Jim Smith, Broker

Today’s Technology Is What Allows Real Estate to Keep Functioning

The practice of real estate has come a long way from the days when homes were only listed in books the size of a big-city telephone directory. (You do remember telephone directories, don’t you?)

Back then life was simpler, but that depends on how you define “simpler.” Purchase contracts were one or two pages instead of 20 pages, and they had to be hand delivered, as did subsequent documents such as inspection and appraisal objections. Mortgage applications and information was all faxed, if not delivered in person.

Actually, life is simpler today. All documents are typically emailed back and forth and signed electronically, except for closing (which has to be done in front of a Notary).

As you know, homes for sale can now be searched and viewed online. An in-person showing or two is common before submitting an offer, but not always necessary. Because our narrated video tours are just like an in-person showing, led by the listing agent, I’ve had out-of-state or even foreign buyers ask me to create a purchase contract, knowing that they can always terminate (which they haven’t) when they fly in for the home inspection. Here’s an example of one of our current video tours:

Example of a Golden Real Estate narrated video tour – 1957 S. Taft St. – Listed last week

Facetime is also a great tool for showing homes. When one of our own buyers from out of state expresses interest in a home which they learned about from an MLS email alert — another new technology tool — our agent will use Facetime or take our video camera and do a narrated walk through of that listing (because the listing agent did not create such a tour), and post it on YouTube as a private or unlisted video, and send a link for it to the buyer.

Zoom came along just in time for COVID-19, replacing GoToMeeting as the “go to” software for virtual meetings. A classmate from long ago sent me a link for a virtual 6-person band performance of an adaptation of the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” cut, with COVID-19 lyrics. What a hoot!

Even this column is made possible by technology that wasn’t available when I was a newspaper publisher. I create it on my laptop using MS Publisher, create a PDF of it, and send it to the newspaper on deadline, which is two days before you see it in print. Then I post it on this blog, which has hundreds of subscribers, and email it to 900 people who have chosen to receive it by email because they no longer subscribe to a printed newspaper.

Of course, this newspaper, like most, is also available in a “digital replica edition” on its website, which reaches even more readers. I love technology and how it has made life simpler!

How Golden Real Estate Is Coping With COVID-19 Guidelines

We and our partners in real estate continue to work while adapting to the COVID-19 guidelines for physical distancing, minimized travel, and more. Inspectors are still inspecting, but they don’t want buyers or agents in the house with them. Title companies are still doing their title searches and conducting closings, albeit with attention to sanitizing rooms and some physical distancing. Mortgage companies are still doing their jobs, as are the appraisers they hire.

Meanwhile, real estate brokers like us are still showing homes, writing contracts, negotiating inspection issues just as we always have — that is, by phone and email — and going to closings, although even that could be more virtual, now that Gov. Polis has issued an executive order saying that Notaries can work virtually.

What’s different is the cancelation of all kinds of meetings, open houses, and in-person continuing education classes (which are still available online).

That keeps us all at home, which is where most brokers work anyway, but with fewer reasons to leave. I’m walking the dog more than ever. My Apple watch tells me that I completed all three activity rings last week. Woohoo!

Bottom line: I’m sort of liking this, although I do look forward to getting back to normal.

COVID-19 Will Certainly Impact the Real Estate Market, but By How Much?

By JIM SMITH, Realtor®

We Realtors are keenly aware that the COVID-19 outbreak will affect the real estate market, but we’re all waiting to see that happen in a more measurable way. We’ve seen a reduction in showing activity, but homes are still being listed and keep going under contract, especially in the higher price brackets.

I dropped in on an open house Sunday and spoke with the agent on duty. This was a million-dollar listing on Easley Road, north of Golden. I showed up two hours into the open house, and he said that he had already had about 10 sets of visitors. Indeed one visitor was in the house when I arrived.

Two Saturdays ago, I had my best open house ever at a $580,000 listing in Golden proper, and 18 agent showings had been set for that same day. Two days later, the home was under contract for $620,000. Other than bumping elbows instead of shaking hands, it was pretty much business as usual.

I’m under no illusion that the market won’t slow down as more potential home buyers are unable to get mortgages because they were laid off. Cash buyers may be less willing to sell depreciated stocks to buy a home. But that’s not happening a lot yet. A local TV news program had a segment Saturday evening in which a local real estate agent gave a similar account of a busier-than-ever real estate market.

My broker associates have seen some impact. One of them told me a buyer had terminated a million-dollar purchase because they were concerned that they wouldn’t be able to sell their current home.

Another broker associate reported that his buyers are moving forward with their contract on a home, but only because they have stable jobs — one a physician and the other a public defender.

A third broker associate has a vacant land listing that had failed to sell for three years but suddenly has multiple buyers talking to her about submitting offers for it.

Another broker associate has a buyer from Connecticut who is retiring and wants to move to Colorado but had to cancel her flight because of COVID-19. Her state has instituted a stay-at-home order. Meanwhile, she told our agent that she’s now thinking more about looking outside the metro area where there’s “more space.” Maybe she’d like Kim Taylor’s Cedaredge listing featured this week!

The same broker associate said that a buyer from Chicago had been planning to make a non-contingent offer on a home but now wants to make it contingent on the sale of his current home because of concerns that it may not sell as readily now.

Yet another agent has a client who was ready to list their current home and buy another but is a physician concerned about getting infected herself, so she is holding off on those plans.

The MLS statistics above show that life goes on across our industry. Homes are still being listed, going under contract and selling. However, the 21 withdrawn listings and the 25 back-on-market listings are likely homes where a contract fell, perhaps because of COVID-19.

Like any business, Golden Real Estate is adjusting to the situation with new practices and procedures. We carry disinfectant wipes and rubber gloves in our cars, and we have buyers meet us at listings instead of carpooling. At our office, we have disinfectant wipes handy for wiping down hard surfaces after we or visitors touch them. When it’s warm outside, we keep our front door open so that visitors (and we ourselves) don’t have to touch the handles at all.

Title companies are adapting, too. I attended closings recently at which the closer handed out only new pens and wore blue gloves herself, and the rest of us were spaced out more than before around the closing table. One title company is doing “drive-through” closings, in which the documents were passed through the car window for signing!

The real estate industry will survive and people will still buy and sell homes, but we expect the volume of sales to decline. How much we can’t be sure.

Stay-at-home orders and the closing of businesses, as implemented this week, could have a big effect, but real estate was exempted from that ruling as an “essential professional service.”

For over decade, Golden Real Estate has created narrated video tours of its listings. For an example, click on any of the listings at www.GREListings.com. If all brokerages did this, it would greatly reduce the need for open houses and in-person showings.

The Narrated Video Tours of Our Listings Allow You to Visit Them From Home

For over decade, Golden Real Estate has created narrated video tours of its listings. You can find examples at www.GREListings.com. If all brokerages did this, it would greatly reduce the need for open houses and in-person showings.

Here’s the video tour from this week’s featured listing in Lakewood:

What Does ‘Open and Transparent’ Look Like in Real Estate?

For some reason I’ve never understood, most listing agents believe that they should not be open and transparent with buyers’ agents regarding the disclosure of offers in hand when there’s a bidding war for their listing.

At Golden Real Estate, we believe in being open and transparent. Here’s what that looks like.

Rule number one is to always tell the truth. We never mislead a colleague about offers in hand. If we don’t have competing offers, we’ll never represent that we do. This is a matter of ethics. The Realtor Code of Ethics, to which every Realtor swears allegiance, requires no misrepresentation about anything, whether it’s how successful we are or whether we have competing offers.

Agents from other brokerages, however, typically won’t disclose the price or nature of the offers they have for their listings. At Golden Real Estate, we not only disclose the price and terms of offers received, but we will let each agent know if their offer is surpassed by a better offer. We don’t want any buyer or their agent to have the experience of being blindsided.

This is good for both buyer and seller, and buyers’ agents invariably thank me when I explain this policy. After all, how would you as a buyer like to learn later that if you had only offered $2,000 more (which you were willing to do), you would have won that bidding war?

Similarly, how would you as a seller, like to learn that you could have gotten $2,000 more for your house?

Although this process essentially operates like an auction, where everyone in the room knows what they’re bidding against and chooses on their own when to drop out of the bidding, it doesn’t mean that we let the bidding go on forever.

After the buyers have raised their bids twice, it’s time to ask for a final bid, without offering to return if it’s not the winning bid. While this is our policy, the seller, of course, is the final authority on how long to continue the back and forth. By that time, however, they tend to be quite happy with the highest bid and agree to cut it off. To do otherwise risks antagonizing the buyers and their agents.

It’s important to us as professionals that we leave each party in a bidding war happy that we were transparent enough that they felt they had a fair chance to win a coveted listing.

This approach takes more work on our part than doing what other agents typically do when multiple offer situations arise, which is to inform agents that they have multiple offers and ask buyers’ agents to submit their “highest and best.” Then the seller accepts the best offer and other buyers are upset and angry that they weren’t allowed to raise their offer.

We feel, however, that our approach is not only fairer to buyers’ agents but also produces the best price for our sellers. We wish that other listing agents would adopt this practice.

Transparency, however, does not extend to disclosing the price at which a home is under contract prior to closing. The reason for that is that if the contract falls, we don’t want the next buyer to know what the seller was willing to accept. That’s because we have an ethical and legal obligation to work in our seller’s best interest.

The only time I would disclose the price at which one of my listings is under contract is when an appraiser needing comps calls me. If we are cleared to close — past inspection, appraisal and other contingencies — I’m willing to help that appraiser know the price so he can do his or her job in appraising a comparable listing for a different seller.

Thanks to this practice, Golden Real Estate has a better-than-average track record when it comes to closing price vs. listing price. In some cases this has resulted in our sellers netting their full listing price even after subtracting commissions and the other costs of selling.

Call me or one of our broker associates at 303-302-3636 if you like how we operate and would like a no-obligation market analysis of your home.

Sound advice from a virologist about the Coronavirus

This was sent to me by a school classmate. I Googled this doctor’s name and he speaks with authority. I haven’t seen this information or advice in the media!

Notes on Coronavirus for guidance: Good luck to all of us! James Robb, MD FCAP

1. If you have a runny nose and sputum, you have a common cold
2. Coronavirus pneumonia is a dry cough with no runny nose.
3. This new virus is not heat-resistant and will be killed by a temperature of just 26/27 degrees. It hates the Sun.
4. If someone sneezes with it, it takes about 10 feet before it drops to the ground and is no longer airborne.
5. If it drops on a metal surface it will live for at least 12 hours – so if you come into contact with any metal surface – wash your hands as soon as you can with a bacterial soap.
6. On fabric it can survive for 6-12 hours. normal laundry detergent will kill it.
7. Drinking warm water is effective for all viruses. Try not to drink liquids with ice.
8. Wash your hands frequently as the virus can only live on your hands for 5-10 minutes, but – a lot can happen during that time – you can rub your eyes, pick your nose unwittingly and so on.
9. You should also gargle as a prevention. A simple solution of salt in warm water will suffice.
10. Can’t emphasize enough – drink plenty of water!

THE SYMPTOMS
1. It will first infect the throat, so you’ll have a sore throat lasting 3/4 days
2. The virus then blends into a nasal fluid that enters the trachea and then the lungs, causing pneumonia. This takes about 5/6 days further.
3. With the pneumonia comes high fever and difficulty in breathing.
4. The nasal congestion is not like the normal kind. You feel like you’re drowning. It’s imperative you then seek immediate attention.

BIO: As some of you may recall, when I was a professor of pathology at the University of California San Diego, I was one of the first molecular virologists in the world to work on coronaviruses (the 1970s). I was the first to demonstrate the number of genes the virus contained. Since then, I have kept up with the coronavirus field and its multiple clinical transfers into the human population (e.g., SARS, MERS), from different animal sources
The current projections for its expansion in the US are only probable, due to continued insufficient worldwide data, but it is most likely to be widespread in the US by mid to late March and April.

Here is what I have done and the precautions that I take and will take.

These are the same precautions I currently use during our influenza seasons, except for the mask and gloves.

1) NO HANDSHAKING! Use a fist bump, slight bow, elbow bump, etc.
2) Use ONLY your knuckle to touch light switches. elevator buttons, etc.. Lift the gasoline dispenser with a paper towel or use a disposable glove.
3) Open doors with your closed fist or hip – do not grasp the handle with your hand, unless there is no other way to open the door. Especially important on bathroom and post office/commercial doors.
4) Use disinfectant wipes at the stores when they are available, including wiping the handle and child seat in grocery carts.
5) Wash your hands with soap for 10-20 seconds and/or use a greater than 60% alcohol-based hand sanitizer whenever you return home from ANY activity that involves locations where other people have been.
6) Keep a bottle of sanitizer available at each of your home’s entrances. AND in your car for use after getting gas or touching other contaminated objects when you can’t immediately wash your hands.
7) If possible, cough or sneeze into a disposable tissue and discard. Use your elbow only if you have to. The clothing on your elbow will contain infectious virus that can be passed on for up to a week or more!

What I have stocked in preparation for the pandemic spread to the US:

1) Latex or nitrile latex disposable gloves for use when going shopping, using the gasoline pump, and all other outside activity when you come in contact with contaminated areas.
Note: This virus is spread in large droplets by coughing and sneezing. This means that the air will not infect you! BUT all the surfaces where these droplets land are infectious for about a week on average – everything that is associated with infected people will be contaminated and potentially infectious. The virus is on surfaces and you will not be infected unless your unprotected face is directly coughed or sneezed upon.
This virus only has cell receptors for lung cells (it only infects your lungs) The only way for the virus to infect you is through your nose or mouth via your hands or an infected cough or sneeze onto or into your nose or mouth.
2) Stock up now with disposable surgical masks and use them to prevent you from touching your nose and/or mouth (We touch our nose/mouth 90X/day without knowing it!). This is the only way this virus can infect you – it is lung-specific. The mask will not prevent the virus in a direct sneeze from getting into your nose or mouth – it is only to keep you from touching your nose or mouth.
3) Stock up now with hand sanitizers and latex/nitrile gloves (get the appropriate sizes for your family). The hand sanitizers must be alcohol-based and greater than 60% alcohol to be effective.
4) Stock up now with zinc lozenges. These lozenges have been proven to be effective in blocking coronavirus (and most other viruses) from multiplying in your throat and nasopharynx. Use as directed several times each day when you begin to feel ANY “cold-like” symptoms beginning. It is best to lie down and let the lozenge dissolve in the back of your throat and nasopharynx. Cold-Eeze lozenges is one brand available, but there are other brands available.

I, as many others do, hope that this pandemic will be reasonably contained, BUT I personally do not think it will be. Humans have never seen this snake-associated virus before and have no internal defense against it.

Tremendous worldwide efforts are being made to understand the molecular and clinical virology of this virus. Unbelievable molecular knowledge about the genomics, structure, and virulence of this virus has already been achieved. BUT, there will be NO drugs or vaccines available this year to protect us or limit the infection within us. Only symptomatic support is available.

I hope these personal thoughts will be helpful during this potentially catastrophic pandemic. You are welcome to share.

Good luck to all of us! James Robb, MD FCAP

Renters Aren’t Taking Advantage of Rent-With-Right-to-Purchase Program

Renters face many problems that they wouldn’t face as owners. Not only do they face uncontrolled rent increases, they don’t even know that their lease will be renewed. There’s always the risk that their landlord might sell the home and the new owner will want it for themselves or another tenant.

Both problems are made worse if the tenant has no lease at all or has transitioned to a month-to-month lease — quite common after the initial lease term expires.

And the selection of new places to rent is small. If a tenant has to find a new place to live, he or she will be hard pressed to find a home they like — even more so if they have a pet.

Wouldn’t it be great if a renter didn’t face those problems of uncontrolled rent increases and having to move? For a couple years now, Golden Real Estate has worked with a buyer who gives tenants a 5-year rent schedule and can’t be kicked out as their lease is renewed each year through that 5-year period. I’d like to see more renters take advantage of it, even if they aren’t buyers.

Our buyer is Home Partners of America. They not only address those challenges, they expand the number of homes from which to choose. (And having a pet is not a problem.) That’s because Home Partners will buy any townhome or home on the MLS for which the renter has been pre-qualified as the tenant. Get your invitation to apply from Golden Real Estate, and once accepted as a tenant, you log in to HomePartners.com, which has every home on the MLS which you are qualified to rent. Instead of just displaying the sales price of the home, it displays your personal rental price.

Your contract with Home Partners, which is now your landlord, includes the rental amount for years 2 through 5, but you’re under no obligation to renew. Your contract also includes a purchase price for each year in case you like the home and decide to purchase it at any time during the 5-year period.

Call any Golden Real Estate agent at 303-302-3636 if you or someone you know is interested.

Why Wouldn’t the Russians Want Trump Re-Elected? Look at His Accomplishments.

By JIM SMITH

This article represents the author’s personal analysis and opinion. It has not been shared with or endorsed by any of our broker associates.

No world leader has done more to advance the interests of Vladimir Putin and Russia than President Trump. I write this as a former student of the Russian language (in which I am still semi-fluent) and thus as a student of the Soviet Union and now Russia. I traveled to Moscow and Leningrad in 1978 as part of an MIT alumni trip, and again in 1986, 1987 and 1988 on “citizen diplomacy” trips under the auspices of the Center for Soviet-American Dialogue in Bellingham, Washington. My last trip was to Vladivostok, the Pacific port and terminus of the Trans-Siberian railroad, in 1995, on a tour of China, Korea, Russia and Japan.

First, let’s consider Putin’s interests. As a former KGB officer for the Soviet Union, Putin watched helplessly as the Soviet empire disintegrated under Gorbachev. When Boris Yeltsin resigned as Russian President and appointed Putin acting president on December 31, 1999, Putin made it his goal (after pardoning Yeltsin) to return his country to its former glory as a super-power and to bring as many of the former Soviet republics as possible, including Ukraine, back into Moscow’s orbit.

Key to strengthening Russia was the weakening of NATO and the European Union, and annexing strategically important Crimea. Although that annexation occurred before Trump took office, he helped Putin succeed in weakening NATO and the EU. As a candidate, Trump called NATO “obsolete” and, as president, he hesitated to endorse Article 5, which states that an attack on one member of NATO is an attack on all members. The only time Article 5 has been invoked was in connection with the Sept. 11th attack on the United States. Trump’s reluctance to support it must have made Putin very happy. He was made even happier when Trump enthusiastically supported the Brexit campaign to leave the European Union, and encouraged other European countries to follow Britain’s example.

Withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership and from the Paris Accord on climate change, combined with other international actions, have contributed to a reduction in America’s standing on the global stage, allowing for a bigger role by Russia.

Trump’s criticism of Russia’s annexation of Crimea and its ongoing aggression against Ukraine can be described as half-hearted at best. The entire theory of Ukraine interfering in the 2016 U.S. election, as recounted under oath by Fiona Hill, was a Russian narrative adopted hook, line and sinker by President Trump. It is fair to say that Trump has been duped by the Kremlin in this and other ways. Why wouldn’t Putin want to keep him in the White House for another term?

Forget about collusion — it wasn’t necessary for Trump to collude in 2016, and it’s not necessary for him to collude now. Putin saw in Trump the perfect man to become President when he was the Republican nominee, and is happy to join the chant, “Four More Years!”

What, you might ask, about Russia helping the Sanders’ campaign? I suspect that is also in support of Trump, since Sanders would be easier for Trump to defeat as a “socialist.”

The lingering question is why Trump wants to advance Putin’s interests.

This article is also posted on my personal blog at www.JimSmithBlog.com, where you can like, share or comment on it.

Guest Article from Money.com: The Best Home Security Systems for 2020

With technology continuously evolving and improving, home security systems today offer a wide range of protection and coverage options. Modern systems have features ranging from in-home motion and heat sensors to video doorbells and more, as well as apps and smart home integration that lets you monitor your home remotely.

Home security systems can range from basic with just door sensors, to comprehensive with fire and smoke sensors, glass sensors, and much more.

Many home security systems now feature smart home integration, allowing you to control lights, door locks, and more from your smartphone.

Some systems require professional installation, while others offer user-friendly do-it-yourself (DIY) installation. Before using a professional, make sure to know all the costs associated with the installation.

Your homeowner’s insurance may offer you a discount for having a home security system. Contact your insurance provider to see if you qualify.

In choosing the best home security systems of 2020, we evaluated each system using the following factors:

Security systems can range from basic to highly complex. We selected companies that offer a wide variety of security options, including everything from door sensors to video cameras and more.

We also made sure to include a selection of both professionally-monitored and installed options, as well as systems that embrace a DIY approach. Some of these DIY systems require no tools and install in under an hour, while some offer optional professional installation help.

While most security companies require contracts, we found some no-contract options for you, too. Most of the companies included that do require contracts offer at least a 30-day trial before commitment.

With 24/7 monitoring, a security company may summon help for you when you can’t. The companies included in this ranking all offer monitoring and emergency response.

We considered the company’s Better Business Bureau rating, user reviews and satisfaction ratings, and the company’s reputation for providing responsive customer support.

Best Home Security Systems

ADT – If you’re looking for versatile package options that cover home, commercial, and even small business

SimpliSafe – With easy setup and a no-contract option, SimpliSafe is a user-friendly home security system

Frontpoint – Easy to set up and no need for professional installation, Frontpoint is a versatile choice for many homeowners.

Protect America – With everything from water monitoring to glass sensors, Protect America’s wide range of options means you can customize your security system to your specific needs.

Vivint – Home security doesn’t just cover homes, anymore. With Vivint, your security system can extend to your vehicle, too.

Ring – Looking for a comprehensive security system that you can monitor on your own with no contracts and extra fees? Ring delivers exactly that, and 24/7 monitoring is available if you choose.

Google Nest – Need a system that integrates with your entire smart-home system? Google’s Nest does this, while also adding on variable options to help outfit your house.

This is abbreviated from the full money.com article which you can read at https://money.com/best-home-security-system/

Reflections on the State of Journalism & Saving Local Newspapers

Regular readers may recall that my first career was that of a professional journalist, trained on the city desk of the Washington Post. Committed as I am to sound journalism, I am concerned with both the loss of newspapers around the country and the unrelenting assault on the media by the President.

Free and healthy newspapers are essential to a democratic society, which is why the free press is embedded in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. They’re our watchdogs.

We can all be proud of how the media have kept us informed and, frankly, kept their cool in the hostile “enemy of the people” environment fostered by the current occupant of the White House, who labels any coverage that doesn’t flatter him “fake news” without providing a specific response to the subject at hand. Most upsetting is the portrayal of straight news reporting as biased.

The sad fact is that the general public lacks journalistic literacy. Specifically, readers (and non-readers) conflate news articles with columns and editorials. Because the New York Times and the Washington Post, for example, criticize the President editorially, readers too readily attribute that bias to the news pages, which is simply wrong.

A core principle of news reporting is “no unattributed facts or opinions.” Of course, a reporter uses his or her discretion as to which facts and opinions are included, but if, for example, an impeachment witness states facts or opinions derogatory of the President, reporting the testimony is straight news, and a good reporter will seek a response from the President. But labeling such an article “fake news” or “a lie” is not a denial, it is a refusal to refute the testimony.

I know that some Trump supporters will say “hogwash” to me asserting that straight news articles are unbiased, but that only proves the point I have made above. America’s newspapers would do us all a favor if they eliminated columns and editorials and printed only straight news articles and letters to the editor. Attacks on the media by the President are made more believable because of the inability of too many readers to distinguish news articles from columns and editorials.

TV networks also contribute to this conflating of news and opinion. Fox News, CNN and MSNBC all have daytime news programs, but they devote evening hours to personal opinion. You don’t see that on the three broadcast networks.

Financial health is another serious problem. While the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today and Washington Post are all thriving, too many local newspapers are downsizing and going out of business. We need some billionaires committed to journalistic standards to rescue them from owners interested only in profit.