Commentary from Real Estate Today! Radio Show 11.11.2006

The world renowned Pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock once said “A human being is happiest and most successful when dedicated to a cause outside his own individual, selfish satisfaction.”

A day in the life of a real estate agent or mortgage banker can be filed with triumphant mountain top moments and at times heart breaking realities – as we assist families in making their home dreams a reality and help many clients work through life’s challenges.

I want to share with you two experiences from the past week. We have been assisting a family, a wonderful husband and wife with four children in achieving the dream of purchasing their first home and providing long term security for their family. Opportunities for first time homebuyers have increased dramatically since the American Dream Down payment Initiative was signed into law in December 2003. The American Dream Down payment Assistance Act authorizes up to $200 million annually for fiscal years 2004 – 2007 to increase the homeownership rate, especially among lower income and minority households, and to revitalize and stabilize communities. Our team has become expert in working with first time homebuyers and it was a thrill to assist another family by utilizing down payment assistance – they will close on their home next week.

The second experience was less joyful. I sat down with a homeowner in the final stages of foreclosure and helped her work through the options that remain available to her in an effort to salvage the equity she and her husband have in their home. The most common mistake I see made by individuals facing foreclosure is failing to act as early in the process as possible, which limits the options available to them to resolve the problem. In Colorado the foreclosure process is statutory and there are strict guidelines that must be followed to provide the homeowner a reasonable time to restore past due payments or pay the loan in full trough a refinance -- or the sale of the property. The longer a homeowner waits to act, the more difficult it becomes to achieve a favorable outcome. This family being in the later stages of the foreclosure process will need to consider a sale as a means of solving the problem and getting a fresh start.

One of the primary objectives of the Real Estate Today Team is to educate and to advocate for homeowners, in achieving the mountain top moments and guiding them through the challenges they may face at a given time.

We have assembled a great team whose members bring a wide range of experience and a common passion to serve their clients.

Commentary from Real Estate Today! Radio Show 11.04.2006

I must admit that I had a Field of Dreams moment last week, you know “if you build it they will come.” I was having lunch with a colleague and he asks me how we are going to build the audience for our new show. I got to thinking about that question and came to the realization that I have no intention of building an audience -- well at least not in the traditional sense.

My objective is to build a community of listeners rather than a traditional audience. Think of a neighborhood, the foundation is put into place by planners and developers, individuals move into the newly created neighborhood one at a time, get to know one another, interact and engage together – forming a community. That is my objective, to put into place a foundation – our show, and invite each of you to engage with us and form a community of listeners.

Talk radio is powerful because it is interactive and a safe place to ask questions, share opinions, and contribute to the knowledge of others.

The “Real Estate Today!” team seeks to add value for you and to do so with Integrity.

As a licensed real estate broker, certified mortgage lender by the Colorado Mortgage Lenders Association and past Chairman of the Colorado Real Estate Appraisers Board, I want to bring my 20 years of unique experience and passion for real estate to our community of listeners.

We have assembled a great team whose members bring a wide range of experience and a common passion to serve their clients.

Today we are launching our new radio show.

Well after a whirlwind few weeks, we launch our new talk radio program "Real Estate Today!" on KNUS Radio 710 AM. We were able to rely on our web team Jim Dittman and Krisit Dittman, our webmaster of W3Now to pull together a new website at www.jamesholmesonline.com which will serve as the portal to our online community.

The show represents the marriage of two passions for me, first my desire to add value to the broadest number of individuals when selling, buying, or refinancing real estate. The second is a return to talk radio, which has been a significant part of my life since childhood. My mom is a huge talk radio fan and I grew up listening to the local legends of talk radio in Denver; Alan Berg, Gary Tesler, Kathy Bradshaw, and Peter Boyles among others.

This is my second bite at the apple. I hosted two motor-sports programs in the period between 1989 and 1996 - the first on KBIG and the later as co-host with the late Ted Douglass on KQXI, our show was called "The Motor Racing Review" and I learned most of what I know about radio from Ted. As our mic goes hot today, I will be thinking of Ted and my first show is dedicated to his memory.

Real Estate Today! Radio Show

Real Estate Today!

The Real Estate Today! Radio broadcast can be heard over the internet by linking to the 710KNUS website. To access the audio stream click on the associated link for 710KNUS and select the links entitled LISTEN LIVE and join our program. A free CD can be obtained for any Real Estate Today! broadcast by selecting the “Contact Me” or “Ask James” link on this page and making your request. The broadcast can be delivered to you by CD through the mail or we can send you an MP3 file by email. Please specify with your request.

Colorado Real Estate and Mortgage Blog

Colorado Real Estate and Mortgage Blog