Blog - Mike Gebhardt, Broker Associate

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Boulder OG: here’s the math on “waiting a couple years”

The other day, I wrote about the Boulder OG homeowner: you bought in the mid 2000s, and now you’re sitting on a hi six, low seven figure equity win with a tiny or paid off mortgage. You already won. Actually, you killed it, congratulations. This email is about why it’s time to ring the register, […]
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Sellers, buyers, and what the market is actually saying (not what you wish it said)

I’ve been thinking a lot about what my job really is for you. It’s not to tell you what you want to hear. It’s not to make my life easier. And it’s definitely not to put a pretty number on your house, toss it in the MLS, and hope the universe cooperates. My job is […]
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Captain headshot and expireds BOM at wrong price,again

If you’re thinking about selling, or you’re sitting on the market already, this is for you. My job is not to tell you what you want to hear or make this easy for me. It’s definitely not to slap a pretty number on your house, toss it in the MLS, and pray the universe cooperates. […]
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Inspection Contingencies Are Back

Rates finally move a hair, you fight through showings and offers…then the whole thing dies because of a bloody inspection report. Nationally, roughly 16-18% of contracts are getting canceled right now, and inspection/repair fights are the top reason. On top of that, about 70%+ of buyers are getting full inspections again; only a small slice […]

Hey! Read this Boulder OG: here’s the math on “waiting a couple years” The other day, I wrote about the Boulder OG homeowner: you bought in the mid 2000s, and now you’re sitting on a hi six, low seven figure equity win with a tiny or paid off mortgage. You already won. Actually, you killed it, congratulations. This email is about why it’s time to ring the register, […]

Hey! Read this Sellers, buyers, and what the market is actually saying (not what you wish it said) I’ve been thinking a lot about what my job really is for you. It’s not to tell you what you want to hear. It’s not to make my life easier. And it’s definitely not to put a pretty number on your house, toss it in the MLS, and hope the universe cooperates. My job is […]

Hey! Read this Captain headshot and expireds BOM at wrong price,again If you’re thinking about selling, or you’re sitting on the market already, this is for you. My job is not to tell you what you want to hear or make this easy for me. It’s definitely not to slap a pretty number on your house, toss it in the MLS, and pray the universe cooperates. […]

Hey! Read this Inspection Contingencies Are Back Rates finally move a hair, you fight through showings and offers…then the whole thing dies because of a bloody inspection report. Nationally, roughly 16-18% of contracts are getting canceled right now, and inspection/repair fights are the top reason. On top of that, about 70%+ of buyers are getting full inspections again; only a small slice […]

Hey! Read this The Erie math is real. Here’s where first-time buyers still blow it The other day, I walked us through how a $440-450k Erie townhome can easily hang with a $2,500-$2,800 rental once you use real rates, real incentives, and real math instead of Instagram fantasies. Today is about the mistake first time buyers make after they finally decide to stop renting: they ignore the structure of the […]

Hey! Read this No big decisions right now Every year NAR surveys tens of thousands of buyers and sellers at the closing table. A few of those findings are worth using in this email, because they describe people like you, not the folks in the national headlines. As you know, Boulder and most of the front range is its own animal. But nationally, […]

Hey! Read this Do you really need to make a move? Before you decide to do a real estate transaction of any kind, sell, buy, or both; there’s one question that matters more than rates, headlines, or whatever some podcast yelled this week: What challenge are you actually trying to solve? Not what your friends think. Not what I think. Not what the market thinks. What […]

Hey! Read this Seafoam green or slate? Uh, I don’t know. Nobody hires me because: I’ve sold a lot of homes. (I have). I know whether your cabinets should be seafoam or slate (I don’t). I can send you a listing the minute it hits (before? Actually, yes, that part does matter). I can determine if a foundation crack is structural (not my job anyway). I […]

Hey! Read this Top agent vs. right agent You’ve probably seen ads for new real estate sites promising that “top agents compete and pay you cash up front just for the right to list your home.” On paper, that sounds like free money and a dream come true. But on at least one review site, a seller described the experience as “a useless […]

Hey! Read this Spring Does Not Bring Leverage. Strategy Does Preview: No crash, no fire sale, just a normal Boulder County market where money is made in the gap between what buyers offer and what sellers expect. Right now, the same two stories keep getting repeated. Buyers are waiting for a crash that is not coming. Postscript from outside Boulder County: economist Bill McBride at […]

Hey! Read this What an expired listing really means In the city of Boulder last month, 871 homes were listed for sale and 210 actually sold. That means roughly three‑quarters of the people who thought they were “on the market” were really just waiting for something that didn’t happen. And worse, most of them spent real money cleaning, fixing, staging, and preparing, plus a […]

Mortgage Rates Sorry but 3.5% mortgage rates are not coming back; we’ll need to adjust ‘As the graphic shows, there’s only about half of whatever a ‘normal’ inventory for sale is nationwide right now. Economics 101 tells us less supply, equal demand means higher prices. Yes, I understand rates are high, and in my opinion going higher. And yes, that might take the marginal buyer out of the market for […]

Real Estate Property Llama makes rental spreadsheets obsolete Do your rental spreadsheets look like this: If so, then here is your solution: One of the complaints I hear most often from the buy and hold property investors I cover is how their use of spreadsheets limits their analysis of a portfolio. Often only limited to one property per excel sheet, these investors […]

Real Estate Why is ROE (Return on Equity) so much more important than cashflow and appreciation? Efficiency: ROE measures how efficiently your own invested capital is working for you in any given investment. High ROE indicates that your money is generating sufficient returns. Risk Assessment: We all love appreciation and cashflow. But by combining your analysis of ROE with these other two metrics, it’s easier […]

Real Estate Does a self directed IRA make sense for you? In the ever-evolving landscape of retirement planning and investment, the Self-Directed Individual Retirement Account (SDIRA) has emerged as a powerful tool for individuals seeking to take control of their financial future. Colorado, known for its diverse landscapes and growing real estate market, provides a fertile ground for investors looking to capitalize on their SDIRAs. […]

Buying Why You Should Interview Me to Buy Your Next Home First of all, you should interview three brokers or Realtors. Don’t make a distinction between brokers and Realtors. I have nothing against the Realtor label, but it’s a trade group label, not a skills or training thing. A Realtor wears a pin that says they belong to a trade group. To be clear, that trade […]

Selling “Why You Should Hire Me to Sell Your Home: A Skilled Negotiator with a Proven Track Record” Yes, I too want to puke when I read that title…….However, There are things us brokers know that you may not. Humor me. Selling your home can be a daunting task, but with the right real estate professional by your side, it can become a seamless and rewarding experience. If you’re looking for a […]

Mortgage Rates With all due respect to my MLO colleagues…. The above charts are of the US Treasury ten year note, upon which all mortgage rates are based. They are a monthly, weekly, and daily chart and they are pointing to higher yields on that instrument. With all due respect to my colleagues, I’m having a hard time understanding why so many mortgage pros […]

Buying What skills your buyer broker should possess to represent you in a competent manner Real estate transactions can run from simple, to some with a few moving parts, to very intricate. The more moving parts there are, usually, the more personalities are involved. A well-seasoned broker is going to be adept at: Negotiation Managing personalities Legal ramifications Paperwork Logistics Financial acumen Before hitting these points, let’s start with a […]

Buying How the Market has shifted in the last two months. And how it’s helping buyers How the Market has shifted in the last two months. And how it’s helping buyers. At the risk of being that idiot that’s pounding the table and screaming “you have to buy now”, (like every other broker), I feel I have to bring this to my reader’s attention. Because, if you knew this and I […]