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03/11/2005: "Mile High homes "

Article Last Updated: 11/27/2005 01:47 AM

By The Denver Post
DenverPost.com


Home goes quickly via flat-fee route
Owners of high-end homes typically don't bypass full-service real estate agents, given how difficult the properties can be to sell. But sushi restaurateurs Yoshiyuki and Chieko Saito did that and managed to sell their property on Lone Tree's Prestwick Trail for $1.51 million.

They saved $53,000 by going with a flat-fee provider, Help-U-Sell, compared with a company offering a more traditional commission structure, said Amy Ready, a Help-U-Sell franchisee.

The Saitos - who ran the businesses Samurai Inc. and Sakura LLC - were in Japan during much of the time the home was on the market. Ready and her husband, Tom, sold the property in eight months, faster than the average for homes in that price range.

The home boasts panoramic views across the Front Range. It has five bedrooms in 6,200 square feet of finished living space, a hot tub and executive study.

The buyer was Wayne Wolberg.

- Aldo Svaldi


Netting $150,000 on a fixer-upper
When Don Poole, a corporate headhunter, purchased a two-story stucco home in Lone Tree last year, he wanted to move in.

His wife didn't.

"I tried to convince her," said Poole, 70, who heads Don V. Poole & Associates, a Centennial-based executive-recruitment company for the oil, gas and semiconductor industries.

Instead, Poole hired family members and professionals to make repairs on the one- time foreclosed property, which he purchased in October 2004 for $725,000.

After Poole pumped water from the flooded basement, repaired the roof and replaced the linoleum countertops with granite, he sold it to a California couple for $1.07 million.

"We put an awful lot into it," Poole said. "I was pleased with it."

The restoration netted Poole $150,000, some of which he will use to purchase another home to fix.

James and Lisa Smith were the buyers of the 4,300-square-foot, four-bedroom home on Colonial Drive.

- Will Shanley


Home is where the hearths are
Bruce and Jane Huebner received $1.65 million for their Lone Tree home earlier this year, a tidy sum for the four-bedroom, five-bathroom property on Stoneglen Trail.

Built in 2001, the two-story home features four fireplaces, welcome amenities considering Colorado's winters. The property also offers a massive deck and a 2,100-square-foot finished basement.

John and Mary Zimmerman purchased the home, which this year had an appraised value of $1.41 million, according to the Douglas County assessor's office.

John Zimmerman, who declined an interview request, is a veteran in the financial-services industry. In 2004, he joined Denver's Janus Capital Group, where he is responsible for institution sales, client services and cash management. His title is executive vice president and managing director.

- Will Shanley