Visualizing a home in different colors can take a good eye and strong imagination — especially when you’re house-hunting and the home’s effects are of someone else.

Yet, we wonder:

• What would the bedroom look like in blue?
• How would the kitchen look in yellow?
• What if the foyer wall was accented in red?

At the Better Homes and Gardens website, you can answer those questions and see the results for yourself.  Using the Color This! tool, website visitors can mix-and-match swatch colors, then apply them to a room’s walls, floors, trim, cabinets and accessories.

Don’t just get a mental picture of a room — get an actual picture.

The Better Homes and Gardens site requires a basic, non-intrusive site registration to use the Color This! product suite.  It’s also available for home exteriors and window treatments, too.

The economy’s improving but lending standards are not. Nationally, banks are making mortgage approvals harder to come by.

Underwriting guidelines are tightening.

The data comes from the Federal Reserve’s quarterly survey to its member banks.  The Fed asks senior bank loan officers around the country to report on “prime” residential mortgage guidelines over the most recent 3 months and whether they’ve tightened.

For the period October-December 2009:

• Roughly 1 in 4 banks said guidelines tightened
• Roughly 3 in 4 banks said guidelines were “basically unchanged”

Just 2 of 53 banks said its guidelines had loosened.

Combine the Fed’s survey with recent underwriting updates from and generally tougher standards for conventional loans and it’s clear that lenders are much more cautious about their loans than they were, say, in 2007.

Today’s Denver home buyers and would-be refinancers face a bevy of new borrowing hurdles including:

• Higher minimum FICO scores
• Larger downpayment requirements for purchases
• Larger equity positions for refinances
• Lower debt-to-income ratios

So, if you’re on the fence about whether now is a good time to buy a home, or make that refi, consider acting sooner rather than later.  It doesn’t necessarily matter that mortgage rates are low, or that there’s an up-to-$8,000 home purchase tax credit for households that qualify.  With each passing quarter, fewer and fewer applicants are eligible to take advantage.

Argyll Flats

3299 Lowell Blvd.

Denver CO 80211

Do you love the idea of being able to walk to great restaurants and shopping? But hate the idea of your friends having to pay for a parking space when they come visit you? Then you need to check out the Argyll Flats building in the Highlands neighborhood! Argyll Flats is located at Lowell Blvd. and 33rd and is just 1 block from many great restaurants and boutique shopping at Highlands Square! One of my favorites in Mead Street Station which is a great little pub with great food and live music 6 days a week. And they have some great bands playing there and it’s always a fun atmosphere. I also recommend Sushi Hai for some great sushi! If you’re in the mood for a little shopping, check out the Perfect Petal for really unique items for your home, garden or your bathtub! It’s usually the place I go when looking for a unique gift for a friend.

So that I’ve told you a few great things about the neighborhood, let me tell you about the Argyll Flats, which is a very easy walk to all of the great restaurants and shops! The condos are all unique and beautifully constructed with open floorplans, hardwood floors and lots of light! The kitchens have granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances and most of the condos have at least 1 balcony. There is also a parking garage and plenty of storage too! It’s not a large building so if you see one of these for sale, you definitely need to check it out!

If this sounds interesting, check out the condos that are currently for sale at the Argyll Flats.

Bag Factory Lofts
2715 Blake St.
Denver, CO 80205

A unique infusion of city-close living with added elements that are difficult to come by when living in a loft. Bag Factory is a converted warehouse that adopted it’s name from the original building use, manufacturing burlap bags. Starting in 2003 the first phase of these lofts were the ground-level homes that feature extra-tall ceilings and balcony-level, master suites.  After the first phase was complete the second and third levels were then finished in the second phase completely this interest residential loft building just north of Coors Field.

These twenty-five lofts range from 600 square feet to over 3,000 square feet, featuring 1/2/3-bedroom lofts.  The west-side of The Bag Factory boarders the Rockies overflow parking lot and is used during the baseball season.  Mostly it serves as a buffer between the rail tracks to the west, all while keeping the way clear to a majestic view of the Front Range. 

Bag Factory Lofts have decks and patios facing various directions allowing residents to enjoy city views and mountain landscapes.   A few of the lofts have two or even three patios as part of individual ownership.  Resident are welcome to use the space to simply entertain, grow urban gardens or whatever one pleases to do.

The area has come alive with many live music & entertainment venues, restaurants and taverns.  Places such as The Walnut Room, Casselman’s and Blake Street Tavern are the retail pioneers of the neighborhood.  As much of the industrial landscape begins to transform the area becomes a great option for city dwellers that want outdoor space and proximity to downtown.

If this lifestyle seems as if it has your name all over it or you know somebody who would love it, find out what lofts are currently available at Bag Factory Lofts.

This coming Tuesday kicks off Civic Center’s Outdoor Market and Cafe. Enjoy local vendors every Tuesday all summer long in Civic Center Park from 11-2 PM.  The poster below and event are brought to us by Civic Center Conservancy.

There’s a lot happening in Denver’s Upper Larimer neighborhood and one of the latest developments is Walnut Flats located at 27th and Walnut. Beginning May 27, 2009 the builder/developer, Summit Legend, opened pre-construction pricing and reservations to those who want to be future owners of the 1 and 2 bedroom Energy Star qualified Walnut Flats.

Summit Legend anticipates construction to begin before summer’s end with a delivery of fully finished condos late 2010. With retail space on ground-floor, a large dog park, iPod docking stations and WiFi throughout the building as just some of the amenities Walnut Flats are sure to attract interest.

One-bedroom condos will start at $170,000 and there are no income-restrictions on any of the condos in the building.

Kim and I attended the grand opening party for Walnut Flats last week and got the opportunity to speak with the developer’s sale agent, Taylor Lawton, and here’s a quick video of what he had to say — it’s windy but worth a listen!

Pack a picnic and head on over to the City Park Pavillion on June 5th for an old fashion ice cream social. They will be recreating the early 1900’s era and encouraging everyone to dress in costume! There will be a hat making area with hats that you can purchase and decorate for only $5.00 or bring your own to dress up with ribbons and feathers. There will be high wheeler bicycles from that era along with a Model T car or two for your viewing. There will be plenty of entertainment for the kiddos including jugglers, balloon animals, face painting and much more! And most importantly, there will be free ice cream sundaes for everyone! 

I hope to see you all at City Park on June 5th! 

1900's era costumes

2500 Walnut - Benjamin Moore Lofts

Surely you’ve seen the huge “Benjamin Moore Paint” sign in lower downtown Denver. It’s located between Walnut and Larimer and 25^th and 26^th.  The buildings renovation was completed in 2005. There are 39 residential lofts and 2 commercial units. Every unit in the building is laid out differently with unique finishes.  The floors are glazed concrete and each one is unique.  The units are just beautiful and I really love the exposed brick and timber pillars. The builders decided to keep the old fire doors and hang them throughout the building and in some of the units. One unit even has the fire door on rollers and is used for the bedroom door…very cool! If you’re looking for a true renovated loft then you must check out the Benjamin Moore building! One thing to be aware of is that not all units come with covered parking. They recently built a parking garage but it is fairly small and not all units come with a covered parking space.

It’s located in the ballpark district and is just a few blocks from Coors Field. One of my favorite restaurants just two blocks away is Blake Street Tavern. The food is fantastic and it has a real neighborhood feel. You can listen to some great bands just down the street at Larimer Lounge, and of course just another few blocks away are several great bars and restaurants in the heart of downtown Denver… Sullivan’s steak house, Jax Seafood, The Chop House, The Tavern Downtown, and the list goes on.   

If you’re interested in taking a look at any that are currently for sale at 2500 Walnut, give Kim or Vali a call or email!

Each loft has a unique layout

Gorgeous exposed brick

Today Show highlights Denver as number 1 city to recover from a slumpy real estate market.  Within the segment Denver is named as a prime candidate for recovery due to the large park system, educated population, vital downtown and high employment base. 

Watch Barbara Corcoran, real estate expert, explain leading indicators of a city on the road to recovery and her top picks:

One of the biggest frustrations with the government’s $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit is that a first-time buyer must purchase a property and THEN wait for the tax credit to come.  Saving the money for a down payment and for closing costs is difficult and many first-time home buyers really could benefit from receiving the credit to actually contribute towards the big chunk of change they need up front at the closing table.

A handful of non-profit organizations are paying close attention and have created assistance programs to get those first-time buyers that are eligible for the $8,000 tax credit the money at closing to help pay for the costs to close.  Enter CHAF JumpStart.  CHAF (Colorado Housing and Finance Authority) offers first-time home buyers a fixed interest rate first mortgage loan combined with a second mortgage loan in the amount of $6,000 or 3.5% of the purchase price (whichever is less) for buyers to use to assist in paying for down payment and closing costs.  The second loan is at 0% interest and no payments are due until June, 30th 2010.  The ‘grace’ period of no interest and no payments is to allow first-time buyers time to get the tax credit on their 2008 or 2009 tax returns and then use the tax credit to pay off the second loan.

Now this CHAF program is a great way for first-time buyers to have enough money to get into their first house but it may not be a perfect fit for every buyer.  For first-time buyers that already have other plans for their $8,000 tax credit it’s not a good option. If a buyer uses the CHFA second and doesn’t pay off the loan before the June 30, 2010 deadline then the loan will adjust to 8% interest with a 10 year term. 

If this program sounds like it may work for you or a first-time home buyer that you may know then Kim and I are happy to fill you in on the details on this great program and also get you started looking at houses.  Don’t forget that to receive the first-time buyer $8,00 tax credit you must find and close on your home before the deadline of November 30, 2009.  Contact Kim or me (Vali) to get on track to  find the house that could be your next home!