Is your home ready to sell or do you need to do some repairs?  How’s the roof, the windows, carpet, etc.  This can be quite a challenge for people who just don’t have the money to put the cost into these repairs, and who need to sell.  Quite the dilemma.  This does effect the price that you will get for your home, however, there is still hope.

In Summit County, there are a lot of contractors and handyman available to do the work, but how do you pay them?  One possibility is that if you meet certain income requirements there could be programs available that provide free or low-cost home repairs. It may be worth your while to check with the Summit County housing authority to see if they have any programs that may assist you with this, or they might be able to point you in the right direction.  Another option is to approach a contractor and see if they are willing to do it at cost or for free in exchange for a legal document promising to pay when your home sells .  Other options are to negotiate trades, for example, if you own your own business or have a niche on something you do, offer do do a trade.  This seems to be quite popular in Summit County.

When your home is repaired and ready to sell, you will get a much better price and it will be more desirable to Buyers.

It is a good idea to talk to a Realtor and get an idea of what type of price you might get for your property without the repairs vs getting the repairs done.

For more information contact Leah Baxter,CRS,GRI  of The Baxter Mountain Team,  ReMax Properties of the Summit, Frisco, CO.  970-389-6367. leah@leahbaxter.com

 Sourced from: Kinetic Content Library

Did you know that according to the latest 2010 Census Bureau statistics, the population in Frisco is currently 2612. The population in Summit County is currently 27,239. The towns that comprise Summit County, Colorado consist of Breckenridge, Dillon, Keystone, Silverthorne, Copper Mountain .
There are approximately 3023 housing units, which include single family, duplex’s, town-homes, condos, and mobile homes. Out of the 3023 properties, only 972 are occupied, which means that 68% of our properties are not owner occupied. A majority of the these homes are owned by Second homeowners from all over the country.

The median household income for Frisco is $78,512, (the US is $62,363). One may think that property values are moderate, however, it is quite the contrary. The median value of a home in Frisco is $504,200 compared to the median value of a home in the U.S., which is $185, 400.
Our home values are 2.7 times higher than the national median value of a home.
The good news is our property values have not dropped. They have increased over the past 10 years and are remaining stable right now. For example, the median price of a home in Frisco in 2000 was $298,800. In a span of 10 years that is over a $200,000 gain. Have your stocks and other investments produced that? Now is a great time to buy, interest rates are low, prices have come down to 2005-2006 price points, and a lot of Seller’s are motivated! The following statistics are taken from the actual data of the Census Bureau 2010

OCCUPIED HOUSING UNIT CHARACTERISTICS: In 2005-2009, Frisco town had 970 occupied housing units – 610 (63 percent) owner occupied and 360 (37 percent) renter occupied. One percent of the households did not have telephone service and less than 0.5 percent of the households did not have access to a car, truck, or van for private use. Multi Vehicle households were not rare. Fifty-seven percent had two vehicles and another 22 percent had three or more.
HOUSING CHARACTERISTICS: In 2005-2009, Frisco town had a total of 3,000 housing units, 68 percent of which were second homeowners. Of the total housing units, 42 percent was in single-unit structures, 57 percent was in multi-unit structures, and 1 percent was mobile homes. Forty percent of the housing units were built since 1990.

The Types of Housing Units in Frisco town, Colorado in 2005-2009
Single-unit structures 42%
In multi-unit structures 57%
Mobile homes 1%
OCCUPIED HOUSING UNIT CHARACTERISTICS: In 2005-2009, Frisco town had 970 occupied housing units – 610 (63 percent) owner occupied and 360 (37 percent) renter occupied. One percent of the households did not have telephone service and less than 0.5 percent of the households did not have access to a car, truck, or van for private use. Multi Vehicle households were not rare. Fifty-seven percent had two vehicles and another 22 percent had three or more.

HOUSING COSTS: The median monthly housing costs for mortgaged owners was $1,777, nonmortgaged owners $550, and renters $1,361. Thirty-seven percent of owners with mortgages, less than 0.5 percent of owners without mortgages, and 35 percent of renters in Frisco town spent 30 percent or more of household income on housing.

Occupants with a Housing Cost Burden in Frisco town, Colorado in 2005-2009
Owners with mortgage 37%
Owners without mortgage 0%
Renters 35%

Percent paying 30 percent or more of income for housing
Source: American Community Survey, 2005-2009

COSTS: The median monthly housing costs for mortgaged owners was $1,777, nonmortgaged owners $550, and renters $1,361. Thirty-seven percent of owners with mortgages, less than 0.5 percent of owners without mortgages, and 35 percent of renters in Frisco town spent 30 percent or more of household income on housing.

Occupants with a Housing Cost Burden in Frisco town, Colorado in 2005-2009
Owners with mortgage 37%
Owners without mortgage 0%
Renters 35%

Percent paying 30 percent or more of income for housing
Source: American Community Survey, 2005-2009

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

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.

Even though the rest of the country seems to be in Foreclosure mode, it is not true in the resort areas.  Everyone wants a deal, but noone wants to pay market value right now.  So what is the solution? 

Have you considered a quarter share or a 1/10 of a share.  This is not a time share, you actually own a deeded share  buyers experience all the joys and rewards of owning a second home property but at a fraction of the normal cost and with few of the normal concerns.

For example you could own a 1 bedroom condo 1/4 share in River Run for $89,000.  This will give you the use of it it for 1 week a month.  For more information on quarter shares, 1/10 shares please call Leah Baxter at 970-389-6367 or leah@leahbaxter.com.  Feel free to see current listings at www.leahbaxter.com.

The new gondola is scheduled to open on November 7, just around the corner. This gondola runs from the River Run base area and it is supposed to double the uphill capacity, which is quite impressive, since it seemed to get people up the mountain rather quickly before.

Some of the future plans for Keystone are adding a new lift from the Ski Tip area up to the east side of the mountain. There are currently cat-skiing operations in the Bergmann and Independence Bowls and this is going to be replaced with some new lifts. I’m not sure if that is a good thing, for the powder adventurist.

The Wayback chair is scheduled to be replaced and new trails are going to be formed on the front side, North Peak and the Outback.

Keystone is a great family friendly mountain as well as some extreme skiing in the outback areas. It is scheduled to open on November 7, weather permitting. We are expecting a snowstorm today!  The  Market snapshot will give you information on current market trends, current up to the date MLS listings in Summit County, including Keystone, Breckenridge, Copper, Dillon, Silverthorne and Frisco . Call Leah at 970-389-6367 or visit my website leahbaxter.com.

I’m sure we have all heard about the banking crisis and the mortgage industry falling apart across the nation.  Well,  this is not true in every case.  If a bank caters to the local area and doesn’t get extravagant with their lending practices they wouldn’t be in the trouble that they are in currently.  Believe it or not, there still are banks out there that are doing just fine, and they cater to the local area which is very important when looking for a lender. 

Why go to Texas and get a loan for a property up in the mountains in Colorado.  The reason you should not do this is they do not know our market, they may require flood insurance, even if you are not in a flood plain.  They may use their own appraisers vs. local appraisers who know the market.  Then your loan ends up falling apart and you end up with nothing.  There is a great article in the Denver Post that talks about First Bank. This is a good example of good banking practices.

In the quaint mountain town of Frisco, Colorado spring has finally arrived!!!! Frisco is in the center of Summit County and is a wonderful small town with world class restaurants.  The snow if finally melting and I’m sure many of the locals as well as myself are thrilled.  Even though it has been an epic season for skiing and riding and other snow sports, we are definitely ready for biking, hiking, camping, fishing, boating, etc.

On May 17th, the town of Frisco will host the annual town clean up day followed by a BBQ at Walter Byron park.  The Marina Season Opener is scheduled for May 24th at the Frisco Bay.

Frisco is located 1 hr/minutes from the west side of Denver.  It is convenient to Copper Mtn. (5 minutes), Breckenridge, Keystone, Loveland, and 25 minutes to Vail.  It is a charming town with world class restaurants, local shops, bike paths that will take you all over Summit County, and a great marina to go sailing and boating.

If you are interested in property in Frisco, check out this beautiful duplex that has awesome views of Mt. Royal.  For any more property information in Frisco or Summit County please contact  leah@leahbaxter.com  or search the MLS for free on my website www.leahbaxter.com.

Keystone is in the preliminary plans of a huge redevelopment of the Mountain House base area.  The Keystone Citizens League who represent property owners at the resort, is in full support of the plan.The Mountain House base area is the original base area for Keystone, so it is definitely up for redevelopment

The development plans would include total improvement which would cover 88.4 acres. Out of the 88.4 acres 48.4 would be slated for redevelopment and the other 40 acres would be designated for recreational trails, public transit, open space, wetlands and interpretive  facilities.

The area that houses the existing cafeteria, ski school, and ticket offices would  also be redeveloped.  Vail Resorts would be in charge of this redevelopment process.

  Now would be a good time to purchase real estate in Keystone.  If you are looking for a nice large two bedroom property that overlooks the golf course in Keystone, click here.

For more information on properties in Keystone or Summit county please contact leah@leahbaxter.com.  or check out my website www.leahbaxter.com to search the MLS for free.

Are you looking for a luxury parcel of land to build your ranch on?  Well, there is a new development called  The Daley Ranch in Silverthorne, Colorado.  This is a 289-acre natural sanctuary of forests, meadows, ponds, and trails.  The acreage is broken down to 35 acre parcels and sells for 2.5-3.5 million dollars. 

It is located by 4 world-class ski resorts and will have a 3200 acre lake within 31 miles.

The views are spectacular and you can see Copper MT., Keystone, the Ten-Mile Range.There will be a pasture area with Hay Meadows for feeding the horses, x-country ski trails and snowmobiling trails.  Also a Nordic Hut to warm up as well as a Ranch house and Caretakers cabin.   More amenities will emerge as the new owners partake in the decision making process.

This is a Equilibrium resort development.

If you would like more information, please contact Leah Baxter at leah@leahbaxter.com or www.leahbaxter.com.