It’s that time of the year again, the holidays are upon us and parties, events and gatherings are happening every night of the week it seems. Meeting with friends, entertaining co-workers and of course, spending much needed time with family is in order. So how do you keep track of all these amazing events and seeing all these wonderful people? I know for my family and I it is important to figure out different ways to document these wonderful times together so we can have memories to last a lifetime.

To help me figure out some ways to best capture these memories, I turned to one of my favorite daily mentors, Darren Hardy, who put together a great list of half a dozen ways to make memories with your loved ones and I am going to share them with you:

· Capture the memory – take a lot of visual photos with everyone at your gathering. Then upload them to a photo sharing website and send everyone a link to the album so everyone can share in the memories.

· Sound of music – find out what everyone’s favorite Christmas song is and who sings it. Then, go online and download every song and put together a little family album that everyone can listen to.

· Box O’wishes – have a small box placed at each persons spot at the dining table with everyone having an index card for everyone in attendance. Ask everyone to answer questions about the other people at the table and when they are finished put the answers in that persons box. This is a nice way to share good feelings and memories of each person there.

· Box O’questions – each person comes up with questions they would like to know about everyone in attendance and then you can all sit down and read them to one another and get to know one another better.

· Time versus trinkets – with your close friends and family, the best thing you can give them is your time. Give them a card filled with sentimental memories, a list of gifts they will receive throughout the next year or any other ways you can spend time with them.

· Don’t’ just get together, give together – do something meaningful together for someone else. Ask each person coming to your get together to bring some non-perishable food or some gently used clothes or some blankets and take all of these things to a local shelter. Or give a financial contribution to your favorite charity or figure out a place you can all go volunteer for a day.

And during the holiday season, if you know anyone who doesn’t have family or friends to spend time with, invite them to join your festivities!

Have a great holiday everyone and safe travels to anyone traveling!

The most popular Aribnbs in Denver

December 12, 2017

If you ever heard a great comeback story, the story of how Airbnb came to be would definitely rank up there as one of the best stories. The three men who started it actually presented the idea a few times before anyone picked investing in the company and started it because they were living in San Francisco and were having a hard time paying the rent. It took them nine years to get where they are today spanning all over the world and catering to college kids, travelers and businessmen alike. The company is worth over $25 billion dollars and continues to grow. People use the website when traveling for fun or for work and love the experience of getting to stay in some unique homes. Airbnb is working to roll out a new program called Airbnb Select that will target high-end vacationers with specialty listings. The company also recently paired up with WeWork, the co-working space company found in many cities, offering people traveling for work a place to stay for however many days while also having the ability to use the shared work space during their stay.

In Denver alone this year, Airbnb’s occupancy rate increased from 10% to 61% according to an October report on the city’s hospitality market from broker service CBRE Group. The latest report from November 1st shows Denver Aribnb’s had 310,000 guest arrivals and 3,200 active hosts who earn and average of $6,800 per year. Many people find Airbnb a great way to make a little extra money or to help pay their mortgage. I have clients who stay with their significant other on the weekend while renting out their place. For my clients who travel a lot for business, they find Airbnb a great way to keep cash flow coming on their homes while they are out of state.

One thing to be weary of though is if you live in a condominium complex. Many new condo buildings are putting rules regulating just how many people can provide Airbnb services or if they will allow the service at all. I help many clients buy investment properties and one of their first questions always is, can we use this space for Airbnb? I always make sure to check with the HOA board as well as research into the building. If they are a homeowner, there is no problem I would just recommend if they are traveling a lot to have someone they trust be able to clean the home and check on it after visitors have left.

So what are the popular Airbnb’s in Denver? It seems the most popular places for people to stay when visiting is in carriage homes, row homes and lofts. The Denver Business Journal was able to pull the most popular Airbnb rentals in Denver so take a look to see what appeals to visitors coming to our city:

https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2017/11/28/carriage-houses-lofts-row-homes-here-are-the-top.html#g/424993/1

Conforming loan limits are going UP in 2018

December 7, 2017

From the title of the blog, some of you may be jumping up and down with excitement over the news that conforming loans limits are going up which we know means more purchasing power to the borrower aka you! But for those of you who are sitting there going, sounds great, but what exactly is a conforming loan and what does it have to do with me, let me explain.

A conforming loan is a mortgage loan that conforms to GSE guidelines (GSE is Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac). The most well-known guideline is the size of the loan, which for this past year the limit was around $424,100 for single family homes in the US (even though it could vary in certain areas). So, the limit is how much can actually be borrowed and coming in 2018, loan limits are going to go up which means a lot of good things for borrowers.

Investopedia describes conforming loan limits as the following: The limit on the size of a mortgage which Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will purchase and/or guarantee. The conforming loan limit is set annually by Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's federal regulator, The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO). OFHEO uses the October to October percentage increase/decrease in the average house price in the monthly interest rate survey of the Federal Housing Finance Board (FHFB) to adjust the conforming loan limits for the subsequent year.

What does this mean for a Borrower? More purchasing power! Mortgages, which exceed the conforming loan limit, are known as jumbo mortgages. The interest rate on jumbo mortgages can be higher than the interest rate on conforming mortgages. A borrower whose mortgage amount slightly exceeds the conforming loan limit should analyze the economics of reducing their loan size through a larger down payment or possibly using secondary financing to qualify for a conforming mortgage verses a jumbo mortgage.

The new base limit for single family homes in the continental US is $453,100 but her are the limits for the different cities and counties in/around the Denver area:

Denver $529,000

Boulder $578,450,

Broomfield $529,000

Adams County $529,000

Jefferson County $529,000

Douglas County $529,000

So that makes for some exciting times for borrowers next year! If you were thinking it is time to buy in the market, there is no better time then the present. With interest rates still low and now the conforming loan limits going up, you have much more purchasing power and that is an exciting thing. Contact me today and let’s grab coffee and chat about your loan options and how we can get you the house you want in the New Year!