An interview with Mortgage Broker, Charles “Chuck” Swigart

Charles Swigart

As a Realtor, I often work with first time home buyers. They enjoy the searching for and viewing potential homes. The not-so-fun part? The mortgage.

But if you don't pay attention to the details, your mortgage can end up dragging down the enjoyment of your new home and cause some major regrets. I’ve asked Chuck Swigart, an independent mortgage broker to help answer some of the common questions that buyers ask:

· Is a mortgage broker the same as a mortgage lender? No. Mortgage lenders offer only a few select loans marketed to the most common borrower characteristics. Charles Swigart Home Loans is an independent mortgage broker. We offer well-known conventional, FHA, and VA home loans. We also offer the not-so-well-known home loans such as our rare 1% down conventional purchase loan. We also offer non-conventional loans for special circumstances such as self-employed, investment income, and foreign national. We offer the same loans as all mortgage lenders but we can provide it with a more competitive rate.

When you shop for a car, you typically go to a dealer that sells one type of car. You can buy any of their vehicles in that brand. Now, imagine going to a dealer where you can buy any brand of car and any model offered by that brand. Having all brands and all models in one place is how convenient it is to shop for your home loan with a mortgage broker.

· What is a common misconception about mortgage lending? All lenders are the same. Not true. While many lenders and brokers may offer similar loan products, the service you receive may be vastly different. Differences in service from a lender or broker may be due to differing experience levels or differences in the company’s behaviors. Charles Swigart Home Loans’ primary behaviors focus on speed and service to our clients.

· What does a lender look for when qualifying applicants? Primarily, we look for demonstrated credit responsibility and consistency. This doesn’t always mean high credit scores and salaried borrowers. The lack of risky credit behavior is more important than a high credit score. Having two (2) years of employment and residence history is important. Two (2) years of employment in the same industry with more than one employer or two (2) years in the same position with multiple employers is acceptable.

· What is available to help buyers with a limited amount of money for the down payment? We offer our unique 1% down payment option for borrowers with 700+ credit scores. We also provide down payment grants and purchase money loans for borrowers that want a little more help. If you have your earnest money deposit and $1000 for appraisal and home inspections, you may be ready to buy your next home.

· What do you recommend for someone with credit issues? We provide a free, 10-minute loan qualification for our clients. We can answer your questions about your challenges and put your mind at ease. Most of the issues you worry may keep you from homeownership can be resolved with a simple phone call and an action plan. Let us put our experience and skill to work for you.

· People that are self-employed may not qualify if they claim many deductions on their taxes so they don’t show enough income. What can they do? If you have 20% down payment or 20% equity in the property you own, you can qualify using your bank statements to prove income. If you don’t have 20% for a down payment or equity, you should consult your accountant. We can also finance borrowers that can show their income from the cash flow of investment properties – even if they deduct all of their income.

Thank you, Chuck. Where can people reach you if they have more questions? You can reach me any day of the week at 303-868-6071. Don’t be afraid to call and get advice. It’s free and can lead to positive opportunities for your future!

Finally, from a Realtor’s point of view, here are a couple of mistakes to avoid to ensure that you love your mortgage terms as much as your new home.

Don't find your home first: Shopping around for the best mortgage rate should be the first step in the home buying process. You may even want to talk to a mortgage broker a full year before you plan to buy. It'll give you time to get your affairs in order to qualify for the best rate, could save you thousands of dollars in the long run, and you won't feel rushed to accept an unattractive loan because you're worried you'll miss out on your dream home.

Don't forget your real budget: There's often a big difference between what a lender says you can afford and what you can actually afford. Your debt-to-income ratio doesn't include the money you spend on hobbies, or the cost of commuting to work, or maintenance and utility costs. Really sit down and examine your spending before committing to the loan amount the lender is offering. You won't enjoy your home nearly as much if it's eating into your favorite hobbies.

House Hacks

I have a confession. I’m addicted to Pinterest! For those of you not familiar with this website/tool, members indicate what interests they have when they sign up and then Pinterest feeds article to you on those items for free. The articles are “pinned” by other members. If you want to hang on to an article you can save it in a category.

It’s a timesaver if you’re searching for something. Admittedly, it can also be a time waster too as you may find you’ve spent an hour looking at articles just because there is so much out there. You also have to use some discernment with some of these articles because there aren’t many restrictions and people being people will post some pretty absurd information. However, there are many other articles that fill me with amazement at how talented some people are.

Some of my favorite types of articles are about household tips for cleaning because I hate to clean but I like a clean house. Most of these articles are how to do something quickly or with common household items. Today, I want to share with you some of the tips or house hacks (To Hack something is to change something.) I’ve found for keeping a clean house-

The microwave
The solution for a clean microwave is in your refrigerator (or maybe in the produce section of the grocery store). Microwave a cup of water and a few lemon slices, and then use a sponge to clean the microwave with the warm water.

Grease Stains
This one works on clothes as well as surfaces. Rub white chalk on the grease stain, let it sit for five minutes, and then wipe it away with a wet rag.

The Television
Screens on HDTVs are delicate, and you want to avoid liquid cleaners, especially on LCD screens. Instead, take a dryer sheet and use it to clean the screen. The sheet will pick up dust and reduce static, and won’t damage the TV.

Air Vents
It is always tough to thoroughly clean air vents because the spaces are so small, but they attract a ton of dust. Wrap a small towel around a butter knife, and then use the knife to clean the openings in the vent.

Dishwasher
Place a dishwasher-safe container with white vinegar in the dishwasher and run the dishwasher on the hottest water cycle available to get rid of grease and the musty odor. Then sprinkle a cup of baking soda on the bottom of the dishwasher tub and run on the short cycle. It will remove stains.

Furniture Dents in Carpet

Have you ever moved a piece of furniture to another place and then had furniture dents in the carpet where the furniture used to be?  Place ice cubes on the dents and the dents will disappear as the carpet dries.  You may have to do this more than once to completely remove the dent.

Do you have some house hacks you’d like to share? I'd love to hear them.

What Affects Property Values

Updating your home is part of the home ownership process for most people. For some, it's making the home specific to their likes and taste. For others, they may be thinking of remodeling because they are thinking of selling. If you are thinking of selling, it's a good idea to make updates to your home so it doesn't look dated. When I am out showing homes, a dated looking home is often the reason a buyer will tell me they are not interested.

Whether you're remodeling for your own use or because you're putting your home on the market, it is a smart move to make sure that change will improve your property value. Some of the features that increase property values are obvious-like a remodeled bathroom, a modern kitchen, or a sought-after neighborhood. You also don't want to make an over improvement to the property because it may discourage buyers and make your property difficult to appraise.

Here are a few features and circumstances you may not have realized can affect property values.

• The neighbors: Not every neighborhood or community has an HOA that can keep the neighbors from going overboard with decorations or neglecting to care for their home. Homes adjacent to crazy neighbors can potentially be undervalued.
• Trendy groceries and coffee: Recent statistics suggest that if your home is a short walk from popular grocery stores like Whole Foods or coffee chains like Starbucks, it can actually appreciate faster than the national average.
• Mature trees: A big beautiful tree in the front yard is enviable, and it's not something that can be easily added to any home. Homes with mature trees tend to get a little boost in value.
• Parking: This isn't too much of an issue if you live in the suburbs or in a rural area, but residents in dense cities can have real problems with parking, and homeowners might need to rent a spot just to guarantee a place to park each night. That's why having guaranteed parking in urban areas will raise property values.
• The front entrance: First impressions matter to buyers-many will cross a home off their list within 10 seconds of stepping through the front door. An appealing front door, a friendly entryway, and a functioning doorbell are all necessities for getting top dollar.

So you may be asking yourself "What improvements can I do to add value to my  home?"  So glad you asked!

• Kitchens/Baths: Nearly everyone knows that updated kitchens and baths are on the top of the list for home improvements. If they are done right they will almost pay for themselves in bringing back top dollar for your home. Try to use granite for countertops and stainless steel appliances if you can afford it as these items are still very popular.
• Paint: Try to use neutral paint colors throughout the house. I love deep red in dining rooms but if I'm trying to sell my house, I would paint the walls. My current favorite neutral color is Benjamin Moore Edgecomb Gray. Also, make sure you test the color in different lights. I also like Realist Beige but it turns pinkish in some lights.
• Trims: White on baseboards and doors are still very popular. It looks clean and contrasts well with neutral colors. Also updating the doors to paneled doors and baseboards to a wider size will make a world of difference in making your home look updated for a small cost.
• Fixtures: Update lighting fixtures, door knobs, and faucets. Although I'm starting to see some gold fixtures in magazines again, most people still prefer oiled bronze and brushed nickel finishes. 
• Curb appeal: Don't forget to add a little color in the form of plants to the front yard. Curb appeal and first impressions really do make the difference.

Farmer's Market

During the summer months, I like to go to the local Farmer’s Market on weekends.  It’s a great place to find local produce straight from the farm but you can find other items such as cheeses, clothing, jewelry, and wine.  

There are several Farmer’s Markets around town.  The one I usually go to is at Southwest Plaza. The Southwest Plaza Farmer’s Market is only open on Saturdays this year but others may be open Saturday and Sunday. There is also one in Lakewood at Mile Hi Church at the intersection of Alameda and Garrison. To find the Farmers Market closest to you, check out the Farmers Market website.

Many of the craft items are originals that you won’t see in the local department store.  They also have plants that are not available at the home improvement stores.

I like to go when they open at 8:00 a.m. as that is when you can find the best produce before it is picked over.  You also avoid the heat when you go early.

I think the best way to start is to go to the local coffee vendor.  Then you can take your time wandering amount the stalls.  I always save picking up produce until the last so I don’t have to carry it around but parking is close so it’s no problem to put it in the car and come back to the Market.  Just be sure to bring lots of reusable bags as the plastic ones the vendors use tend to break.

 If you haven’t been, check it out.  I think you’ll find it a fun way to start the weekend.

Enjoy!
Cheryl

How to Gel Stain

 I am somewhat of a DIY-er.  I’d probably be more of a one if I had more time as I find it very satisfying to find a home project that will make my space more unique and take that project to completion.  Sometimes these are small projects such as painting a room and sometimes they are larger projects such as a built in bookcase/fireplace project I have planned.

Which brings me to today’s project. Ever since I moved into my house three years ago I have wanted to change the color of the stair banisters.  The reason is that all of my furniture is dark wood such as mahogany or cherry and the banisters were a light oak or maple. One day while scanning Pinterest I came across several posts talking about a gel stain from General Finishes.  I tend to be cynic about most products doing what they say and I’ve tried other gel stains so I initially was skeptical.  However, the more I read the more intrigued I became. Especially when I read I wouldn’t have to do much sanding.  I really dislike sanding!

Normally I would have headed to Amazon to look for the General Finishes Gel Stains, but in this case I looked around for a local source.  The reason was I wanted to get a small quantity of the gel stains for testing. I finally found it at Rockler on Colorado Boulevard. I wasn’t sure what colors I wanted and the samples at Rockler were not on light woods so I picked up several half pint containers of Java, Antique Walnut, Georgian Cherry, Mahogany and Satin overcoat.  They aren’t cheap but the stain goes a long ways so you don’t need much.

Next, I went to my local Home Depot to the flooring section and picked up 6 or 8 honey oak sample pieces. The honey oak color was the closest to the color of my banister.  I want to put a plug in here for Home Depot as they provide flooring samples free.  Lowes charges. I also tend to favor Home Depot over Lowes as I can usually find help there when I need it.  I felt a little guilty about taking so many samples but I spend hundreds of dollars at Home Depot so whether it was right or not I used that as my justification.

When I got home, I lightly sanded each sample just enough to remove the glossy look and wiped them down with a clean cloth to remove the dust and lint.  Then I put on rubber gloves and over the gloves an old sock. Why an old sock?  I read somewhere that the sock would not add lint to the stain and it didn’t. However, I ran out of socks before this project was finished and had to switch to old cotton pajamas cut into strips. I would also buy large quantities of rubber gloves too if you are going to try this product.   You don’t want to get this stain on your skin as it is hard to get off.

With my hands adequately cover, I dipped a sock covered hand into the gel stain and then wiped the sock across the wood sample to apply a coat of color to the sample.  I repeated this with a new sock for each color so that I had one sample with each of my gel stain colors.  I was pleasantly surprised to find the gel went on the wood evenly and had almost no odor, unlike other products I have used. 

When I was done, I left the samples to dry for 12 hours. It is very important to wait the 12 hours.   Don’t rush this step!  I’ve tried adding a coat sooner than 12 hours and it always ruins my previous coat.  The next day I covered up 1/3 of each sample and stained the remaining 2/3 and you guessed it- I left it alone for 12 hours. The third day I covered up 2/3 of each sample and then with another sock I applied another coat of gel stain to the remaining 1/3 for each sample. Again I left it for 12 hours. 

The reason I did this was to see what one coat, two coats, and three coats would look like on each sample. The stains were all very nice but I realized from this experiment that none of the stains were exactly what I wanted so I did one more experiment on a sample.  I put on two coats of Java and one coat of Georgian Cherry. This is the bottom right sample in the picture.  This gave me exactly the color I wanted and I was ready to start work on the banisters.

To prep the banisters. I had to take an Allen wrench and loosen each of the wrought-iron caps so I could slide them away from the wood.  I had thought I could then remove the wrought-iron rods.  Unfortunately, the person that installed them had glued them in place so I had to stain up to the rods.  After that, I used painters tape around all the banister posts where they were attached to a painted surface.  Next, I lightly sanded all of the wood posts and banisters.  For the crevices I tried Sanders Deglosser as I had read a de-glosser would help in the crevices. I really don’t think it worked that well but it didn’t seem to make a difference when I got to gel stain stage. I’ve heard Paso Deglosser works well but I haven’t been able to find it locally.  Finally, I wiped everything down with a damp cloth before starting my stain routine.

When I was done with the three coats, I did two coats of clear satin.  I know these banisters are going to get handled a lot so I wanted to give them a lot of protection.  

I loved the results I got and I’m now a big fan of General Finishes Gel Stains.  They are easy to use as the surface doesn’t need to be sanded down to raw wood and they don’t smell. The only drawback I saw was the drying time but it was worth it in the end.  This little project gave me the confidence to take on an even bigger project – building and staining built in bookcases!   If they go well you just might see a post on them in the future.

Lakehurst Concert in the Park

One of the highlights of summer for me is the local Concerts in the Park. I can’t think of anything more relaxing than setting up a camp chair or a blanket on the grass, then settling in for good music while munching on picnic fare.  When I saw the Lakehurst HOA was sponsoring their first ever concert in Lakehurst Park on July 22nd,  there was no question that I would go. This HOA is a voluntary organization so they run on a shoestring.  I try to support them whenever I can. If you’ve never been to Lakehurst Park, it borders Harriman Lake in Lakewood.

Around 6:30 that evening I wandered over to the Park.  I was delighted to see it was going to be a perfect evening weather-wise as there had been threats of rain the previous evenings.  We were blessed this evening with temperatures in the 80s, some clouds, and a soft breeze.

Once I got to the park, I saw the HOA was selling hot dogs, brats, chips, ice cream, and cookies.  Knowing this was a fundraiser and wanting to support the HOA, I bought a hot dog, chips and a drink.  Then I found a place to set up my camp chair so I’d have a good view of the stage.  While I waited for the concert to start, I watched young children running through the grass barefoot as they chased after puppies. Not far from me,  someone had set up a ring toss and a contest was in progress.  Neighbors were chatting. It felt good to just sit back and take it all in.

The concert’s featured performers were the Margarita Brothers, a group that sings a mix of music such as  Beach Boys, Jimmy Buffet, Reggae, and South of the Border Hits.  The concert started promptly at  7 p.m. and ran until 9 p.m. With the exception of a short break,  the Margarita Brothers kept the good music coming the whole time. The music was all my favorites so I don’t think the band had a bad number the whole evening. My very favorite was definitely the Starship hit “Sara”  performed by Mike Dane who also did saxophone. 

At one point during the concert, hula hoops were passed out to the kids.  It was so much fun to watch them hula hooping to the music and thinking back to when I could handle a hula hoop.  Keeping with the beach theme, the HOA also passed out leis to anyone that wanted one.

Toward the end of the concert, we were treated to an amazing kaleidoscope of colors as the sun set behind the mountains and reflected off the lake.  It was a perfect end to the evening.  As I walked home, I wondered if the HOA met their fundraising goals for this event.  I hope so as I would love to go next year and would recommend it to everyone. 

Another Mini Get-Away

One of the things I love about our area is the little lakes that dot the area. Most of them have walking trails around them where you can watch the ducks or sit and relax. They are like a little oasis in all the hustle and bustle of life.


One of my favorite lakes is Harriman Lake at the corner of Kipling and Quincy. Admittedly part of the reason this is one of my favorite lakes is that my father has told me stories of swimming in this lake back when he was in high school in 1946. He lived in Englewood at the time so I guess that is what they called getting away back then. I love the idea that this lake has survived for more than 70 years.

Harriman was closed to the public for a while after a couple of people drowned. Harriman Lake Park is maintained through a combined effort between Foothills and Denver Water. The lake and most of the land surrounding it is owned by Denver Water. Foothills leases the recreation rights from Denver Water. On October 21, 1995, the Harriman Park area was dedicated and reopened to the public. The 1.4 -mile lake sits on an 11-acre parcel which is leased to Foothills Recreational from Jefferson County. Starting in December 201l, Denver Water began replacing the old dam with a new earthen one. The project was completed in February 2013. This project was done to satisfy regulatory requirements and bring the dam to its full capacity for storage.

The park includes not only Harriman Lake but the prairie habitat that surrounding the lake. The loop trail surrounding the lake features stops that describe historical and natural features of the area. On the south side of the lake are two covered picnic tables. To reach the trailhead, there is a parking area on Kipling just south of Quincy. Other than that, improvements are minimal so as to preserve the park integrity of the park.

It is an easy walk around the lake passing through wetlands and bird habitats. You can start the trail from the parking area and head west along Quincy Avenue or from the south side of the lake head west alongside the Lakehurst Village Subdivision before entering the Donkey Hill Greenbelt. From Donkey Hill the trail swings around the north side of Donkey Hill and crosses under S. Simms Street through a dedicated box culvert. The trail then parallels the Weaver Creek drainage and continues west to Weaver Hollow Park and Pool. From Weaver Hollow Park and Pool it continues west to Weaver Creek Park where the trail dead ends at Cole St. Trail head.

You will see joggers and dog walkers most days but it is not a crowded trail. Swimming, boating, wading, belly boats, and ice fishing are prohibited. Come check it out if you need a quick getaway place to recalibrate.

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