New Year, New Goals

Wow! Can you believe it? 2013 only has today and tomorrow left and then 2014 is here. I think every year just goes by faster and faster. It seems just like yesterday I was setting my 2013 resolutions on what I wanted to achieve.

So, let's be honest for a quick second with ourselves, of the resolutions we set for 2013 how many did we really achieve? None? Maybe you actually achieved some! Congratulations! I'll be honest, I never really set resolutions that I'm serious. They usually go something like, be more fit, gain a few more muscle pounds but I never take them seriously. Maybe it's the same for way for you. Why is that? I think we get asked every year what our resolution is for the new year that we just automatically can come up with something so we don't look like a loser.

I want to challenge you as this year winds down not to set any resolutions. Wait, what?! I've got to be crazy right? Everybody set at least one New Year's resolution! I can't be that person who doesn't set them. Well what I want to challenge you to do is to set a goal. See a goal is something attainable so you have to be realistic but not to short that you underestimate your self. When we set goals we tend to underestimate but when we set resolutions we tend to exaggerate. If you've never been that healthy or fit setting a resolution to lose 30 pounds by July is pretty crazy and kind of physically impossible. So, let's be realistic with our goals but don't hold ourselves back.

Say you want to own your own home. That's not a crazy goal, but it can get unrealistic if you make $40,000 and want to purchase a $400,000 home. You'd be surprised at what you can qualify for but if you're wanting something way out of your price point and are looking at those homes you'll be disappointed. Say you're looking at half a million dollar homes for the first 3 months of the new year and then you find out you only can afford a home at a price point of $200,000 or less. The new homes will be disappointing because they simply can't compare to the half a million dollar homes. So this new year lets set goals and be realistic with them but not underestimating ourselves. I wish you all a Happy New Year and a successful one. May you hit the moon you shoot for or at least land among the stars.

www.coltonweatherford.kwrealty.com

For the Lamb's Reward

Tomorrow Does Not Exist

We've all heard it, or said it, "Someday (or tomorrow) I will do this or be this." I would bet that we've all said that we will do something one day. There's nothing wrong with dreams like being something or someone someday. We all strive for success and to have certain things. The problem is we usually don't get it because it doesn't have soon enough. I think the biggest thing is we are a now type of people. We want it right now! We have fast food, instant coffee, instant potatoes, and so on. We are just people who are used to getting what we want, when we want it. However, when it comes to getting somewhere in life such as being successful we say we'll get there one day and we end up putting it off and then forgetting about it. So, I'll propose this to you. Tomorrow does not exist. Tomorrow is a word to describe our hope to live another day. Tomorrow is a fantasy that we will live to see another sunset and sunrise. Tomorrow does not exist, it is a lie.

I have met a lot of people in my life time and none of them have had the power to know what tomorrow holds and know that they would make it to live another day. Sure we all talk about it and plan for it but none of us actually have the power to know what it holds. We could very well not make it to tomorrow. I don't say this to say that we should have a fear of death. Death is a part of life and can be around the corner. You will only limit yourself from reaching success if you are constantly worrying about if you'll die. What I am saying is we should not take each day and plan big things for tomorrow. We need to take each day by the horns and ride it for the full ride. Take advantage of each moment we have. We all have the same 24 hours in a day but some of us waste it sleeping in or watching mind numbing TV and movies. Nothing wrong with those things, I love to sleep and I like a good TV show and a good movie, but I can't just sit there all day or else I feel like I did absolutely nothing. If you want something you have to go get it in this moment. You can't just put it off for tomorrow. Which of us knows what tomorrow truly holds. So why plan for tomorrow what can be done today.

I've met a lot of people in the past couple months who say they are waiting for the new year to sell their home when the market picks up. If you wait till then you'll miss the opportunities of today. Today the inventory is low and we have buyers looking and they are willing to place bids higher than what you're listed for if there are multiple offers on your home. Our rates are low now. No one knows what they will actually do next year. We are assuming they will go up with the changes coming to the mortgage industry with the new year.

So why wait? Take advantage of the market as it is today. Take advantage of the present. Let's start living in a way that takes full advantage of the day we are blessed with in the here and now. Tomorrow does not exist. Tomorrow is a fantasy. Tomorrow is a lie!

www.coltonweatherford.kwrealty.com

For the Lamb's Reward

3 Ways to Save on Your Heating Bill

We all like to save money, right?! Yet ever winter we watch our heating bill go up because we want to stay warm. Nothing wrong with staying warm but spending to much money to do that is just not right. We could be putting that extra money towards Christmas presents for the family or even some food for our tummies. We all know ways to stay warm and save money but it is so much easier to put the thermostat up 10 extra degrees then make an effort to stay warm. So let's jog our memory on some simple ways to stay warm.

1.) Drop the thermostat 3 or 5 degrees!! Really you won't even notice the difference in the heat until you get the bill and see that it went down in price a bit. 65 degrees is really not that big of difference from 70 degrees. So what do you we get up and turn it down. Also when you're gone out of the house drop it a few more degrees while you're at work and then when you get home put back up. When you're asleep drop it few as well. You're already all bundled up in blankets you won't feel it...until you have to get out of bed in the morning.

2.) Bundle up! We all have blankets and some hoodies with nice cozy sweats! Dress warm in your home and wrap up in some blankets and you won't need to have the thermostat up at 80 degrees! You really don't need to be walking around your home in shorts and a tank top in the winter time anyways. So when you are home dress like its winter and stay warm.

3.) Drink hot drinks! Sure coffee and hot chocolate costs a little money but not as much as a high heating bill costs. Besides most people already drink hot drinks during the winter anyways. And I don't mean go to a coffee shop or something of the sort and buy a $6 cup of hot chocolate. Go to the store and buy the cheap, no-name brand of hot cocoa. If you don't want to but the things to make hot cocoa or coffee heat up some water or milk, those will do the trick as well.

Other simple, quick tips to use to are: leave the oven open after baking something, don't use space heaters as often or as long, candles put of heat to and they smell good. It's like I said we all know was to do this but it is much easier to increase the thermostat. How did we ever survive without heaters!? Go back to our roots and do what great grandma and great grandpa did to stay warm. If you have any real estate needs or questions don't hesitate to contact me or my team. www.coltonweatherford.kwrealty.com

For the Lamb's Reward

The BIG Lie

You've heard it said, "You can't sell your home during the holiday season, and it's really hard during the winter time." What if I told you that was HUGE lie? The truth is we still sell homes and we still see people buying homes. This is possibly the best time to sell because homes are usually at their best potential this time of year. We keep our homes clean because family and friends are always coming over and then we have the beautiful decorations up for Christmas. It all just ties so well together with the smell of a freshly home made meal.

I know with that you just already see it. There's a nice fire burning and soft Christmas music playing in the background. You are basically there feeling nice and cozy and, most importantly, at home. There's the key,  we want our buyers to feel at home when they walk into their next home. I can see it in their eyes when they just know this is the one for them. It's in the second they walk through the front door. Their eyes light up and they are already picturing their lives happening there. That's what we try to find for our clients.

So, with that picture in mind it's easier for our clients to feel at home when they walk in. If they see and smell Christmas or Thanksgiving happening in that home it puts them more into the mindset that this is home. Well with that all painted out in a picture for you do you see how it'll be easy to sell your home in this time of year? The inventory is so low right now in Colorado Springs that we have to many buyers and not enough homes for them. We are starting to see more homes get multiple offers on the homes that are priced right, and sometimes they are going up in price in the bidding war of multiple offers.

If you are thinking of waiting for a good time, like Spring, to sell, you don't have too! Why wait when you have a prime buyers market with low interest rates?! No matter where you are give me a call and I can talk to you about getting your home listed! Visit me at www.coltonweatherford.kwrealty.com!

For the Lamb's Reward!

Is Your Home A Haunted House?

Halloween is just around there corner and we all know that there are plenty of haunted houses and attractions that are up that will make all of us run out screaming like high-pitched school girls! However, there are homes out on the market that can look or feel like one of those haunted houses. No, I don't mean there's a ghost in there or some psycho with a chainsaw that wants you for supper.

Have you ever been into a home where it looks like a tornado just went through it? It could be the home of a family with a lot of little kids or the single guy. We all know what that looks like, right? The pizza box that is on the floor, cans with half drank drinks, socks, clothes, you name it its on the floor. Oh, and worst of all it smells like a boys locker room back when you were in high school! Those are pretty horrifying homes to walk into; you might think a trash monster will jump out at you!

There are those homes though that look nice on the inside and outside but when you actually get into the home, you might uncover something deathly, terrifying! You know what I mean, the "remodeled" home that was not contracted out and no permits were pulled. Pause! Let's clear the air real quick. Simply because there was no permits pulled does not mean that the contracted job was done poorly, it just means no permits were pulled. It's easy to get them pulled and have an inspector inspect the job to make sure everything is okay. Play! We've seen it, someone decides to make a room bigger and takes out a wall that's a load bearing wall, which in turn means they find some creative way to still keep the wall down. Or the ones where there is a step into a new the other room and its more like a foot and a half drop with no stairs.

So, is your home a house of horrors? If you want to know give us a call today and we'll walk through with eyes of a buyer to tell you what would give the scare chills to a potential buyer! Of course we do it humbly. We can see when you make a change to something creatively and its not a hazard! So call us today! www.coltonweatherford.kwrealty.com

For the Lamb's Reward 

Winter Already and Low Rates?!

Ah the smell of cold, brisk winter morning air is what I've woken up to the past two day and it's only October 5th! Yes I'm one of the few weird people, called a Coloradoan, that absolutely loves winter! Summer was great but I don't like over 90 degree weather. Needless to say I'm ready for fireplaces, snow, bundles of clothes, and snowboarding to be here, along with below 40 degree weather.

What does cold weather have to do with the housing market? Well when cold weather hits us around Colorado we all know that Thanksgiving and Christmas are just around the corner. Meaning, family and old friends are going to be coming around and we want to have the house already and settled for them to visit. The market kind of takes a slow down around this time of year. We'll see a little bit of rush for people wanting to get into a new home before the holidays hit but it won't last but a couple months. Besides, who wants to move while the kids are in school? Well...I'm hear to tell you that now is the time to move. Many people were waiting around for the interest rates to get better and we were telling them why wait? The rates were already extremely low! Yet to my surprise along with the cold weather I got a report on interest rates saying they were BELOW 4%!! WHAT?!?! It's absolutely crazy that they are that low! Why isn't everyone jumping on this fantastic opportunity to get a home at such a low interest rate! You could be owning a home with a monthly mortgage payment cheaper than you could rent a place! Meaning you are getting equity in the home, instead of throwing it away with the rent!

Okay if you haven't noticed I'm a little excited about this. Lets look at this, back when interest rates were way up there in the 20% range not many people could afford a home. I don't want you to go purchase a million dollar home just because interest rates are low if it's out of your price range it's out of your price range. However, you'd be surprised what you could get for the price range you are in! If you're not sure what you qualify for contact me today and we'll get you in contact with a great lender and we can see what you can afford with these low rates! Let's get you into your OWN place! Go to www.coltonweatherford.kwrealty.com for homes and my information! I look forward to hearing from you!

For the Lamb's Reward

Keller Williams, the Future of Real Estate!

Is that a believable statement? When was the last time you saw an online ad or a TV/radio ad for Keller Williams? If you're honest, never because we don't do company advertising. So, is Keller Williams really the future of Real Estate or is that a false statement. Well lets take a journey real quick and I'll hopefully convey why I'm so excited for being of part of the KW family and where it is going.

Keller Williams is growing rapidly, my market center alone has 152 (last I checked) agents working in it and every week we are having new agents join the family. It's exciting really! We are solely a word of mouth company, that is how people find out about us. Our clients are talking about us and we are talking about us. It's just a great company to work with or have work for you when making Real Estate purchases or selling. In this last year Keller Williams became the number 1 Real Estate company in the United States. We are located all over the world as well, even in the United Kingdom! The places we are going in the world to help Real Estate needs there is just fantastic. Now, does this make us the future, partially yes but there's even more that I'm even more excited about!

Technology! We all know that technology is a great luxury that makes life a lot easier on all of our lives. I know it's very useful for me. I'm using it every day. Keller Williams is advancing in the technology side of Real Estate faster than any other Real Estate related company out there. Recently agents got their own personal app created by Keller Williams for us to give to our clients so they can search properties on the go! This app has better ratings compared to other Real Estate apps! By the end of the year we will be linked with Google and using some of their resources in our business to help us be more accessible on the internet. We all know that Google will favor something that have more interest in, like YouTube because they own it, it shows up first in a Google search. The great news is that Keller Williams is in the top 10 of Google's clients which means they'll favor us over other things. Keller Williams is  taking Real Estate to a whole new level with all the updates in the technology ring! We are the future of where Real Estate is going and it's exciting for everyone involved!


If you'd like to go download my personal real estate app, which will work wherever you're at go to the link below and follow the steps to get it downloaded. It won't take but a couple minutes!

http://app.kw.com/KW143347

For the Lamb's Reward