March 2009

New Carbon Monoxide Law

Phil Boren

Friday, March 27th, 2009 at 5:29pm. 73 Views, 0 Comments.

Carbon Monoxide Bill is Signed into Law

The recent high-profile case of a family from Denver dying in a vacation home that was apparently not fitted with Carbon Monoxide detectors, has prompted new ligislation that has now been enacted into law.  Governor Ritter signed HB 1091 into law earlier this week.  The new law will cover all new residential construction and existing single-family and multi-family housing units offered for sale, transfer or rent.

Beginning July 1, 2009, a seller of residential real property containing a fuel-fired heater or appliance, a fireplace, or an attached garage will be responsible for assuring that a carbon monoxide alarm is properly installed within 15 feet of the entrance to each room lawfully used for sleeping.  No…

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1st Time Buyer Incentives

Phil Boren

Saturday, March 21st, 2009 at 4:08pm. 57 Views, 0 Comments.

The 2009 Housing Stimulus Bill is another great opportunity for 1st-time home buyers!  If you qualify by not having owned a home in the 3 years prior to closing and it's your personal residence, you may be eligible for a tax credit equal to the lesser of 10% of the purchase price, or $8,000.  This is a tax credit as opposed to a tax deduction, so it could be much more valuable to you.  Click here for more info on how this federal tax incentive may be just what you need to help you buy your next home.  But hurry, the benefit is only good for homes purchased before 12/01/09 . . .

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The Long and Short of the Market

Phil Boren

Tuesday, March 17th, 2009 at 4:12pm. 68 Views, 0 Comments.

It's easy to think of (and hear) lots of bad news these days, no matter what market you look at.  Certainly if you look at the real estate market on a daily basis - there's plenty of information that might make you want to run and hide.  But real estate is not a day-trader's market and we should resist the urge to take this kind of short-term view.  People who buy in this market and have a longer-term outlook will be rewarded, and statistics indicate that there is a tremendous opportunity to buy in today's market.  That's really the Long and Short of it!  Let's look at some current data from the National Association of Realtors®, Economy.com, and John Burns Real Estate Consulting:


The housing "crisis" has resulted in some pretty encouraging numbers for…

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Real Estate 101

Phil Boren

Sunday, March 8th, 2009 at 11:42am. 57 Views, 0 Comments.

Although the Boulder Valley real estate market is, at least on a comparitive basis, faring better than other parts of the country, we are not immune to the effects of the mortgage/credit crisis.  What can we do about it?  Having been through market corrections before, I know that looking back 5 years from now there will be a lot of people saying, "I could have bought that house for what?"  In order to take advantage of the opportunities in the current market, everyone in the market needs to get back to basics, i.e., Real Estate 101.  Buyers, for example, have to have an investment horizon longer than 24 hours and, in spite of the daily overload of negative information from the media, they need to remember a basic investing rule:  In order to sell high, you…

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