Contracts Then
Back then, we were filling out contracts by hand. My mentor mentioned having a nice car so you could write contracts on the hood. Contracts were several pages of self copying pages – white / top page goes to other broker, yellow page to buyer, pink hardly eligible page I keep.
I quickly modified this to using a photocopier so everyone in the transaction had a legible contract to review beyond the “signed” copies.
Contracts Now
For the longest time, we’ve been doing everything via computer. And lately, clients are signing documents via CTM or DocuSign – electronic signature platforms. Even when in the same room as a client, it’s much more convenient to make changes on a laptop, then send the contract or addendum to my client via email and get it electronically signed.
Boulder Home Buying Offers Then
When I first started in the business, it was generally one house, one offer. To be an offer, the earnest money check had to accompany the offer. This got a little odd when people started faxing offers to agents and faxing copies of checks. Contracts also used to be written on Legal Size paper. And when faxing these offers, the inbound fax frequently changed to letter size with a tiny version of the contract fitted onto the 8 1/2 by 11 page.
The immediate fix was to move to contracts on 8 1/2 by 11 pages.
Home Buying Boulder Offers Now
First off, earnest money is almost never included. The real estate commission changed the policy to reflect the nature of electronic offers. These days, earnest money is due on a specified date, generally one to four days from going under contract.
And forget about one house, one offer. Sheesh. Very common in January & February of 2021 to run into a dozen, twenty or more offers on a well priced entry level home.
And then there is the paper. With electronic signatures, its not unheard of for a party to a transaction to never actually have a physical piece of paper. Many Millennial clients do everything by computer.
Inspections Then And Now
Home inspections haven’t really changed that much. Still an integral part of the Boulder CO home buying and selling process. For awhile, owners were getting pre-listing inspections. That went out the window with the Seller’s Market and onslaught of multiple offers.
One real change is the report itself. In 1995, it was frequently a fill in the blank all written document. Today it is 35% full color photographs. And the report is apt to be solely in an electronic format.
Financing Your New Home Back Then
Especially with entry level home buyers, FHA mortgages were the rage. These loans only required 3 1/2 percent down. It got really unstable when lenders soon after started offering zero down loans, financing a point and a half of closing costs into the mortgage (so 101.5% of value financed). And adding insult to injury, the rate was adjustable and generally went up three points. If you were a home owner back then, you remember families losing their homes in droves.
Cash Buyers Driving The Market Now
One in three transactions is cash. Non cash deals see borrowers offering twenty percent down. And very common to see appraisal waived in competitive scenarios. The way people buy homes is definitely different in 2021.
Months To Closing Then
In the mid Nineties when I started in this career, transactions might take sixty to ninety days to close. First I recall the deadlines started to tighten. Deals might still close in months, but the inspection was complete in weeks and the loan had to be approved in thirty days. These days? Buckle up. Life is faster.
Transactions Closing So Fast Its Record Setting
I just blogged on this in the Boulder County Stats. The median time for closing a home sale in Boulder this year is well under 30 days. That is quick. Lightening fast. I have a transaction now, we went under contract on the first, resolved the inspection in four days and will close before the month’s end.
Driving Miss Daisy
While I still on occasion have clients that would like me to drive (far less so this year with Covid), the truth is most people are not riding around with Realtors looking at homes. This is a really big change. Back then, you were getting in my car to see houses. GPS really changed all of this. Suddenly a home buyer could rough it and find the house just as easily without being in my car along for the ride.
I’ve noticed that depending upon what cell phone each of us is using, our GPS doesn’t even take us the same route.
And then there are my out of state clients. A big change from the mid Nineties is handling a transaction where I might host a virtual showing. Using Facetime is a great way to show a home. Quite common in age of Coronavirus.
Communication Then
The first five years I sold homes, our desk phones were our best friends. Then pagers came along and every Realtor had to have one. Side note: the pager looked a little dumb. Even my kid pointed out that pagers were most prevalent in the drug and gangster movies he watched. Luckily, the mobile phone went mainstream. And I never looked back.
Communicating Now
Email is in. Voicemail is out. If I can’t reach you by phone, the next most popular option is to send a Text. Voicemail aside, its a big change from checking in back in the day. Heck, even the idea of a blog like mine was unheard of just a decade ago.
Boulder Home Prices Rocketing Upwards
Then and now, nothing has really changed. I started in late 1995. The market had just raced 40% upwards over three years. At the time, it was a significant leap in home values. But now, we are eight years into a fierce Seller’s Market. Homes are selling rapidly, with multiple offers and quite often for a good deal more than full price. So, some things never change. Boulder was a pricey place to buy a home. And today Boulder remains the best place to invest and see your home really climb in value!
The More Things Change The More Things Stay The Same
Sure, we no longer are sniffing our contracts and mimeograph paper! But Somethings haven’t really changed. Homes are still gaining value rapidly in Boulder County. The city of Boulder remains a popular place to go to school, attend college, have an out of control riot or make a place to call home. Interested in finding your perfect place to call home? Or maybe ready to get top dollar on a house you’ve owned in Boulder? Please contact me today.