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Renters and landlords should be cautious to avoid falling prey to scams, commonly run through online resources.

Fake ads in the form of Craigslist postings and listings on other popular marketing venues for housing are a growing problem, according to AOL Real Estate. Fraudsters may falsely advertise a property they do not own.

Commonly selecting an unlisted and unoccupied property, the scam can then trick prospective renters into paying the first month’s rent or making a deposit. Then the fake landlord disappears, sometimes even leaving the renters to move into the home not realizing they are not legal tenants.

While more scams target renters, some victimize owners as well. One landlord told the news source that he was cheated out of ,200 in a scam. Fake renters sent him an initial payment too large for the rent, and asked him to send the excess to a third party. The first check was a fake, which appeared to clear but was later caught by the bank.

Rental managers and owners can avoid most scams with caution and by consistently enforcing policies. Fraud often depends on the victim making an exception that seems reasonable, or failing to investigate the specifics of a deal closely enough.

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When a landlord or rental manager is faced with multiple qualified applicants to choose from, then he or she can use discretion to select the best.

This may be the one who seems to have the more stable employment outlook or higher salary, which can be an indicator of his or her ability or pay rent on time.

If previous research did not include contacting prior landlords, that may be a good choice. Some habits and factors may not show up in documentation. For example, a particularly good tenant might have taken exceptional care to ensure her previous home’s condition, which could easily go unrecorded.

Alternatively, one tenant may be able to move in sooner, meaning that the rental spends less time vacant. All other factors being equal, that may be a deciding detail.

When making a choice, it is important to ensure that no violations of fair housing law occur. It may be wise to develop an official written policy for choosing between good prospects, not just a set of minimum qualifications. That way, decisions can be consistent over the years and discrimination can be avoided.

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March 16, 2012 – Here’s your Durango Real Estate Statistics and Weekly Update! Great deals, new listings, foreclosures and sold comparables.

Spring is in the air – lots of Springbreakers in town Skiing and enjoying the downtown life!

15 properties sold in Durango, Colorado and area over the last week – check it out.

Click Here for Sold Listings

There are 42 new listings this week, ranging from a ,000 condo to a 9K, 4BR, 3BA home on 6 acres, wow!

Click Here for New Listings

Bankowned Listings (REO):

Due to continuing interest we are including REO property, which means “Real Estate Owned” in bank-lingo, in other words, bankowned properties, or foreclosed properties after the foreclosure process is completed. The bank/lender now owns the property. They are typically sold at a discount, hence the popularity! Please follow this link to our foreclosure page on our website. It shows all active bankowned and foreclosure listings in the area and is continually updated. Bookmark it and visit it often! Or email us, info@blueribbondurango.com to get set up for automatic email notifications on new bankowned listings!

Click here for Foreclosures & Bankowned Homes in the Durango & Surrounding Areas

And Back by Popular demand – the Market Snapshot – Free and Instant Home Valuations! A cool map based comparable report that shows new listings and sales comparables to your house, for sellers or buyers. Sign up by clicking here. Or go to Durangohousevalues.com. You’ll love it!

If you’d like to see any listings or statistics that we are not covering please don’t hesitate to send an email or post a comment. Maybe you’d like to be alerted to new listings in a specific price range or type. Let us know, we’re here to help.

Sign up to receive automatic emails of new listings by sending me a quick email and letting me know what you’d like to see, claudia@blueribbondurango.com.
Have a great weekend! Feel free to call or email me if you’d like to talk about real estate or go to look at properties!

___

Claudia Williams Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor

Blue Ribbon Properties, 835 Main Ave #214, Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office), 970 749 3555 (cell), 970 247 8360 (fax), claudia@blueribbondurango.com

Be sure to LIKE Blue Ribbon Properties on Facebook!

Disclaimer – these links and information are based on the Durango local multi listing service. While all information is deemed accurate there are no guarantees. Does not include for sale by owners or foreclosure properties that are not listed on the MLS.

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Article Content:
Median rents were 3 percent higher than the previous year as of January 2012, according to a report.

Home prices fell 4.6 percent as rents rose, according to data from Zillow. The real estate data firm’s rent index revealed that more than 69 percent of metropolitan markets tracked displayed increasing rents, compared to 7.3 percent which posted higher for-sale home prices.

This suggests high demand of rental housing and availability of retail properties, which may be beneficial conditions for many investors. Property management companies can help those with new units prepare and market them to area tenants.

“The flourishing rental market is the silver lining to the nation’s housing downturn,” said Zillow Chief Economist Dr. Stan Humphries. “We haven’t had a good way to quantify what is happening with rental rates until now, and the inaugural Zillow Rent Index shows us a healthy and growing rental market across the majority of the country, even as home values continue to fall.”

Rents fell 0.3 percent from December to January, which the report indicates is unlikely to be a meaningful sign in the face of the larger trend. Areas such as Chicago and Minneapolis-St. Paul displayed more extreme results than the average, with rents rising as much as 9.1 and 11 percent, respectively.

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17 Reasons to be cheerful

Today I’d like to share with you these great reasons for rational optimism. This has nothing to do per se with Durango Real Estate but it’s much more inspiring none the less. Matt Ridley has a website called rationaloptimist.com. I find his reasoning compelling and worthwhile – thank you Matt – you made my day! Of course, as alway, if you or any of your friends are interested in Real Estate in Durango Colorado please give me a call. Claudia Williams, Realtor extraordinaire, 970 749 3555. We love referrals!

And without further ado: 17 reasons to be cheerful – yea:

April’s Reader’s Digest carries an article based on excerpts from my book and an interview with me:

“The world has never been a better place to live in,” says science writer Matt Ridley, “and it will keep on getting better.” Today, in a world gripped by global economic crisis and afflicted with poverty, disease, and war, them’s fightin’ words in some quarters. Ridley’s critics have called him a “denialist” and “shameful” and have accused him of “playing fast and loose with the truth” for his views on climate change and the free market.

Yet Ridley, 54, author most recently of The Rational Optimist, sticks to his guns. “It is not insane to believe in a happy future for people and the planet,” he says. Ridley, who’s been a foreign correspondent, a zoologist, an economist, and a financier, brings a broad perspective to his sunny outlook. “People say I’m bonkers to claim the world will go on getting better, yet I can’t stop myself,” he says. Read on to see how Ridley makes his case. Brilliant or bonkers? You decide.

1. We’re better off now

Compared with 50 years ago, when I was just four years old, the average human now earns nearly three times as much money (corrected for inflation), eats one third more calories, buries two thirds fewer children, and can expect to live one third longer. In fact, it’s hard to find any region of the world that’s worse off now than it was then, even though the global population has more than doubled over that period.

2. Urban living is a good thing

City dwellers take up less space, use less energy, and have less impact on natural ecosystems than country dwellers. The world’s cities now contain over half its people, but they occupy less than 3 percent of its land area. Urban growth may disgust environmentalists, but living in the country is not the best way to care for the earth. The best thing we can do for the planet is build more skyscrapers.

3. Poverty is nose-diving

The rich get richer, but the poor do even better. Between 1980 and 2000, the poor doubled their consumption. The Chinese are ten times richer and live about 25 years longer than they did 50 years ago. Nigerians are twice as rich and live nine more years. The percentage of the world’s people living in absolute poverty has dropped by over half. The United Nations estimates that poverty was reduced more in the past 50 years than in the previous 500.

4. The important stuff costs less

One reason we are richer, healthier, taller, cleverer, longer-lived, and freer than ever before is that the four most basic human needs-food, clothing, fuel, and shelter-have grown markedly cheaper. Take one example: In 1800, a candle providing one hour’s light cost six hours’ work. In the 1880s, the same light from a kerosene lamp took 15 minutes’ work to pay for. In 1950, it was eight seconds. Today, it’s half a second. In these terms, we are 43,200 times better off than in 1800.

5. The environment is better than you think

In the United States, rivers, lakes, seas, and air are getting cleaner all the time. A car today emits less pollution traveling at full speed than a parked car did from leaks in 1970.

6. Shopping fuels innovation

Even allowing for the many people who still live in abject poverty, our own generation has access to more calories, watts, horsepower, gigabytes, megahertz, square feet, air miles, food per acre, miles per gallon, and, of course, money than any who lived before us. This will continue as long as we use these things to make other things. The more we specialize and exchange, the better off we’ll be.

7. Global trade enriches our lives

By 9 a.m., I have shaved with an American razor, eaten bread made with French wheat and spread with New Zealand butter and Spanish marmalade, brewed tea from Sri Lanka, dressed in clothes made from Indian cotton and Australian wool, put on shoes of Chinese leather and Malaysian rubber, and read a newspaper printed on Finnish paper with Chinese ink. I have consumed minuscule fractions of the productive labor of hundreds of people. This is the magic of trade and specialization. Self-sufficiency is poverty.

8. More farm production = more wilderness

While world population has increased more than fourfold since 1900, other things have increased, too-the area of crops by 30 percent, harvests by 600 percent. At the same time, more than two billion acres of “secondary” tropical forest are now regrowing since farmers left them to head for cities, and it is already rich in biodiversity. In fact, I will make an outrageous prediction: The world will feed itself to a higher and higher standard throughout this century without plowing any new land.

9. The good old days weren’t

Some people argue that in the past there was a simplicity, tranquillity, sociability, and spirituality that’s now been lost. This rose-tinted nostalgia is generally confined to the wealthy. It’s easier to wax elegiac for the life of a pioneer when you don’t have to use an outhouse. The biggest-ever experiment in back-to-the-land hippie lifestyle is now known as the Dark Ages.

10. Population growth is not a threat

Although the world population is growing, the rate of increase has been falling for 50 years. Across the globe, national birth rates are lower now than in 1960, and in the less developed world, the birth rate has approximately halved. This is happening despite people living longer and infant-mortality rates dropping. According to an estimate from the United Nations, population will start falling once it peaks at 9.2 billion in 2075-so there is every prospect of feeding the world forever. After all, there are already seven billion people on earth, and they are eating better and better every decade.

11. Oil is not running out

In 1970, there were 550 billion barrels of oil reserves in the world, and in the 20 years that followed, the world used 600 billion.

So by 1990, reserves should have been overdrawn by 50 billion barrels. Instead, they amounted to 900 billion-not counting tar sands and oil shale that between them contain about 20 times the proven reserves of Saudi Arabia. Oil, coal, and gas are finite, but they will last for decades, perhaps centuries, and people will find alternatives long before they run out.

12. We are the luckiest generation

This generation has experienced more peace, freedom, leisure time, education, medicine, and travel than any in history. Yet it laps up gloom at every opportunity. Consumers do not celebrate their wonderful field of choice and, according to psychologists, say they are “overwhelmed.” When I go to my local superstore, I do not see people driven to misery by the impossibility of choice. I see people choosing.

13. Storms are not getting worse

Not at all. While the climate warmed slightly last century, the incidence of hurricanes and cyclones fell. Since the 1920s, the global annual death rate from weather-related natural disasters (that is, the proportion of the world’s population killed rather than simply the overall number) has declined by a staggering 99 percent.

The killing power of hurricanes depends more on wealth than on wind speed. A big hurricane struck the well-prepared Yucatán in Mexico in 2007 and killed nobody. A similar storm struck impoverished Burma the next year and killed 200,000. The best defenses against disaster are prosperity and freedom.

14. Great ideas keep coming

The more we prosper, the more we can prosper. The more we invent, the more inventions become possible. The world of things is often subject to diminishing returns. The world of ideas is not: The ever-increasing exchange of ideas causes the ever-increasing rate of innovation in the modern world. There isn’t even a theoretical possibility of exhausting our supply of ideas, discoveries, and inventions.

15. We can solve all our problems

If you say the world will go on getting better, you are considered mad. If you say catastrophe is imminent, you may expect the Nobel Peace Prize. Bookshops groan with pessimism; airwaves are crammed with doom. I cannot recall a time when I was not being told by somebody that the world could survive only if it abandoned economic growth. But the world will not continue as it is. The human race has become a problem-solving machine: It solves those problems by changing its ways. The real danger comes from slowing change.

16. This depression is not depressing

The Great Depression of the 1930s was just a dip in the upward slope of human living standards. By 1939, even the worst-affected countries, America and Germany, were richer than they’d been in 1930. All sorts of new products and industries were born during the Depression. So growth will resume unless prevented by wrong policies. Someone, somewhere, is tweaking a piece of software, testing a new material, or transferring the gene that will make life easier or more fun.

17. Optimists are right

For 200 years, pessimists have had all the headlines-even though optimists have far more often been right. There is immense vested interest in pessimism. No charity ever raised money by saying things are getting better. No journalist ever got the front page writing a story about how disaster was now less likely. Pressure groups and their customers in the media search even the most cheerful statistics for glimmers of doom. Don’t be browbeaten-dare to be an optimist!

 

And another note from Claudia: Thanks for reading to the end. The last one is my favorite – optimists are right! Have a productive, optimistic and fabulous day! And check out Matt’s website – www.rationaloptimist.com
–

Claudia Williams
Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor
Blue Ribbon Properties, 835 Main Ave #214, Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office), 970 749 3555 (cell), 970 247 8360 (fax), blueribbondurango.com

Connect with Claudia on facebook, buzztown, twitter, linked in and my blog articles

Be sure to LIKE Blue Ribbon Properties on Facebook!

Check out the New Market Snapshot to monitor the value of your home and get current local market conditions

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March 23, 2012 – Here’s your Durango Real Estate Statistics and Weekly Update! Great deals, new listings, foreclosures and sold comparables.

Spring has sprung - more & more homes are being listed! Hope you all enjoy this beautiful weather we are having!

16 properties sold in Durango, Colorado and area over the last week – check it out.

Click Here for Sold Listings

There are 72 new listings this week. That is 30 more listings than last week! Wow!

Click Here for New Listings

Bankowned Listings (REO):

Due to continuing interest we are including REO property, which means “Real Estate Owned” in bank-lingo, in other words, bankowned properties, or foreclosed properties after the foreclosure process is completed. The bank/lender now owns the property. They are typically sold at a discount, hence the popularity! Please follow this link to our foreclosure page on our website. It shows all active bankowned and foreclosure listings in the area and is continually updated. Bookmark it and visit it often! Or email us, info@blueribbondurango.com to get set up for automatic email notifications on new bankowned listings!

Click here for Foreclosures & Bankowned Homes in the Durango & Surrounding Areas

And Back by Popular demand – the Market Snapshot – Free and Instant Home Valuations! A cool map based comparable report that shows new listings and sales comparables to your house, for sellers or buyers. Sign up by clicking here. Or go to Durangohousevalues.com. You’ll love it!

If you’d like to see any listings or statistics that we are not covering please don’t hesitate to send an email or post a comment. Maybe you’d like to be alerted to new listings in a specific price range or type. Let us know, we’re here to help.

Sign up to receive automatic emails of new listings by sending me a quick email and letting me know what you’d like to see, claudia@blueribbondurango.com.
Have a great weekend! Feel free to call or email me if you’d like to talk about real estate or go to look at properties!

___

Claudia Williams Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor

Blue Ribbon Properties, 835 Main Ave #214, Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office), 970 749 3555 (cell), 970 247 8360 (fax), claudia@blueribbondurango.com

Be sure to LIKE Blue Ribbon Properties on Facebook!

Disclaimer – these links and information are based on the Durango local multi listing service. While all information is deemed accurate there are no guarantees. Does not include for sale by owners or foreclosure properties that are not listed on the MLS.

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With an agreement between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three automakers, rental vacancies in Detroit are expected to be filled, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Union and business interests came to an agreement that is expected to add 14,000 jobs to the area, according to the news source. Many of these workers may look for rental housing, suggesting new business for rental agents and property managers.

Marcus & Millichap predicted a significant drop in vacancies, and Multi-Housing News notes that a variety of companies are considering relocating employees to the city. Asking and expected rents could increase by as much as 2 and 3 percent, respectively. Low construction rates of multifamily housing may create an opportunity for landlords to fill single-family and other rentals with the influx of jobs.

MHN also notes that a recent Center for Automotive Research report ranked General Motors as the largest automaker in the world, a place it had previously lost to competitors. Expansion of the auto industry is projected to be a major driving force in the metro area, feeding into significant rent growth during 2012.

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March 30, 2012 – Here’s your Durango Real Estate Statistics and Weekly Update! Great deals, new listings, foreclosures and sold comparables.

Hope you all are enjoying this beautiful weather we are having! Happy Spring!

19 properties sold in Durango, Colorado and area over the last week – that’s 3 more than last week – check it out.

Click Here for Sold Listings

There are 75 new listings this week. That is 3 more listings than last week! Wow!

Click Here for New Listings

Bankowned Listings (REO):

Due to continuing interest we are including REO property, which means “Real Estate Owned” in bank-lingo, in other words, bankowned properties, or foreclosed properties after the foreclosure process is completed. The bank/lender now owns the property. They are typically sold at a discount, hence the popularity! Please follow this link to our foreclosure page on our website. It shows all active bankowned and foreclosure listings in the area and is continually updated. Bookmark it and visit it often! Or email us, info@blueribbondurango.com to get set up for automatic email notifications on new bankowned listings!

Click here for Foreclosures & Bankowned Homes in the Durango & Surrounding Areas

And Back by Popular demand – the Market Snapshot – Free and Instant Home Valuations! A cool map based comparable report that shows new listings and sales comparables to your house, for sellers or buyers. Sign up by clicking here. Or go to Durangohousevalues.com. You’ll love it!

If you’d like to see any listings or statistics that we are not covering please don’t hesitate to send an email or post a comment. Maybe you’d like to be alerted to new listings in a specific price range or type. Let us know, we’re here to help.

Sign up to receive automatic emails of new listings by sending me a quick email and letting me know what you’d like to see, claudia@blueribbondurango.com.
Have a great weekend! Feel free to call or email me if you’d like to talk about real estate or go to look at properties!

___

Claudia Williams Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor

Blue Ribbon Properties, 835 Main Ave #214, Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office), 970 749 3555 (cell), 970 247 8360 (fax), claudia@blueribbondurango.com

Be sure to LIKE Blue Ribbon Properties on Facebook!

Disclaimer – these links and information are based on the Durango local multi listing service. While all information is deemed accurate there are no guarantees. Does not include for sale by owners or foreclosure properties that are not listed on the MLS.

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April 6, 2012 – Here’s your Durango Real Estate Statistics and Weekly Update! Great deals, new listings, foreclosures and sold comparables.

Hope you have a Happy Easter!

34 properties sold in Durango, Colorado and area over the last week – that’s 15 more than last week, wow! - check it out.

Click Here for Sold Listings

There are 90 new listings this week. That is 15 more listings than last week! Wow!

Click Here for New Listings

Bankowned Listings (REO):

Due to continuing interest we are including REO property, which means “Real Estate Owned” in bank-lingo, in other words, bankowned properties, or foreclosed properties after the foreclosure process is completed. The bank/lender now owns the property. They are typically sold at a discount, hence the popularity! Please follow this link to our foreclosure page on our website. It shows all active bankowned and foreclosure listings in the area and is continually updated. Bookmark it and visit it often! Or email us, info@blueribbondurango.com to get set up for automatic email notifications on new bankowned listings!

Click here for Foreclosures & Bankowned Homes in the Durango & Surrounding Areas

And Back by Popular demand – the Market Snapshot – Free and Instant Home Valuations! A cool map based comparable report that shows new listings and sales comparables to your house, for sellers or buyers. Sign up by clicking here. Or go to Durangohousevalues.com. You’ll love it!

If you’d like to see any listings or statistics that we are not covering please don’t hesitate to send an email or post a comment. Maybe you’d like to be alerted to new listings in a specific price range or type. Let us know, we’re here to help.

Sign up to receive automatic emails of new listings by sending me a quick email and letting me know what you’d like to see, claudia@blueribbondurango.com.
Have a great weekend! Feel free to call or email me if you’d like to talk about real estate or go to look at properties!

___

Claudia Williams Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor

Blue Ribbon Properties, 835 Main Ave #214, Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office), 970 749 3555 (cell), 970 247 8360 (fax), claudia@blueribbondurango.com

Be sure to LIKE Blue Ribbon Properties on Facebook!

Disclaimer – these links and information are based on the Durango local multi listing service. While all information is deemed accurate there are no guarantees. Does not include for sale by owners or foreclosure properties that are not listed on the MLS.

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Article Content:
Many rental managers and owners believe that online ratings and reports, commonly found through social media or industry cites, are overwhelmingly dominated by negative feedback.

Many perceive popular websites as places hostile or angry tenants go to complain rather than venues for compliments or constructive criticism, according to Multifamily Executive. Some owners and operators are frustrated by the difficulty of combating negative feedback and are seeking ways to encourage positive commentary as a balance, but are finding it difficult.

Senior marketing executive Greg Benson told the news source that industry stakeholders have not done enough to encourage positive feedback, and other professionals noted that it can be difficult to convince satisfied or pleased residents to express themselves. Despite this, most were opposed to the idea of incentivizing positive reviews.

Experts told MFE that one potential method is to use internal surveys to assess tenants’ opinions. This can reveal any problems earlier, allowing time to fix them before anyone is sufficiently frustrated to vent their opinion online where prospective residents would see it.

Marketer Melanie Stiles told the news source that another possibility is to reach out to those who write complaints online and seek to address them. When an issue is resolved, she notes, the resident can be asked to update their comment to reflect how the situation was resolved.

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