requested and re-ceived funds from the U.S Treasury in order to remain solvent. To shore up its shaky fi nancial position, the FHA then increased premiums. Not sur-prisingly, the number of FHA loans

The mortgage lending year in review: How 2013 shaped our new normal

By Jon PaukovichEnt—

Following an unusual surge in housing starts in November, nation-wide housing production fell 9.8 per-cent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 999,000 units in December, according to newly released fi gures from the U.S. Department of Hous-ing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

“Total housing starts of just under 1 million units in December was the third-highest monthly level of produc-tion in 2013,” said Rick Judson, chair-man of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Charlott e, N.C. “Th is rate is in line with our builder surveys, and tells us we are seeing a return to trend aft er a strong November.”

“Last year was a good year for home building, with overall production up

18 percent from 2012,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “As pent-up demand is unlocked and the labor market improves, we anticipate that 2014 should be an even bett er year for home construction. Th at’s good news for economic growth, as each new home that is built creates three full-time jobs and contributes to the tax base of local communities.”

Single-family housing starts fell 7 percent to a seasonally adjusted an-nual rate of 667,000 units in Decem-ber. Except for November, this was the highest monthly total for single-family starts in 2013. Meanwhile, multifamily starts fell 17.9 percent to 312,000 units in December.

Regionally in December, com-bined single- and multifamily hous-ing production rose 15 percent in the

West but fell 33.5 percent in the Mid-west and 12.3 percent in the South. Production was unchanged in the Northeast.

Overall permit issuance fell 3 per-cent to 986,000 units in December. Single-family permits dipped 4.8 per-cent to 610,000 units from a strong pace the previous month, while mul-tifamily permits were unchanged at 376,000 units.

Th e Northeast and West posted gains of 11.2 percent and 10.5 per-cent in permitt ing activity for De-cember, while Midwest and South registered declines of 18.8 percent and 7.4 percent, respectively.

The above article has been provided to you compliments of the National Association of Home Builders.

A home’s curb appeal is crucial because it can be the fi rst thing buyers notice about a home. Th at’s why Realtors® rated exterior projects among the most valuable home improvement projects in the 2014 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report.

“With many factors to consider such as cost and time, deciding what remodeling projects to undertake can be a diffi cult decision for home-owners,” said National Association of Realtors® President Steve Brown, co-owner of Irongate, Inc., Realtors® in Dayton, Ohio. “Realtors® know what home features are important to buyers in their area, but a home’s curb appeal is always critical since it’s the fi rst impression for potential buyers. Th at’s why exterior replacement projects off er the greatest bang for the buck. Projects such as entry door, siding and window replacements can recoup homeowners more than 78 percent of costs upon resale.”

NAR’s consumer website HouseLogic.com highlights the results of the report in its “Best Bets for Remodeling Your Home in 2014” slide-show. Th e site also provides information and advice on various home improvement projects, including a guide to kitchen remodeling with the best payback and dozens of exterior replace-ment projects.

Realtors® judged a steel entry door replacement as the project expected to return the most money, with an estimated 96.6 percent of costs recouped upon resale. Th e steel entry door replacement is

See 2013 Review | 3

See Exterior Projects | 4

2 www.csrej.com Colorado Springs Real Estate Journal January 27, 2014

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National News

Realtors support delayed Fannie, Freddie fee increases

Realtors, CFPB to monitor impacts of new mortgage rule

“Realtors® applaud the decision by Fed-eral Housing Finance Agency Director Mel Watt to delay increases in guarantee fees on loans purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In a September 2013 let-ter, NAR called on FHFA to refrain from changing its fee structure until completing an analysis to determine the effectiveness

of its fee pricing policy at bringing private enterprise back into the market.

“We are pleased that Director Watt has agreed to halt implementation of the in-creases and conduct a thorough evaluation of the proposed changes and their likely impact on mortgage credit availability.”

The National Association of Realtors®,

“The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real es-tate industries.

© Copyright National Association of Realtors. Reprinted with permission.

New mortgage lending rules to pro-tect consumers from risky loan products will take effect this Friday, and Realtors® will be on the front lines as homebuyers access safer mortgages that meet strong underwriting standards, said Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Richard Cordray at an event held today by the National Association of Realtors®.

Cordray delivered prepared remarks about the historic consumer protections his agency will implement at the end of the week. “The Ability-to-Repay rule is straightforward. It puts behind us once and for all the kind of irresponsible lend-ing that disrupted the housing market and so badly damaged our economy, and it provides strong new consumer protec-tions while preserving needed access to mort-gage credit,” he said of the rule and its Qualified Mortgage standard.

NAR President-elect Chris Polychron, a Real-

tor® from Hot Springs, Ark., moderated the briefing and lauded the CFPB for creating a safer, more transparent lend-ing environment with loans that are re-quired to meet stringent underwriting standards. “These regulations will go a long way to protecting consumers from receiving loans that may be inappropri-ate for them and gives them additional legal protections. NAR supports these changes and has provided input through-out the rulemaking process,” he said.

Cordray acknowledged concerns that the new rules could further constrain credit in an already tight lending environ-ment. “Importantly, our rule also takes careful account of these access-to-credit issues,” he said. “Those lenders that have long upheld strong underwriting stan-dards have little to fear from the Ability-to-Repay rule. Qualified mortgages cover the vast majority of loans made in today’s market, but they are by no means all of the mortgage market.”

Cordray explained the basic criteria

for Qualified Mortgages, which cannot be made to a borrower with a debt-to-income ratio greater than 43 percent. “They also cannot have certain risky fea-tures, such as paying interest only or even negatively amortizing so that each month the consumer owes more than they did before and loans must have relatively rea-sonable points and fees,” he said.

The rule includes a 3 percent cap on points and fees, which NAR believes unfairly discriminates against affiliated lenders who have to count many more items toward fees and points than large retail financial institutions, such as title insurance charges and escrow for home-owner’s insurance.

“The problem is that under this rule, affiliated and non-affiliated firms are treated differently,” said Polychron. “It’s NAR’s view that this would be a dis-advantage to many real estate affiliated lenders and reduce the choices available

Polychron See Mortgage Rule | 7

January 27, 2014 Colorado Springs Real Estate Journal www.csrej.com 3

National News

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dropped and conventional financing ticked up. The second quarter also ushered in an economic stimulus strategy shift when Fed-

eral Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke announced the possible slowing down of Quan-titative Easing. Three weeks later, mortgage rates increased about one percent and have stayed there. While the Fed did delay implementing the change for a few months, it ul-timately announced a slow reduction of Mortgage Backed Security purchases for early 2014. Since then, we’ve seen mortgage rates at or near 12-month highs.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also underwent a strategic change, per input from the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). In response to the financial crisis, Fannie and Freddie gradually increased their pricing in an attempt to draw in more private capital. This tactic is expected to play out slowly and deliberately in the coming year.

Despite these price increases, Fannie, Freddie, FHA, and VA loans still accounted for about 90 percent of the country’s first mortgages last year. At the year’s close the Senate confirmed the FHFA’s first permanent director, Mel Watt. Watt is poised to have enor-mous impact on mortgage financing. He has postponed mortgage pricing and fee in-crease proposals. And there is speculation he may also extend, or possibly expand, the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP). While major housing finance reform discussions are still being held, some speculate a decrease in governmental motivation for change as Fannie and Freddie generate billions of dollars in government profits.

With all of these changes behind us, 2014 promises to be a very interesting year for the mortgage lending industry. It’s likely the new normal will include higher interest rates and higher compliance costs that could impact homeownership for this year – and many years to come.

The life of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. is closely linked to the National Association of REALTORS®. In the summer of 1966, he moved to Chicago and en-gaged in a series of marches, appealing to real estate practitioners in the city to end dis-criminatory housing practices. King's call for open housing led to the 1968 passage of the Fair Housing Act.

In February 2007, underscoring its mis-sion to make home ownership viable for all Americans, NAR made a $1 million con-tribution to the Wash-ington, D.C. Martin Luther King, Jr. Na-tional Memorial Proj-ect Foundation.

Pat Vredevoogd Combs, then NAR president, remarked: “NAR is an outspoken advocate for fair housing, an ally in the fight against predatory lending practices, and an organization that prides itself on building communities. We are proud to be a part of the effort to build a permanent home to honor Dr. King on our National Mall.”

To this day, the Association continues to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. NAR's Diversity & Fair Housing Program enables REALTORS® to help buyers of any cultural background achieve the American dream of homeownership. The association led industry efforts in 1988 to get important amendments made to enhance fair hous-ing laws in the Fair Housing Act.


Honoring the legacy of MLK Jr.

2013 Review from 1


National News

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consistently the least expensive project in the annual Cost vs. Value Report, costing litt le more than $1,100 on average.

Eight of the top 10 most cost-eff ective projects nationally, in terms of value re-couped, are exterior projects. A wood deck addition came in second with an estimated 87.4 percent of costs re-couped upon resale. Two diff erent siding replacement projects also landed in the top 10, including fi ber-cement siding, expected to return 87 percent of costs, and vinyl siding, expected to return 78.2 percent of costs. Out of the top 10 proj-ects, the fi ber-cement siding replace-ment project improved the most since last year, with costs recouped increasing by more than 15 percent. Two garage door replacements were also in the top 10; a midrange garage door replacement is expected to return 83.7 percent while an upscale garage door replacement fol-lows closely at 82.9 percent of costs re-couped. Rounding out the top exterior remodeling projects were two window replacements; a wood window replace-ment is estimated to recoup 79.3 percent of costs and a vinyl window replacement is estimated to recoup 78.7 percent of costs.

According to the report, two interior remodeling projects in particular can recoup substantial value at resale. An at-tic bedroom is ranked fourth and is ex-pected to return 84.3 percent of costs; nationally, the average cost for the proj-ect is just above $49,000. Th e second in-terior remodeling project in the top 10 is the minor kitchen remodel. Th e project landed at number seven and is estimated to recoup 82.7 percent of costs. Nation-ally, the average cost for the project is just under $19,000. Th e improvement project likely to return the least is the home offi ce remodel, estimated to re-coup 48.9 percent.

For the report, Realtors® provided their insights into local markets and buyer home preferences within those

markets. For 2014, the national average cost-value ratio stands at 66.1 percent, a jump of 5.5 points over last year and the largest increase since 2005, when the ra-tio increased 6.1 points to reach a high of 86.7 percent. For the second consecutive year, Cost vs. Value data shows that the value of remodeling is up for all 35 proj-ects included in the survey. Additionally, for the fi rst time in four years, improved resale value of residential housing had more of an infl uence in the cost-value ratio than construction costs. A modest 2.2 percent increase in average national construction costs was more than off set by an 11.5 percent improvement in aver-age national resale value.

Th e 2014 Remodeling Cost vs. Value Report compares construction costs with resale values for 35 midrange and upscale remodeling projects comprising additions, remodels and replacements in 100 markets across the country. Data are grouped in nine U.S. regions, fol-lowing the divisions established by the U.S. Census Bureau. Th is is the 16th consecutive year that the report, which is produced by Remodeling magazine publisher Hanley Wood, LLC, was com-pleted in cooperation with NAR.

“Every neighborhood is diff erent and the desirability and resale value of a particular remodeling project varies by region and metro area. Before undertak-ing a remodeling project, homeowners should consult a Realtor® as they are the best resour“ce when deciding what proj-ects will provide the most return upon resale,” said Brown. “Realtors® have a unique understanding of local markets, home features and buyer preferences and know that there are a variety of fac-tors that aff ect a home’s value, such as location, condition of surrounding prop-erties and regional economic climate.”

Seven of the nine regions covered in the report outperformed the national av-erage, a distinct improvement over 2013, when just four regions performed bett er than average. Once again, the Pacifi c re-gion, consisting of Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington, led the nation with an average cost-value ra-tio of 88 percent, due mainly to strong resale values. Th e next best performing region was West South Central with 76.4 percent, followed by three regions tied at 74.6 percent: South Atlantic, which im-proved from 63.7 percent in 2013, New England, which improved from 56.2 percent in 2013, and East North Cen-tral, which improved from 54.8 percent in 2013.

To read the full project descriptions and access national and regional project data, visit www.costvsvalue.com. “Cost vs. Value” is a registered trademark of Hanley Wood, LLC.


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Exterior Projects from 1


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©2013 North American Title Group and its subsidiaries. All Rights Reserved. North American Title Group and its subsidiaries are not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. | CO13-3663 R 11-20-13

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Part of the cost of doing business as a real estate agent is spending a considerable amount of time driving from one property to another to assist clients. To help mem-bers who are always on the go, the National Association of Realtors® is pleased to announce a two-year exten-sion of its agreement with Chrysler Group LLC, as NAR’s offi cial automobile manu-facturer through the REALTOR Benefi ts® Program.

Th rough the partnership with Chrys-ler, Realtor® members and staff of local, state and national associations or boards of Realtors® and their immediate family members will continue to receive exclusive savings and benefi ts, like

a $500 cash allowance on the purchase or lease of select new Chrysler, Jeep®, Dodge, Ram and now select Fiat® models, through 2015.

“NAR is Realtors®’ business advantage. Th is agree-ment with Chrysler Group is a natural fi t, and we are

pleased to continue our relationship with them for another two years,” said NAR President Steve Brown, co-owner of Irongate, Inc. Realtors® in Dayton, Ohio. “Our members know that having reliable transportation is a vital part of bringing value to buyers, sellers and investors. Re-

ceiving discounts and service benefi ts on some of the most recognizable and dependable automobile brands

in the world means Realtors® can spend less time fo-cused on their travel needs and more time focused on their clients. Altogether, Realtors® taking advantage of this program receive the value of their NAR member-ship dues for more than six years.”

In addition to the $500 cash allowance, members are also eligible for a free, two-year “On Th e Job” service contract with their lease or purchase, which includes eight oil changes (including diesel), lube and fi lter – worth nearly $300. For more information and program details, visit www.realtor.org/Chrysler.


NAR extends alliance with Chrysler Group LLC


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Builder confidence slips one notch in January

to consumers of where they can get a mortgage, and because the unaffiliated lender must still use a title company, the consumer pays the same amount either way.”

Cordray said that Congress drew a line on points and fees, but that going forward, regulators, consumers and Re-altors® can monitor the market and eval-uate the cap’s impact on access to credit.

“It means a great deal to our new Consumer Bureau to know that NAR has members with boots on the ground in communities both small and large all across the U.S. We urge [Realtors®] to help us spread the word about how con-sumers can make the most of this new agency,” said Cordray.

Following Cordray’s remarks, leading housing policy experts participated in a panel discussion about the new Ability-to-Repay and Qualified Mortgage rule. The panelists offered divergent views about the potential impact the rule might have on the overall housing market, and suggested that the lending industry is prepared for implementation.

Jeff Kibbey, primary legal counsel for Century Mortgage Company, asserted that the new rule will restrict lending by at least 10 percent, and higher than that in some regions, which will create some difficulties in our economic recovery as a result of the QM rule.

Economist Ann Schnare, principal at AB Schnare, LLP, emphasized that some of the guidance in the rule to help lend-ers calculate income, debt, and assets, if

left unedited, could potentially create an ossified underwriting system that may be inappropriate for the next generation of homebuyers. “We need to make sure the rules aren’t creating unintentional barriers to access,” she said.

Lawrence Yun, NAR’s chief econo-mist, explained the future of home-ownership depends on greater access to credit. “Over the past eight years, home-ownership in the U.S. has decreased while many in the growing population have turned to renting instead of buy-ing a home. We need to ensure that good, credit worthy renters can some-day have the appropriate access to credit so they can build equity through homeownership.”

Barry Zigas, the director of housing policy for the Consumer Federation of America, applauded the CFPB for listen-ing to stakeholders across the country to create a meaningful rule to protect con-sumers. “Consumers are finally going to be in an environment where their ability to repay a loan will be the fundamen-tal determining factor about whether they’ll get a loan or not. This is a terrific week for Americans,” he said.

NAR will continue to monitor the rule’s impact on consumers, including the important new protections, and will work closely with CFPB and others to ensure that consumers have access to af-fordable mortgage credit.


Yun

Builder confidence in the market for newly built, single-family homes fell one point to 56 in January from a re-vised December reading of 57 on the National Association of Home Build-ers/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index (HMI), released today.

“Following an unexpected jump last month, builder confidence has essen-tially leveled out and is holding at a solid level,” said NAHB Chairman Rick Jud-son, a home builder from Charlotte, N.C. “Many markets continue to improve and this bodes well for future home sales.”

“Rising home prices, historically low

mortgage rates and significant pent-up demand will drive a continuing, gradual recovery in the year ahead,” said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. “How-ever, the pace of the recovery could be stronger were it not for rising construc-tion costs and inaccurate appraisals that are keeping some home sales from go-ing through.”

Derived from a monthly survey that NAHB has been conducting for 25 years, the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index gauges builder perceptions of cur-rent single-family home sales and sales expectations for the next six months as

“good,” “fair” or “poor.” The survey also asks builders to rate traffic of prospective buyers as “high to very high,” “average” or “low to very low.” Scores for each compo-nent are then used to calculate a season-

ally adjusted index where any number over 50 indicates that more builders view conditions as good than poor.

All three HMI components declined in January. The index gauging current

sales conditions edged one point lower to 62, while the index gauging expecta-tions for future sales fell two points to 60. The index gauging traffic of prospective buyers fell three points to 40.

Looking at the three-month mov-ing averages for regional HMI scores, the Northeast and West each rose four points to 42 and 63, respectively, while the South held steady at 56. The Midwest fell a single point to 58.


“Many markets continue to improve and this bodes well

for future home sales.”

Mortgage Rule from 2


Classic Homes breaks ground at Inaugural St. Jude Dream Home®

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Local News

REALTOR® Day at the Capitol: Wednesday, February 26thDon’t miss the 2014 REALTOR® Day at the Capitol on Wednesday, February 26 at

the McNichols Building and the State Capitol. Based on feedback received from local leadership, we have completely revamped this event and are very excited for you to at-tend. We are off ering Capitol Tours and Meetings with Legislators as part of the selec-tions to help craft an educational and entertaining day. Th is is a great opportunity for you to learn about and discuss important policy issues aff ecting the real estate industry this upcoming year, as well as hear from legislative leaders and network with your legis-lators. Pre-registration is $55 and includes lunch and an aft ernoon program. For more details, or to register today, visit coloradorealtors.com.

© Copyright Colorado Association of Realtors. Reprinted with permission.

Classic Homes broke ground on the Inaugural St. Jude Dream Home® house to be raffl ed for the benefi t of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Th e home has an esti-mated value of $415,000 and will be located in the Banning Lewis Ranch community in Colorado Springs, CO. Th e fi ve bedrooms, 3.5 bath, 3 car garage home features a one foot taller 9’ basement walls , two gas fi replaces, gas cooktop, upgraded stainless steel appliances with gas cooktop, granite countertops in the kitchen and master bath, and covered patio. Representatives of Classic Homes, KKTV 11 News, Banning Lewis Ranch, members of Epsilon Sigma Alpha and national sponsor Shaw Floors, were all in att endance for the momentous occasion.

Classic Homes is excited to be the builder of the Inaugural St. Jude Dream Home®. “Not too many of us can say that our lives have not been touched by cancer in some way. It is always an anxious situation and it is especially tragic and frightening when a child is involved,” said Jon Carlson, Construction Manager for Classic Homes. “Th e partnership we have formed between Classic Homes and St. Jude could be life chang-ing for someone. We feel compelled to take action. It is a humbling experience and we at Classic are proud to be associated with St. Jude in the fi ght against childhood cancer.”

To learn more about the St. Jude Dream Home Giveaway in Colorado Springs or to be involved as a sponsor please visit dreamhome.org


During this time of year, our thoughts turn to our community and people that have been a part of our success over the past year. We stop and say a heart-felt thank you for that support.

Our team at Chicago Title, wishes you and your family a Happy Holiday Season and a Prosperous New Year.

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Th e New Year is here and while look-ing forward to working with clients, new and old, it is also time to review the tem-porary sign code ordinance and how it could aff ect your business.

Th e temporary sign code ordinance is a result of citizen’s complaints that there were too many temporary signs of all kinds clutt ering the City. As a result, the city adopted the following guidelines for temporary signs such as Open House and Directional Signs:

• Open House and Directional signs may be placed in the public right of way (area between sidewalk & street) from noon Friday to noon Monday (max of 2 sq. ft. and placed 2 ft. from curb).

• You must obtain permission from the owner when placing the sign in the right of way in front of their property.

• You may place a sign on private property, with owner permission, at any time for as long as you wish.

• Signs are not allowed on medians.

• Signs are NOT allowed in the downtown core area (Walnut east to Wahsatch & Rio Grande north to Willamette).

• Signs placed in the public right of way during weekdays or for longer durations of time will require a permit (called a Temporary Use Permit), issued by the City.

• Signs not in compliance with this ordi-nance will be confi scated without notice and destroyed by Code Enforcement.

Th ese rules were renewed on March 13, 2012 for an indefi nite duration.

To Obtain a Permit: contact the City Zoning offi ce - 385-5905 or 30 S. Nevada Avenue, 3rd fl oor zoning offi ce. Cost is $6 for each permit. Ask for Sue Matz or email her at [email protected].

Th e City is taking a stricter stance on sign violations and have hired a full time sign enforcement agent. If everyone works together and abides by the current sign code ordinance, then we will not have to worry about stricter regulations concerning our Open House and Direc-tional signs in the future.

For more information about the sign code in general, visit www.springsgov.com under Land Use Review.

The above article has been supplied by the Pikes Peak Association of Realtors®. For more information log on to www.ppar.org or call 719-633-7718.

Reminder on temporary signs New forms and a new process for 2014

Every year at this time we have to learn the changes in our contracts for the next year, but it won’t happen next year. Th is is a result of what happened last year.

A p p r o v i n g changes to our Forms is a dif-fi cult process.

Th e fi ve Real Estate Commis-sioners are at a disadvantage as they cannot dis-cuss anything related to the Commission due to the Open Meetings Law. All of their discussions must be at a public meeting, posted in advance. In addition, the Commission does not meet every month as in the past.

Last year the Commission was not prepared. Th e Commission has the au-thority to approve Forms and Changes. In my opinion they did not understand the forms changes process. Th e Forms Committ ee is the Commission’s sub-committ ee designed to prepare forms for their approval. When the forms were submitt ed for their approval last year, they did not agree with the word-ing of many of the forms submitt ed by the Forms Committ ee and did not agree with each other about what to change. Th e forms could not be ap-proved. Th e Forms Committ ee had to review individual Commissioners rec-ommendations. Th ose changes had to be reworked into the forms; then an emergency public Hearing had to be set

up by the Division of R. E. Some forms and changes were approved and some were not.

As a result of all that, Th e Division of Real Estate implemented a streamlined process using a screening subcommit-tee, a draft ing subcommitt ee and the full Forms Committ ee. Changes were limited.

All Forms committ ee work was com-pleted earlier. Th e Commission was now able to follow the work as it pro-gressed. Th is year forms were approved on time in an orderly manor.

Th e Division of Real Estate, Th e Commission and the Forms Committ ee have a new vision of, not only how the changes will occur but also how oft en. Th ere are NO changes planned until 2016. Moving forward there will be a limited number of forms and a limited number of changes that will be made at any one time. Th e Division is currently working with a large group of Real Es-tate licensees taking input from them on the forms. Over the next two years the Forms Committ ee will be looking into ways to reduce the length of the forms and wording them so that it will be easer for the public to understand them.

To bett er understand the new forms and the changes, all the information you need can be found in Levine’s Bible for Colorado Real Estate Contracts, prepared by Kent J. Levine, Chairman of the Colorado Forms Committ ee. Go to Th e Bradford Publishing Co. www.bradfordpublishing.com

By Paul Goldenbogen, CRB, GRI.

By Paul GoldenbogenKeller WilliamsPartners Realty—

GOT NEWS?Let us know!

[email protected]


Home Available in Meridian Ranch!

For more information, call 719.495.8800or visit www.GJGardnerFalcon.com

Model 2288 Craftsman10899 Glen Canyon Dr. Family Room

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Come check out our ‘Values That Matter’ designs. We have 1/3 to 1 acre lots available.10578 Pictured Rocks Dr. | Model Home Hours: Monday through Saturday: 10-5, Sunday: 12-4 | 719.495.8800

Or call the Markowski Team at 719.602.9381 or 719.602.9472 for a private showing after hours.

Come Visit the G.J. Gardner Homes Modeland Take a Walk on the Modern Side

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Prices, specifications, availability, and rewards program are subject to change without notice.

Reunion Homes at Lorson Ranch • 719-392-40126925 Alliance Loop, Colorado Springs, CO 80925

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$289,150 | Ready to Move InFloor Plan: The Cutler

Style: Ranch | Fin. Sq. Ft.: 3106

10255 Abrams Drive

$261,750 | Ready to Move InFloor Plan: The Red Rock

Style: 2-Story | Fin. Sq. Ft.: 3340

10358 Abrams Drive

$304,585 | Available in FebruaryFloor Plan: Cascade


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$240,750 | Ready to Move InFloor Plan: The Incline


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New Award-Winning Homes and New Home Sites by Reunion Homes in Lorson Ranch

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10255 Abrams Drive

$261,750 | Ready to Move InFloor Plan: The Red Rock

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$240,750 | Ready to Move InFloor Plan: The Incline

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On the Move

Murphy, Gabriel, Stuart, Lee

Keller Williams PartnersKeller Williams Partners would like

to welcome Mike Murphy to our family. Mike is a native to Colorado Springs. He has close ties with military bases across the country. Mike loves fi shing, hunting, snowmobiling, waterskiing and being with family. Mike can’t wait to explore the new freedoms of the real estate!

Please join us in welcoming Melissa Gabriel to the Keller Williams Partners Family! Melissa has called Colorado Springs home for 14 years. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Counseling and Hu-man Services. Melissa is excited to begin her new adventure in Real Estate and is looking forward to having a career she loves.

Keller Williams Partners Realty would like to welcome Tammi Stuart to our family. She comes to us highly valued, of-fering over 25 years of experience in sales, new construction, real estate and product management. Tammi moved to Colorado

17 years ago and made Colorado Springs her home shortly aft er. Her "client fi rst" philosophy has required her to continually improve her skills and how she conducts her business. Outside of her accomplished career, Tammi is the proud mother of one son and two daughters, and grandmother to fi ve! She is active within the industry, her community, and her church.

Keller Williams Partners would like to welcome Frank Lee to our family. Frank has called Colorado Springs his home for the past 5 years. He has an extensive career with the U.S. Army as a Chaplain. Frank sees Real Estate as an interesting and ful-fi lling new career path and is excited to begin his new adventure.

Fischer, Lang, Sasso, Turner

ERA Shields Real EstateERA Shields Real Estate recently an-

nounced the addition of four new broker associates to their growing team of real es-tate professionals serving consumers in El Paso, Pueblo, Teller, Douglas and Elbert counties.

"We are honored to welcome Cherri Fischer, Deanna Lang, Connee Sasso and Michael Turner to our experienced agent team," said Cathi Sullivan, Gen-eral Manager/Vice President with ERA Shields Real Estate. "Th ey all bring tre-mendous industry knowledge to our team and proven leadership that will certainly benefi t our company and our customers along the front range."

As part of the ERA Shields Real Estate team of nearly 100 real estate profession-als Fischer, Lang, Sasso and Turner will be able to off er homebuyers and sellers a wide and unique variety of valuable prod-ucts and services ERA and ERA Shields has to off er. A few products and services include online listings, home warranty plans, the ERA Sellers Security Plan and our local, exclusive 10K award home list-ing program which all contribute to a fast-er, more effi cient and quality buying and selling process.

Skelton, SkudlarekThe Real Estate Network

A start to an exciting New Year, Th e Real Estate Network, Inc. is proud to an-nounce the addition of Holly Skelton and Donna Skudlarek to their sales force.

Holly Skelton has 14 years experience in real estate sales specializing in residen-tial, investment, relocation and senior real estate. With 24 years background as a real

estate closer for various title companies previous to real estate sales, she prides her-self on customer relations and is a stickler for detail. Her passions besides real estate are golf, golf and more golf!

Donna Skudlarek has over 20 years of sales experience in various venues. She has a passion for sales and doing the right thing for people. Donna prides herself on hard work, commitment & dedication to her clients, who in turn, become her friends for life. Her passions besides real estate are interior design and traveling.

Bill HouriganThe Platinum Group

Bill moved to Colorado Springs in 1984 aft er graduating from UNC. He fell in love with the Pikes Peak region while competing in rugby against the USAFA. He has been a full time Realtor serving the greater CS area since 1992. Bill and his wife Pam have fi ve children who are all in, or graduated from college.

Bill loves the real estate business and has a passion for turning clients into "rav-ing fans"! His primary goal is to provide his clients with a level of service and care that far surpasses any service they experi-enced in the past. To achieve this, Bill un-derstands that his focus must always be on "his clients' best interests".

Send your 150-word (or less) new agent bio and photo to:

[email protected]


Local Expert

By Michael PodoyakEmpire Title—

Resolving to boost home sales

Don’t forget that Empire has exclusive programs to assist with your business:

As it has always been and will always be:

WE DON’T SUCCEED UNLESS YOU DO!

Empire Title of Colorado Springs 5755 Mark Dabling Blvd., Ste 110, Colorado Springs, CO 80919

Phone: (719) 884-5300 - Fax: (719) 884-5304 WWW.ETCOS.COM

Empire Title of Woodland Park 350 N. Pine St., Woodland Park, CO 80863 P.O. Box 9004, Woodland Park, CO 80866

Phone: (719) 686-9888 - Fax: (719) 686-8208 WWW.EMPIREWP.COM

Our Associates are here to serve you in every capacity possible. It is what made us ...

If you feel that we continue to meet and exceed your expectations,

please consider voting for Empire Title as …

www.gazette.com/bestof (City Life category)

Thank you very much for your Trust & Loyalty!

So, you say you want a Resolution … we-ell, you know: we all want to change the world. Don’t you know it’s gonna be alright … alright … alright … yeah! Less than a month into the New Year, and the immediate future looks to have some strong prom-ise - more so if your resolution is to increase your business, but likely a litt le less if you’ve picked the #1 or #2 Resolutions: Los-ing weight and gett ing organized, respectively. A study by the University of Scranton revealed that one-fourth of the people making resolutions don’t maintain them through the fi rst week of the year; over half will not keep them past six months.

Now, if you are resolving to increase your production, this may be the easiest year to do it for a while. Th ere were 680 homes sold in December 2013; and when averaged over the previous 12-month period, the current number of local home sales is still at its highest point since the summer of 2007.

Also in December, there were 3,223 properties listed in the Pikes Peak MLS. When averaged over the previous 12 months, the diff erence between the active number of listings and the number of homes sold is as big as it has been since the summer of 2006. Th is helps explain why the current inventory in number of months is at 3.58 months overall, well below the benchmark of 6 months and the lowest level in 12 years. In fact, the months-of-inventory is below 6 months for every price range below $500K.

Our fi nal chart presents an even clearer picture as to how our local real estate is sell-ing by price range - I guess you might say it increases the resolution. Al-though fully one-third of the homes sales for 2013 were in the price ranges below $250K, the most popular price ranges were actually from $200K-$400K – making up about 43% of all the home sales last year. Barely 10% of the homes sold in 2013 were priced above $400K. If that litt le bit of data doesn’t shake your resolve in high priced listings, I don’t know what will. But certainly if I were you, I’d resolve to take advantage of this att ractive housing market before somebody else beatles you to it!

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Around the Corner

send

eventus your

[email protected]

Wednesday, Jan 292014 Real Estate Contract8:30am-12:30pm @ Empire [email protected] 719-884-5300

Wednesday, Feb 5HUD & GFE (Followed by Happy Hour)2pm-4pm @ Empire [email protected] 719-884-5300

Understanding CFPB10:30am-12pm @ Legacy [email protected]

Thursday, Feb 6 Masterminds Networking Group7:30am-9am @ Canon National BankRSVP to David Alley, 719-632-3526 [email protected]

B.L.E.E.P. (Black Forest & Eastern Marketing Group)8:30am-10am @ The Grill at Latigo Trail Equestrian Center. Roxene, 495-6213

Mandatory Commission Update8:30am-12:30pm @ Empire [email protected] 719-884-5300

CTM eContracts - Intermediate1:30pm-3:30pm @ Legacy [email protected]

Saturday, Feb 8Home Buying (for clients)10am-12pm @ Ent (Galley Service Center)Ent.com/seminars 719-574-1100 ext 6670

Wednesday, Feb 12HBA Breakfast with the Builders8:30am-11am @ Freedom Expo Centerwww.cshba.com

Mandatory Commission Update9am-1pm @ Empire Title Woodland [email protected] 719-686-9888

Power Net 2.01:30pm-3:30pm @ Legacy [email protected]

Thursday, Feb 13Farm and Land8:30am @ Rudy's on 8th StreetGreg Wolff: 719-590-1711

Women's Council of Realtors11am-1pm @ Ivywild SchoolMichele: 719-633-7718

2014 Real Estate Contract8:30am-12:30pm @ Empire [email protected] 719-884-5300

Tuesday, Feb 18NARPM Meeting11am-1pm @ Clarion Hotel (314 W. Bijou)Alex Yoder, 719-213-9100

Wednesday, Feb 19Mandatory Commission Update8:30am-12:30pm @ Empire [email protected] 719-884-5300

Hard Money Lending2pm-4pm @ Empire [email protected] 719-884-5300

Legacy Title Happy Hour4:30pm-7pm @ Navajo [email protected]

Thursday, Feb 20Intro to Title & Escrow9am-11am @ Legacy [email protected]

Friday, Feb 21Independent Brokers Forum9am-10:30am @ PPARwww.ppar.org

Annual Commission Update8:30am-12pm @ PPARwww.ppar.org

HBA Home & Garden Show (thru 23rd)See Hours on web @ Freedom Expo Centerwww.cshba.com

Wednesday, Feb 262014 Real Estate Contract1pm-5pm @ Empire Title Woodland [email protected] 719-686-9888

Thursday, Feb 27Social Enterprise Workshop8am-12pm @ Glen Eyrie719-636-5076 [email protected]

CENTURY COM

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IESCol

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omebuilder

Events subject to change. Due to space, please check with event/class holders early for more detailed information on cost, CE credits, sponsors and registration dates.

classichomes.com/sonoma

*O�er applies only to the Village of Sonoma. Classic is still o�ering a large variety of luxury homes in the other neighborhood villages.

Classic Homes Sales Center1908 Turnbull Drive in �e Village of Verona

Only 7 Lots Remain,

And When They’re Gone,

It’s So-long, Sonoma.

�is is it. �e finale. �e moment when the music reaches its crescendo…the fireworks burst across the night sky…and lost loves rush together in a final embrace.

With only seven lots remaining, �e Villageof Sonoma will soon be closing its gates to newcomers. But the good news is, there’s still time to find the home of your dreams in this extraordinary Flying Horse community.

Yes, like all great performances, we’ve saved the best for last.

But with limited inventory, and an even more limited $10,000 discount/incentive on our remaining lots*, you’ll want to act quickly. So call and schedule a private tour today.

�e Village at Sonoma.Maintenance-free, luxury living.Only in Flying Horse.(719) 495-7297

Limited $10,000*Incentive

CSREJ - January

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Transcript of CSREJ - January