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Three years ago, Summit County Sellers had buyers lining up to buy their property.  They were getting top dollar and receiving a nice appreciation.

It isn’t a surprise that it is a  buyer’s market out there which is great news for buyers, not so great for sellers. Sellers are no longer in a position to dictate the rules of the game and have to be careful how they respond and counter to offers, due to the fact that if a buyer doesn’t get his way he might just move on to the next seller, and there are a lot of sellers out there.

Summit County is usually last to feel a recession and last to recover. Interest rates are still very low, and now is the time to get in the market for the buyer.

If you purchased your home in Summit County within the last few years, you should not expect to make any money if you sell today.  This is the type of market we are experiencing. The good news is, if you owned a home in another part of the Country, you would be fortunate if you didn’t have to take a loss on your home.  Also, if you purchased your home within the past 5-10 years, you will most likely be able to experience a return on your investment.  The problem that we see is the Seller’s still want more money back, if this is the case than hold on to your property for a few more years.

There are a few difficult things about being a seller today. A seller doesn’t know how long it will take to sell his home and when he gets a contract he can’t guarantee whether another one will come or not. What this means is that if a seller has to sell his home then he has to be wary of scaring the buyer away.

The inspection is one aspect of a contract where a seller can lose his shirt. If trying to sell your home it is a wise idea to have your home inspected before listing your home. This way you can make the necessary improvements and will avoid being surprised by unexpected requests. Because sellers are not in a position to capitalize on their real estate investment it is more important than ever to be on top of things, in order to retain as much value as possible.

An experienced Realtor is incredibly helpful in maneuvering a tricky real estate market, enabling a seller to evaluate his home, price it appropriately and sell it in a reasonable amount of time. For more information give Leah Baxter a call 970-389-6367 or if you would like a free market analysis leah@leahbaxter.com – www.leahbaxter.com for a list of all the properties available in Summit County.

Sourced from: Kinetic Content Library

"Great home for the first time home Buyer"

If you are thinking about using the extended and expanded home buyer tax credit to purchase a home this year you better act fast.  Now is the perfect time to get a great deal on a home in Summit County or surrounding areas. The tax credit can be used on homes purchased by July 1, 2010, but the homes must be under contract by April 30, 2010. The prices of Single Family homes and other types of properties (i.e. Condo’s, Duplexes, Town homes) have come back down to price points we were seeing in 2006.   You have a little more than a month to locate your new home. Check out the MLS on current listings in Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mountain, Frisco, Silverthorne or Dillon.

What does this mean?  The tax credit is for two types of buyers, first time home buyers (home buyers who have not owned a home in the past 3 years) or home owners who have lived in their home for 5 of the past 8 years and want to purchase a new primary residence.
Important aspects of the tax credit include:

• Homes must be closed by July 1, 2010, under contract by April 30, 2010.
• Homes must have a value of $800,000 or less and must be the buyer’s primary residence.
• There are income restrictions, $125,000 for singles, $225,000 for couples.
• The credit is also affected by being single or married. Married couples who file together are entitled for up to $8,000 for a first home buyer, up to $6,500 for current homeowners. Single people are entitled for up to $4,000 for a first time home buyer and $3,250 for a current homeowner.
• The credit will need to be repaid if you sell your home within a time period of 36 months.

Leadville is only 30 minutes to Summit County and there is a perfect 3bd/2ba home for Sale for $230,000.  The Summit Stage runs between Copper Mtn. and Leadville for $5, so you don’t have to even worry about the commute.  What are you waiting for now is the time and it is  running out! Contact Leah Baxter,  or  email leah@leahbaxter.com at ReMax in Frisco  to start looking for your new home if you intend on using the tax credit.

Phone direct-970-389-6367

It’s fall in Summit County, but what is this snow about?
We did have a cold spell this week and received a light dusting of snow, meaning that Ski Season is right around the corner.
Have you picked up your ski pass yet? Don’t worry there is still time. Did you know you can get a ski pass for as little as $399 for the season?? Yes it is true. If you have never had a season pass, the first time you get one you do need to go in person to the designated areas and get your picture taken, then every year after that it can be renewed online. For Vail ski resorts ticket sales, or Copper Mtn. click on the links. 
What is one to do if you live out of state? Well, I think it is definitely worth your while to make a trip out and take care of it, especially if you plan on just spending one week or more here during the ski season. Think about it, it would cost you $80-$90 a day if you walked up to the ticket window.
While you are at it, come and enjoy the beautiful fall we are experiencing. Yes, it has stopped snowing and the sun is back and we are expected to get up to 70 degrees by Monday.
If you are really motivated and are still considering that dream mountain property, there are still some great investments out there folks. We currently have 1932 properties available from a studio condo to a $8 million dollar compound. Contact Leah Baxter at 970-389-6367 or visit my website www.leahbaxter.com to search for properties.
“It’s a beautiful Day in Paradise!”

Copper Mtn. September 22, 2009

Bike Path in Frisco with the Fall Colors in Full Force

 If you are considering a second home in Summit County, but don’t want to own a Single Family home what are your options?  Well, your choices are a Condo, Duplex or Town home.

 Condo is a property that shares interior hallways and sometimes has a common exterior door.  The property that you own is inside your front door. The common areas (which are considered the exterior, grounds, etc.) are typically for the use of everyone and these areas are maintained by a homeowner association.  The association dues are what you pay for this exterior maintenance, ( i.e. trash removal , water, sewer, grounds, exterior insurance,  snow removal, and  usually cable TV is included).  As an added bonus, sometimes the heat and gas may also be included in the association fees. Several of the condos do have various amenities which may include a clubhouse, pool, hot tub, fitness area, tennis courts.  The fees are pro-rated according to the square footage of the condo that you own.  Also, the more amenities and maintenance that is  required, the fees may be higher. If you don’t want to worry about anything as far as maintenance is concerned, this is probably a great option for you. Here is an example of a condo listed in Frisco.

Town home- Typically have their own exterior maintenance and there may be only 3 units attached to each other.  These units usually have a garage, in most cases, and you usually do not share hallways.  The association fees typically operate the same as a condo complex, however, generally speaking,  the heat and gas are usually not included.  These units are usually larger than condos, and  typically have rooms upstairs and downstairs which makes it  feel more roomy than a condo. Example of a town home listed in Frisco.

Duplex- This is the closest that you will come to a single family home.  A duplex typically has some land with it (your own yard) or space.  There is only one other property attached to this.  In Summit County, several duplexes are attached at the garage area, so you may not even notice your neighbors.  The advantage of a duplex is that they can be as large as a single family home, if not even larger.  The price is usually not as high as a single family home.  Most duplexes have some type of association agreement, but usually you are responsible for maintenance and upkeep of your own property including water, sewer, heat,cable etc.  The fees are much lower on a duplex. This is a great option for an owner to occupy full-time or as a second home.

This is an example of a duplex listed in Frisco.

For more information on listings in Summit County check on the MLS.

Contact Leah Baxter at Leah@leahbaxter.com or 970-389-6367 for more information.

The market in Summit County, Colorado which consists of Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mtn., Frisco, Dillon and Silverthorne ended up pretty well last year. 

The most expensive condo to sell in Summit County was $2.4 million. The Most expensive single family home sold for $5.5 million . There were 646 condominiums sold in Summit County with the lowest price of $122,500.

The lowest priced  non-modular home Single family  home sold for $300,000. A total of 324 Single Family homes sold in Summit County.  The average Sold price was $950,000 and the Median Sold Price was $755,000.  The percentage of Asking price was 95.7%.

The total number of residences sold was 1199.  The average sales price was $463,000 and the percentage of asking price was 96.5%.

Please visit my website www.leahbaxter.com or simple go to the MLS and search all properties available in Summit County.  Leah Baxter can be reached at 970-389-6367 for more information.

You may think I am crazy suggesting that it is a great time to buy, but think about it?

The interest rates are at an all time low, under 5.5 %.  There are a lot more choices to look at in our market.  Our prices aren’t really going down, they are staying flat (reflecting last year prices).  However, they are not decreasing like a lot of areas in the country. 

If you buy that second or first home here in the mountains, chances are your values will not drop, but increase down the road.  This is historically true for the resort industry.  When consumer confidence rises, so do our prices.  People are panicking now and feel lucky if they sell.  It would be a much better investment than the stock market or 401K. 

If you have children and are thinking about sending them to college some day, why not buy a mountain condo that you can use, rent out and than sell in 10 years and use that money for college for your children. 

If I would have bought Real Estate with my 401K money instead of investing it, I would have tripled it within the past 10 years, instead of losing half of it, and waiting until the market comes back. 

 There is a great article in the New York Times that discusses why now is a great time to buy.  So what are you waiting for?  Give me a call 970-389-6367 or email me leah@leahbaxter.com.  I’m sure I could find you something that you would love and enjoy!

www.leahbaxter.com -To search for properties.

The Woodward Camp at Copper Mountain is scheduled to open in the early part of 2009.  You may be wondering what is the Woodward Camp.  It is a huge indoor arena for athletes to practice Action Sports, snowboarding, skateboarding, gymnastics, with supervision. It is a  year round ski and snowboard program offering winter day camps and week-long summer camps.

This is going to be a great facility for training or for someone who just wants to get better at their sport.  There are 3 other camps in the United States, one in California, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania.

This is very exciting news for Copper Mountain and for Colorado.  www.leahbaxter.com.

Bad weather and holiday crowds created the perfect storm of awful traffic Sunday. Here, cars try to merge onto a packed I-70 in Silverthorne. Special to the Summit Daily/Thomas Zieba

Winter has officially arrived in Summit County Colorado this past Saturday and Sunday.   It turned out to be quite the adventure on I-70, especially on Sunday, the end of a Holiday weekend.

I don’t understand why people don’t plan on spending the night on Sunday or leave a day earlier, or plan to come a day earlier.  Why not take that extra vacation day and save your sanity and be safe?  Why not plan to leave on Monday morning early?  I realize people have to work on Monday or go to school, but it is only an hour drive to the West side of Denver when there is no traffic or weather.  Combine traffic, weather, and a Holiday and it spells wasted time on I-70.  Now you are talking a 5-7 hour drive to get back to Denver.    Even if it doesn’t snow, just plan on spending the night or leave at 8am on Sunday.    A regular commute back to Denver on a  Sunday night could take you 2-4 hours without any weather related problems or a Holiday. The reason traffic is so congested is that everyone leaves the various ski areas at the same time, Vail, Breckenridge, Keystone, Copper Mtn. Loveland, Winter Park.  All of these ski areas funnel into I-70.

I-70 did end up closing until 10pm on Sunday night and several of the stranded motorist ended up camping out at the Silverthorne Rec center, which seems to be acting as a Holiday Inn more times that it should. 

 We had quite a winter last year, and even though it seems to be clear in Denver, it is another story in the mountains once the weather moves in.  Combine that with people that have front-wheel drive cars or who have never driven in snow and you end up with multiple accidents.  I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t like to end up in traffic for hours on end after a wonderful weekend in the mountains. 

 I did end up driving to Denver on Monday morning for some appointments and it only took me 1 hr 30 min. This was with snow packed roads and some traffic . So what is the solution?  Why not purchase that mountain condo as an investment, or a rental and a place your family can enjoy.  It will be a better investment than the stock market.  Our prices are stable right now.  Rest assured you won’t be one of the thousands of stranded motorist on I-70. 

 The interest rates are below 6% now.  Why not enjoy life, come to the mountains and have fun, and relax!  Check out my website www.leahbaxter.com or call me 970-389-6367.

Keystone Mountain will be kicking off their concert series beginning on November 22.  Here is the official line-up for November 22. Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

4-6p Official Pre-Party with KSMT at the Wolf Rock Brewing CO
6-8p Live DJ and Giveaways on the Main Stage in Hunky Dori Lot
6-9p Sponsor Village Open
8pm Free Concert with Clap Your Hands Say Yeah

Do you dream about having your own special place at the ski area, but don’t think you can afford it?  Well there are some options out there for you to consider :

For example there is a great studio at a complex right at the outskirts of River Run listed at $189,900.  Ski slope views from nicely furnished condo that sleeps 4.  This is a great complex with a pool, hot tub, elevators and excercise room.  There is even an Aveda spa in the complex.  So what are you waiting for?  Give Leah Baxter a call today 970-389-6367 or email me at leah@leahbaxter.com. 

Also, there are several 1/4 shares available. If you want to be situated right in River Run, there is an adorable one bedroom condo available for $89,000 (1/4 share).