News & Blogs | Gantenbein Law Firm

Aug 21, 2018

Colorado Springs And Denver #2 And #3 On Best Places To Live List

The 2018 rankings are in for the “Best Places to Live in the U.S. in 2018”. Colorado Springs Colorado jumped up several numbers to hold the #2 spot in the nation and Denver won the #3 spot! Denver held the number #2 spot during 2017, and #1 spot during 2016. This year, Denver gave up their #2 spot to Colorado Springs. This year’s rankings, done by U.S. News, factors in the population growth, job market, crime, cost of living, quality of education, access to health care and mu

Keith Gantenbein

Aug 17, 2018

Wells Fargo In Trouble Again

Wells Fargo is in trouble again. The bank has suffered numerous setbacks facing lawsuits in the past couple of years. This week, Wells Fargo was fined $8 million in what the bank calls a ‘computer glitch’ the bank had incurred. Last week the bank agreed to pay a $2.09 billion fine for issuing mortgage loans knowing the loans contained incorrect and erroneous information. Between April 2010 and October 2015, the bank disclosed a computer glitch had caused approximately 625 cus

Foreclosure Activity - First Half of 2018

Keith Gantenbein

Jul 27, 2018

Foreclosure Activity - First Half of 2018

During the first half of 2018 there was a 15% decline in foreclosure filings nationwide. Foreclosure filings are properties that had a default notice, a scheduled auction, or bank repossession. There were a total of 362,275 foreclosure filings, a far cry from the 1.6 million foreclosure filings eight years ago in the first half of 2010. Even though the overall, nationwide number of foreclosure starts had decreased, there was an increase in foreclosure activity in 88 of 219 me

Tax, Business, Probate & Real Estate Attorneys at Gantenbein Law Firm Named Among Best in Colora

Keith Gantenbein

May 10, 2018

Tax, Business, Probate & Real Estate Attorneys at Gantenbein Law Firm Named Among Best in Colora

Congratulations to Gantenbein Law Firm Denver, Colorado attorney Keith Gantenbein Jr. who was again, recognized as Super Lawyers, Rising Stars for 2018. For Keith, this is his fourth consecutive year as a Super Lawyer, Rising Star. Mr. Gantenbein is nationally recognized for his work in Real Estate Law, which also includes Foreclosures Defense and HOA Law. Mr. Gantenbein worked extensively last few years with the Colorado Supreme Court to pass updated Rules of Civil Procedure

Do You Need A Denver, Colorado Business Attorney For Your Business Dissolution?

Keith Gantenbein

Apr 9, 2018

Do You Need A Denver, Colorado Business Attorney For Your Business Dissolution?

Millions of companies in the U.S. were started from an idea and a bit of a dream. These businesses typically began with two or more people sharing the same dream. Today, there are almost 30 million small businesses in the U.S., employing almost half (47.8%) of U.S. workers. In 2017, more new businesses were formed than in the past 4 years and women-owned businesses were at their highest level in 40 years. Colorado ranked number 1 in the nation for “Labor Supply”. Even the mos

Colorado Facing Real Estate Housing Affordability

Keith Gantenbein

Mar 27, 2018

Colorado Facing Real Estate Housing Affordability

According to numerous polls taken in Colorado, housing affordability is the largest issue facing Coloradans today. The affordable housing crisis is not just limited to Denver and other large cities, but is now a statewide problem. In a recent survey, communities stated housing and real estate was their biggest issue, followed by the economy and then crime-drugs-violence. Throughout the state, in households earning less than $50,000 per year, 35% of their budget pays for hous

Keith Gantenbein

Mar 20, 2018

IRS Warns Tax Payers of Scams

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued a warning for a quickly growing scam involving taxpayers. An original alert was issued February 2, however the number of victims jumped from a few hundred to several thousands in just a couple of days. The IRS Criminal Investigation division is investigating just how deep and far-reaching this scheme is. The new scam is actually just a new twist on a scam they’ve used before. These criminals have stolen client data from email phis

Why You Need To Evaluate Your Estate Plan

Keith Gantenbein

Jan 31, 2018

Why You Need To Evaluate Your Estate Plan

Your Estate Plan may consist of a Last Will and Testament, Trust, Power of Attorney and other important documents that need a tune-up from time to time. Not just because your life may have changed, but outside events can affect what’s in your estate plan as well. One recent outside event is the new tax reform that Congress passed at the end of December. Did the tax reform, or new estate tax limits affect or alter your estate plan? It’s the beginning of the year and time to th

Rental Caps and Your Homeowners' Association ( HOA )

Keith Gantenbein

Jan 16, 2018

Rental Caps and Your Homeowners' Association ( HOA )

Many properties in Colorado are used as a second home or a vacation home. These owners often rent these properties for part or all of each year to help cover expenses and provide additional income. When owners or investors buy a property that is under the jurisdiction of a Homeowner’s Association (HOA), they were given a set of Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs) that outline all the rules and ‘laws’ of the community. The buyers agreed to follow the rules and restric

Mortgage Applications For Real Estate Closings And Re-Finances May Be Delayed Due To IRS Glitch

Keith Gantenbein

Jan 8, 2018

Mortgage Applications For Real Estate Closings And Re-Finances May Be Delayed Due To IRS Glitch

On December 8, 2017, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) made changes to its authentication system. This is the system that verifies tax returns that mortgage applicants provide. The system is known as the Income Verification Express System (IVES) and is in place to make sure tax returns aren’t fraudulent. Within five days of the changes, on December 13, mortgage groups were finding problems with the new system. Other groups said problems with the changes began almost immediat

Business Investments and Investors: Should You Sell Your Business?

Keith Gantenbein

Jan 3, 2018

Business Investments and Investors: Should You Sell Your Business?

When you own a small business and are thinking of selling a portion of your business to investors, you’ll want to know everything there is before making any kind of a commitment. Established companies and almost all start-up companies think about raising business capital at some time and will turn to the possibility of taking on investors. There are many reasons to sell a percentage of your business, but generally, businesses sell in order to raise capital to help bridge the

HOA Assessments : Should You Hire A Colorado HOA Defense Attorney?

Keith Gantenbein

Oct 3, 2017

HOA Assessments : Should You Hire A Colorado HOA Defense Attorney?

When you buy a home in a covenanted community, you will receive a copy of the Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs) along with your closing documents. The CC&Rs will spell out all the regulations (rules/conditions) and the amount of Homeowner’s Association (HOA) fees, which are typically paid monthly. Each year the HOA’s Board of Directors meet to discuss and set the budget that will include how much every household (property or unit) will be charged for their monthl

Keith Gantenbein

Sep 20, 2017

Real Estate Disclosure In Colorado

Before buying a home, a seller has to disclose any major problems regarding the property before the sale. As a buyer, you will want to know everything possible about your soon-to-be property including the physical condition and any problem that may affect the value of the property. Years ago, sellers were allowed to remain silent on potential problems unless they were asked specifically by the buyer. This was under the doctrine of caveat emptor (buyer beware). Colorado is on

Keith Gantenbein

Jul 18, 2017

SUPER LAWYERS Names Keith Gantenbein of Gantenbein Law Firm Denver, Colorado To 2017 Attorneys List

Gantenbein Law Firm, Denver, Colorado is proud to announce its attorney, Keith Gantenbein, was named to 2017 Colorado Super Lawyers, Rising Stars list. Congratulations to owner and managing attorney Keith A. Gantenbein Jr, who was selected, named and included on the “2017 Colorado Super Lawyers Rising Stars” list. Super Lawyers is the Thomson Reuters lawyer rating service. To be selected as a Super Lawyer, attorneys are nominated by their peers and evaluated on 12 indicators

Keith Gantenbein

Jun 20, 2017

Thinking Of Buying A Home?

If you’re thinking of buying a home you’ve probably noticed the inventory of available houses for sale has been declining and mortgage rates and housing prices are on the rise. After years of having a huge inventory of houses to choose from, thousands of foreclosures and very low mortgage rates, the market is heading the other way. Denver is number three regionally for having the fastest time to sell a house. The average amount of days in Denver to sell a home is now 18 days,

Repeat Foreclosures On The Rise- Should You Hire A Colorado Foreclosure Defense Attorney?

Keith Gantenbein

May 17, 2017

Repeat Foreclosures On The Rise- Should You Hire A Colorado Foreclosure Defense Attorney?

Nationwide, home foreclosures have dropped to their lowest level since November 2005. During April 2017, there were 77,049 filings reported in the U.S. This number includes default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions. The figures reflect the lowest number of foreclosures since the housing crisis began. While the drop is significant, at the same time there was a rise in repeat foreclosures. A repeat foreclosure is noted as any property address with the same owne

Freddie Mac Sells Off $667 Million
In Non-Performing Mortgage Loans

Keith Gantenbein

Mar 31, 2017

Freddie Mac Sells Off $667 Million In Non-Performing Mortgage Loans

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, known as Freddie Mac, announced last week that it’s selling off non-performing loans to private investors. Freddie Mac is a public government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) headquartered in Virginia. Freddie Mac was created in 1970 to help expand the mortgage market alongside the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae). Previously, from 1938 to 1968 Fannie Mae was the only institution that bought mortgages leading to and enco

Colorado Adds “Foreclosure Online Sales”

Keith Gantenbein

Feb 13, 2017

Colorado Adds “Foreclosure Online Sales”

Colorado has joined the new age in providing online foreclosure auctions. Last year, Realauction.com was approached by the Denver Public Trustee’s office and asked to provide Denver with its own auction site. That site is up and running and bringing huge cost savings to Denver and making it easier for more people to be able to bid on the foreclosed properties. Realauction.com runs many foreclosure auctions throughout Florida. One by one, counties in Florida put their foreclos

Keith Gantenbein

Dec 29, 2016

Home Loan Modifications Ending

The Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) was introduced in 2009 and established to help homeowners recover from the great housing bubble burst. The HAMP was part of the Making Home Affordable program (MHA) along with the Hardest Hit Fund program (HHF) that was under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). These programs were part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 and put into place to help struggling homeowners avoid foreclosure. HAMP and the entire

Keith Gantenbein

Nov 9, 2016

Homeowners Battle HOA Over Landscaping

Homeowner Jim Hildenbrand has been embroiled in a four-year court battle with his Homeowner’s Association (HOA). His case went to the state appellate court but that court raised more issues than it settled. The Kansas Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s ruling and sent the case back for resolution. The appellate court said the district court applied an “incomplete test” in determining whether the HOA acted in good faith. The HOA has control over the 153 homes in hi