RealtyColorado

6 Rules of Curb Appeal

admin — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 17:33:03 +0000

How to beat out competition when selling your home

By Paul Bianchina, Inman News®

It’s that time of year again, when I take a moment to talk to all of you who are thinking of putting your home on the market this spring. If real estate’s favorite old adage is “location, location, location,” then it’s got to be followed closely by, “You get only one chance to make a first impression.”

You can’t change your home’s location, but you can certainly do everything within your power to make that first impression a strong one, so let’s go over the basics of that all-important must-have for a successful sale: curb appeal.

Start with a step back

You’ve seen the outside of your house so many times that you don’t really see it anymore. So now’s the time to look at it with new eyes, from the perspective of a prospective buyer. And if you can’t do it objectively, get a friend, a neighbor or your real estate agent to do it for you.

Put yourself in the buyer’s shoes, and make a written list of those things that might raise some concerns for you if you were thinking of buying it. And while the front of the house is the primary focal point, don’t overlook the sides and rear of the house as well. Here are some things to keep in mind:

Exterior paint: The color and condition of your home’s exterior paint job is one of the single most important things to a prospective buyer. The color makes a visceral impact the moment a buyer walks up, and while you might have thought that the hot pink siding with neon purple trim was a great showcase of your individuality when you painted the house, it’s going to severely limit the home’s appeal.

And no matter what color the house is, if the paint job is faded and peeling, it’s an immediate warning sign to buyers that the house hasn’t been maintained, so they’ll have their magnifying glass out to look for other defects.

If you’re handy with a brush and an airless sprayer, you might just want to undertake a repainting project yourself. A long weekend and a few hundred dollars in paint can make a world of difference in how well the home shows and how quickly it sells.

If you don’t want to paint the entire house — or if it doesn’t really need it — just painting the trim, exterior doors, garage door or window shutters can make a big difference as well.

Roofing: A bad roof is another indicator of a general lack of maintenance, and may point a finger at potential structural and even mold problems resulting from leaks. Roofs are expensive to replace, but depending on your market and your desire to reap top dollar from the sale, you may want to take a hard look at the economics of re-roofing.

Talk with your agent about the pros and cons of re-roofing now versus crediting the cost of a new roof to the buyer in escrow.

Driveway and walkways: Driveways are a pretty dominant feature in most homes. Clean any oil-stained concrete, and repair small cracks before they get larger. For asphalt driveways, a seal-coat can often make a big difference in appearance and help prolong the asphalt as well.

For concrete or asphalt that’s badly damaged, it’s time to be thinking about replacement. You can replace the driveway with the same material as before, or consider an updated look by using paving stones instead — they hold up well in all types of weather, and can even be a very satisfying do-it-yourself project.

How about walkways? When someone arrives, is there a clear and safe path to your front door? You may not mind walking across your front lawn, but guests and prospective buyers would definitely prefer a walkway. There are lots of options for creating a new front walkway or replacing an existing one, so check out your home center or some landscaping magazines for ideas.

Landscaping: Are things overgrown? Dead or dying? Obviously neglected? Landscaping is a huge part of that first impression, so remember to take a critical look at it.

Fertilize and water the lawn regularly to green it up, and run an edger along sidewalks and driveway edges.
Rake up leaves and pine needles.
Repair sprinkler systems.
Prune back or even remove those wild shrubs, and trim overhanging tree branches.
Use bright flowers to create borders and accent areas that add both color and hominess to the yard.
Consider adding new shade trees in front, which help a home look more established and appealing. Trees look best planted in odd numbers — a grouping of three or five for example — and the folks at your local nursery can help you with proper spacing.

Clean and organize: Finally — clean! If you’re not going to paint, wash down the siding to remove dirt and stains and get it looking fresh and clean. Wash driveways, walkways and patios. If you have a wood deck, consider a complete cleaning to restore the wood to a fresher look.

Wash all the windows, inside and out, and wash the screens as well. Polish doorknobs and light fixtures. Stow all of your garden tools and kids’ toys away to remove clutter and potential tripping hazards. Take a trip to the local landfill and dump all the stuff that’s accumulated in and around the yard.

Check the night view

One last thing: Check the night view as well. A home that shows well at night really creates an impression. Replace any burned-out lightbulbs, and consider adding a timer or two to keep the lights on a little longer into the evening.

Consider some low-voltage or solar lights to accent front walkways, and maybe provide up-lighting to accent trees and larger shrubbery. Keep a light or two on in the front windows as well, to add to the feeling of coziness and comfort.

Remodeling and repair questions? Email Paul at paulbianchina@inman.com. All product reviews are based on the author’s actual testing of free review samples provided by the manufacturers.

Fix leaky faucet in 8 easy steps

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 15:51:01 +0000

There’s no need to replace whole fixture

By Bill and Kevin Burnett
Inman News®

Q: The drip in my bathroom sink is driving me nuts. I live in a 1930s California bungalow. The original faucet is mounted on a pedestal sink. It is a three-piece unit with a spout in the center and hot and cold handles about 8 inches apart. The handles are porcelain with very attractive cone-shaped porcelain escutcheons.

I suppose I could have a plumber replace the faucet, but I’d rather keep it if I can. Short of replacing the fixture, what can I do to stop the drip?

A: When dealing with old houses, our mantra has always been to try to keep the original parts and pieces. We’ve stripped paint off old baseboards, reconditioned gumwood trim, refurbished old claw-foot tubs and even had old faucets re-chromed.

Fortunately, your problem is easy to fix. Change the washers in the faucet and the drip will go away. No need to replace the fixture, no need to call the plumber. It’s a do-it-yourself job that requires only a little know-how, a little time and less than a dollar. Make sure to change the washers in both faucets. Sure as shootin’ if one isn’t leaking now, Murphy’s Law means a new drip is in your future.

Follow these steps:

1. Turn off the water. Look below the sink and you’ll probably see two handles attached to a valve with small pipes or hoses leading to each faucet. Turn the handles clockwise to shut off the water to the fixture. Sometimes there aren’t shut-off valves under the sink. In that case, shut off the water to the house. In many areas, the main shut-off valve is below a hose bib where the water line enters the house. Again, turn the valve clockwise to shut off the water.

2. Turn the handles of the sink to the full on position to make sure the water is off. When you’re sure the water is off, turn the handle clockwise halfway toward the closed position.

3. Remove the handle. Handles are mounted to the stem with a screw. Often screws are hidden under a plastic or metal cover. If so, gently pry off the cover with a thin blade (a utility knife works good), remove the screw and lift off the handle.

4. The faucet stem is secured to the basin with a locknut and perhaps a washer. Replace the handle on the stem and hold it steady while turning the nut counterclockwise to unscrew the locknut from the stem. Remove the handle and the locknut.

5. Replace the handle but not the screw. Remove the stem from the faucet body by turning the handle counterclockwise. Keep turning until the stem can be lifted out of the faucet body. Remove the stem. If the stem threads are bound up, a squirt or two of WD-40 or Liquid Wrench will loosen them.

6. At the bottom of the stem is a hard rubber washer attached by a small screw. It may be flat or it may be cone-shaped. Unscrew the washer. Use a small towel or stopper to cover up the drain. We’ve skipped this step and have wasted a half hour fishing the screw out of the P-trap. It’s likely that the stem has another rubber O-ring to prevent water from oozing up and out of the stem. Rubber washers come in many sizes, so it’s best to take the washers to your local hardware store and make sure you get the right matches.

7. With the correct washers in hand, replace the worn-out ones and reassemble the unit. Replace the rubber O-ring, screw in the new faucet washer, screw the stem into the body, install the locknut and reinstall the escutcheon and handle.

8. Finally, turn the water back on and test the faucets. Be gentle; when the water first comes back on, it will spit and gurgle. Nothing is wrong, but if the faucet is full-on open you’ll get a spray.

By the way, we’ve been checking out the “how to” offerings on YouTube. There’s no shortage of advice, but as you would expect, the quality is all over the map. Happily, we found one that does a fine job of addressing your leaky faucet issue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15A0V7lj_Lo.

Signs your double-pane windows need fixing

admin — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 23:27:42 +0000

Fogged-up glass a red flag
By Paul Bianchina

It’s winter, and the temperatures are dropping outside. One day you’re warming up your home and suddenly you notice something that you hadn’t seen during the summer. That perfectly clear window in the living room or the kitchen or somewhere else in the house suddenly looks foggy. You wipe it down from the inside — and from the outside — but the fog won’t go away. The next day, it warms up again outside, and to your surprise, the fog disappears again. So what’s going on?

That intermittent fogging during cold temperatures is an indication that you have what’s known as a “blown seal” in your insulated glass window. Here’s what happens:

Insulated glass windows, also known as double-pane windows, have two panes of glass that are held apart by a metal strip. The strip, usually somewhere between 1/4 and 3/4 of an inch wide, is adhered to the two glass panes with a flexible sealant material.

During the manufacturing process, moisture is evacuated from between the glass panes as they’re sealed together, forming a dead air space. It’s the combination of the two glass panes and the dead air that gives the window panes their additional insulating value, and helps keep the window warmer than one with a single pane of glass.

Depending on the type and design of the window, sometimes inert argon gas is used between the panes to increase the insulating value even further. Some windows also have decorative grids trapped between the panes as a design feature. The sealed, insulated glass units are then placed into the frame and held in place with molding strips, making up a complete window unit.

What happens when damage occurs

The sealed, insulated glass unit is designed to have quite a long life span; in theory, it should last as long as the window unit itself. However, sometimes there are flaws in the manufacturing process or, more likely, some type of impact damage occurs to the window. That can cause a small opening to appear in the seal between the glass and the spacer bar. It’s something you won’t see, but it’s enough to allow air to enter the space between the panes of glass.

You might be thinking that that’s no big deal, since that’s just an air space anyway, right? But the difference is that it’s designed to be a dead, dry air space. Now, with the broken seal, air that has moisture in it has been introduced.

During the summer, when the air temperatures outside are warm and the glass is also warm, that’s OK. But now, with the colder temperatures of winter, the outer pane of glass gets cold. The warm air inside your house is trying harder than ever to escape, and it carries moist air into the window cavity, where it hits that cold glass and condenses back into a liquid. The result is that fogging you see. And because it’s inside the window, you can’t do anything to get rid of it.

Replacement is the only option

Once you discover a window with a blown seal, your only option is to replace the insulated glass unit. You need to do that as soon as you discover the problem, as the window has lost its insulating value, and the trapped moisture can potentially lead to other problems. Not to mention the fact that you can’t see through the window!

The good news is that you must replace only the sealed glass unit, not the entire window. This is something that you need to leave to the pros. Contact a glass company in your area and have them make a site visit. They’ll examine the window, measure the insulated glass unit, including the size of the air space, and have a new one made up that matches. When the new one is ready, they’ll come back out, remove the moldings and the old unit, and install and seal the new unit in place.

If the window is relatively new and the glass unit fails, contact the company or the contractor where you purchased it. Home centers such as Lowe’s and Home Depot will typically replace insulated glass units that fail, as will many other retailers.

If you have windows that are damaged in an insurance-related claim, such as a fire, wind storm, or some type of impact such as a tree limb that falls, you may not be aware of the fact that a seal has been damaged until winter comes around and the fogging becomes obvious. For that reason, if you suspect any type of potential window damage, always make your insurance adjuster aware that you’ll be holding the claim open for possible future supplemental damage claims.

More: http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/paulbianchina/signs-your-double-pane-windows-need-fixing

Is buying real estate in Denver a good invesment?

admin — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 20:50:42 +0000

If you have ever wondered if buying a home in the Denver area is a good investment watch this video NOW!

Winterizing Your Denver Area Home!

admin — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 19:29:27 +0000

The fall Equinox is a good time of year to start thinking about preparing your Denver area home for winter, because as temperatures begin to dip, your home will require maintenance to keep it in tip-top shape through the winter.

Autumn is invariably a prelude to falling winter temperatures, regardless of where you live. It might rain or snow or, as David Letterman says, “Fall is my favorite season in Los Angeles, watching the birds change color and fall from the trees.” Did you know there is only one state in the United States where the temperatures have never dipped below zero? Give up? It’s not the Denver area, it’s Hawaii.

Here are ten tips to help you prepare your Denver area home for winter:

1) Furnace Inspection

Call a Denver area HVAC professional to inspect your furnace and clean ducts.
Stock up on furnace filters and change them monthly.
Consider switching out your thermostat for a programmable thermostat.
If your home is heated by a hot-water radiator, bleed the valves by opening them slightly and when water appears, close them.
Remove all flammable material from the area surrounding your furnace.

2) Get the Fireplace Ready

Cap or screen the top of the chimney to keep out rodents and birds.
If the chimney hasn’t been cleaned for a while, call a chimney sweep to remove soot and creosote.
Buy firewood or chop wood. Store it in a dry place away from the exterior of your home.
Inspect the fireplace damper for proper opening and closing.
Check the mortar between bricks and tuckpoint, if necessary.

3) Check the Exterior, Doors and Windows

Inspect exterior for crevice cracks and exposed entry points around pipes; seal them.
Use weather stripping around doors to prevent cold air from entering the home and caulk windows.
Replace cracked glass in windows and, if you end up replacing the entire window, prime and paint exposed wood.
If your home has a basement, consider protecting its window wells by covering them with plastic shields.
Switch out summer screens with glass replacements from storage. If you have storm windows, install them.

4) Inspect Roof, Gutters & Downspouts

If your weather temperature will fall below 32 degrees in the winter, adding extra insulation to the attic will prevent warm air from creeping to your roof and causing ice dams.
Check flashing to ensure water cannot enter the home.
Replace worn roof shingles or tiles.
Clean out the gutters and use a hose to spray water down the downspouts to clear away debris.
Consider installing leaf guards on the gutters or extensions on the downspouts to direct water away from the home.

5) Service Weather-Specific Equipment

Drain gas from lawnmowers.
Service or tune-up snow blowers.
Replace worn rakes and snow shovels.
Clean, dry and store summer gardening equipment.
Sharpen ice choppers and buy bags of ice-melt / sand.

6) Check Foundations

Rake away all debris and edible vegetation from the foundation.
Seal up entry points to keep small animals from crawling under the house.
Tuckpoint or seal foundation cracks. Mice can slip through space as thin as a dime.
Inspect sill plates for dry rot or pest infestation.
Secure crawlspace entrances.

7) Install Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Detectors

Some cities require a smoke detector in every room.
Buy extra smoke detector batteries and change them when daylight savings ends.
Install a carbon monoxide detector near your furnace and / or water heater.
Test smoke and carbon monoxide detectors to make sure they work.
Buy a fire extinguisher or replace an extinguisher older than 10 years.

Prevent Plumbing Freezes

Locate your water main in the event you need to shut it off in an emergency.
Drain all garden hoses.
Insulate exposed plumbing pipes.
Drain air conditioner pipes and, if your AC has a water shut-off valve, turn it off.
If you go on vacation, leave the heat on, set to at least 55 degrees.

9) Prepare Landscaping & Outdoor Surfaces

Trim trees if branches hang too close to the house or electrical wires.
Ask a gardener when your trees should be pruned to prevent winter injury.
Plant spring flower bulbs and lift bulbs that cannot winter over such as dahlias in areas where the ground freezes.
Seal driveways, brick patios and wood decks.
Don’t automatically remove dead vegetation from gardens as some provide attractive scenery in an otherwise dreary, snow-drenched yard.
Move sensitive potted plants indoors or to a sheltered area.

10) Prepare an Emergency Kit

Buy indoor candles and matches / lighter for use during a power shortage.
Find the phone numbers for your utility companies and tape them near your phone or inside the phone book.
Buy a battery back-up to protect your computer and sensitive electronic equipment.
Store extra bottled water and non-perishable food supplies (including pet food, if you have a pet), blankets and a first-aid kit in a dry and easy-to-access location.
Prepare an evacuation plan in the event of an emergency.

By Elizabeth Weintraub, About.com Guide

Best way to insulate windows

admin — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 21:52:58 +0000

By Bill and Kevin Burnett
Inman News™

Q: After we had a replacement window installed a couple of years ago in our Denver home, I sprayed foam insulation around the edges, because the installation left some noticeable gaps.

The foam expanded and is now all over the white siding of my Denver area home. I was told to let it dry and that eventually it would deteriorate and could easily be removed. I’ve been afraid to touch it ever since, but it is an eyesore. Thankfully, it’s at the back of the house. Do you have any tried-and-true methods for removing this?

A: Kudos to you for insulating the voids in your Denver home. The installers should have done this. Either they didn’t do it at all, or they did such a poor job that you had to redo it.

Unfortunately you did it from the outside. You’d have been better off using a top-of-the-line acrylic caulk. It may have taken a couple of applications, but the job would have been done without the mess. But the deed is done. Not to worry; you can fix your Denver home.

Urethane foam’s main use is to plug voids in new construction, including all penetrations that might let conditioned air out or outside air in. Examples are locations where water pipes or heating ducts move from the crawl space or the attic into the Denver house or to seal cracks at door and window penetrations.

To seal potential air leaks around windows in your Denver home, urethane foam is sprayed between the window and the wood framing. Spray the foam about halfway from the outside edge of the frame and let expansion take care of the rest. Fill the void too much and the foam will seep beyond the inside edge of the window and you’ve got a sticky, gooey mess.

Anyone who’s made a misstep with canned urethane foam insulation knows that as the stuff expands, it goes into places where it’s not supposed to go. Whether it cures to a hard surface or remains flexible, it’s a bear to get off of your Denver home. The best you can do when it’s wet is to have a can of acetone nearby and clean up the mess with this solvent. Acetone is the same as nail polish remover, so it’s strong stuff.

But in your case, a couple of years is more than enough time for the insulation to decompose. It’s been exposed to the Denver sun, wind and rain, and it probably has the consistency of a rice cake.

Use a putty knife pressed against the window to score the insulation where it’s oozed out. Then press the putty knife against the siding and score the foam from that side of your Denver home. Then you should be able to remove the bulk of the insulation.

If the siding is painted wood, sand the Denver residue off with 100-grit sandpaper. You’ll have to do a little touch-up painting.

If the siding is vinyl or aluminum, use an abrasive sponge to scour the remaining Denver residue from the siding.

In either case, finish the job by properly caulking the joint with acrylic latex caulk.

Simple steps to fix a leaky toilet in your house

admin — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:16:21 +0000

Uneven floor, wax ring are red flags in your house

BY BILL AND KEVIN BURNETT, WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011.

Inman News™

Brian Teutsch” />Flickr/Brian Teutsch

Q: We have a toilet in our house with an intermittent floor leak that a double wax ring and a new toilet could not correct. The toilet sits on a slightly uneven slab floor. There hasn’t been a leak the 50 years we have lived here. Any ideas?

A: The most likely cause is that the wax ring around the closet flange is leaking, allowing a small amount of water to seep from under the toilet with each flush in your house. The wax rings are probably misaligned.

The fix is to reset the toilet in your house using a flange extension and one wax ring. The slight unevenness of the slab might be a contributing factor, but you can fix that by shimming the bottom of the toilet so that it sits level.

Toilet hydraulics are pretty simple. Waste and wastewater are discharged from the toilet bowl through an S curve in the bowl structure in your house into a waste pipe. The toilet bowl is bolted to the floor with closet bolts attached to a flange connected to the waste pipe.

A wax ring, when correctly installed, produces a watertight seal between discharge hole and the waste pipe of your house. If the closet flange sits below the level of the finished floor or the wax ring is installed catawampus, the seal can be incomplete, and the toilet will leak.

Removing and resetting the house toilet properly will stop the leak.

To remove the toilet:

1. Shut off the water to the tank.

2. Flush the toilet to empty the tank.

3. Remove the remaining water in the tank with a small cup.

4. Use a sponge to remove the rest. Next, disconnect the line running from the water supply valve to the tank.

5. Unscrew the two bolts securing the tank to the bowl and lift the tank off the bowl and set it carefully aside. (This assumes you have a two-piece toilet. If you have a one-piece toilet, there are no tank bolts and you will have to remove the entire fixture.)

6. Remove the bowl (or entire fixture) from the floor. To do this, remove the caps covering the closet bolts on the base of the toilet. Unscrew the nuts from the closet bolts.

7. If there is caulk or putty around the base of the bowl, score it with a putty knife.

8. Gently rock the bowl side-to-side and front to back to loosen the bowl. When the bowl is loose, lift it off. Water will remain in the toilet trap inside the bowl. Some of it will end up on the floor. Have a rag, mop or sponge ready.

To reset the toilet, the basic steps are:

1. Clean the wax off the discharge hole and flange.

2. Install a flange extension if the existing flange is below the finished floor level. A flange extension is essentially a large washer that bolts to the existing flange to raise the height of the toilet flange.

3. Replace the toilet bolts and wax ring.

4. Set and level the bowl.

4. Reinstall the tank on the bowl.

5. Connect the water supply and test for any leaks by flushing several times.

In more detail:

1. Place a new wax ring on the discharge hole on the bottom of the bowl. Buy one with a plastic extension that fits into the waste pipe.

2. Most toilet-bolt kits come with some kind of press-on plastic pieces that are supposed to temporarily hold the bolts upright when setting the toilet. Throw them away and use another set of nuts and washers to secure the bolts to the flange before installing the toilet. This will hold the bolts firmly while you jiggle the toilet onto them.

3. Jiggle the bowl onto the flange by pressing strongly on the edges of the bowl to make sure the wax ring is fully compressed. If you see a little wax in the bolt holes that’s OK.

4. Level the bowl, front to back and side to side, using a spirit level. Use wood shims to elevate the edges of the bowl if needed. Install the shims with the narrow end pointing toward the center of the toilet so that they support only one point; break the shim to approximately the correct length so that not too much pokes under the toilet.

5. Install the plastic cap washer, the steel washer and the nut onto each bolt and tighten evenly. Don’t be a gorilla. On many marginal plumbing installations it’s possible to pull the toilet flange up out of the floor.

5. Next, reinstall the tank. Make sure to use a new rubber washer for the connection between the tank and the bowl.

6. Test the toilet again for wobble and add or adjust the shims slightly if needed.

7. Tighten the bolts a quarter turn more, connect the water supply and test it with five or six flushes to be sure water doesn’t show up on the floor.

8. Use the point of a new utility-knife blade to cut the shims right at the base of the toilet.

9. Caulk the joint where the toilet meets the floor, leaving about 4 inches at the back of the toilet clear so you’ll know if a future leak develops. Caulk serves a couple of purposes. Most important, it keeps the shims in place. It also hides the shims, and it adds a little extra “glue” to keep the toilet in place. Because caulk shrinks when it dries, you may need to do it again the next day.

Follow these steps in your house and we’re confident your leak will be a thing of the past.

Read the entire article: http://www.inman.com/buyers-sellers/columnists/billkevinburnett/simple-steps-fix-a-leaky-toilet

Highlands Ranch transitions into future

admin — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 16:11:16 +0000

The majority of residents who have called Highlands Ranch home for 20 years or more recall the growth of the community as a whirlwind. Now they are looking to the future as the slice of suburban paradise transitions into its next phase.

Sam Thenell, 4, plays near the pond at Redstone Park Sept. 23. Parks, trails and recreation centers in Highlands Ranch bustle with resident activity on a daily basis. Photo by Courtney Kuhlen | ckuhlen@ourcoloradonews.com

Posted: Monday, September 26, 2011 9:33 pm | Updated: 4:38 pm, Mon Sep 26, 2011.

By Chris Michlewicz

The maturity of Highlands Ranch, an unincorporated enclave in the northern tier of Douglas County, is summed up best by an unintended but poetic analogy from Tom Di Rito, who has lived with his wife in the same home in the Northridge area since 1987.

“The small trees we saw planted and helped plant are giving us shade now,” he says.

The course of events in his family is similar to those in other Highlands Ranch households. The kids attended college in Denver while commuting from their parents’ home, and now have settled in the community in which they grew up to raise their own families. Di Rito’s son and his wife, a local junior high school teacher, own a home not too far away from the parents. They also have a son, which means there are three generations now living here. Di Rito’s grandson sees the same pediatrician that his son once did.

With just about any amenity and service one can desire, longtime residents find it tough to even consider leaving Highlands Ranch. Many have become lifelong friends with neighbors. On any given day, an overwhelming percentage of the population uses a trail or works out at a recreation center or visits one of Highlands Ranch’s 27 parks. Parks were built out with the rest of the community; green splotches dotted the first color-coded maps that showed the layout of commercial, residential and open space areas.

At the height of the population boom, a park was being developed every year and a half, while neighboring cities built one every five years, said Jeff Case, public works director for the Highlands Ranch Metro District and longtime resident.

With the metro district building parks, the Highlands Ranch Community Association providing recreation services and Douglas County supplying all other necessary functions, including law enforcement, there was barely any talk among decision-makers about incorporating Highlands Ranch into a municipality. Incorporation can be a hot-button issue for some people; they argue that becoming a city would only result in a larger tax burden. Highlands Ranch has just about everything residents could need, they say.

Mission Viejo Company, the original developers of Highlands Ranch, did not purposely create an environment to circumvent incorporation; special districts and the development company simply made the community self-sufficient within a short period of time. Services that filled in the remaining gaps soon followed.

Despite being considered a success, not everything has gone perfectly with the build out of Highlands Ranch. Construction projects, like the Fairfield Properties multi-unit housing development near Highlands Ranch Parkway and Ridgeline Boulevard, were abandoned as the economy tanked. Plans to create a Boulder Mall-like environment rife with quaint boutiques and trendy restaurants in Town Center North failed when Shea Properties was only able to attract big boxes like Home Depot in a bad commercial real estate market.

Highlands Ranch also lacks certain charming qualities that Midwesterners and East Coast transplants are accustomed to. Case says he wishes that small mom-and-pop corner stores were figured into the master plan.

“I grew up out East and I think having corner stores that provide a few services are kind of nice for a neighborhood,” he said.

Town Center East, one of the few spots yet to be developed, is now the subject of a disagreement between the HRCA and Shea. The HRCA wants a unique shopping district, while Shea has plans to bring in proven but predictable tenants.

Most locals know the Douglas County School District carries a solid reputation as one of the top institutions in the state, attracting young families from California, Florida and all points in between. But some might not be aware that the impressive crop of highly educated workers has also done good things for Highlands Ranch’s visibility.

The pool of qualified job candidates is among the primary reasons why corporate giants such as Lucent-Alcatel, Avaya, UDR and Lockheed-Martin opened branches in the area. According to Douglas County, 58 percent of residents 18 years and over have attained some level of college degree, whether it’s an associate’s degree, bachelor’s degree, or a graduate or professional degree. That share is higher than any other county in the Denver metro area and far higher than state and national averages.

An aim to build a community where inhabitants can live, work and play has helped earn recognition from national magazines that have declared Highlands Ranch one of the nation’s top places to raise a family, among other distinctions. The influx of people during the 1990s and proliferation of single-family homes also put Highlands Ranch on the map for the wrong reasons. It was highlighted as a classic example of urban sprawl in a 1996 lead article in National Geographic that — some claim unfairly — led readers to believe the community was nothing but a sea of rooftops.

Those familiar with the many facets of Highlands Ranch believe nothing could be further from the truth.

The metamorphosis from a burgeoning suburb in one of the fastest-growing counties in the nation to a fully established community could easily lead to an identity crisis.

On the other hand, Highlands Ranch could make a seamless transition into a place where constant construction and add-ons are relics of its youth. Gary Herbella, who transferred here from California in 1994, says Highlands Ranch is poised to move into an era in which maintaining the area’s polished look becomes the norm. The Highlands Ranch Metro District is pouring more money into programs that address aesthetic elements such as fence maintenance.

“It takes more wherewithall in terms of financial responsibility now that they will be dependent on revenues from investments and property taxes,” said Herbella, a former metro district board member. “It means being a careful steward of taxpayer dollars and making sure there is enough money in the bank for long-term maintenance needs.”

New tenants occupy commercial spaces that have housed several types of businesses over the years. The original 7-11 convenience store, for example, is now an Italian restaurant. While sipping wine recently at a new Mexican restaurant near C-470 and South Broadway, Di Rito and his wife reflected on its past incarnations as Mission Viejo’s original decorating center, where homeowners would select carpeting and other accents. It was also transformed into a library branch.

Change is a constant that residents can count on, even as new development ceases. The HRCA will continue to follow trends and reshape its programs and public events accordingly. The organization also plans to attract more attention to existing features that residents might not be aware of. The Backcountry Wilderness Area, an 8,200-acre expanse of open space managed by the community association, continues to draw more people every year to excursions like elk-bugling tours.

“The Highlands Ranch Backcountry is an amenity that is nonexistent in many other communities in an urban location in a metropolitan area,” said Jeff Kappes, vice president of Shea Homes Colorado. “There are so many great things that separate Highlands Ranch.”

Read the entire Highlands Ranch article: http://www.ourcoloradonews.com/highlandsranch/news/highlands-ranch-transitions-into-future/article_3eb0fc37-16f7-516f-a66d-1ccd07b436f6.html

Not all home ownership expenses are tax-deductible

admin — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:33:37 +0000

By Stephen Fishman Inman News™

Most people know that home ownership comes with great tax breaks: home mortgage interest and property taxes are deductible from federal income tax as itemized deductions. The value of these deductions should always be factored in when determining the true cost of home ownership.

However, home buyers should be aware many of the costs of buying and owning a home are not deductible.

You cannot deduct any of the following home ownership items:

insurance (other than mortgage insurance premiums), including fire, title and home owners insurance;
rent for occupying the home before closing;
wages you pay for domestic home help;
home depreciation;
the cost of home utilities, such as gas, electricity, or water; or
forfeited deposits, down payments, or earnest money.

Real estate taxes

Home owners can deduct property taxes based on the assessed value of their real property. However, not all charges imposed on homeowners by local taxing authorities are deductible. These nondeductible charges include charges for services.

The Internal Revenue Service says that an itemized charge for services to specific property or people is not considered tax, even if it is paid to the taxing authority. You cannot deduct a charge as a home real estate tax if it is:

a unit fee for the delivery of a service (such as a $5 fee charged for every 1,000 gallons of water you use);
a periodic charge for a residential service (such as a $20 per month or $240 annual fee charged for trash collection); or
a flat fee charged for a single service provided by your local government (such as a $30 charge for mowing your lawn because it had grown higher than permitted under a local ordinance).

You must look at your home real estate tax bill to decide if any nondeductible itemized charges are included in the bill. If your taxing authority (or lender) does not furnish you a copy of your real estate tax bill, ask for it.

Assessments for local benefits

You also cannot deduct amounts you pay for local benefits that tend to increase the value of your home, such as assessments for the construction of streets, sidewalks, or water and sewer systems. You must add these amounts to the basis of your property.

You can, however, deduct assessments (or taxes) for local benefits if they are for home maintenance, repair, or interest charges related to those benefits. An example is a charge to repair an existing sidewalk and any interest included in that charge.

If only a part of the assessment is for home maintenance, repair or interest charges, you must be able to show the amount of that part to claim the deduction. If you cannot show what part of the assessment is for maintenance, repair or interest charges, you cannot deduct any of it.

An assessment for a local benefit may be listed as an item in your home real estate tax bill. If so, use the rules in this section to find how much of it, if any, you can deduct.

Homeowners association assessments

You cannot deduct home owners association assessments because the home owners association, rather than a state or local government, imposes them.

The interest paid on a home mortgage or mortgages of up to $1 million for a principal residence and/or second home is deductible as an itemized deduction.

Home loans

In addition, home owners can borrow up to $100,000 against the equity in their home and deduct the interest as an itemized deduction. However, lender charges connected with getting or refinancing a mortgage loan are not deductible, including:

loan assumption fees;
cost of a credit report, and fee for an appraisal required by a lender;
notary fees; and
preparation costs for the mortgage note or deed of trust.

Settlement costs

The following settlement costs are not deductible, but may be added to the home’s basis. This will reduce the amount of any taxable profit when the home is sold:

abstract fees (abstract of title fees);
charges for installing utility services;
legal fees (including fees for the title search and preparation of the sales contract and deed);
recording fees;
surveys;
transfer or stamp taxes;
owner’s title insurance; and
any amount the seller owes that you agree to pay, such as back taxes or interest, recording or mortgage fees, cost for improvements or repairs, and sales commissions.

Stephen Fishman is a tax expert, attorney and author who has published 18 books, including “Working for Yourself: Law & Taxes for Contractors, Freelancers and Consultants,” “Deduct It,” “Working as an Independent Contractor,” and “Working with Independent Contractors.” He welcomes your questions for this weekly column.

Best floor choices if you have pets in your home.

admin — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:43:56 +0000

Avoid solid wood in your home at all costs

By Bill and Kevin Burnett Inman News™

Q: We are beginning a bathroom and kitchen home remodel next month. We can’t seem to decide on the floors for durability, easy maintenance, etc. We have five indoor cats so we need something that will hold up with two litter boxes, and food and water bowls.

We like the look of wood and are considering bamboo for our home. But because of durability and ease of maintenance, we are also looking at tile and Marmoleum. We would be grateful for any suggestions you guys might have.

A: Years ago we gave Mom a puppy for Christmas. We did a little research and decided that a miniature schnauzer would fit the bill. We found a breeder and went to check out her dogs.

When we entered the home we found the entire floor covered in ceramic tile, all sloping gently to a central drain. Odd, we thought. But when the breeder opened a door and called out “puppies,” we were surrounded by 20 romping schnauzer pups.

In their excitement, more than one had an accident. It didn’t take us long to realize that tile was the best choice for the home of this professional dog breeder.

For durability and easy maintenance, a glazed ceramic tile floor is by far your best bet — especially in the kitchen of the home. Glazed tile is impervious to water, won’t stain and is not easily damaged. Cat claws won’t damage it. Cleanup is with a broom or vacuum cleaner followed by a once-over with a damp mop.

If you drop something heavy, you may crack or break a tile or two, but repair is a relatively simple and inexpensive process.

We recommend a maximum 1/8-inch grout line and at least two thorough coats of grout sealer to repel the occasional dribble of wine or other liquid that might stain it in the home. The downside of tile is that unless combined with a heated floor it can be cold and not comfortable underfoot.

Our second choice for the kitchen of our home is Marmoleum. This material, made up of linseed oil, rosins and wood flour and embedded onto a natural jute backing, has been a mainstay floor covering for more than 100 years.

Marmoleum is tougher than vinyl and is highly resistant to heavy rolling loads and foot traffic. Exposure to air over time hardens it, increasing its durability. It cleans with broom and vacuum followed by a damp mop. Water won’t damage it, and it is stain-resistant.

There are downsides. It’s susceptible to dents, scuffing and scratches. Home repair is not easy and should be done by a pro.

We don’t recommend any kind of wood for a home kitchen floor — especially one that is frequented by pets with claws. Wood is too soft for heavy use and won’t stand up to water.

The home bathroom is a different story. Although tile is still our first choice, a laminate floating floor will perform well provided not too much water gets on the floor. If you plan on using the tub to bathe kids or cats, laminate is out.

If you choose tile, go with a slip-resistant material. Most manufacturers use a rating system developed by the American Society for Testing and Materials, which measures slip resistance by the tile surface’s coefficient of friction (COF). The higher the COF, the more slip-resistant the tile. Look for R-11 or higher. Remember to seal the grout.

So tile is our hands-down choice for maintenance and durability in your home. A floating laminate floor will work in the bath. Avoid solid wood of any kind.