WHEN TO CONSIDER A SHORT SELL FOR YOUR HOME

December 19, 2013 by

 

WHEN TO CONSIDER A SHORT SELL FOR YOUR HOME

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Falling behind on a mortgage payment and fearing foreclosure is a stressful way to spend those precious few last months in a home. If there are no options for keeping a home, sometimes the best solution may be to consider a short sale.

One of the significant benefits of considering this route instead of foreclosure is that legal problems, such as a lawsuit filed against the homeowner by the bank may be avoided. Additionally, although a short sale does result in the loss of a home, the process often offers a less-stressful way to overcome a mortgage that can’t be paid.

WHEN TO CONSIDER A SHORT SALE

 The best time to consider a short sale is before the point of no return — nearing foreclosure and mortgage default. When a borrower realizes that the payments on the mortgage may soon become impossible, the idea of a short sale is an important consideration. Economic circumstances are the most common reason why a borrower might need to look into a short sale; however, issues like a move or a family problem that requires the borrower to relocate may influence the sales decision.

 A borrower must convince the lender that catching up on payments is a virtual impossibility before a short sale will be approved. It’s essential for homeowners who are late on payments or who will soon become unable to cover the mortgage work swiftly to determine whether a short sale is feasible.

 ISSUES THAT PREVENT SHORT SALE

 Before embarking on a potential short sale, a seller needs to understand that there are two issues that will prevent this type of sale from occurring. If a seller decides to pursue bankruptcy, a short sale is not possible because collection activity is halted with a bankruptcy filing. A short sale is considered collection activity.

 Secondly, a homeowner who has defaulted on a home loan will not be approved for a short sale. This means that a seller has a finite amount of time before a short sale because unfeasible. Activities involving short sales must commence before default has occurred.

 REASONS FOR LENDER AGREEMENT

 It may sound incredible that a lender would allow a homeowner to sell his property for a greatly reduced price and take a loss on the profits offered through a standard mortgage, but the time and expense of a foreclosure tends to eclipse that of a short sale.

 Lenders are inclined to avoid foreclosure activity since a foreclosure doesn’t just make a homeowner look bad. A foreclosure also makes a lender seem as though they don’t approve mortgages to borrowers who will be able to pay back the debt.

 OVERVIEW OF THE SHORT SALE PROCESS

 Requesting a short sale from a lender or bank is no guarantee that the sale will be approved. Preparing financial documents and letters before starting the process is essential. However, homeowners shouldn’t take too long to figure out whether a short sale is the best solution.

Common steps in the short sale process include the following:

LETTER OF AUTHORIZATION:

This notarized letter is required by the lender so that potential sales discussions may commence with buyers or real estate agents.

HARDSHIP LETTER:

This is a letter detailing why you can no longer make your mortgage payments, and it should be addressed to your lender. They need to see that a borrower’s financial situation makes repayment of the mortgage impossible. This means a borrower can’t have any assets or cash, such as savings and retirement accounts that may be sold to pay the mortgage.

CONSIDER A SHORT SALE FOR YOUR HOME

No homeowner wants to face the prospect of foreclosure, and a short sale that results in the loss of a home is just as emotionally challenging. However, undertaking a short sale may be the most expedient method for relieving an indebted homeowner of mortgage debt that cannot be paid. FULL ARTICLE

 

 

John Marcotte
Marcotte Real Estate Group
720-771-9401

john@boulderhomes4u.com

Search for homes on my website @ www.boulderhomes4u.com

When thinking of Real Estate, think of John Marcotte
I’m never too busy for your referrals.

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Boulder Neighborhood Guide: Hillcrest

December 13, 2013 by

 

Boulder Neighborhood Guide: Hillcrest

boulder neighborhood hillcrest

Sandwiched in between Whittier and Old North Boulder neighborhoods, Boulder’s exclusive Hillcrest neighborhood is perched high on a hill above Boulder’s floodplain. This translates to the centrally-located neighborhood being very small and exclusive. There are wide winding roads, homes featuring modern design, and expansive views that sweep from the foothills to the Flatirons. Anyone lucky enough to call this area of Boulder home can (literally) look down on the rest of Boulder.

History: This neighborhood was started in the beginning of the 1950’s, when Boulder’s population was booming and homes were expanding towards the north. Land on a hill can be difficult to divide but that did not stop the early developers from doing it. They measured out generous lots and the subdivision of Hillcrest/Panorama Heights was born.

Housing: In Boulder’s Hillcrest, renovation is the name of the game. It’s about buying the midcentury ranch houses and then tearing them down or remodeling them. Many of the lots are larger than the average Boulder home which means that many of the house prices are higher than average Boulder home. You definitely pay for the seclusion and gorgeous panoramas. Houses in Hillcrest start in the $500,000 range and it’s easy to spend a million or more for the opportunity to live in this neighborhood.

newlands ideal market shopping center

Restaurants and Shopping: Hillcrest is a small and mostly residential neighborhood. Fortunately, the midtown location means that Pearl Street anddowntown Boulder are just a short bike ride down the hill. This neighborhood is also only a few blocks away from Ideal Market and the various shops there (Breadworks, Marie’s Restaurant,Boulder Wine Merchant and Pharmaca, among others) provide many different options for shopping or dining. Additionally, RTD bus routes service the neighborhood frequently via Folsom street and connect you with wherever you want to go in town.

Family and Fitness: The neighborhood elementary and middle school are inwalking distance and there are obvious signs of family life all over Hillcrest. While there aren’t any parks proper in this neighborhood, Casey Middle School is right down the hill with soccer fields aplenty for outdoor recreation. There are also two different parks, Columbine and Salberg, that are within a four-block walking radius of the neighborhood.

Schools: Columbine Elementary, Casey Middle, Boulder High

Quirks: This Boulder neighborhood was featured in the New York Times as an example of what $1.3 million can buy you in the Boulder real estate market. If that’s not affirmation enough for Hillcrest, I don’t know what is.

Find homes in this area for sale here: North Boulder Homes For Sale

 

John Marcotte
Marcotte Real Estate Group
720-771-9401

john@boulderhomes4u.com

Search for homes on my website @ www.boulderhomes4u.com

When thinking of Real Estate, think of John Marcotte
I’m never too busy for your referrals.

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Nine indicted for Foreclosure fraud

November 20, 2013 by

Nine indicted for Foreclosure fraud

A statewide grand jury in Colorado has indicted nine individuals for targeting distressed homeowners as part of an alleged fraudulent short-sale scheme that allowed the defendants to ultimately defraud the banks and lenders who held the mortgages for the distressed homeowners, officials announced today.

Eight of the nine named defendants are being charged under the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act for a pattern of manipulating homeowners who were facing foreclosure, creating and processing forged and fraudulent documents relating to the properties, and ultimately using these forged documents and other actions to defraud the lenders and subsequent buyers.

The announcement was made by Colorado Attorney General John Suthers; Ronald Sloan, Director of Colorado Bureau of Investigation; Inspector General David Montoya of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General; Acting Inspector General Michael P. Stephens of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency-Office of Inspector General, and Marcia Waters, Division Director of the Colorado Division of Real Estate.

“It is unconscionable that this group would target financially distressed and vulnerable homeowners by fraudulently taking control of and selling their properties, with the ultimate goal of defrauding the homeowners’financial institutions and the subsequent homeowners.” Suthers said.

“Nine indicted for fraud by fraudulently taking control of and selling their properties, with the ultimate goal of defrauding the homeowners’ financial institutions and the subsequent homeowners,” Suthers continued. “This group took advantage of multiple homeowners, using deception and forged documents, to create illegal profits on the sale of various properties.”

The basic premise of the scheme focused on identifying distressed homeowners who were in pre-foreclosure status.

Once a property was zeroed in on by members of this scheme, the goal was to obtain control and ownership over the property through a series of deceptive tactics.

These tactics included manipulating the homeowners to sign over ownership and control of the property to the enterprise. At the same time, the enterprise would file forged paperwork with the lenders misrepresenting that the original homeowners still owned the house. Another tactic used in support of the scheme was the enterprise’s “flopping”of the pre-foreclosed properties.

“The Colorado Bureau of Investigation is committed to combating organized white collar crime including schemes such as this short sale mortgage fraud scam,” said CBI Director Ronald Sloan. “While fraudulent schemes continually evolve, we believe active monitoring and investigation, along with aggressive prosecution that holds offenders accountable for their actions, combined with efforts to educate the public, will result in fewer victims in the future.”

“The nine individuals named in this indictment have allegedly committed fraud against individual victims and Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said Acting Inspector General Michael P. Stephens. “This behavior is unacceptable and anyone found guilty will be held accountable to the full extent of the law.”

Wendy Thomas, 42, of Chicago, previously of Thornton; Cristina Nicole Smith, 42, of Thornton, Kurt Smith, 58, of Thornton; Sheila Gaston, 59, of Elizabeth; Sheila Giberti, 46, of Broomfield; Duane Thomas, 44, of Thornton; Christopher Consol, 43, of Englewood; and Janice Gardner, 46, of Brighton, were charged with multiple offenses, including violating the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act. Under COCCA, if convicted, each could be sentenced up to 24 years per count.

 

The best resource available to consumers facing foreclosure, according to the attorney general’s office, is the Colorado Foreclosure Hotline, which can be reached at 1-877-601-HOPE (4673).

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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U.S. should get mortgage firm data for probe, judge says

November 19, 2013 by

 

U.S. should get mortgage firm data for probe, judge says

 

(Reuters) – A federal judge on Monday recommended that a large firm that reviewed mortgages for Wall Street banks turn over e-mails and other data that may help the government decide which banks to sue for packaging shoddy mortgages into securities that fueled the financial crisis.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Martinez in Hartford, Connecticut, said Clayton Holdings LLC should turn over due diligence reviews it prepared for its clients from 2005 through 2007, e-mails between employees and clients during that time, and a database that was used in providing services.

Investigators had subpoenaed the materials on July 1 on behalf of the Residential Mortgage-Backed Securities Working Group, which includes the U.S. Department of Justice and other federal and state regulators.

If enforced, the subpoena could help the government pursue cases against banks it wants to hold accountable for selling securities that fueled the U.S. housing and financial crises.

The government alleged that Clayton’s due diligence reviews discussed “potential problems with individual loans making up the loan pools, as did internal and externalcommunications at Clayton associated with the reviews.”

Clayton called the subpoena a “fishing expedition” on its dealings with its 193 clients, not just the 16 financial institutions that the government had advised were being probed. It also said it has cooperated with the working group and responded to “every government request for over six years.”

Martinez nonetheless concluded that Clayton did not show that it was too burdensome to comply with the subpoena, or that the government already had much of the information it sought.

The case is being handled by the office of U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch in the Eastern District of New York. Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for Lynch, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Thomas Carson, a spokesman for Acting U.S. Attorney Dierdre Daly in Connecticut, declined to comment.

Clayton was a “major provider of third-party due diligence services” to Wall Street, according to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission’s 2011 report.

“Because of the volume of loans examined by Clayton during the housing boom, the firm had a unique inside view of the underwriting standards that originators were actually applying – and that securitizers were willing to accept,” it said.

The government issued the subpoena under the Financial Institutions, Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989, which it uses to recover civil penalties for losses to federally insured financial institutions.

FIRREA has a 10-year statute of limitations, versus five years for some securities fraud laws. Bank of America Corp and Wells Fargo & Co are among companies that the government has sued under FIRREA in mortgage-related cases.

The case is U.S. v. Clayton Holdings LLC, U.S. District Court, District of Connecticut, No. 13-mc-00116.

(Editing by Dan Grebler)

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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FRIDAY FINANCIALS by Jed Marquis

November 15, 2013 by

FRIDAY FINANCIALS by Jed Marquis

 

It’s been a rough couple days for the bond market and interest rates.  The 10 year long bond which appeared ready to headed down towards its 2.45% resistance level and maybe break through has reacted very negatively to the past few economic reports and is now at the highest levels since mid-October.  That being said, the highest level since mid October is still 0.40% BELOW mid September rates.

What’s Happening?

The very optimistic minutes from the FOMC meeting minutes released on Wednesday started the upward trend for interest rates. Yesterday’s Jobless Claims Report came in slightly above expectations and 30,000 above the numbers we were seeing in mid-September.  Continuing Jobless Claims were also up 31,000.  Both of those should be good for rates – more people out of work is not good for the economy. But the mucky nature of the past 2 month’s reports between the computer issues in California and the shutdown have undermined the impact of the news.

Having much more impact were three reports on the business environment.  The ChicagoPurchasing Managers,  PMI Manufacturing Index and the ISM Manufacturing Index all came in above or significantly above expectations, indicating a good jump in the business environment and Chicago seems to be very strong.  All that’s bad for rates.

In speeches from various Fed officials on the future of the bond buying program are very mixed which would seem to indicate no real change in policy.  They have been conflicted since the program started.  The market is taking this news in a pessimistic light and we’ve seen the 10 year bond jump over an eighth of a percent since mid-week.  All that being said, mortgage ratesare sitting in the low 4% range and a month ago we were talking about 5%.

What To Expect

Don’t expect much change until Thursday.  There are few reports due out until Thursday and unless some new information or another Fed governor decides he/she needs some headlines we should stay below the 2.62% threshold on the 10 year and at 4.25% on mortgages.

The Virginia Snitch Law

In 1776, Virginia was the center of civilization for the western world.  In Virginia in 1776, there was freedom of religion, within the parameters that there was no single state sponsored church.  However, you were required to attend a church once per month.  Much of this was for state communication.  There were no predetermined election days.  When an election was needed the governor communicated through announcements from the pulpits, therefore the need to attend church.  Making the knowledge of an upcoming election even more important was the law requiring all white males to vote and in many cases that included planning for the travel to the voting place.

The law requiring you to vote had an interesting provision.  If a resident didn’t vote and another resident turned him in to the authorities, a subpoena would be issued to the non-voter.  If at the hearing for non-voting, it was determined that the non-voting reason was unsatisfactory, the non-voter would be fined 20 schillings.  That’s the cost of violating the law and being found guilty.  BUT the 20 schilling fine was then paid to snitch who turned him in.  An interesting way to induce enforcement of a law.  Just be safe and make sure you vote on Tuesday….or we’ll have to collect our reward.

Have a great weekend. Courtesy of:

Jed Marquis

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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The History of Boulder

November 14, 2013 by

The History of Boulder

Creek in Boulder, ColoradoThe city of Boulder began as a small mining camp on the banks of what became known as Boulder Creek. The first settlers, a party of prospectors led by Thomas Aikins, reached the mouth of Boulder Canyon in the fall of 1858. They called their campsite “Red Rocks” because of the red sandstone cliffs. Friendly contact was made with Chief Niwot and the Arapahoe tribe. The Cheyennes were also indigenous to the area, while other tribes such as the Utes, Kiowas, Comanches and Sioux were occasional visitors.

In January 1859, gold was discovered at Gold Run, an area west of the present Gold Hill community and approximately 12 miles northwest of Boulder. This gave impetus to the Boulder City Town Company, which was organized in 1859 by A.A. Brookfield (the company’s first president) and 60 shareholders.

Boulder was designated as the county seat in 1867. Boulder was so named because of the many unwieldy rocks the settlers had to clear away from the land before they could construct their cabins.

Native American uprisings and the decline of the nearby gold camps resulted in several hard years for the new community. In 1871, however, the prospects of obtaining a railroad and a university brought Boulder City to life, and the town was incorporated under the Territorial Government. Two years later, both the Colorado Central Railroad and the Denver-Boulder Valley Railroad reached the city. Some of the earliest ordinances were aimed at controlling dogs. The founding fathers also began charging saloons $10 to operate, and they began a tree-planting program—evidence of the city’s long-standing commitment to environmental stewardship.

Mountains in Boulder
Photograph of Boulder by Jon Hatch/Camera

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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MID-WEEK MARKETS by Jed Marquis

November 13, 2013 by

MID-WEEK MARKETS by Jed Marquis

 

Interest rates are up a slight bit since last Friday on continued stronger than expected manufacturing reports.

What’s Happening?

The 30 year mortgage rate has increased an eighth of a percent since last Friday.  Most of the gain is on low volume and stronger than expected manufacturing data.  Last week we had several stronger than expected manufacturing reports and Tuesday’s ISM Non-Manufacturing Index (yes, a report titled “non-manufacturing” is considered relevant to the manufacturing sector) came in above expectations and we saw a jump in the 10 year treasury but a bigger jump in mortgage rates.  Wednesday we saw buyers step in and start pushing rates back down, again.  The jump was small as we moved from a weak 4.25% to a stronger 4.375% on the 30 year.  The rate increase was more of a rounding factor than a dramatic increase but of course if you’re the home buyer and you get to pay the eighth difference, it matters.

The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that mortgage applications for both purchases and refinances continued to fall with purchase apps being down 5% and refinances down 8%.  Despite a strong decrease in rates from last month and a slight decrease from last week, applications are at their lowest point of the year.  While applications normally taper off during the fall this is far more than expected.

What To Expect

Thursday and Friday hold a number reports that will affect the markets.  Thursday has GDP (an inflation measurement – low inflation is good for rates) and Jobless Claims.  The  market is expecting 335,000 new jobless claims, down 5,000 from last week.  Numbers above that will be good for rates.

Friday has the Employment Situation Report.  The market is expecting about 120,000 non-farm jobs to be created and the unemployment rate to move back up to 7.3% due mostly to the number of available workers in the pool.

Personal Income is expected to be up 0.2% and spending up the same.  The last report for the week is Consumer Sentiment. Consensus is a reading of 75, up 1.8 from last month but well off July’s readings of 85.

It’s hard to read the tea leaves with this much activity and light volume.  The 4.375% rate should be pretty safe and some economic weakness should drop us back to 4.25%.

Jed Marquis

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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Why You Should Talk Less and Do More

November 10, 2013 by

Why You Should Talk Less and Do More

A prototype is worth a thousand words.

Although memories of my early formal education have started to fade, I vividly recall two distinct types of learning experiences: brainwork and handwork. The vast majority of my time in school was spent listening to lectures, taking exams, writing essays, and so on. On rare occasions, we’d roll up our sleeves and make stuff. Those few instances when talking gave way to making made a big impression on me.

For instance, when I was 11, while studying the history of the Roman conquests, our assignment was to build a miniature trebuchet—the medieval catapult used to break through thick city walls—and take it for a whirl on the playing field. Of all the history classes I’ve taken, that’s the one I remember most, because it made a remote, abstract concept tangible and real.

Shortening the distance between talking about an idea and prototyping it is key to becoming a successful design thinker. Ideas are of little use if they stay put as ideas. You can only assess their merits when you bring them to life and let others poke at them. The toughest part can be translating the idea into something more concrete. This is where your creative confidence can waver. You might be afraid to commit or worried that others will question your skills. Such obstacles can be overcome with a few simple, but powerful, tricks:

Start Small
Make your first prototype quickly out of whatever materials are at hand. Whether it’s a sketch, cardboard model, video, or improv of a service scenario, making your idea less abstract will help you improve it.

Fail Fast
You’ve probably heard this before. When you’re trying new things, failure is inevitable. Accepting that failure is part of the process is key. As IDEO founder David Kelley famously said, “fail faster to succeed sooner.” It also helps to tell people that what you’re doing is an experiment. That way, it doesn’t seem so precious that they can’t give you honest feedback.

Ask for Help
Don’t assume you have to do everything yourself. Just explaining your idea to potential collaborators will help clarify it and asking for assistance invites others to build on your idea.

The good news is that it’s getting easier for ordinary folks to make stuff. Handy smartphone apps allow you to shoot and edit videos in a snap. New CAD tools, scanners, and printers, which are this close to becoming widely accessible and affordable, allow anyone to make 3D objects in minutes. Even coding is going from geek to gettable, thanks to open-source components like Raspberry Pi and Arduino.

 

What happened the last time you stopped talking and started making?

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

Search all Boulder homes for sale 

 

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Your will is a living document A work in progress

November 8, 2013 by

Life is never at a standstill — it’s ever-changing and so are your circumstances. As they change, your planning needs may as well. Don’t make the mistake of putting your will away and forgetting about it. Take a look at some major life events that should trigger a review of your will:

  • You get married or divorced — If recently married, you probably want to include your new spouse in your estate plan. Similarly, if you’ve been recently divorced, you may want to revise what you planned on leaving to your now ex-spouse. So it is always better to consult estate planning attorneys or a divorce attorney before you plan anything else .You should also change the beneficiary designation on insurance policies, IRAs, pensions and such since those probably specify your now ex-spouse.
  • You become a parent — How will your child(ren) be cared for if both you and your spouse die? Who will be the guardian of your minor child(ren)? These issues need to be addressed in your will.
  • You retire — If you retire to another state (or move to a new state, for that matter), review your will and other estate planning documents to be sure they reflect the new state’s relevant laws. You may want to seek legal advice.
  • Your spouse or other beneficiary dies — If one of your heirs dies before you do, you need to update your will to reflect a new recipient.

How do you change a will? 
You can change your will in one of two ways:

  • By codicil — For small changes, you can utilize a codicil. A codicil is a separate document that’s valid under applicable state law. It adds to or amends your original will. A codicil needs to clearly reference the specific portion of your will that it’s amending so you may want to consider legal counsel.1
  • A new will — For bigger changes or a series of small changes, you can sign a completely new will that’s valid under applicable state law. Your new will supersedes your old will in its entirety. Again, you may want to seek legal counsel.

Believe in smart
Make sure your will reflects your current situation. If you need to change your will because of a life event, you probably should review your estate and financial plans, as well as your insurance. If you don’t have a will consider getting one to make sure your wishes are carried out as you intended. 

Source

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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10 Tips for Ordering Wine So You Won’t Look Clueless

October 28, 2013 by

10 Tips for Ordering Wine So You Won’t Look Clueless

How To Order Wine

Let’s be honest: who wants to be seen at the checkout holding a copy of “Winefor Dummies”?

And yet, your wine knowledge is lacking. It’s not that you don’t like drinking it — it’s more that you’re accustomed to thinking of wine in terms of white, red, pink, and bubbly.

So, to save you the checkout line — and dining experience — embarrassment, we’ve out together a guide to get you great with grapes (and fast). Your date (or spouse) will look at you with a certain sense of swoon and you’ll be able to get a glass of something fantastic, no matter where your culinary adventures might take you.

 

Wine Tip #1: Always taste it first.

When you order a bottle, the waiter should always bring it to your table unopened and then pour a small amount in a glass for you to taste. Always taste it first and let the waiter know you approve.

Wine Tip #2: When to request a decanter.

Many young wines could benefit from a few minutes at least. Decanting older winers allows any sediment to settle to the bottom prior to pouring. For best results, ask the waiter if he recommends the wine be decanted. Most people only think of red wines as benefitting from decanting, but many whites can benefit as well.

Wine Tip #3: By the glass or by the bottle?

Most restaurants limit the wines they offer by the glass. The selection by the bottle will always be more abundant. Price-wise, you’ll see a significant difference. If two people plan on consuming two glasses of wine each or you’re dining with a party of four all expecting to drink at least one glass, the bottle will be the better deal price-wise.

Wine Tip #3: Say it right.

Bordeaux (bore-doe)

Chenin Blanc (shay-nin blan)

Cuvée (coo-vay)

Gewürztraminer (guh-vurtz-trah-mee-ner)

Meritage (mar-i-tij) NOT (mer-i-taaaaaaaj)

Riesling (rees-ling)

Sommelier (so-mel-yay)

Need more tips? Check out wineloverspage for an audible lexicon of over 400 wine-related terms!

Wine Tip #4: Check the vintage.

When you order wine, be sure to check that the vintage (year) they bring to the table is what you ordered. In all but rare exceptions, a younger wine (newer) should be less expensive. If they’ve brought you an older vintage and explain they are out of what you ordered, it’s a polite gesture to extend you the same price on the better bottle.

Wine Tip #5: Ask the waiter.

Som restaurants, especially finer ones, can have overbearing wine lists for wine novices. If you find yourself faced with pages of reds and whites, ask your server what he or she recommends. They will ask you about your taste preferences and make a recommendation. Many restaurants will also bring you a taste if they have something open so you can try before you buy. You can always ask for a taste, but there might not be an open bottle for the waitstaff or bar staff to sample from.

Wine Tip #6: Pairing wines with food.

While there are no longer any hard and fast rules, there are still some taste conventions that wine novices can go by. For seafood, chicken, salads, and lighter foods, whites are a common choice. For heavier steaks and cream-based and red sauce dishes, full-bodied reds pair well. For lighter meat dishes, try a fruity red. For dessert, you can try a Reisling, Gewürztraminer, grappa, ice wine, or port. Champagne is best left to its own devices or paired with fruit.

Wine Tip #7: Glass half full?

Actually, better restaurants will pour your wine glass only to fill the bottom third of the glass. This allows air to come in and enhance the wine’s flavor. Don’t expect this at Applebee’s, though. It’s also a great conversation piece when pouring wine for a date at your house or while at the table of a restaurant during dinner.

Wine Tip #8: The best question you can ask.

If you’re in a swanky joint with its own sommelier, ask the waiter for a moment of his or her time. When the sommelier arrives, ask him/her what they’re excited about on the wine list. Talk about the ultimate geek-out! The sommelier is responsible for building and maintaining the wine list, so you’ll likely spark a fun conversation with someone passionate about wine making a great recommendation to enhance your meal.

Wine Tip #9: When ordering for a business dinner…

Don’t get caught high and dry. Even wine enthusiasts can get caught short on this one. Always call the restaurant in advance and request the wine you’d like served with dinner. This way, you’re not stuck if it happens to not be in stock on the date of your event. Arrive early the date of your event and have a casual chat with the waitstaff to ensure your selections are available. Most restaurants now publish their wine lists online so you can review in advance.

Wine Tip #10: Budgets are cool.

The truth is this: there are delicious wines in every price range (and even every type of packaging). There is no shame in having a budget on wine when you’re out to eat. Great bottles can be had for $10 and $1000. What they all share in common? They’ll all be gone in about four glasses! While more expensive wines can taste better to some people, never be afraid to express a price range preference to the bartender, sommelier, or waiter. If your date gets judgy, well…that’s another issue.

Try Boulder Creek Winery!

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

Search all Boulder homes for sale 

 

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