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Real estate agents are NOT alike! "You can fire me any time...but you won't want to!"
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"We love our house..."
"We love our house...every day we are grateful for this beautiful home."
Christi and Bob Cooley
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The Joan Shaffer Group are some
of The Top Selling Real Estate Experts™
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Buying a Home Requires Many Difficult Decisions. Make Sure Your REALTORŪ is a Top Local Expert.
When you hire me to represent you as your real estate consultant to buy your next home, here's what I do for you:
(1) I am your Consultant. When we meet I will ask you profound, insightful questions because discovering what is really important to you, is really important to me;
(2) I am your Negotiator. I am like a pit bull! :) I am skilled, experienced and focused. You, like me, probably believe it's in your best interest to have a skilled, experienced and focused negotiator on your team.
(3) I am yourTransactional Overseer - that means I oversee details. I dot the "i's" and cross the "t's". How does it make you feel knowing that there are 43 different people from 14 different industries that get involved during the seven stages of your transaction? Every transaction has 100 pieces of paper requiring upward to 43 signatures and initials. Making a mistake could be very costly to you.
One of my greatest skills is to see things from multiple perspectives, which means I will always recognize what is known about an issue, what more needs to be known, and how to best obtain the relevant and accurate information needed.
This is what I do. Every day I make dreams come true for buyers and sellers. I'm a real estate consultant and I look forward to helping you make your dreams come true. 
Your home is probably the biggest purchase your family will ever make, and it involves many decisions that go beyond simply choosing one you like. As top metropolitan Denver area REALTORSŪ, here is how we will guide you through the entire process, from viewing homes and financing, to making sure the final contract is in your best interest:
- You will have full access to ALL homes available in the metropolitan Denver area including the Golden, Lakewood and Littleton markets, even listings not yet on the MLS, through our professional Colorado real estate affiliations.
- Our expert local knowledge of the area should be invaluable to you, not just in terms of real estate, but also schools, neighborhoods, the local economy, and more.
- Every local real estate market absolutely has its own trends and opportunities. This can vary greatly, even one neighborhood to the next. It's our job to steer you into opportunities and out of traps.
- What is the true market value of the home you are interested in? Is it priced too high? Is it a bargain that you should jump on? We help home buyers make decisions like this every day, and we'll make sure that YOU get the best value for your money.
- Negotiating with sellers can be stressful. We will help you negotiate, so that the final contract includes your best possible terms and conditions.
- You should know absolutely everything possible about the property you are buying! You and we will view every home that you are interested in, together. And prior to closing we will make you fully aware of any and all inspections available to you.
- Have confidence when signing documents. Contracts are full of complicated terms and clauses that can greatly affect your future life in your new home. We will give you the full benefit of our real estate knowledge and experience.
When you choose us to represent you in your home search, we treat your money like it is ours. You, like me, know that money is an emotional issue and to represent your own self is like performing surgery on yourself. You would never do that, would you? You will have a skilled, experienced and focused negotiator on your team when you buy a home through the Joan Shaffer Group in the Denver Metropolitan Area, including Golden, Lakewood and Littleton.
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Ask us any question about buying a home anywhere in the Denver metropolitan area. It's our job to help you!
There's no obligation, and we promise to respond quickly...
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First Time Buyers >Your Principal Residence
The Federal Tax Code allows married taxpayers to exclude from capital gains taxes up to $500,000 in profits from selling a home (singles can exclude $250,000). In order to qualify for this exemption, you must prove that that the home has been your principal residence for at least two out of the last five years. The establishment of the home as a principal residence depends on the facts of each homeowner's circumstance. Here are two cases to consider.
Homeowner A has lived at 25 Pine Drive for 12 years. Although he stays at his vacation cottage in another town for up to three months out of each year (sometimes more), 25 Pine Drive is his principal residence, where he lives most of the time. When he sells the home, Homeowner A (filing as a single individual) can keep up to $250,000 in tax-free profit.
Homeowner B buys 108 Maple Street, intending to live there. He rents it out while waiting to sell his current home, where he has lived for six years. His principal residence sells at the end of two years. Homeowner B moves into his new house, lives there for three months, and then decides to travel. After a six-month trip, he regrets buying 108 Maple Street and sells it. Even though he has owned the house on Maple Street for over two years, it won't qualify as "owner-occupied", because he only lived in it for a few months. Thus Homeowner B is not eligible to claim the tax exemption when he sells the house on Maple Street.
Consult your tax advisor for advice about your particular circumstance.
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| Q |
What kind of home construction is considered to be the safest in seismic areas?
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| A |
Straw-bale homes in seismic zones have proven resilient enough to withstand the shock of earthquakes. |
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- NUMBER1EXPERTS™ 
