July 2012 Bridge Team May Newsletter

July, 2012

Thanks for viewing our July newsletter! We hope you enjoy the content of this month’s edition.

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What’s Happening Around Town?

Urban Home Show

Skyline Park

July 13

Natalie Merchant with the Colorado Symphony

Denver Botanic Gardens

July 17

Colorado Black Arts Festival

City Park

July 13-15

Colorado Dragon Boat Festival

Sloan’s Lake Park

July 28-29

Featured Articles

Cooking up a kitchen update? No need to break the bank

Start a neighborhood tradition with a community garage sale

Easy steps to building a compost pile

“Pocket” neighborhoods gaining in popularity for downsizing boomers

Your last child has graduated from college. The house that once seemed barely big enough to hold all the family and friends coming and going now feels like a cavern. It’s time to consider the next step.

For baby boomers facing this new phase of life, the options are more varied than ever. In addition to condos, patio homes and other methods of downsizing, one choice gaining in popularity is “pocket neighborhoods,” a topic explored in a recent AARP Magazine article.

Pocket neighborhoods are communities of small houses or apartments that share common space – such as a walkway, courtyard, backyard, or garden — where residents can gather. The communities are named for the fact that they are often tucked into pockets of larger neighborhoods or developments.

They are commonly located in urban areas and within walking distance of amenities, such as restaurants and shops. Emphasis is placed on encouraging social interaction.

“At a time when families can be widely dispersed geographically and people are living longer and healthier lives, pocket neighborhoods are a way to feel connected, reduce costs, simplify – sort of like a condominium without shared walls – and feel safer,” according to AARP. Few burglars want to mess with caring, sharp-eyed neighbors.”

Denver has several established “pocket” communities, including those located at Lowry and Stapleton. Aria Denver, a North Denver development that will provide green homes and shared outdoor amenities for multi-generational residents, will be completed next year.

Cooking up a kitchen update? No need to break the bank

One of the first rooms that buyers focus on when shopping for a new home is the kitchen – and no wonder. This is where families gather, plans are made, troubles and triumphs shared.

The moral of the story? If your kitchen doesn’t shine when you put your home on the market, you’re operating at a disadvantage. It doesn’t have to take a refrigerator full of cash to accomplish a kitchen remodel. Here are a few simple steps to brighten things up without busting your budget:

• Clean up: Pull the refrigerator out from the wall; get on your knees and scrub baseboards. Clean the crown molding, and don’t overlook your appliances: homebuyers often open ovens and check out refrigerators, so make sure they are as spotless as the rest of the kitchen.
• Update knobs, pulls and hinges: One of the simplest fix-it-up projects you can do is take off outdated hardware and replace it with something modern. Knobs and pulls average between $2 and $20. Choose the middle ground, grab a screwdriver and you’ll go a long way to giving the room a facelift.
• Replace old faucets. The variety of faucet choices is endless. Choose a finish that goes well with the kitchen hardware and a style that offers modern flair.
• Spruce up cabinets. If your old cabinets seem dreary beyond repair, consider replacing your cabinet doors. Service providers can install new cabinet fronts that will make the entire kitchen look new and customized. If this is out of your budget, paint the existing cabinets and consider adding molding for a more polished look.
• Install a custom range hood: These can be added at a reasonable cost and offer a big payoff in terms of lending an updated feel to an older kitchen.

Start a neighborhood tradition with a community garage sale

Thinking of throwing a garage sale? Why not enlist other neighbors to host their own garage sales on the same day? A community garage sale is a great way to attract more shoppers – more merchandise means more customer interest – and to get to know your neighbors at the same time.

If you’re interested in getting this tradition started in your own neighborhood, here are some tips on how to proceed:

• Send an email blast to your neighbors announcing a day and time. Recruit those interested in helping.
• Invite neighborhood kids to join in the fun. They might sell lemonade or offer their own items for sale in a designated spot.
• Pick a charity and announce that some or all of the proceeds will go to this cause. The right cause can rally the neighbors and give everyone a greater sense of purpose.
• Advertise the event in neighboring communities with fliers and signs. Place signs at entrances to the neighborhood on the day of the sale to help draw customers.
• Compile a list of the larger items people are selling. Then send an email blast to the neighbors, letting them know that certain appliances or pieces of furniture will be available and at which addresses. This is a convenient way for people to locate items of special interest.
• Keep it short. A half-day event, generally 8 to 1 p.m., lets shoppers know they need to get out early and allows those with busy schedules to participate without committing themselves to the entire day.

Easy steps to building a compost pile

Every day, millions of Americans toss items in the trash that go straight to the landfill when they could be used to fertilize the garden instead. Starting a compost pile may sound daunting, but it’s nearly as easy as throwing your kitchen scraps into that plastic tie-bag that also goes straight to the landfill.

Items you can toss into the compost pile are divided into two categories: “Greens,” (which provide nitrogen), such as apples and peels, asparagus stalks, carrots, non-meat food scraps, grass clippings, moldy food (but no meat, cheese or bones), lettuce, melons. And “Browns” (which provide carbon), such as shredded paper, eggshells, tissue cardboard cores, dryer lint, chipped branches, vacuum cleaner sweepings, paper towels, chipped branches.

To turn them into compost, the City and County of Denver website recommends these steps:

• Collect enough material so that the pile is a minimum of 3’x3’x3′. Start it in a level area that receives only partial sun.
• Open up the ground with a pitchfork or shovel approximately an inch or so under your pile area. This allows soil microorganisms access to the food sources in your compost pile. As an alternative, you can also use a pre-manufactured composting bin.
• Add an alternating mix of four-to-six-inch layers of finely chopped high carbon (“Browns”) and high nitrogen (“Greens”) materials. Then, introduce friendly microorganisms to your pile by throwing a handful of garden soil on top of the layers.
• Mix the carbon and nitrogen layers with a garden fork.
• Water the layers until they feel like a wrung-out sponge. (Take care here: too wet and the pile will smell bad; too dry and it won’t decompose well.)
• Continue building layers, mixing each new carbon and nitrogen layer before watering.
• Cover the top of your pile with black plastic or straw to avoid direct sun, which slows the decomposition process. This also keeps the pile from drying out and slows the loss of soluble nutrients.
• Turn or stir the pile once a week to provide air channels.

For more detailed information, see www.denvergov.com’s “Trash and Recycling“.

Cooperating with your lender more likely to ensure success

There’s no question that lending rules have tightened since the economic downturn. Borrowers are being asked to fill out more forms and provide more information than in the past, all of which can add up to frustration for mortgage consumers.

While irritation is understandable when facing endless paperwork, it’s important for borrowers to recognize that lenders aren’t asking for documentation simply to burden their customers. They are required to create a loan file that strictly complies with published underwriting guidelines. Without the right documentation, the loan will be in peril.

The bottom line is this: It’s important to be meticulous in gathering the documentation your lender requests. If you try to get around a specific requirement by offering something else in its place, you will likely be queried again for the initially requested document, creating stress on all sides.

Remember: a well-documented loan file allows for an uneventful approval process, which is, after all, the goal of everyone involved.

For more information on the loan process, call or email Guild Mortgage today. Ask for Lisa Miles or Julie Whalen: 303-320-1556; www.guildmortgageofcherrycreek.com.

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