There is a lot of potentially confusing terminology in the business of Colorado Springs real estate. Here is a great explanation of a term we hear often: FICO

The basis of most mortgage lending is credit scoring.  In general, the higher a person’s credit score, the lower his offered mortgage interest rate.

Despite the many credit scoring models in use today, however, just 3 are relevant to American homeowners:

• The Equifax BEACON^® score
• The Experian Fair Isaac Risk Model
• The TransUnion EMPIRICA^®

Generically, these scoring models generate what are commonly known as “FICO” scores.

FICO scores are measurements of probability.  The higher a person’s credit score, by definition, the less likely a person is to default on his home loan.  This is one reason why credit scoring has added importance lately — mortgage lenders are very careful about what they’re lending and to whom.

Notably, minimum FICO thresholds have been added to all types of mortgage loans.

FICO scoring has 5 main components as listed above.  Payment history and credit capacity are two of the largest pieces, but a myriad of other factors contribute to a credit score, too.  For example, the longer your reported history of managing credit, the more favorably your credit score will respond.

The myFICO.com website does a terrific job with credit education, explaining in plain language the ins-and-out of credit scoring and ways to boost your score.  It also makes a free, 20-page PDF available for download.

Whether you’re a homeowner or lifetime renter — consider it required reading.

[Information provided to the Colorado Springs Real Estate Connection courtesey of the mortgage and real estate professionals at Bring the Blog.]

Thanks for reading our Colorado Springs Real Estate Blog!
Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent - Wagner iTeam
The Wagner iTeam is a power team of Keller Williams Realty,
specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate and Monument Real Estate
Pictures of Colorado Springs
(719) 434-7525

The Colorado Springs Real Estate Connection would like to share a video that was created by Keller Williams Realty. Although it addresses the real estate market on a general level, a lot is applicable to the Colorado Springs real estate market.

This video talks about the current market, affordability, Buyer’s Markets and if/how/when to sell your home.

Thanks for reading our Colorado Springs Real Estate Blog!
Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent - Wagner iTeam
The Wagner iTeam is a power team of Keller Williams Realty,
specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate and Monument Real Estate
Pictures of Colorado Springs
(719) 434-7525

The Colorado Springs MLS calculates how many days a property has been "on the market". Days on market are calculated from the date the listing was placed in the MLS until a ratified (all signatures) contract is accepted or the property sells.

When does the Colorado Springs MLS "Days on Market" clock start and stop?

The "Days on Market" clock starts ticking the minute a home is entered into the Colorado Springs MLS system. If a contract is accepted, the listing agent will mark the property as either:

• UC: Under Contract but Still Showing. This usually means that the contract is not solid, or they are awaiting inspections. The "Days on Market" clock continues to count days when a property is marked UC.


• P: Pending. This means that the property is under contract and set to close. The "Days on Market" clock stops ticking the day the property is marked "P".

Once a home for sale in Colorado Springs SELLS, the agent will mark it in the MLS as "S" for Sold and supply a date that it sold. The MLS will count all the days that it was on the market from the first day it was entered to the day it was marked as "P" (pending) or the date it closed - if the "P" was never used.

What if a sales contract does not wind up closing?

If a home goes under contract and is marked as "P" (pending) in the MLS, but the deal winds up not going through, the listing agent will re-mark the home as "A" - Active. The Colorado Springs will retro-act all the days that it was listed as "P" (pending) to give a better picture of how long the home has been for sale.

When does the "Days on Market" Clock re-start?

If a property has been Sold, Expired or the listing contract has been cancelled for more than 30 days, the "Days on Market" clock will fall back to zero. This 30 day rule is designed to keep agents from removing and re-entering properties to (fraudulently) show a lower "days on market" number.

However, if a property has just been withdrawn "W" from the Colorado Springs MLS (meaning, the listing contract was not cancelled), the "Days on Market" clock will continue to run. Homes for sale can be just withdrawn from teh MLS for a variety of reasons. The most common reasons I have heard are a family illness where the home will not be shown until the family member recovers, the homeowners are repainting or doing major fix-ups that would make showings difficult, or they are moving out and want a week or so of no showings.

In any case, the Colorado Springs MLS keeps detailed records of all activity, regarding "days on market". So, if you are ever interested in knowing how long a property was on the market either recently or in the past, you can.

Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent - Wagner iTeam
The Wagner iTeam is a power team of Keller Williams Realty,
specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate, Monument Real Estate,
Custom Home Builders in Colorado Springs and Springs Urban Life.
(719) 434-7525

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."
~Albert Einstein

Thanks for reading our Colorado Springs Real Estate Blog!
Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent - Wagner iTeam
The Wagner iTeam is a power team of Keller Williams Realty,
specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate and Monument Real Estate
Pictures of Colorado Springs
(719) 434-7525

If you are looking to buy or sell a home in the current Colorado Springs real estate market, having professional representation by a competent real estate agent is a must, but you need to understand the different types of representation available.

As someone looking to buy a home in Colorado Springs, this is important because unrepresented buyers WILL NOT get the best possible deal on a home. Read Also: Top 5 Benefits of Having a Buyer’s Agent Represent You.

As a homeowner looking to sell their home in Colorado Springs, representation is important because, historically a competent real estate agent will get you MORE money for your home - enough to cover their commission, and then some.

But what kind of representation is available for Colorado Springs home buyers and sellers?

In Colorado Springs (and all of Colorado for that matter) we have several different types of relationships between home buyers/sellers and us, the real estate agents. Here is a breakdown of the different “Broker Relationships“, so that when you decide to buy or sell real estate you are better informed.

• Seller’s Agent (listing agent): This agent “works solely on behalf of the seller to promote the interests of the seller with the utmost good faith, fidelity and fidelity. The agent negotiates on behalf of and acts as an advocate for the seller.” In other words, this agent is the Seller’s coach. Other than basic honesty, the Seller’s Agent owes the unrepresented Buyer nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch.
• Buyer’s Agent: This agent “works solely on behalf of the buyer to promote the interests of the seller with the utmost good faith, fidelity and fidelity. The agent negotiates on behalf of and acts as an advocate for the buyer.” How a Seller’s Agent responds to an unrepresented Buyer is exactly how a Buyer’s Agent responds to an unrepresented Seller (FSBO= For Sale By Owner).

  When both a Buyer and Seller Agent are involved in a transaction, they communicate to each other on behalf of their clients. The Buyer should never have a reason to speak to the Seller. This is great because it removes deal-breaking “emotion” from decisions.

  Both Buyer and Seller agencies must be used when the agent is representing someone that they know - like a friend, family member or co-worker. The agent knows too much about the client to not act as their agent.

• Transaction Broker: This agent does not represent anyone in particular. “A transaction broker assists the buyer and seller in both throughout a real estate transaction by performing terms of any written or oral agreement.” Basically, their job is like a referee - no negotiating for either party.
• Customer: A customer is a buyer or seller who does not have any representation when buying or selling a home in Colorado Springs.

We build our business around being Buyer Agents for our Buyers and Seller Agents for our Sellers. We believe that it is too important to have ALL of your buy, sell and negotiate needs met and exceeded - which is not possible when acting as a Transaction Broker.

Read Also: Colorado Definitions of Working Relationships

Well, what happens when we list a house and an unrepresented buyer wants to buy it? Can we be a Buyer agent to the Buyer and a Seller agent to the Seller?

No. We can’t. In some states, that is allowed and it is called Dual Agency. Dual Agency is not allowed in Colorado because it is seen as a blatant conflict of interests.

How could we possibly represent one person’s interest to get as much money as possible for their home and simultaneously represent another person’s interest to pay as little as possible for the same home? It can’t be done.

This can play out in several ways:

• If we know the Seller very well and only know the buyer very casually, or not at all (maybe a friend of a friend), we can act as a Seller’s Agent for our seller and the Buyer would be an unrepresented customer. This is the most common approach that we use, as we feel it necessary to remain agents for our sellers. Of course, we are fair to the Buyer, but we do not represent their interests.
• If we know both the Seller AND the Buyer very well, it would be near impossible to consider only ONE as “representable” so we can do one of 2 things:
  • Become a Transaction Broker for both the Buyer and the Seller. We would step out fo the representation role and move into the role of just making sure the contract was written correctly, both parties had access to proper information and that it closed when and how it was supposed to.
  • Refer the Buyer to another agent. If we know both the Buyer and Seller so well that we could not realistically take off our “agent” hat (and that has happened), we will often refer the Buyer to another agent for representation in the transaction. We believe that it is more important for our friends and family to get comprehensive representation when buying a home in Colorado Springs, than it is to get both sides of a commission.

We, (the Wagner iTeam) take real estate representation VERY seriously. There is nothing worse than an incompetent real estate agent that puts commissions above commitment. When we represent our clients, we REPRESENT them. We always make sure that THEIR interests are above everyone else’s - including our own.

For more information on real estate agent relationships in Colorado Springs, you can reach us at: (719) 434-7525 or by email: Team@WagneriTeam.com

Read Also:
Top Seven Questions To Ask Your Potential Buyer’s Agent
3 Easy Ways to Find a Buyer’s Agent to Represent You

Thanks for reading our Colorado Springs Real Estate Blog!
Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent - Wagner iTeam
The Wagner iTeam is a power team of Keller Williams Realty,
specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate and Monument Real Estate
Pictures of Colorado Springs
(719) 434-7525

When you are looking to buy a home in Colorado Springs, there are different ways to show ownership on title. In Colorado Springs, you can show ownership of your home (or any other real estate) in the following ways:

Ownership in Severalty

This is the type of ownership that occurs when only one person is on title as the owner when they buy a home for sale in Colorado Springs.

Joint Tenancy

Joint tenancy is the most common form of ownership that occurs when 2 or more people own a home. This option offers a “right of survivorship” for each person, meaning that if one person were to die, the full ownership now belongs to the other person. Joint tenancy is often used when a married couple purchases a home together.

Note: Both people do not need to be on the mortgage loan to be on title for the home in a joint tenancy. However, most mortgage lenders mandate that any person on the loan needs to be on title for the home.

Tenancy in Common

Tenancy in Common is used when 2 or more people own a home, but each portion of the ownership is separate from each other. For example, if one person were to die, his portion of ownership would not transfer to the remaining owner, but could transfer to whomever he listed in his will. Or, one owner could sell their portion of ownership. This form of ownership is most common when business partners buy a Colorado Springs property together, like a duplex or other investment property.

“What if I get married and want to add my new husband to the title of my Colorado Springs home?”

This is a very common occurrence. In cases like this, we recommend going to a reputable title company and requesting a Quick Claim Deed, which will give you the opportunity to add a person to the title of your home.

This is also the way to remove a person from the title of your Colorado Springs home, but removing someone from title may require more paperwork. Call your local title company for details.

“Who does the Wagner iTeam use for their Colorado Springs real estate title work needs and to answer title questions?”

We understand that every person has different needs and we cannot recommend one title company over another. However, we CAN tell you who we have had the BEST results with in the past:

First American Title Company: Angela Parlet (719) 592-9933

Empire Title Company: Karen Weller (719) 884-5300

Thanks for reading our Colorado Springs Real Estate Blog!
Posted By: Mariana Wagner - Colorado Springs Real Estate Agent - Wagner iTeam
The Wagner iTeam is a power team of Keller Williams Realty,
specializing in Colorado Springs Real Estate and Monument Real Estate
Pictures of Colorado Springs
(719) 434-7525