There are opportunities galore to take advantage of summer reading at the Mamie Doud Eisenhower Public Library in Broomfield.

Adults

“Embrace Your Muse” is the name of this summer’s program which lasts from June 1 - August 1. You must register by July 18. Participants get a library pen and then must read 3 books to be eligible for prizes including tickets to Ballet Nouveau, certificates for dance classes, a certificate for music instruction, music CDs, one-day passes to Broomfield Recreation facilities, a Zen MP3 player and more.

Children

The children’s program also starts June 1 and you can register by visiting the children’s desk at the library and filling out a card. Children who are birth through 6th grade (for fall) are eligible. Only books that you read AFTER you sign up count and children who are unable to read may count the books that are read to them. For each level of reading you complete, you can collect a gift.

Teens

Of course the teens get a reading program of their own as well. Stop by the Teen Zone desk if you’re between the ages of 7th grade (fall) through 12th. The teen program is comprehensive and involves sports, music, drawing and dance. You can earn prizes for reading a certain number of books.

For more information visit the library’s website.

photo credit: ..· ✈Katherina ➳·..

Beth Skinner is a real estate professional who actually returns phone calls and emails! Click here to search the MLS for your dream home.

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In the western U.S. unit sales of homes are the highest they’ve been in 3 years. Sales are primarily focused on lower end homes, where sellers are still disappointed that prices are soft, but obviously buyers are reaping the benefits. The key to all of this, if you are a seller, is that buyers are keenly aware of the fact there are bargains to be had and they’re taking their time to look for them, and they’re being extra picky. If you’re a seller, hoping to push the market boundaries, this is NOT the time to do it. If you have a fair amount of flexibility in price and time AND you’re willing to do the necessary work, you’re probably okay but if not, you may want to wait to sell your home.

Be aware of the tendency to put your home on the market at a higher price just to see on the off chance whether or not it will sell. If your home is overpriced it won’t sell, which leads people to wonder “what is wrong with it.” In reality there likely isn’t a thing wrong with it except that you’ve priced it incorrectly, but that’s not always obvious to buyers. Buyers have the tendency to suspect sellers may be trying to pull something. Right or wrong, they’re likely to punish sellers for overpricing their homes by looking elsewhere.

Buyers want things easy. That’s why they want your house to be in move-in condition. They also want it to be priced properly because they don’t like to negotiate.

To be a successful seller right now you MUST have flexibility and you MUST be willing to do the necessary work. Buyers could care less that you love your house, they want it to be priced properly and in good shape.

Some of the best advice I can offer right now is to get a pre-inspection, especially when it comes to an older home. That way you know exactly what you’re getting into. I’m always amazed at sellers who are willing to invest $20,000 in upgrades but are hesitant to pay $300-$400 for an inspection to get an idea beforehand if there are any serious problems lurking that they may not be aware of. So get an inspection, fix all the issues the inspector notes, and go from there. Trust me, once you ARE under contract and the buyer’s inspection rolls around you’ll say, “I am SO glad I read that Skinny blog and had the inspection done!”

Beth Skinner is a real estate professional who actually returns phone calls and emails! Click here to search the MLS for your dream home.

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Every Wednesday in March is Movie Madness day, and you can get a free movie rental if you visit their blog that day and get the code to use when you check out at the machine.

Beth Skinner is a real estate professional who actually returns phone calls and emails! Click here to search the MLS for your dream home.

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I think it was Milton Friedman who claimed to like all tax cuts - but some he liked more than others…

As I’ve stated very publicly before, I do NOT like all this “stimulus” that is being passed in Congress and believe that much of it will eventually lead to even higher home prices in the long run, however, if you have a chance to take a tax credit, then by all means, I urge you to take it!

Denver was recently named by Forbes magazine as one of the Top 10 Best Housing Markets in the country which likely means prices here aren’t going to go much (if any) lower.

So if you’re a first time home buyer, and wondering about how the $8,000 tax credit works, here is the Skinny:

It’s actually a CREDIT this time. Not a 0% interest loan pretending to be a tax credit. It does NOT have to be paid back. You deduct it from your taxes next year IF you buy a home between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009. No, the December 1 part doesn’t make sense to me either. Why not December 31? I don’t make the rules…

You must not have owned a home in the last 3 years to qualify.

If your income tax liability is less than $8,000 you will get money back.

If you’re single you must make less than $75,000 a year and a couple less than $150,000.

And yes, if you’re claiming the 2008 “credit” from a home purchase you still have to pay that back.

If you’d like a lot more detail on the 2009 home buyer’s credit go here.

Beth Skinner is a real estate professional who actually returns phone calls and emails! Click here to search the MLS for your dream home.

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According to an article in the Denver Post this morning the need for roommates has spiked for many folks who need help with expenses in this difficult economy. If you find yourself desperate for someone to help out with expenses, here are 6 tips to go about doing that.

1. Advertise on Craiglist. But don’t just put up a boring “need roommate pronto” kind of ad. You need to sell your situation! Include pictures of the home and make a pretty flyer (free of charge) at vflyer.com. Make the flyer and after you click publish, it will give you the code to plug in at Craigslist so your ad is pretty too.

2. Roommate Locator is also free of charge. There are other services for which you can pay to list an ad, but I honestly think with all the free options these probably aren’t necessary. Especially if you’re trying to cut back on expenses!

3. Make an attractive yard sign. Not a crappy yard sign mind you, I’ve seen plenty of those recently - act like you’re serious about getting a roommate and make a decent sign.

4. Add a flyer box (you can get them for around $12 at Home Depot or Lowes) and stick the printed flyers you made at vflyer.com in there. And by the way they need to be done in color!! A friend of mine was desperate for a roommate recently so I made a sign for him, loaned him a flyer box, and in less than a week his new roommate moved in, thanks to a little marketing effort.

5. If you can’t afford the house you’re currently renting consider moving out! It’s not worth the tremendous stress you’re placing on yourself just to hold on to that one particular house. The tough times won’t last forever and they’ll be over a lot more quickly if you aren’t going into debt every month just to pay the rent on a huge house.

6. Finally, when you do find someone, offer to meet them at a coffee shop the first time. (If they don’t drink coffee they probably won’t make a very good roommate anyway…) Run a credit and background check on them. Keep in mind that their credit score may not be all that great, perhaps that’s why they’re looking to rent a room anyway, they too need to cut back on expenses. (What you especially need to check is whether or not they’ve skipped out on their rent on umpteen other rental situations.)

As far as the criminal background check goes look here to access criminal records (CO only) for $6.85 and google their name as well. Ask to see their Facebook and MySpace pages. I’m not kidding! You can learn a LOT about people this way. Too much actually!

Ask them for references, specifically their prior landlord and/or roommates.

Don’t be afraid that you’re overly paranoid or might insult them. This is your HOME and your SAFETY that is at stake.

photo credit: veganstraightedge

Beth Skinner is a real estate professional who actually returns phone calls and emails! Click here to search the MLS for your dream home.

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Go here to get yours free of charge. I’ll admit I’m not entirely certain how much you can save with this card but the website claims it’s up to 75%. It’s for all Colorado residents, and it’s free of charge, so it’s probably worth printing off a copy of the card and sticking it in your wallet, to try the next time you need prescription medication.

photo credit: dno1967

Beth Skinner is a real estate professional who actually returns phone calls and emails! Click here to search the MLS for your dream home.

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This fantastic home is priced perfectly for the first time home buyer at $140,000! It is definitely in move-in condition: brand new carpeting throughout main floor and brand new paint, and other minor upgrades throughout kitchen and bathrooms. It is priced well so you can easily do further updating on your own if you desire.

It has 2 bedrooms on main floor with 2 finished bedrooms in basement. There is a full bathroom upstairs and 3/4 bath in the basement. The basement also has a huge family room with built in bookshelves. All appliances are included!

It sits on nearly one-quarter of an acre of land, includes a covered patio out back, a one-car garage, uncovered carport, as well as boat/RV parking.

For more pictures and video see this home’s website at www.1169w102ave.info!

If you would like to see this home or have additional questions please don’t hesitate to contact Beth at 303.887.1883. She WILL return your calls and emails!!

Beth Skinner is a real estate professional who actually returns phone calls and emails! Click here to search the MLS for your dream home.

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41 homes sold last month, compared to 37 that sold a year ago in January, and 39 in December 2008.

Average Days On Market was 94 down from a whopping 135 the previous year and even 119 in December. This is often an indication that sellers are being more realistic with their asking price, allowing the market to clear faster.

The average “sold” price was $323,875 compared to $353,466 the previous year and $364,019 for December. Broomfield tends to fluctuate quite a bit in this area, I’m assuming in large part because of the number of high end, brand new homes available here.

*Based on information from Metrolist, Inc. for the period 01/01/2008 through 01/01/2009.

This representation is based in whole or in part on content supplied by Metrolist, Inc. Metrolist, Inc. does not guarantee nor is in any way responsible for its accuracy. Content maintained by metrolist, Inc. may not reflect all real estate activity in the market.

Beth Skinner is a real estate professional who actually returns phone calls and emails! Click here to search the MLS for your dream home.

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Much to my surprise I read yesterday that the housing market provided us all with some interesting news: Mortgage News Daily reported that homes sales were up in 56 markets across the U.S. - in December no less, (when many often wrongly assume that no one is out buying houses). In fact home sales were up nearly 10% from November and over 11% from a year ago. Of course I say “much to my surprise” because the nightly news led with that headline right? Er, no. It led with all the layoffs that were occurring. Of course had housing been DOWN 10% that could have competed for the headline.

Making the housing news even more interesting, was the fact the increases came mainly from areas that we mostly heard about as huge decreases in the beginning of this whole mess. Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Nevada, Phoenix and Miami all made great strides in home sales last month. Of course some critics will complain that it was due to falling home prices, but that is what it will take to make the market clear. That is what it will take to get people to start buying, and lay the foundation for home values to increase again.

Inventory levels have also dropped which helps the market. While critics will continue to argue that the reason inventory dropped, is that people gave up and took their home off the market, I’ll argue that is what is needed to help the market clear. So people who want to sell now will have to wait a year or two (or more for some who want to get more for their homes) - that’s fine - we’ve become a culture that thinks we need everything the second we want it and if we can’t have it: DISASTER(!) call the media - we forget that sometimes we just have to wait for what we want - “this too shall pass.” (It’s still better to be paying your own mortgage than rent to a landlord!)

At this time, the housing market is seeing record low mortgage interest rates AND record low home prices. If you can afford it, and understand what it takes to buy a home, it’s a GREAT time to be a home buyer.

photo credit: The359

Beth Skinner is a real estate professional who actually returns phone calls and emails! Click here to search the MLS for your dream home.

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Does this just look to-die-for or what??? S’more Brownies. Just make them.

Beth Skinner is a real estate professional who actually returns phone calls and emails! Click here to search the MLS for your dream home.

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