A Tale of Two Fixers (Adventures in Arvada Homebuying)  (Click link to read Chapter 1 of A Tale of Two Fixers) Chapter Three: As we pulled up - I could tell hope was rising again. This home was bigger than anything we'd seen so far for the price. Newer, too. And the neighboring yards and homes appeared well cared for. Off the main street, in a cul-de-sac - so many good things already.  They steeled their resolve and in we went. Hmmm ... front room needs carpet. Kitchen cabinets are OK. Appliances are all missing and one window is cracked. We move on, thinking there must be something awful for the agent to have written what he did - where will we find it? Upstairs - dated and dirty carpet, ugly bathrooms, thermostat missing and wires left hanging out of the wall. Still, no horrible smell... 12/12/2012

A Tale of Two Fixers (Adventures in Arvada Homebuying)  (Click link to read Chapter 1 of A Tale of Two Fixers) Chapter Two: The tale of each and every home tour need not be told - grim and sometimes frightening as it was. Our story starts on a particular day when there were only two homes remaining to be seen. One was advertised as needing, 'minor cosmetics', and the other announced, 'not for the faint of heart - major work needed'. Our youthful and innocent couple looked excited when I pulled up in front of the first house - their little girl played at her mom's feet as she said, "I love this neighborhood - I jog through here every morning."  Unfortunately, as soon as the door creaked open, the smell that hit us in the face meant the daughter would be carried through the house and not ... 12/12/2012

Do Your Christmas Shopping at the 26th Annual Fine Art Market Show and Sale Daily,  December 7 – 16, 2012   Admission is free to the Annual Fine Art Market at the Arvada Center. The Arvada Center's main gallery is set up to display for exhibit or sale, fine contemporary art created by Colorado artists in a wide range of media, size and price. This sale and exhibition credits its popularity and success to the more than 100 Colorado artists who participate in the event each year. And in the upper gallery, the 5th Annual *ACES Show and Sale.  View works of art created in the Arvada Center's own classes, and place a bid in the silent auction. (*Arvada Center Education Studios) Admission is free, and so is parking. Should you make a purchase, a portion of the proceeds will benefit the Arvad... 12/11/2012

I'm not trying to trick you with the photo above, you really can catch a horse-drawn carriage ride in Olde Town Arvada this Christmas season!  It's just that the night-time picture I took of the carriages didn't come out, so I thought this one would be a cute substitute! Come to Olde Town Arvada to make special memories this Christmas season.  Carriage rides will be available in front of DiCiccos on 57th and Olde Wadsworth for $10, between 6 pm and 9pm on the following dates in 2012:   Saturday, December 8 Friday, December 14 Friday, December 21 ***Carriage rides are 'weather permitting' events. For safety purposes, if roads are icy, carriage rides will be cancelled.***   While in Olde Town Arvada, enjoy dinner, shopping or theater.  There's a lot to do, and supporting local merchants ... 12/09/2012

A Tale of Two Fixers (Adventures in Arvada Homebuying) Chapter One: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times - for home buyers. Low interest rates, **lots of houses to choose from, yet fear paralyzed multitudes of would-be homeowners. Dire warnings from the media, old folks' tales about how much better things used to be, contributed to dark forebodings. And yet - there came a day when a brave and wise young couple decided to go for it and get a home of their own. Their little girl needed a yard to play in, and they wanted a place they could make a home and build memories for the next decade or three. Wise beyond their years, they knew they could only afford to buy a place that would qualify as a 'fixer'. And they wanted their new home to be in Arvada - close to family. Their ... 12/07/2012

I finally made it to the old-fashioned Christmas event that Olde Town Arvada calls, Lagniappe.  I've written about it for the past few years, but this year the weather was so nice and I have two grandsons to enjoy it with, so I refused to miss it! The highlight of Lagniappe for all of us was the lighting of the Christmas tree in the town square. Before the lighting we milled around, chatting with people we came across who we knew and a few we didn't know, enjoying hot spiced cider, and trying to ignore the luscious aromas drifing over from the chili cookoff. Finally, the big moment - children were invited up to the front, the countdown, then on came the lights. I admit, I would have enjoyed singing a Christmas carol afterwards, but maybe that's too much to ask in today's political clim... 12/06/2012

  Graph tracks the percentage of homes sold in Arvada, CO over the past three years that were short sales and foreclosures. Anyone out there who's interested in tracking home sales in Arvada, CO - hopefully you've caught my monthly reports.  In each report, I compare that month's 2012 sales with the same month in 2010 and 2011. Sales are broken down into price categories. In this post, I've collected links to each report, and created a graph to get a quick look at what has happened over the past three years.  The reason for the graph was I noticed what seemed to be an uptick in the number of short sales and foreclosures in Arvada, after months of good news on that front.  So I wanted to see it visually and - yes, there is an uptick.  That November uptick mirrors a similar one in 2010. T... 12/04/2012

This is a monthly market report for Arvada homes, a small town between Denver and Boulder. Arvada's real estate market is not the same as Denver or Boulder, but is very similar to Westminster, Broomfield, Lakewood, and Golden. See current market reports for Arvada, Westminster, and Broomfield CO (click the link) I hope that issuing these reports every month will help give you an idea of the real estate market, in case you want to buy a home or sell a home in one of the best places Denver to Boulder! Click the underlined text to read the report for Arvada homes October 2012 I've categorized my Arvada homes market reports by price range. You can see the categories below. Clicking on a category will take you to the respective report once it's complete. I hope this will be helpful, and you ... 12/04/2012

See current market reports for Arvada, Westminster, and Broomfield CO (click the link) What this Arvada Home Sales Report tells you:  Arvada homes sold at $500,000 have shown a big improvement in days on market over the 3 years covered in this report, and the number sold are slowly rising.  However, the absorption rate is nearly six months and there is competition from new construction. One of the Arvada homes sold this November and 15 of the homes currently for sale in this price range are new construction. Click this link to see Arvada Home Sales in the other price categories. This report includes only detached single family Arvada homes listed or sold for more than $500,000.  I’m using the term ‘distressed sales’ to refer to short sales and foreclosures. Currently, there are 47 Arvad... 12/04/2012

See current market reports for Arvada, Westminster, and Broomfield CO (click the link) What this Arvada Home Sales report tells you:  Arvada homes priced between $400,000 and $500,000 have gone on a wild ride the past 3 years.  Currently, there are a lot of homes for sale compared to the number that sell each month, so sellers in this price range need to take the 6-month absorption rate into consideration. Building of new homes is continuing in Arvada, these are probably the main competition.  In fact, 15 of the homes currently for sale are new construction. Click this link to see Arvada Home Sales in the other price categories. This report includes only detached single family Arvada homes listed or sold between $400,000 and $500,000.  I’m using the term ‘distressed sales’ to refer to s... 12/04/2012

See current market reports for Arvada, Westminster, and Broomfield CO (click the link) What this Arvada Home Sales report tells you:  Within the boundaries of this report, the only struggle for sellers of Arvada homes priced between $300,000 and $400,000 is the number of days on market.  With 35 homes for sale and 19 sold last month, that's a 1.8-month absorption rate, yet the median number of days on market is over two months. Sellers in this price range - you better be the best on the block when it comes to both price and condition if you want to sell now. Click this link to see Arvada Home Sales in the other price categories. This report includes only detached single family Arvada homes listed or sold between $300,000 and $400,000.  (I'm using the term 'distressed sales' to refer to ... 12/04/2012

See current market reports for Arvada, Westminster, and Broomfield CO (click the link) What this Arvada Home Sales report tells you: Last month I said this:  Interesting that while 19% of the Arvada homes in this price range for sale are distressed, and 27% of the homes under contract are distressed sales, only 8% of the homes sold were distressed.  It appears the distressed homes (short sales and foreclosures) are not as appealing to Arvada home buyers as those that are not distressed.  I would be surprised if the percentage of distressed sales isn't up quite a bit next month due to the large number of them currently under contract. And now, we can see there was indeed a jump in the number of distressed home sales closed.  This month, the percentage of Arvada homes being sold as distre... 12/04/2012

See current market reports for Arvada, Westminster, and Broomfield CO (click the link) What this Arvada Home Sales report tells you:  It's distressing to see this price range still struggling with foreclosures. I would love to see a report about why people are losing their homes in such great numbers in the lowest price range. I believe many are trying to do loan modifications, especially after hearing our president's claims to have helped 'millions' keep their homes, but without success. And the very act of making those efforts puts them in an even deeper hole.  Until there are more jobs, these tragedies will continue. But - this is good news for buyers, including investors and fix & flippers. The rental market is still hot! Click this link to see Arvada Home Sales in the other price c... 12/04/2012

A lot of people who are moving to the northwest Denver area wonder which community is the best place to buy a home - Denver itself, or one of the suburbs. The best way to get your answer is to visit, of course. I'd love to show off the communities of Golden, Arvada, Broomfield, Westminster, Lafayette and Louisville (to name just a few!).  But for now, here's some notes from an email conversation I had a while back with a gentleman named Robert. Robert asked about northwest Denver area schools, affordability, and traffic/commute to work or into Denver.   View Larger Map Concerning schools - Colorado is a bit more progressive than many other states, offering open enrollment along with many choices in private schools and charter schools.  Check the letter grade assigned to each school at ... 12/03/2012

As you already know, unless you've been living in a complete black-out zone, the real estate market in Arvada, CO as well as the rest of the country has been soured by high rates of foreclosures, short sales, and unemployment for the past few years. I recently came across an article I wrote back in November 2009 about homes for sale in Arvada, CO, and decided to update it. The chart below shows the change in percent of Arvada homes that are distressed sales (foreclosures and short sales vs total number of homes for sale). I was surprised to see that the percentage of distressed homes for sale in Arvada is higher in most price categories now than it was in November 2009.  Ive been doing monthly market reports all this year, in which I compare Arvada home sales to the same month for 2010,... 11/30/2012

Bella Gourmet Chocolates - a new business in Arvada, CO is a dream fulfillment for Michael McMillan  (and pretty much a dream-come-true for me too, as they are so close to my house that I can walk over whenever I 'need' some yummy caramels). The chocolate-covered caramels are my favorite - especially the salted honey caramels - doesn't matter if they're covered in light chocolate or dark chocolate.  You can also get caramels that aren't covered in chocolate (?!?!). Either way, choose original, maple or honey caramels. Bella Gourmet Chocolates also offers pound cake bites covered in chocolate.  The pound cake is freshly made on site, and you can order a whole pound cake if you like.  And they offer flavors too - orange and raspberry. New delights will become available soon - follow Bella... 11/28/2012

I wrote a post in 2009 where I said, "Those who are waiting for prices to drop further to buy your home - be careful!  You just might miss the bottom." (You can read the full article here, 'Arvada - When Will We Hit Bottom?'. As it turns out, there wasn't any real hurry to buy before prices rose, Denver to Boulder home values just seemed to bounce along the bottom for a couple more years.  I thought it would be interesting to look at an update of that article.   In that article I looked at tri-level homes with basements that sold in the Pomona Lakes Neighborhood.  Those homes and that neighborhood give us a good, middle-of-the-road view of Arvada's real estate market. In 2006, the average sold price for tri-levels was $210,990. In 2007 the average sold price for tri-levels was $245,906.... 11/27/2012

Take a look at the amazing creations during Lagniappe 2012, they'll be on display at the DiCiccos Schoolhouse, and if there's overflow, at Scrumptious.  Select creations will be available for viewing throughout Olde Town Arvada throughout the Christmas season. Facebook friends of Historic Olde Town Arvada can vote for their favorite by 'liking' it online. Fan favorite voting will take place from December 4 to December 14, 2012. Categories include: Pro category - bakeries, cake makers, cupcake shops, or anyone else deemed by HOTA (Historic Olde Town Arvada) to be of professional caliber. Main category - individuals age 13 and over Child Category - individuals age 12 and under Find all the rules and procedures, and the entry form for the Olde Town Arvada Gingerbread House Contest by click... 11/25/2012

For the purpose of this post, I’m counting homes built in 1949 and before as ‘historic’ homes.  Public Records shows 949 historic homes in Arvada. 26 historic homes sold in Arvada in the past year.  Their prices ranged from $76,000 to $481,000. All Arvada's historic homes that sold for more than $300,000 this past year were on an acre or more of land. In my opinion, the most charming one was 5095 Allison St. (listed by George Rotola of Rotola and Company). It was a 1912 farmhouse which had been owned by the same family for 100 years, on almost an acre of land. It needed a lot of work of course, but what an adorable home! There are five historic homes currently for sale in Arvada, the priciest being $950,000.  It's the original Metro Quarter Horse Ranch on 14 acres - a true piece of Colo... 11/24/2012

There's not much to look at in high plains home gardens during the winter months, unless gardeners specifically make it happen. I suspect most gardeners here between Denver and Boulder just put the gardens out of their minds for the winter months. But those of us who would love to see something green and alive even when it's brrrrrrrrr-cold outside work harder at it. If you feel like I do, you need to know about Lenten Rose (Helleborus orientalis).  Low-growing, shade-loving plants that bloom in the very early spring here between Denver and Boulder.  They look great, even in January after being buried under snow multiple times. I'm going to plant more Lenten rose in this area, so there will be a whole area of green instead of the winter brown so prevalent around here. The blooms of Lent... 11/23/2012