da Vinci Realty Blog: February 2010

Radon Gas is present in Colorado.....NO SURPRISE.  Living on rock, it's going to be around.  How much is the question.  Is it also in your Water? These are questions that a good inspector will help you understand.  I know houses, and I know how to sell them.  I don't know Radon.  I trust the experts for that.  If a Realtor tries to educate you on the whats/hows/whens of Radon, don't hang on their word.  Get an expert to test, evaluate, deliver & explain the results as well as some options to mitigate if necessary.

I'll get off my soap box now.

Here's the reason for my post.  A trusted inspector in Evergreen, Colorado has compiled a study spanning the Denver Metro area to the Evergreen/Conifer/Bailey Foothills showing average radon levels, highs and lows.  This study uses data he has retained from 2002-2008.  It's not a complete picture as every property is different but I felt it was a good representation of where radon may be most prevalent.  

For example, it shows that the Genesee/Golden area has the lowest average at 3.0 pCi/L.  Pine Junction to Park Co Rd 43 has the highest average at 16.9 pCi/L where 84% of his tests in that area had levels above the EPA Action Level of 4.0 pCi/L.

The test is really easy to read.  Check out the "Mountain Living" page on CoMountainLiving.com

Hope you find this information helpful.

As you can see from my recent posts, I've had some interesting situations to discuss.  I never thought I'd be in the "blogosphere".  I've used this tool for various reasons....venting, asking advice, giving advice, sharing homes I have for sale, and displaying market activity for Evergreen Colorado real estate. 

I guess the goal is to get referrals through Activerain either from my Realtor colleagues or from consumers who find this valuable network of knowledge online.  I haven't pursued that objective aggressively.  My pleasure has come from speaking my mind...and as my friends, family and clients know..that's not hard for me.

So here's my point of this post.  Paul Collins of Colorado Springs read a post of mine titled "Realtors need to stay away from locations they don't understand"  He just called me to refer a friend in the Conifer Morrison area about an hour and a half away from his office. After making a choice to walk away from a listing due to an out of state Realtor demanding a referral after the fact..see "So Why Do I Owe You A Referral Fee", I am excited that I have a new opportunity to help another homeowner.  I truly believe that if I hadn't shared my situation to the Activerain community, I would not have met Paul and received his referral.

Thanks Paul for trusting me to help your friend.

I need to hear from my Activerain colleagues regarding an incident that I experienced today.  

Quick background: I helped a nice couple buy a home in the Front Range community of Conifer, Colorado 4 years ago.  Tragically, 1 year later, I had to offer my condolences to the husband as his wife unexpectedly died.  I was excited to hear, in April 2009, from his fiance who needed my help with remodel suggestions for his Conifer home.  He was such a nice guy and I was so happy he found someone new to move forward with.  For the next 8 months I communicated with her about ideas and potential market values.  Yesterday, I got an email from her giving me a heads up that I should be in contact with her daughter in Wisconsin regarding putting her original home on the market in Evergreen. Now that she was married and living in Conifer, she didn't need that second home.  

When I called her daughter today, who was a Realtor, I was shocked by the conversation.  The daughter, who has been in the business for 5 years, explained that she has helped her mom buy and sell many homes.  She would want to see my market analysis, any contracts and be involved in all decisions.  As inconvenient and cumbersome as that is, I was fine with it as I deal with many family members who offer their opinions.  What I didn't expect was for the daughter to say in order for me to work with her mom, I had to be open to paying her a referral fee of 25%. ARE YOU KIDDING ME!

I tried to clarify and paint a picture that it may be a little inconsistent to ask for a referral fee when there wasn't a referral and to remind her that I called her per her mother's request.  I told her I was in communication with her mom for several months regarding her real estate needs. That didn't make a difference.  She was expecting 25% no questions asked.  After spending a few hours thinking about it, I made the personal and business decision to advise my past client's new spouse that her daughter's request for a referral fee was unreasonable and not how I want to start a relationship.  It was no win-win.

I need to know from you all when it became OK for a Realtor to act so selfishly that they would demand a referral fee for doing nothing other than being a family member or friend.  Are Realtors that desperate for income that they would stoop that low.  No wonder society looks at our profession as one click above a used car salesman. I've worked my butt off trying to dismantle that negative impression and bring a professional image to this industry.  AM I OFF BASE FOR BEING SO ANNOYED???  

Share your thoughts and experiences...please! 

So this past weekend I went out with a Buyer who came to my Downtown Evergreen office because the agent they were using was based 40min away in the "flat lands" of the Denver Metro area and they didn't feel she was qualified to consult them.  I learned this agent had nothing positive to say about living in the beautiful foothill mountain community of Evergreen and Conifer.  This agent's advice for this buyer centered around "your car will get dirty from the dirt roads", "you don't get A/C in most of these homes", "homes in the mountains are so different from one another", "if you plan to sell, it's going to take a year or more to do that in the mountains".

It's upsetting to hear that this agent (a 10yr veteran) responded to her buyer's request to live in a location with "you really don't want to live there."  It wouldn't be so bad if her information was well informed and supported her impressions. She was way off base though and that does no one any good.  Yes cars get dirty, but where don't they in Colorado.  We don't need A/C because the Evergreen area is about 15 degrees cooler than the metro area in the Summer so we don't need the extra expense.  Yes..homes in the foothills are different from home to home.  We don't have the cookie cutter homes that make up the suburbs of the South Metro Area.  Homeowners and Realtors up here see that as a premium not a negative.  And the biggest mistake this agent made was advising this buyer that homes take a year to sell.  In fact, the average days on the market for Evergreen, Conifer or the Genesee/Golden areas was 150 days for 2009.

Now I'm not complaining because if this agent wasn't so negative about Evergreen, I would not have acquired a new client.  What concerns me is the fact that more and more agents, not based in the mountains, are trying to represent buyers for homes up here.  It's no wonder homeowners complain about not knowing something their agent should have advised them of.  As a Certified Mountain Area Specialist, I can honestly say "Buyer Beware" if your agent is not based in the mountains.  With challenges like access, easements, utilities, radon, uranium, wells, septic, propane, dirt roads, zoning, fire mitigation, infected trees, wild life, sun exposure, levelness of a lot, and maintained roads to name some, a buyer needs all the information and experience an agent can provide...not assumptions or impressions from an agent not savvy to the area.

For the Realtors reading this, do yourself and a buyer a favor and refer them to an experienced agent in the mountains.  It's easy money for you and less headaches when mistakes come back and bite you in the rear. Buyers who are reading this should seek out agents who are based in the mountains.  Don't take chances on a purchase this big.