Real Estate Zealot

Tips to Sell Your Home Quickly

Shara Eastern of the Metro Brokers Eastern Team shares her tips to make a good impression and sell your home quickly.

Interviewer: Hi, I'm Kathy Soltero with Metro Brokers TV, and today in the studio we have with us, Shara Eastern. Shara I thank you so much for coming in with us and talking with us about The Eastern team...

Shara Eastern: Thank you for having me.

Interviewer: And your focus today is on the things that you need to know when you're selling your home. First off, let's start with the outside. What is the most important thing about the home's exterior?

Shara Eastern: Well you know, first impressions are a good rule to go by, so when the buyers are driving up, they want to see a home that has good exterior paint, certainly if the season allows; the lawn is mowed, and there might be some hanging baskets and big pots of flowering baskets both on the front and in the back area where the patio or deck is. So those are some of the things to think about.

Interviewer: Okay. Let's just say your seller doesn't have a lot of money to do all these things, the main thing would probably be keep it clean, right, just clean it up.

Shara Eastern: Well actually the house should look clean; the windows should be cleaned, that sort of thing, and everybody can clean their own windows certainly, so that sort of thing, yes. It should look good when you drive up.

Interviewer: Weed, weed around the area...

Shara Eastern: Can weed and all of that. Now, the interior is another story...

Again first impressions, so when somebody comes into a home, the sensibilities of sight, sound, smell are very, very important, so we want to declutter our house, put all the knick knacks away, look at it differently than you see it everyday, which we mostly don't see at all every day. So what we're doing is we're looking at it from an outsider's perspective, and we're simplifying everything. So minimize, minimize, minimize; put clutter away, as I mentioned, pretend that you're really packing to move actually....

Interviewer: Which you probably are...

Shara Eastern: Yeah. And so no dishes in the sink, beds were made all personal things away.

Interviewer: Okay.

Shara Eastern: And then we also like for there to be some sort of a nice aromatherapy type of smell. The infusers are really great, having lavender oil is wonderful because it uplifts somebody as well as it calms things down, and that's a really nice thing to have going on in the house; or an aromatherapy lavender candle in a big glass holder is quite nice.

Interviewer: Okay and it's also decorative.

Shara Eastern: Yes,and very decorative too. So things like the visual, what it sounds like, nice music on and of course how it smells.

Interviewer: How far do you think somebody needs to go to stage a home?

Shara Eastern: I think staging is important. Again, when you're walking in you need to pretend you're the buyer and what you see when you walk in, what does that look like, how does it feel. So those things important, if you have a friend who loves to do the interior design work, you might want to invite them in, get some tips certainly, a good realtor will be able to help guide you on that. I always walk through a house with the idea of how to reset the showings for it.

Interviewer: Okay. Preparing for the showings, tell me about that.

Shara Eastern: Right, to prepare for the showings; when you leave the house you want to leave it very welcoming. So the things I mentioned and also lights are on everywhere all the cats and dogs are placed somewhere, so it does not become an issue about the cat running out. You know, basically, you can leave some cookies out, On the weekend if you have time you can throw some cookies in and then the house smells from cookies too, and of course the lavender oil, you can tell that's my favorite.

Interviewer: Yes, I think that's a good idea. Well Shara, if somebody wants to sell their home how do they get a hold of you?

Shara Eastern: Well they can reach me directly on my cell-phone at 303-875-7055.

Interviewer: Alright. Shara Eastern thank you very much for coming in.

Shara Eastern: You're most welcome, Kathy, it was nice to be here.

Interviewer: And for more real estate related videos like this one, be sure to tune in to MetroBrokersTV.com.

Marketing and the MLS

Use all the great tools Metrolist has to offer to create custom branded reports, informative presentations and interesting blogs with up to date statistics and reports on real estate in Colorado.

Interviewer: Today we are talking with Mike Hixon from Hixon & Associates. Mike, welcome to the program, good to have you here.

Mike Hixon: Thank you.

Interviewer: We are talking about building a personal brand for realtors and the MLS and how that may all tie in and help but let's start with talking about brand and image, why is that important today for realtors?

Mike Hixon: Oh, brand and image is huge as far as establishing your brand, because everything that you send out, you want to have it branded, so down from your email to every bit of marketing literature that you send out, even to colleagues or associates as well, you know everything that's got your name on it leads people to you.

Interviewer: I tell people it should all look the same: your website, your Facebook, your Twitter, your e-mail it should all provide kind of the same service and lend some type of message and credibility.

Mike Hixon: Yes, exactly.

Interviewer: Which I imagine you do with all of your associates?

Mike Hixon: I do.

Interviewer: Some easy ways to do that, obviously we just talked about a few but if you are a realtor and you are just starting out and you say, 'What do I do about establishing a brand?", what would be the first thing you would give him?

Mike Hixon: Well you know it's interesting that you ask that because I just had a conversation with a colleague of mine, who went through a training course with me. Had I had the benefit of knowing a lot of this information upfront, it would have been huge.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Mike Hixon: You know I mean the first thing you've got to do is, you've got to setup an email that tells people every time you send them something what you do, and who you are.

Interviewer: Yeah.

Mike Hixon: I mean that's the first thing. And then of course you know your business relationship, how you are going to setup your office and the name of your office and how you are going to brand everything you send out, from letterhead to email.

Interviewer: I am an internet marketing guy and people always talk about that because that seems to be the wave of technology today and so forth, and a lot of people get wrapped up in it, but the bottom line is I still tell people, 'as you can do all that, this really still comes down to a relationship business', talk a little bit about that.

Mike Hixon: Big time relationship business, it is strictly relationship, you know I think I read, heard something the other day that says, "If you think you are a realtor, you are wrong, what you are is a marketer; and it's all about marketing. I mean people have to know your name, they have to see you, you have to have exposure, they have to see you somewhere and a lot of it is referral business, but you know there are a lot of folks out there that, if they see something on the internet, like YouTube or whatever that's their first point of contact and a lot of it is electronic now.

Interviewer: I hear a lot about how in the last 10 years, realtors are really breaking off into specialties, distressed property specialist, divorce specialist, whatever it may be, how important is that to incorporate into your brand?

Mike Hixon: I think it's important, I don't know that you want to just be strictly branded by one specific niche but, if you do a lot in general and your specialty is short-sales or REO, that's important to get it out specifically to your colleagues or you know other realtors in the business because a lot of times that's where I get referrals.

Interviewer: Lastly Mike, the MLS obviously is very cooperative and user-friendly for agents to help brand the agent and help talk about their personal marketing and so forth, talk about a few ways in which the MLS does that for realtors.

Mike Hixon: MLS is huge for realtors as far as getting information out to your colleagues in the business. So how do you use that as far as sorting up your listings is I think pretty important. I see so many times when you come across information that you are looking for, and it's just been skipped over, it's important information that you need, especially things that you are searching on, you know, but the more information you put in, the better off you are going to be.

Interviewer: Mike thanks.

Mike Hixon: You are welcome.

Interviewer: Appreciate you being here.

Mike Hixon: You bet. Thank you.

Learn more about How to Succeed in the Real Estate Market on Broker IPTV.

New Instanet Enhancements for MLS Users

Instanet, an online real estate forms solution, has added some enhancements to the system for Metrolist users

Interviewer: Today we are talking with Cindy Sheehan she is an account manager with Metrolist and welcome to the show.

Cindy: Hi, thank you, thanks for having me.

Interviewer: Well we are talking about a topic that is kind of near and dear to your heart this is kind of where you spend a lot time and that's Instanet documents?

Cindy: Yes.

Interviewer: And recently there has been some enhancements to the program so tell us about that?

Cindy: Yes we've just recently made some enhancements. One of them is that you can save the document to Microsoft Word, which means that you can save it off site, off the Instanet system and work on it separately. And fill-able fields, that was a big one that everyone was asking for, so now the forms have fields that are fill-able; as much as you need to write in there, you can and they expand to take all the information that you need to put in there.

Interviewer: What types of fields are fill-able?

Cindy: Just about all of them! Additional provisions and the names of the buyers and when you save them in Instanet, you can view them in Microsoft word. You can save it that way, you can save them as PDF and see all the information that you have saved and you can click on the print preview button now and see what the information looks like before you print it.

Interviewer: Yeah that's good. So is this the same as expandable form fields?

Cindy: Yes.

Interviewer: You know its fill-able is just another word for it?

Cindy: Right, right they are expandable so they, they expand to take the information that you enter.

Interviewer: And I imagine some of the feed back you had been getting from consumers is well we could really like a print preview of this and this functionality and how that works before we go ahead and send it.

Cindy: Right so Instanet made these changes for us.

Interviewer: All right now I know one change that you are excited about is and realtors in general would be as glad is that there is an easier way now to upload documents into your MLS listing is that right?

Cindy: Yes, we have made it very, very simple all you need to do is go to your listing, open it up on the screen under the change listing tab and just click on upload documents. You can put in anything that you have. If you've got HOA documents or a roofing certification, a seller's disclosure, mold disclosure, really anything a buyer might ask you for, you can go ahead and upload it.

Interviewer: Will that appear under the disclosures link, in your listing or will it be a separate link?

Cindy: You can do it either way you can either upload everything all together and call it disclosures or documents for, you know, "1, 2, 3 main street" or you can upload them each separately it's up to you.

Interviewer: But it will be that little blue link right at the top of the listings that we have got to click on.

Cindy: Right it will be in the Instanet box between the photo and the map on every listing detail sheet and it will save your documents.

Interviewer: Does it have to be a PDF can it be a word doc, Excel or does it or PDF is it?

Cindy: There are a lot of different formats that can be uploaded. So, it's pretty open.

Interviewer: that gives us some options. So, a little bit more and more people I imagine are using this?

Cindy: Yes

Interviewer: And this is some of the feed back you got about changes to make and so forth?

Cindy: Right, right.

Interviewer: And so how has this been received?

Cindy: Very well I think the document upload has been hugely well received its really easy to use now the fill-able fields was a real concern, people were asking for that to be changed and so there it is its changed. Being able to save things in Word is a nice thing too because you can work off-site you can save it to your computer and the fields are again expandable in word as well.

Interviewer: Well at least my transaction manager will be happy.

Cindy: Oh good

Interviewer: Thanks, good information! Thanks for being here.

Cindy: Sure, you're welcome. Thanks for having me.

Moving Ahead without the Tax Credit Incentives

Alison Brennan talks to us about how the tax credit effects home buying, as well as how the extensions affect sellers and buyers alike.  She also discusses opportunity that still exist and how to be creative without the government’s help.

 

 

Ty Dokken of Metro Brokers and the advantages of low interest rates

Ty Dokken discusses the advantages of low interest rates vs the end of the tax incentives.

Interviewer: Hi I am Kathy Soltero with metrobrokerstv.com. Today joining me in the studio is Ty Dokken he is with our Tech Center, Metro Brokers office. Ty welcome thank you very much for joining us today.

Ty Dokken: Hi, thanks for having me.

Interviewer: Tell me a little bit about your office. We have a couple of offices in the Tech Center, where are you located?

Ty Dokken: We are at Marina Square which 8101 East Belleview Ave., Suite F, it kind of shares the parking lot with 24 Hour Fitness.

Interviewer: Okay and how long have you been there?

Ty Dokken: Ive been there approaching ten years now.

Interviewer: So, you kind of like the Metro Brokers idea?

Ty Dokken: Love it! Great office, great people and I think we are recruiting more people than any other office out there, I believe.

Interviewer: Thats awesome, thats great. Tell me a little bit about your business, what are you specializing in right now?

Ty Dokken: I am right now Residential Sales; mainly I am about 80% buyer business, 20% listing business. Got to take care of those buyers these days.

Interviewer: Absolutely, now, how have you seen the market change since the tax credit is gone and the interest rates are so phenomenally low right now its unbelievable?

Ty Dokken: It has, this spring was pretty crazy for us and it definitely has slowed, overall market has slowed, but buyers would be crazy not to buy these days with the low-low interest rates.

Interviewer: And where are you seeing that going? I mean do you feel like we are going to see buyers pick up here may be after the elections or after the first of the year?

Ty Dokken: I am hoping soon, spring time definitely, seasonal change comes into play and we get a little more business then, but with an explanation of what kind of buying power you get with low interest rates I think more people will come off the fence.

Interviewer: Explain that, I mean because you know back then they thought $8000, well thats a great deal, Im going to get that and even after I close my house and take that and fix it up and do whatever and right now I mean the interest rates back then were may be a percentage higher even?

Ty Dokken: Right, so for instance I had a client, and friend, close on a house $400,000 last year, they got a 5.5% interest rate and they just refinanced at 4.5%.

Interviewer: In a year?

Ty Dokken: Yep, so before their mortgage payment was about $2,250 and now its around $2,000, saving them $250 bucks a month.

Interviewer: Unbelievable.

Ty Dokken: This makes a great opportunity to roll in other debts and I think its a perfect time if you are in a house to refi or if you havent bought yet to go out and buy.

Interviewer: What are you seeing the challenges so as far as buyers getting loans?

Ty Dokken: Its difficult these days. Theres always options, you got to go to the right people, but it is a little more difficult there, its a longer process and a little more tedious, they are asking for a lot of stuff so you need to have all your documentation, all your ducks in a row and even then you know I feel lucky when we get someone a loan.

Interviewer: I know, its kind of frustrating but yet it is so well worth it.

Ty Dokken: Sure is.

Interviewer: Alright. Ty thank you so much. Before you go, why dont you go ahead and let everybody know where they can get a hold of you?

Ty Dokken: Okay. Ty Dokken, Broker/Owner of Dokken Real Estate out of the Tech Center, Metro Brokers and you can reach me at (303) 246-4857.

Interviewer: Alright, Ty thank you very much for joining us today.

Ty Dokken: Great, thank you.

Interviewer: And for more real estate related videos, be sure to tune into www.metrobrokerstv.com.

First Time Buyers Trust Mary Hannen of Metro Brokers to Find The Right Home

Mary Hannen talks about helping first time buyers find the right home.

Interviewer: Hi, I am Kathy Soltero with Metro Brokers TV. Today joining me in the studio is Mary Hannen. She is with our Metro Brokers, Lafayette office. Mary welcome.

Mary Hannen: Thank you. Very nice to be here.

Interviewer: Tell me a little bit about your office, where are you located?

Mary Hannen: I am located at the Lafayette office on Public Road across the street from a great Mexican restaurant. I have been there for about 11 years. We have about 12-15 agents, it's a hard working group.

Interviewer: Tell me what brought you into the Metro Brokers family?

Mary Hannen: I like the flexibility that I have with Metro Brokers. I can be my own person, my own business, allows me freedom and yet you have the cohesiveness, cohesiveness of a wonderful group of people around me.

Interviewer: Tell me the name of your office on...?

Mary Hannen: Hannen Real Estate.

Interviewer: Okay and how long have you been with Metro Brokers?

Mary Hannen: Ive been with Brokers; Ive been with Metro Brokers since 1999.

Interviewer: Sure okay and do you find it to be a pretty good market right now up in Lafayette?

Mary Hannen: Things have slowed down a bit specifically after the tax incentive ended April 30th. We still are a relatively healthy market, Lafayette is a beautiful town, we find that many people are attracted to our quality of life. Yes, we do have interest although it has been a little slower than we like it to be.

Interviewer: Sure, but we know this is the time of the year when it starts to fall off a little bit...

Mary Hannen: Absolutely.

Interviewer: ...it picks up again after the, may be even after elections, who knows.

Mary Hannen: We hope so, we hope so.

Interviewer: What do you think has been very challenging this year up in Lafayette?

Mary Hannen: Buyers are having lender issues. Regulations are toughening up for buyers and sellers, both. That seems to be the main stopping block right now.

Interviewer: Now do you specialize in any specific area, do you do bank downs, do you do first time buyers, you do all of it?

Mary Hannen: I do all of it, I seem to gravitate towards first time buyers. I have children of my own and I seem to get much satisfaction out of finding just the right home for a young couple.

Interviewer: It is fun. First time home buyers, they seem like just people who just dont really have a clue what they are doing, you're taking them through every step right?

Mary Hannen: Yes, its very rewarding and when we find that perfect spot, it just warms my heart.

Interviewer: And do you have any certifications?

Mary Hannen: I have my GRI. I got that about three years ago.

Interviewer: And, thats a pretty intensive course, there are a lot of things that you learn and what inspired you to do something like that?

Mary Hannen: I wanted to have more well rounded knowledge; I wanted to be, to have more information available for buyers and sellers.

Interviewer: Right. Mary why dont you go ahead and tell our viewers now how they can get a hold of you?

Mary Hannen: My direct line is (303) 910-4204, my web site is www.hannenrealestate.com

Interviewer: And Hannen is spelled?

Mary Hannen: H-A-N-N-E-N.

Interviewer: Alright. Mary, thank you so much for coming in and talking with us today.

Mary Hannen: Thank you so much.

Interviewer: And thank you very much for watching Metro Brokers TV. For more real estate related videos, be sure to tune into www.metrobrokerstv.com.

Matt Tolooee of Metro Brokers discusses distressed properties and short sales

Matt Tolooee of the Colorado Springs Metro Brokers office specializes in distressed properties and short sale issues.

Interviewer: Hi I am Kathy Soltero with Metro Brokers TV. Today in the studio we have Matt Tolooee; he is with our Metro Brokers office and tell us a little bit about where you are located Matt?

Matt Tolooee: I am downtown Colorado Springs off the infamous Tejon Street, 325 North Tejon. We got a lot of businesses around us so its exciting to be downtown Colorado Springs.

Interviewer: And how long have you been with Metro Brokers?

Matt Tolooee: Two weeks.

Interviewer: Two weeks? So tell me now what brought you over to our family?

Matt Tolooee: Two weeks, I was thinking about how I am going to answer that question. The number one thing that sticks in my head is entrepreneurship. I think the structure under Metro Brokers is more suited for promoting entrepreneurship and as you know we are all entrepreneurs whether we are broker/owners or whether independent agents, but it allows for someone like me who wants to have more of a stake in the game and more involvement with the community which I am trying to do more in distressed properties. It allows somebody like me to come in without having to have a huge cash outlay to open up an office.

Interviewer: Right.

Matt Tolooee: I came from RE/MAX Organization, six years with RE/MAX. A great organization, phenomenal leadership so there are a lot of good things to say about RE/MAX, however the structure under RE/MAX doesnt quite support that you open up an office and you are the employing broker, broker/owner of that office, you can have lots of independent agents, but you cannot have multiple employee broker/owners under the same roof. With Metro Brokers you have that and I am hoping to open up a branch office in Denver soon and expand the business so I can cover the Front Range.

Interviewer: Very nice. So do you do real estate then all up and down the Front Range or just primarily in the Colorado Springs area?

Matt Tolooee: Primarily in Colorado Springs area I am doing more, as I am doing more distressed properties, I am finding I have to travel to Denver, and my son also lives in Denver so I come out here quite a bit and so I am interested in the Denver market so, but primarily right now I am in Springs with the idea to expand to Denver Metro.

Interviewer: Now you say that you focus a lot on distressed properties, tell me a little bit about that?

Matt Tolooee: Yeah, this as you know we are living in a really tough times, a lot of families are having difficulties, some of them really through no choice of their own. I've got a family that I am helping out, they have been in their home for twenty years. You know... illness, getting laid off from their jobs and just a lot of health issues, finally divorce has brought them to a point where they have to sell their home, and you know she says to me she says, 'Matt, I dont want foreclosure on my record, and they are in their late sixties and so its sad, my heart goes out to families like that. Ive got numerous examples of folks that have been caught in this situation, where their home is not worth what they paid for, its difficult to sell it and so they have to either go on a short sale or a bank owned. So yeah, I am helping quite a few families over there. My skill set is that Ive been trained in distressed properties, I am a graduate of a five star institute for REOs Bank Owned Properties and short sales. I am also certified with CDPE, Certified Distressed Properties Expert.

Interviewer: Well Matt before we go, why dont you tell everybody how to get a hold of you, because you sound like a very important realtor to know?

Matt Tolooee: I never take myself too seriously; I take my business very seriously.

Interviewer: Good.

Matt Tolooee: My name is Matt Tolooee and my phone number is 719-310-5185 and I dont have, I had a website but as I moved its under construction, so hopefully we can have that up soon. (Note: Matt's new website is now working!)

Interviewer: Alright. Matt its been a pleasure talking with you.

Matt Tolooee: Thank you so much, I appreciate it. Interviewer: Thank you so much for joining us today. And for more real estate related videos be sure to tune into www.metrobrokerstv.com.

Mike Hixon of Metro Brokers at the 2010 Colorado Association of Realtors State Convention.

Mike Hixon of Metro Brokers joins us from the 2010 Colorado Association of Realtors State Convention at the Broadmoor Hotel in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Interviewer: Hi, I am Scott Shields, Director of Marketing with Metro Brokers Inc. and I am down here joined with Mike Hixon at the 2010 Colorado Association of Realtors State Convention. Mike, thanks for stopping by here.

Mike Hixon: Youre welcome.

Interviewer: So what is your partake on the convention so far? How is it going for you?

Mike Hixon: Its beautiful, very nice; in fact, sad it is last year for the Broadmoor, but always a nice convention, a great time.

Interviewer: Have you gone into any of the continual education classes or any classes that have stuck out in your mind?

Mike Hixon: I did. I just got out of the smart phone class. That class was incredible, you know, I probably retained about 10% of it, but I am going to put at least that 10% to work.

Interviewer: Well I am sure that 10% could be better than nothing and help you increase your business.

Mike Hixon: Yeah, sure.

Interviewer: Mike which Metro Brokers office are you with?

Mike Hixon: South Suburban East.

Interviewer: And, what are you, do you specialize anything in particular? Do you have a niche real estate that you work with?

Mike Hixon: Yeah, I specialize in real estate-everything.

Interviewer: Any areas, any certain areas of Metropolitan Denver?

Mike Hixon: No, south area although you know, you got to go everywhere nowadays but, some commercial, residential just about everything, about everywhere.

Interviewer: To find more stories with other agents just like Mike, check out www.metrobrokerstv.com.

Great Opportunities For First Time Home Buyers

Mary Patzer of the Metro Brokers office in Lafayette, Colorado talks about the great opportunities for first time home buyers in the Boulder area real estate market.

Interviewer: Hi I am Kathy Soltero with Metro Brokers TV. Today in the studio I am joined by Mary Patzer and she is with our Metro Brokers office in Lafayette, Colorado. Welcome Mary, thank you so much for coming in and talking with us.

Mary Patzer: Thank you it's nice to be here.

Interviewer: Tell me about your company, where are you at and what is the name of your company?

Mary Patzer: I am Patzer Real Estate located out of Lafayette, Colorado, 107 South Public Road in Lafayette.

Interviewer: And how long have you been in the business, long time right?

Mary Patzer: I've been in the business since 1988.

Interviewer: Wow, so youve seen some of the ups and downs of our market?

Mary Patzer: Very many changes.

Interviewer: And how would you say things are going right now in Lafayette?

Mary Patzer: I think with the interest rates going as low as they are I think it is a great market for people. I think it is a great opportunity for first time home buyers to get their money out there and spend it on a home to buy rather than something to rent and just throwing the money away.

Interviewer: Well even in refi's or moving out from a home you know.

Mary Patzer: Absolutely.

Interviewer: Trying to sell a home might be a little bit more difficult but...

Mary Patzer: Absolutely.

Interviewer: ...you know it can be done even in this market?

Mary Patzer: Yes, even that.

Interviewer: How long have you been now with Metro Brokers and what brought you over to our, to Metro Brokers?

Mary Patzer: I've actually been in this same office building since 1988 and our company was becoming sort of stagnant and we decided as a group that we wanted to look for a different avenue to go down that would be more productive to the office and keep us all motivated and charged up and so in 1997 we all decided that Metro Brokers would be the place to go. So I haven't moved offices at all, not the buildings, just that we've changed and now we are Metro Brokers.

Interviewer: So, what sort of things do you like about the Metro Brokers family?

Mary Patzer: Most of all flexibility. I like being my own my real estate broker that I can do things on my terms and time and it enables me to have a relationship with my family, but I can still be with friends and people that want to purchase a home and I look out for the best for them.

Interviewer: Over the years were there any specific areas you specialized in?

Mary Patzer: I have been living in Boulder since 1955 and so I know Boulder very-very well and so I specialize a lot in the Boulder area rural, Longmont, Louisville, Lafayette, Erie, those are the areas I like to cover.

Interviewer: Thats awesome. Well Mary we really appreciate you coming in today; be sure before you go you want to tell everybody how to get a hold of you?

Mary Patzer: I am Patzer Real Estate and I am located at 107 South Public Road, Lafayette, Colorado. My phone number is (303) 530-4721 and my e-mail is mpatzer@q.com

Interviewer: Alright. Mary, thank you so much...

Mary Patzer: Thank you for having me.

Interviewer: ...its been a pleasure talking with you. And thank you so much for watching Metro Brokers TV, for more real estate related videos be sure to turn your browser over to www.metrobrokerstv.com.

Low Interest Rates Mean Low Monthly Payments

Toni Munoz of Metro Brokers in Lafayette, Colorado offers insight to buyers and sellers in todays real estate market.

Interviewer: Hi I am Kathy Soltero with Metro Brokers TV. Today I am joined in the studio with Toni Munoz with our Metro Brokers office up in Lafayette. Welcome Toni.

Toni Munoz: Thank you.

Interviewer: Tell me a little bit about your office, where are you located?

Toni Munoz: We are on Public Road weve been there for a number of years, since I was a very young child.

Interviewer: As long as you can remember, right?

Toni Munoz: Absolutely.

Interviewer: Okay, so tell me about how many people are in your office, whats the name of your company?

Toni Munoz: I think there are approximately 15 agents; its the largest real estate office in Lafayette. My company is Serene Realty.

Interviewer: Okay and so as far as being one of the largest offices up in Lafayette you guys deal with a lot of the folks up there; tell me what areas you might specialize in?

Toni Munoz: Well being in the heart of the Front Range of Colorado I can work anywhere from Lafayette to Louisville, Boulder, Erie, Thornton, Northglenn, Longmont, just primarily that whole Front Range, even Golden.

Interviewer: Whats your feeling on the market up there right now?

Toni Munoz: Its very exciting, the interest rates are good and even though we saw a drop with the tax credit expiring I am starting to see a lot of people getting more intrigued with real estate due to the interest rates I think.

Interviewer: Since the tax credit dropped off, interest rates have dropped even more I mean that $8000 almost seems insignificant now.

Toni Munoz: Exactly, people are just really starting to be intrigued with the market again I think.

Interviewer: Well if you think about it too I mean what they were getting with that $8000 versus what they can get in a minimum payment now, its unbelievable. Its kind of inspiring, people should get out there dont you think?

Toni Munoz: Thats what they think too, they think they can make it up even if they have to sell a home they can usually make it up on the buy side.

Interviewer: Right. Okay so tell me do you have any special certifications or...?

Toni Munoz: I do have my GRI.

Interviewer: And what inspired you to do something like that, it is a pretty intensive course isnt it?

Toni Munoz: Its great, I loved it. There was a lot of information, it just really helped to broaden my range and knowledge of real estate and just some of the "gotcha's" that can creep its head up and just when youre not expecting that, then it kind of takes you back to that day in class and it triggers something so I think it was very well worth my time.

Interviewer: Absolutely, and it is going to be well worth for your buyers and your sellers too.

Toni Munoz: Absolutely.

Interviewer: Tell me about, you have some special like websites or things that you can direct people to... to help them out with things.

Toni Munoz: Yes I do have my own website www.tonimunoz.com. I also now offer a video magazine that has real estate information both for buyers and sellers and if youre interested e-mail me and I will be happy to put you on the link, send you the link.

Interviewer: Okay, tell me how folks can get a hold of you? Why dont you go ahead and let them know?

Toni Munoz: I can be reached at (303) 665-8035.

Interviewer: Okay and your website again.

Toni Munoz: Its tonimunoz.com, www.tonimunzo.com.

Interviewer: Alright. Toni thank you so much for joining us today, its been a pleasure talking with you.

Toni Munoz: Thank you.

Interviewer: And for more real estate related videos, be sure to tune into www.metrobrokerstv.com.