Renovating Denver - One House at a Time

Debit / Credit Cards Stolen through Western Union SpeedPay system

teamdesign — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:40:35 +0000

This post is sort of unrelated to my ventures in real estate in Denver, but I am using it as an outlet for a MAJOR frustration I’ve had over the last 8 months.

In a nutshell, I had 8 different credit cards / debit card numbers stolen and used for online purchases in 2011 (one round in May and one round in Nov-Dec). By the last time, I was pulling my hair out trying to figure out where these thieves were getting my card numbers. Was it my nanny stealing them straight from my wallet? Was it someone breaking onto my wireless? Was it an unsecure internet transaction?

I had initially suspected Denver Water as a possible source of intercepting my numbers, for the sheer reason that I used all those cards to pay my water bills for 3 properties I own. Those were the only transactions common to all accounts that had fraud. In fact, for 2 of the accounts, the Denver Water bill was the only transaction I used the cards for. When I say “Denver Water” I actually mean Western Union Speedpay, because that is the 3rd party that actually processes the Denver Water payment online.

I suspected Denver Water, but didn’t have proof until now!!!!! One of my accounts with Denver Water had an incorrect zip code. My bank provided info on one of the fraudulent transactions and I noticed that zip code was used as the billing cardholder zip. Denver Water is the only place in the world where that zip is associated with my address. I don’t know how the transaction was even approved in the first place with an incorrect zip code, but it went through and LUCKILY for me I caught it. I brought this to the attention of my banks as well as to Denver Water (who will be bringing it to the attention of Western Union). I will keep you posted on how it turns out.

I am mostly looking to make others aware of what happened to me. If you have used Western Union’s Speedpay system and have experienced your card numbers being stolen and used fraudulently, there might be a connection! Feel free to leave me a comment if you have experienced something similar…

Brand New Denver Townhouse for Sale

teamdesign — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 15:47:16 +0000

We are done! Well, not totally done, but pretty darn close. Close enough to sell! We are going to finish up with laying sod, touch up painting and clean-up this week … If you know anyone looking for an affordable 4BD/3BA in Denver, please pass along this listing! Priced at a very low $284,000, the location is great … close to Platt Park, Wash Park and DU. The listing website is here for this Denver Townhouse for Sale

The exterior of our brand new Denver townhome for sale.

We have been busy little bees!

teamdesign — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:44:11 +0000

Roof & Paint Done, Just add Landscaping!

Getting ready to pour garage slab

Garage slab is poured.

The garage walls and roof are on!

View of Garage from Alley

Video and photos of setting the modular house

teamdesign — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 17:03:03 +0000

***************************************************************************************************************************
CLICK HERE FOR A VIDEO OF THE DAY — FYI, I had better luck viewing on Firefox than IE.
***************************************************************************************************************************

Big crane was a site to see

Taking off the shrink wrap before setting

Lifting the first box

First box is on

Second box is set

Stairway to the sky after 2nd box is on

Third box goes on

All four boxes are set

Front Porch

One of the upstairs bedrooms

Mountain View out the bedroom window

One of the kitchens

The other kitchen (mirrored)

Packing up the trailer with a crane (double stacked)

Waterproofing, Perimeter Drain, Flatwork

teamdesign — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:35:34 +0000

Waterproofing was sprayed on and the perimeter drain was installed.

Sump Pump for Perimeter Drain and Hole for Sewer Line

Pouring the concrete floor for the basement

Man with remote is controlling where the concrete goes

Vapor Barrier goes under concrete floor

Pouring and Shaping the Concrete

Random Guys drinking Buds at noon watching this all go down

Basement/Foundation Walls

teamdesign — Thu, 21 May 2009 17:10:57 +0000

Here are some pics of the finished concrete walls.

Basement Walls & Foundation

You can see the hole for the egress window

A couple limbs of the tree need to come down to make room...

Foundation/Basement Walls

teamdesign — Wed, 20 May 2009 16:27:16 +0000

Here are a couple shots of the footer after the concrete was poured into the forms:

The footer concrete was poured on Saturday!

Another footer shot

After that dried, the foundation contractors came back and built the forms to pour the concrete basement walls. That was poured on Tuesday. They sure are fast and efficient. We are almost done with the foundation … just need to waterproof it all and then backfill and add a perimeter drain. Then we are on to utility work/excavation for the underground sewer and water lines. Here are some shots of the basement walls:

The forms for the basement walls

shot from the back looking to the front street

Side angle that shows the below grade counterfort

Excavation and Foundation Footers

teamdesign — Fri, 15 May 2009 15:18:39 +0000

We started digging a week ago … things have been moving pretty smoothly so far (hope I’m not jinxing myself). It has been fun watching the Cats and large dump trucks roll through the property. I’m sure the neighbors aren’t LOVING it, but it should all be done soon. And then all the sudden, one day, there will be a house there! We are still working to coordinate all the little details involved with the transport of the finished house from Milliken down to Denver.

Here are some photos of the excavation / footer / foundation work:

Excavation

The hole is a little bigger now

Loading the Giant Dump Truck with Dirt

Ready to Pour the Footers!

Lesson learned … and we’re off and running

teamdesign — Tue, 05 May 2009 20:00:40 +0000

One would think we would know by now that the permitting process with the city is never easy and never quick. After finally getting all the plans, drawings, soils tests, surveys, elevations submitted for the permit, it still took 5 weeks to get that much sought after piece of paper in a plastic sleeve. That meant we couldn’t even start excavating for the foundation until now. So, tomorrow we start digging finally! The duplex structure is already in production, “on the line” at the factory. It will likely be ready to deliver before we are totally ready for it, so it will have to sit in storage at the factory for a couple weeks. Before it can come, we need to excavate and pour the foundation and basement. We are also replacing all underground utility (water and sewer) lines from the street/alley to the house.

Here are some sketches and floorplans of the building:

South Acoma Duplex - Modular Construction in Denver

1st Floor Plan

2nd Floor Plan

Shameless Self-Promotion

teamdesign — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 22:35:26 +0000

Check out some other websites we are working on…

If anyone needs a good gift idea, check out the cut paper art that I make. I have done portraits of my dog, Michael Houser (Widespread Panic), Tiger Woods, Bob Marley, Anthony Thomas (University of Michigan) and Jaromir Jagr. I can create a custom piece based off a photograph.

Also, Mike has been diligently working on a site geared toward making art out of recycled materials. This site is intended to be a portal for people to buy and sell recycled art. It is still very much a work in progress, and any comments or referrals are appreciated.

One final site to visit (which is not ours, but we’ve been working on it for a client) is decorative concrete in Denver CO. This is the website for Table Mountain Creative Concrete, who does amazing work like stamped concrete, stained concrete, concrete countertops, floors, walls, patios, driveways, etc.