The Pitfalls of Pricing Too High or Too Low



When you sell your house, pricing too high or too low can be costly. You need to be aware of timely market trends when you assign a price to your house if you want to maximize your sale.

Interested in buying a home? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're considering selling, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, please reach out to me at (719) 299-5778, or email me at Donny@IntegrityTeam.net.

As a real estate professional, I'm often asked what the pitfalls of pricing your home too high or too low are.

Pricing your house is not an exact science. To determine the value of a home, you need to really know what's going on in the marketplace at that time. If the market is on an upward tear, you want to price your home just above what you expect to get for it. This allows you to adapt to the current market conditions and avoid leaving any money on the table. On the other hand, if the market is heading downward, you want to price your home just below what you expect to get.

Market data will tell us what the trend of the neighborhood is.

To determine these values, we look at comparable home sales in your neighborhood. What did your neighbor's house sell for? What have homes in your neighborhood with similar square footage sold for in the last six to 12 months?

Analyzing this data will tell us what the trend of the market is, which allows us to price your home within that data. As a former registered appraiser, my job is to find the right value for your home and price it within the market constraints. Pricing too high will lead to your home sitting on the market for a long time and receiving multiple lowball offers and not getting the most money possible. Pricing too low may leave money on the table.

If you're thinking about selling your home, I'd love to sit down and talk with you about maximizing your sale based on today's market conditions in Colorado Springs. Give me a call or send me an email and let's keep this conversation going.

Why Selling FSBO Isn’t a Great Idea



Selling your home FSBO (For Sale By Owner) is tricky. While it’s true you don’t have to pay a commission, you leave yourself vulnerable in a number of ways.

Interested in buying a home? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're considering selling, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, please reach out to me at (719) 299-5778, or email me at Donny@IntegrityTeam.net.

If you are attempting to sell your home For Sale By Owner (FSBO), I get what you’re going for. You don’t want to have to pay that commission, and you think by selling your own home you’ll save all that commission.

However, you should know that the leading reason that sellers end up in litigation in real estate is due to FSBO situations. By not having the proper contracts or negotiations, you can leave yourself exposed to long-term liability issues with your former home.

I encounter a lot of FSBOs and I’m happy to say I’ve been able to work with quite a few of these sellers to ultimately end up netting them more money than they thought they would get on their own.

We simply have the systems and marketing in place to capitalize on the market, get you the most money possible for your home, reduce your liability, and do it in the least amount of time possible.

We can minimize your cost while maximizing your net.

If you would like to work with a licensed professional in selling your home, I would be happy to discuss with you how we can market and sell your property for minimal cost while maximizing your net. FSBOs can be difficult because a lot of people simply don’t know all it takes to close a sale.

With a licensed professional, you can reduce your exposure to litigation and maximize your marketing, allowing you to get top dollar for your home. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out. Give me a call or send me an email today.

Why Is the Final Walkthrough So Important?



Days or hours before you close on your home, we will walk through the property to make sure it’s in working condition. There are many reasons why the final walkthrough is so important.

Interested in buying a home? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're considering selling, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, please reach out to me at (719) 299-5778, or email me at Donny@IntegrityTeam.net.

The final walkthrough is a crucial part of the closing process. Days or hours before you close on your home, we will walk through the property to make sure it’s in working condition.

It’s very important that you use a checklist during the walkthrough to make sure that you don’t miss anything. Part of that checklist will include your inspection resolution items, but there will also be other features on the list that we need to look at before closing.

After the walkthrough, you will head to the title company and close on the home, so it’s incredibly important that you check on the property one last time in order to verify that there have been no conditional changes that may prevent you from wanting to close on the home.

If the property is vacant, the final walkthrough is extra important because there might have been vandalism or theft since you last looked at the property. The walkthrough allows you to take appropriate action with any issues before you actually own the home.

At this stage in the home buying game, you don’t want any surprises.

At this stage in the game, you don’t want any surprises. By using a checklist, we can ensure that all of the repairs you requested have been taken care of and that no additional issues have popped up in the meantime.

Our checklist really saved one of my clients a lot of hassle. We walked through the property just hours before heading to the title company only to discover that the water heater had been stolen. It would have been terrible for my client to find out the water heater was missing after closing. However, since we did the final walkthrough, the seller replaced the water heater before my client closed on the home.

As you can see, the final walkthrough is an awesome way to avoid a lot of pitfalls in the process of buying a home, especially if the home is vacant. You simply don’t know what’s going to happen before you close on it.

If you have any questions about the final walkthrough or about the home buying process in general, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

How Easy Is It to Buy a Foreclosure?



One of the many options you have when looking for a home is a foreclosure. These bank-owned properties can be had at a bargain, and may hold the key to your financial future.

Interested in buying a home? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're considering selling, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, please reach out to me at (719) 299-5778, or email me at Donny@IntegrityTeam.net.

As a real estate professional, I’ve worked with hundreds of foreclosure properties in the buying, selling, and flipping processes. Whether you should buy a foreclosure is a personal decision.

In my opinion, buying the right foreclosure can make the difference in your financial future. We are looking for deals in the foreclosure market that the bank is selling at a reduced amount. This gives you instant equity when you move in.

Buying a foreclosure is a pretty simple process.

Buying a foreclosure is a pretty simple process. It’s a matter of acquiring the home, knowing the repairs you need to make, and walking into a home that will give you tons of equity in the long term. You should consider a foreclosure when buying, but it's important that you work with a professional like myself who has done a lot of them and can help you avoid some of the pitfalls that are out there.

The process of buying a foreclosure is not that different than buying a normal home. Most loan programs can purchase foreclosures, even VA and FHA loans in some cases. However, it’s important to note that the home will need to be up to the standards of FHA and VA depending on the type of loan you are using. I can determine for you whether the home you are looking for is going to qualify for FHA or VA, allowing you to avoid putting in an offer on a home that you can’t qualify for.

Another option you may consider is using a conventional loan to avoid these pitfalls, although this requires a much larger down payment. It may allow you to purchase a home that is in disrepair enough, has a ton of equity, and will allow you to benefit greatly.

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

The Challenge of Buying and Selling Simultaneously



When you move, you're faced with the challenge of buying a home and selling a home at the same time. Luckily you have options for navigating this situation in our market.

Interested in buying a home? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're considering selling, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, please reach out to me at (719) 299-5778, or email me at Donny@IntegrityTeam.net.

When you sell your home, you're faced with the question of where you're going to move to. This means many people are faced with the problem of buying a home and selling a home at the same time.

There are multiple ways to make that transition as smooth as possible. The first step is to get your home on the market. In some places, contingent markets are the norm, so you'll be able to put an offer in on a new property while your current house is up for sale as long as the market conditions allow for a relatively quick sale on your old home.

You have multiple solutions available to buy and sell at the same time.

I'd encourage you to find your new property, or at least have a general idea of what area you intend to live in, at the same time you have your current property listed. We've seen people leasing back their property from buyers, meaning they can close on the property and have 30 to 45 days to move. Leasebacks make your situation a lot easier and a lot more fluid.

I'd love to help you in this transition if you're considering a move in the Colorado Springs area. Give me a call or send me an email soon - I look forward to working with you.

Is It Smarter to Rent or Buy a Home in Colorado Springs?


Interested in buying a home? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're considering selling, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, please reach out to me at (719) 299-5778, or email me at Donny@IntegrityTeam.net.

As a real estate agent, people always ask me if they should buy or rent their home. You'd think as an agent, my obvious answer would be to buy a home, but that's just not the case. A lot of it is personal preference, as well as market conditions.

As we've seen the market rise here in Colorado Springs, the cost to rent today is 20% more than it was just two years ago. So today, buying a home with really low interest rates and high rentals makes the most sense. As the market shifts though, that might not be the case. In markets like Denver, for example, the prices have gotten so high that you're better off renting, and not paying the top of the market prices.
"Luckily, the Colorado Springs market has not peaked yet."

Luckily, the Colorado Springs market has not peaked yet. I would say today, your best bet is to buy a home, but you really have to determine what your long-term goals for homeownership are. Treat your home like an investment, not just a place to live. Buying the right home will protect your financial investment for years and years. Whether you're buying a new home or a resale home, you want to think not about what it's worth today, but what it will be worth in the long run.

Most homeowners live in a house for three to five years, so you want to try to guess what your home is going to be worth three to five years from your move. By looking at your house this way as an investment rather than just a place to live, you can avoid what's happened in previous markets, where collapse has left people upside down on their mortgages.

If you have any questions about buying versus renting, let's talk soon. I can help you find the right investment for years to come.

What Happens After the Home Inspection?



Interested in buying a home? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're considering selling, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, please reach out to me at (719) 299-5778, or email me at Donny@IntegrityTeam.net.

Many people ask me what happens after a home inspection.

After the inspection, an inspection resolution is delivered, which determines what items are requested to be repaired on the home. In most cases, if these items are minor issues and are worth it to get through to closing, we can get those fixed. The seller has the option not to fix these items, but assuming that everything is decided on and is satisfactory, after that, the loan process takes over.

"The seller has the option not to fix items that come up."

The next step after the inspection is typically the appraisal, which is conducted by a licensed appraiser to determine the home's value. After the appraisal is done, the inspection items are completed, the value of the home is verified, and we proceed to closing. Then you get your keys and move into your new home!

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me. I know many reputable vendors and contractors that can fix repairs that come up during an inspection to keep the process smooth and painless. Let's talk soon.

Are You Ready to Buy a Colorado Springs Home?


Interested in buying a home? GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're considering selling, CLICK HERE to receive a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions, please reach out to me at (719) 299-5778, or email me at Donny@IntegrityTeam.net.

Determining whether you’re ready to buy a home or not is more of a personal decision than anything else. 

If you’ve been a renter for years, that’s one sign you might be ready to buy a home. Let’s face it, you’re writing a check every month to your landlord, and that’s just the beginning of the picture.

Determining whether or not to buy a home depends on how long you intend to stay in one place. There’s a common misconception that when you sign a 30-year mortgage, you have to stay in the house for 30 years. 



I look at this a lot differently. Buying a home is an investment tool that increases your net worth and spending power. By owning a property, you’re applying some of your payment towards equity. This equity grows over the years. You take that equity and roll it into each property as you move forward. 

Buying the right home in this marketplace is crucial because you want to build equity for the long-term future. When you sell that home, you’ll be able to take that equity and maybe buy a larger home or downsize. 


Ultimately, whether or not you buy a home is largely decided by your goals and how you want to protect your financial future. If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!