A home is a huge investment. Just as you wouldn’t get recommendations for your retirement portfolio from your bank teller, you shouldn’t buy a house with anyone who isn’t a local expert.

When done right, it’s more than a house in Colorado, it’s your home.  Who better to find your home than someone who has the experience to see the faults and assets, and point them out to you while you are touring Colorado homes.

A local expert will be able to tell you:

• The difference in investment potential of one home and another home a few blocks away.  In popular Denver neighborhoods, a few blocks difference can influence the resale, walk ability, and overall investment.
• Advice on upgrades and updates and how much affect they will have in appreciating the home if you’re looking for more of a fixer-upper, or perhaps a foreclosure property.
• How the market has been in this local area and predictions for the near future by looking at inventory, % under contract, price per square foot and by comparing these with past data.

I think we both recognize an experienced Colorado real estate broker can make a huge difference in your real estate search.

If one of these explorations has lead you to concluding that nearby conveniences float your boat, you’ll be happy to know about Walkscore, a method for determining any addresse’s “walkability” index.  So, if you’re wondering weather that two-bedroom bungalow in Corey-Merrill spells out an existence of living in your car, or being able to walk to Joe’s Pizzeria for a dinner slice, give it a try. It’s on of the new built-in features at COhomefinder, and other fine sites.

See also the follow-up post: Walkscore May Raise Home Price

It seems simple, yes? But I’ve met scores of grown people who either don’t bother to take inventory of their own personalities, or lie to themselves about who they are and what makes them happy. Who lives with that mistake? The home buyer, of course.

Below are some questions to explore that will ultimately help you in your home search. Share the answers with the trusted agent assisting you in your quest.

• Do you like to pull up roots often, or can you stay awhile?
• What’s more important, making the most from your investment, or other factors, such as layout and look?
• Are you REALLY happiest remodeling/making improvements in a fixer-upper, or are you willing to spend more money and time finding a more “livable” home?
• Do you want the most home for your money, or the most location?
• Is the occupancy in your home rapidly growing or shrinking?
• Have you encountered a major life change recently, such as a death in the family, divorce, marriage, career change, or children?
• What’s your lifestyle REALLY like, and what makes you happy? (Note that this is different than asking what you think it should be, or what you’d like it to be someday.)

Weigh in with what you think are other important questions to consider. Comments are open!

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Homebuyer, Know Thy REALTOR
Taking the Oath: An Op-Ed Miniseries

When I married a lawyer, that was my family’s cue to open the floodgates at dinner to every bad lawyer joke ever conceived. The truth is that if I had married a REALTOR, the outcome would have been the same, but without an invitation to dinner.

Despite having had a REALTOR of many years in the family, an agent for Century 21 back in the gold sport jacket days, they’ve become a maligned and misunderstood entity back  home. This is what happens when misinformation meets preconceived notions. But if there are as many REALTORs as there are lawyers, logic commands that there are good ones and bad ones, but without having the convenient signifier of a white or black hat.

Categorically, the smart money is usually on using a qualified REALTOR (with a white hat). Most buyers and sellers find it too hard to go it alone, and the decision to forgo the second opinion of someone ensconced in the business can turn out to be costly. The caveat: Choose your REALTOR with the same care you would choose a babysitter, a doctor, an accountant. There are thousands of real estate agents out there, and while that may make your job of finding a great one a little more complicated, there are guiding principles that have served me and many others well over the years. Here are a few, and remember to play along at home by commenting on some of your own.

Do you know what you want?
At the end of the day, if you don’t know what you’re looking for, and what’s important to you, no one can help you, even the best agent in the business. Make the rules. Determine what your currency is, and stick with it. I decided during our last transaction, that we would go slowly, at a pace that was comfortable to us. Any agent who became frustrated at our pace, anyone who tried to hurry us into a contract, was not for us.  Once you know what part of the experience important to you, your agent has a much better chance at providing it.

Are you willing to stand up for yourself?
You want an agent who’s working for you, and your best interests. If you find your agent pulling stunts that rub you the wrong way, you have to get comfortable with the art of mature confrontation.

Trust your gut
Anything that smacks of desperation, amateurism, or underhandedness is probably real, not imagined.  Be up front, take those hunches, and act on them. The good news is, there is no shortage of good agents in your city or state.

Just the facts, ma’am
If weather is an important consideration, check the weather data, don’t just ask for someone’s subjective data. If traffic is a deal-breaker, look at Google traffic reports. Look up a neighborhood’s Walkscore if you crave a car-free experience. Check property values and comparisons, and ask your REALTOR for clarification or translation if you need it. Look into local schools using the Department of Educations scoring methods. In other words, don’t take someone else’s word for it, look at the facts, and then go about interpreting them.

The customer service team
Does your REALTOR have more backup than the NYPD? That’s going to be important, come go-time.

Consider the REALTOR himself
No, you’re not going to ask him to move in with you, but you are going to spend some time together. If you don’t jibe with him or her, you’re not going to have the best possible experience. The first REALTOR I ever hired spoke only to my boyfriend whenever we were all together, which was comical to me, considering I was the sole buyer and title holder.

Self-reliance and communication
If there’s one thing Suze Orman has taught us, it’s that we, at some point, have to look to ourselves for guidance.  No one can care as much about your home search as you, and no one will have to live with your choices but you. And at some point, your REALTOR will have to look to you for direction and guidance too. Decide what things you want your agent to deliver to you, and what kinds of services you think are worth paying for, and then ask for them. Aim high; you don’t just want someone who can open a lock box, you want someone who can provide value.  Resist the temptation to act on a friend’s referral, or use a friend who’s new to real estate.

Talk is cheap, information is cheaper (in a good way)
Today is when responsible consumerism marries technology; use the Web to research and find facts, and remember, now that information is freer than ever, you can’t use a price tag to conclude its worth. Use trusted sources, and check facts. Remember, this used to be a lot harder, way back when real estate agents wore big gold sport jackets with their names embroidered on the lapel.

RELATED ARTICLES ON THE WEB

• Finding the right real estate agent
• The home buying process
• For first-time homebuyers

Traditionally, you had to sign up with a REALTOR before you were enlightened to these data. Today, you can either ask your agent to help you with data points such as listing history, days on the market, comparative pricing, and property values over time, or you can get them by signing up at COhomefinder.  There’s no obligation, and the client care team is happy to give you as little or as much hand-holding as you want.

But where a historical perpective counts is with the property’s informal history that’s usually recorded in the memories of the neighbors and other locals. If, for example, a property was the scene of a dramatic or catastrophic incident, that’s good to know. If a history of violence or repair doesn’t bother you, you might feel fine about continuing with a thorough home inspection. If it does, however, discovering the facts well before you start losing money and paying penalties is well worth it.

I have broken this oath a few times in my experience, and those were painful transgressions. Either I failed to consider the value of a good agent in the business, or I chose foolishly. Either I had handed over my home search or sale too much to someone else, or I thought I could do it all myself. A few times I’ve gotten it right, and there’s nothing better than knowing that it’s possible to buy or sell a home in Colorado (or any other state) without putting your life savings into the swear jar.

THE KEYS ARE NOT IN THE LOCK BOX, THEY’RE IN YOU
I’m not a realtor, or a REALTOR® , or a real estate expert, but I am a realist with a brain that works, and that entitles me to the opinion that the road to a good experience in any real estate transaction begins and ends with the basics: Real estate involves a series of collaborative efforts, and you are in charge of the formal and informal partnerships you create and negotiate.

We’ll do more delving into the art of being a good consumer of real estate, which, by the way, has never been easier to accomplish. That’s the good news. The bad news is that making seemingly small errors in judgment can cost you money, time, energy, happiness, and even relationships.

In future installments, I give you my take on the scarlet A: Agents. The good, the bad, the ugly, and the myths and stereotypes that plague them. I’ll opine on the market, using conditions to your advantage. And of course, more on how to use the modern conveniences of today to arm yourself with the information it takes to make good decisions.

Stay tuned, and as always, weigh in with your own opinion in the comments section.

Like it? Home owner’s dues are $4032 quarterly, but you’ll be glad for the security gate once the paparazzi come crawling. You’ll find photos and more information on the estate, priced at $17M, at its 20 Cherry HIlls Park Drive listing page.

I guess when Steven Wright said, “You can’t have everything. Where would you put it all?” he’d never been to dinner at Shanahan’s.

As it turns out, building green can mean different things, and there are even some controversies about what are really environmentally green building practices, and what are simply trendy perceptions.   Take, for example, flooring. I was recently speaking to a flooring expert who mentioned the ever-rising requests for bamboo.  You may have heard that bamboo flooring is considered “green” because it’s a renewable resource because it matures in five years instead of thirty. (There’s also cork flooring, which can be harvested without harming the plant.)  But I learned that there’s a distinction with alternative flooring that I hadn’t considered. Some bamboo is shipped from other countries, which means that fossil fuels play a big part in its transport.  Sometimes bamboo is treated with eco-unfriendly chemicals during processing. And because some owners want to keep expensive flooring protected as long as possible, that may mean finishing bamboo with a compound with high VOC levels.

It seems that the moral of the story is: Don’t stop using your good sense just because a product or practice makes green claims.  Continue to use the kind of common sense it takes to get along in every other facet of home ownership.

Other practices believed to encourage the greening of our neighborhoods and communities include:

• Keeping courtyards and driveways permeable, so that rainwater continues to penetrate into the ground and recharge the aquifer rather than run off into the street.
• Planting xeriscaped landscapes, using native plants grouped according to water usage.
• Using natural fibers for window treatments, upholstery and rugs: wool, cotton and linen, rather than synthetic fibers that may give off harmful gases.
• Spraying on expanding-foam insulation, installed on the underside of roof sheathing in the attic.
• Installing dual-pane, impact-resistant windows that provide good insulation and are resistant to debris during storms.
• Using insulated concrete–rigid foam blocks reinforced with steel are filled with poured concrete. Provides high insulation value and wind resistance.
• Sealing duct work with mastic, a concrete-based paste painted over joints to prevent air leakage.
• Installing air conditioning systems with a SEER (seasonal energy efficiency rating) of 15, exceeding the code minimum of 12.
• Using compact fluorescent lighting. Uses less energy, generates less heat, lasts longer than incandescents.
• Choosing Energy Star appliances: refrigerator, dishwasher, range, oven, microwave, top-loading washer and dryer and ceiling fans. Certified to exceed federal standards for energy efficiency by at least 20 percent.
• Choosing dual-flush toilets that uses 0.8 gallon flushes for liquid or light waste, 1.6 gallons for solid waste. Kohler says its dual-flush toilet can save up to 2,000 gallons of water per year.

Will you still need or want to physically visit the homes that sound right for you, taking a tour of it and asking good questions with a qualified Colorado REALTOR?  I hope so.  Will you need to spend as many hours in a car as the last generation of homebuyers looking at the same number of homes? No way. In buyer’s markets and in seller’s can you get the edge over other shoppers while you sleep? Actually, yes.

In the Old Days…
Home shoppers were at the mercy of the market and its gatekeepers. Information was limited; lookers were forced to surrender themselves to people and paper.  There was a limit to one one could do for one’s self. That’s because home buying is a personal business.  No one will care about your home in Colorado  as much as you do.

Today…
You have the power, the control, the initiative, to make informed decisions. And you can make them from anywhere, at any time.  With COhomefinder’s Automated HomeAlert system, there’s a system on your side, thinking about your preferences, and delivering the results to your inbox, even while you sleep. Your wish is its command.

And now that you know all that is possible, wouldn’t a teleporter be nice?