Blog - Mike Gebhardt, Broker Associate

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What Builders Do When They Get Nervous

Let me walk you through a recent new build that looked amazing on the surface and turned into a master class in what builders do when they get nervous. The cast: Brad, my buyer Lulu, the builder’s sales rep We walk into this model and we actually like the house. Not the fake “it’s fine” […]
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The Dirt Is Doing The Work

A question has been rattling around in my head this week. Why is a modest Boulder ranch worth $1.5 million? Not a luxury home. Not a custom build. Not a 6,000 square foot estate. A ranch. Built in the 1950s or 1960s. The conventional answer is simple: “Homes appreciate.” But I’m not sure that’s the […]
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Action, or sit tight?

This is a follow up to the other day’s email about fear. Fear doesn’t shout, it just quietly freezes you in place. That email was about how you are not broken for hesitating. You are human. This one is about what to do with that fear when you are sitting on good equity and a […]
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Should You Act? Read This First.

Fear doesn’t shout. It whispers. It shows up as hesitation. As second guessing. As “maybe we just sit tight a little longer.” Not panic. Paralysis. If you’re wrestling with whether you should sell, trade up, trade down, or just sit pat, you’re not broken. You’re human. Most people make this decision way harder than it […]

Hey! Read this What Builders Do When They Get Nervous Let me walk you through a recent new build that looked amazing on the surface and turned into a master class in what builders do when they get nervous. The cast: Brad, my buyer Lulu, the builder’s sales rep We walk into this model and we actually like the house. Not the fake “it’s fine” […]

Hey! Read this The Dirt Is Doing The Work A question has been rattling around in my head this week. Why is a modest Boulder ranch worth $1.5 million? Not a luxury home. Not a custom build. Not a 6,000 square foot estate. A ranch. Built in the 1950s or 1960s. The conventional answer is simple: “Homes appreciate.” But I’m not sure that’s the […]

Hey! Read this Action, or sit tight? This is a follow up to the other day’s email about fear. Fear doesn’t shout, it just quietly freezes you in place. That email was about how you are not broken for hesitating. You are human. This one is about what to do with that fear when you are sitting on good equity and a […]

Hey! Read this Should You Act? Read This First. Fear doesn’t shout. It whispers. It shows up as hesitation. As second guessing. As “maybe we just sit tight a little longer.” Not panic. Paralysis. If you’re wrestling with whether you should sell, trade up, trade down, or just sit pat, you’re not broken. You’re human. Most people make this decision way harder than it […]

Hey! Read this The Ramsey Rule That Fails Retirees Every few months, Dave Ramsey repeats another blanket rule about mortgages, credit, or retirement. His stance on reverse mortgages has always been crystal clear. Across his books, videos, radio show, and website, Ramsey repeatedly says: “Reverse mortgages are a scam.” “Don’t do a reverse mortgage.” “I would never recommend a reverse mortgage to anyone.” “Reverse […]

Hey! Read this The Real Questions (not the industry patter you don’t care about) Greetings. Let’s skip the trade-press bullshit for a minute. Normal people do not care about Zillow /Compass lawsuits, portal drama, or which brokerage bought which. That’s the stuff agents argue about in Facebook groups when they should be learning how to negotiate. You care about your timing, your money, and your next move. So let’s […]

Hey! Read this This one should have sold This one should have sold. North Boulder. Fully remodeled. Turn key. Great kitchen, great light, great flow. Walkable to Pearl. And still: 40 days withdrawn expired. Somebody spent real time, and real money getting this home ready. And it still didn’t sell. That’s brutal. Here’s where it went sideways. 1. The lead photo was wrong […]

Hey! Read this Don’t be a Mark The One Mistake That Costs Sellers the Most Leverage. For two weeks we’ve unpacked how real-estate pricing actually works; not the generic, algo driven: What’s your home worth? stuff, but the actual way markets price real estate. The mechanics of where value is really discovered. Let’s close it out with the story that proves the […]

Hey! Read this If 2026 was your year to sell and it didnt come together….. If 2026 was supposed to be your year to sell and life got in the way, you’re not alone. That happens all the time. Plans change. Work changes. Family changes. Timing gets messy. But that does not automatically mean you should just “wait for next spring” and hope for the best. That’s the advice most […]

Hey! Read this National headlines says housing is dead. Boulder’s data disagrees 2,025 homes went under contract in Boulder County this April. That’s down all of 0.3% year over year. So when you hear “housing is frozen” on CNBC… you have to ask: Where? Because yes, if you stare at foreclosure charts for parts of Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and the Gulf Coast, the story looks one way. […]

Hey! Read this Why presentation matters When I say 10% of agents do 90% of the work, I’m not trying to be the guy on the corner complaining about the business. I’m trying to point out something that has a real impact on value: how a property is analyzed, positioned, and presented to the market matters. A lot. I was looking […]

Hey! Read this Oh I don’t know, my uncle told me to wait until spring to list my home. Most agents will tell you to sit tight and “wait for spring to list your home.” And maybe your Uncle Ed told you to wait because ‘no one buys homes in the winter’. Here’s what they’re missing, Boulder MLS data and insider strategies that actually tip the scales for winter sellers. We shared this data […]

Hey! Read this “Agents are useless now”… right? Lately I’m seeing it all over social media. “AI is going to replace real estate agents.” “Agents are overpaid they just open doors.” “Why not just hire an attorney for $300 and skip the commission?” “I work too hard for my money to just give it away to you Mike. If you can do it […]

Hey! Read this Wall Street Truth: Why smart sellers play on the bid side and not the offer side A “market” is made of two things: a bid (what someone is willing to pay) and an offer (what the best seller is willing to take). In an unfortuate twist, when you buy a home, you start with an ‘offer’ which actaully should be called a bid. Let’s break it down: Bid side: What buyers […]

Hey! Read this Who do you know that wants to buy but feels blocked? I know this probably isn’t for you. But chances are you know someone who’s talked about wanting to buy a home and feels like it’s just not possible right now. As honesty as I can, I tell you that this situation makes me feel something: sad, sick, angry……not sure what else. Because our society can’t […]

Hey! Read this Death by price cuts: don’t let this happen to your home Greetings, Let’s talk strategy. Every week I see listings get slaughtered by bad pricing. 🚩 They launch too high, “just to see what happens” – or to test the market. (bahaha, 1987 phrase). 🚩 Sit with no traction. 🚩 Start chopping – $25K, $50K, $75K. 🚩 Then… silence. Eventually they’re chasing the bid side down […]

Hey! Read this This market is punishing mistakes, Here’s how to avoid them This market is punishing mistakes. Let’s talk about a few myths that are still floating around: “We’re just looking.” “We’re not really on a timeline.” “We don’t need an agent yet.” “We’ll probably find something at an open house.” I hear this every week. And I get it; people want to keep their options open […]

Hey! Read this Sounds fake, but it’s not: buy a rehab, and delay your mortgage for a year This sounds fake. “Buy a house and skip the mortgage for a year while you fix it up.” I rolled my eyes too. But this one’s legit (with caveats). FHA just expanded its 203(k) rehab loan; the loan that lets you roll renovation costs into your mortgage. What’s new? If the home is unlivable during […]

Hey! Read this One of the biggest trade-up mistakes? Thinking its easy I asked Perplexity.AI the other day: “What’s the most common real estate question among people trading up to a larger home?” It spit out kind of what I expected. “Should I sell before I buy?” It’s a fair question. It’s also the reason most people end up stuck, stressed, or riding two mortgages at once. […]

Hey! Read this “I Was Just About to Call You”… and Other Lender Fairy Tales Let’s talk about something I’ve seen occasionally: loans blowing up – not because the buyer did anything wrong, but because a lender sugarcoated reality until it was too late. Here are some of the greatest hits I’ve heard loan officers say: “No, you shouldn’t have to worry about that.” Translation: Yes, you absolutely do. But […]