How many tourists visit Colorado Springs every year? I would have guessed about 2 million, but the Experience Colorado Springs at Pikes Peak folks (aka Convention and Visitors Bureau) say it is 3 times that, at 6 million. In fact, they say that 2 million visit Garden of the Gods alone. Now I don’t really know how you would count all of that, given that GOG is a free city park, and many of us go, park, hang out or hike, and leave, without every telling anyone we were there, so maybe 2 million is a guess, but still, that is a lot of visitors to a city park in a town of less than 600,000! There are of course some other places that are even more touristy kinds of places, like Seven Falls, the Pikes Peak summit, the Air Force Academy chapel, Cave of the Winds, Manitou Cliff Dwellings, the Cripple Creek casinos, etc that they estimate at no more than 1/3 the traffic that Garden of the Gods sees. And some tourists don’t actually do any of that, and instead just hang out, go downtown, go hiking in the national forest, take day trips to other mountain towns, golf, fish, gamble in Cripple Creek, etc. Colorado Springs began as a resort, and I guess that it is fitting that we still get so many visitors. After all, what better place to visit?
We may have a few extra visitors at the Air Force Academy this year, in part due to President Bush being the keynote speaker at graduation on May 28. The tickets are all gone already :-( The Broadmoor is also hosting the Men's Senior Open this year, which should further boost the visitor count.
Visiting may get easier, or harder soon, depending on who you use for frequent flier miles. I know many people drive to their summer vacations, but flying is pretty important, and I found it so ironic that within a month or so of announcing flights to the Springs and a new maintenance hanger here, Frontier Airlines goes Chapter 11. I have been a fan of Frontier, and I was really saddened by the news. They actually started service as scheduled on April 15, and they say the bankruptcy won’t change anything, but we’ll see. The new merger between Delta and Northwest should prove interesting. It should theoretically open some better routing up for the Springs, but again, we’ll see. United is the “big dog” at the Colorado Springs airport, and despite most of their routes simply going through Denver from here, they will probably continue to be the number 1 carrier.

What you can expect when buying distressed properties in Colorado Springs (ie short sales, pre-foreclosures, foreclosures, bank owned, etc) is both more and less than you bargained for. Less money, there are some great deals out there. Less amenities (the sprinklers may not work, the A/C compressor may be gone, along with the stove!). More headaches, angst, problems, etc. And possibly more sweat equity and return on investment. I worked some folks this week in the "under $150" category, and thought I would share a few things.
1. In this price, we did not used to see much at all, and I was pleasantly surprised by both the quantity, and in some cases even the quality of what we saw. There were definitely some "dogs" out there however, with foundation problems, water issues, etc. Houses are not always large in this segment, and almost all of them needed something to be done after closing, generally in the $10k plus category.
2. The water is off in virtually all of bank owned (and other vacant) homes right now, meaning there will be some additional expense for de-winterizing the property, and some nervousness when the water first comes back on for possible leaks. A broken pipe inside the walls can really be a mess to clean up, but if you don't get that sort of thing looked at, the problems can be even bigger.
3. We did not see a lot of badly gutted homes this time, but I have seen them where even the light fixtures are gone, along with appliances, cabinets, etc. On the property they selected, the stove, some cabinets, and most of the carpet was gone.
4. The response time from the bank that owned the house they wrote on was surprisingly quick. Many will tell you right up front that they need several days, and with short sales, it can be weeks. Bank owned properties are usually 2 or 3 round negotiations, and sometimes more.
5. The match between the house and the buyer should be right, and it was gratifying to see that this particular buyer was very knowledgeable on the particular things this house needed, making it a good fit.
6. Out of state banks don't really pay much attention to our contracts, and have all kinds of forms, addendums etc that are not really "buyer friendly", shortening inspection and other contingency deadlines, etc. That does not make them bad, but it is something to be prepared for.
7. Have your lending situation nailed down tight before you start. These kinds of properties don't give much time to "fool around" with getting your loan situated.
8. They like quick closes, so expect to close in 30 days or less, or else wait before you shop.
9. Don't expect to use a government loan (ie VA or FHA) for your financing. Many of these properties are neglected to the point where they will not pass muster for a VA or FHA inspection. Keep some cash on hand for doing the repairs, that is not so easily financed.
10. Don't expect the owner to fix anything. These are pretty much all "as is" deals, and sometimes that will not only mean you have to do the fixes yourself, but in some cases, you mght want to stay in a motel until the fixes are done!

Colorado Springs school districts are something that people ask about a lot, because there are so many of them. The big 8 are Lewis Palmer D38, Academy D20, Colorado Springs D11, Falcon D49, Harrison D2, Cheyenne Mountain D12, Widefield D3, and Fountain Fort Carson D8. In addition, there are charter schools within some of these districts that are like mini-school districts of there own. In D20, The Classical Academy has close to 3,000 students, 3 elementary schools, and a wait list of 6,000 students or so. In D49, there are 2 separate charter school systems just on the classical education theme alone (Rocky Mountain Charter Academy and the new The Imagine Classical Academy). Also in D49, the Banning-Lewis Ranch is building charter schools for neighborhood schools.
So the question can be, where will MY kids go to school. It isn't as simple as it sounds, because as neighborhoods grow, sometimes the neighborhood school is full for certain grades for a while. This has happened many times over the years, especially in D20 and Northeastern D11. It has happened in the past that a family can buy a house across the street from the school, and when they go to enroll, discover their child will be bussed to an overflow school until a space opens up. Usually this is temporary (1 school year or less), but not always. And changing schools is never fun, causing some families to leave the busing situation alone once their child is settled in.
All this to say, that no matter what school DISTRICT your are in, it is a good idea to check out what actual school your child will be attending. It may not be the one the next door!

The end of ski season is always a little sad, but yesterday's closing day at Breckenridge was really great. The antelope were out in numbers in South Park, and I saw a fox practically in the parking lot at the ski area. There was a lot of snow for this being the end of the season, and I was a little sorry I got there as early as I did, because in the warmer weather, it needs a little time to soften up after the freeze / thaw cycle. Coming home to 75 degree weather was nice, but it was a little weird to change into shorts! The view from the top of Wilkerson Pass of the west side of Pikes Peak is always a tempting photo, so here it is again.

Is today the last snow day of the year for Colorado Springs? Technically it was just a 2 hour late start, so not really a true snow day, but as spring progresses, the odds start dropping that we'll see any more of this until next winter. The sun was already coming through when I took this in our back yard this morning. A pretty typical Colorado Springs snow, it does it's thing, and the sun comes back out. 60's and maybe even 70 by the weekend! It really didn't even stick to the roads here in Briargate, but D20 serves a big chunk of Black Forest as well, and the little change in locale seems to make a difference as to how much sticks to the roads, in addition to how much falls to begin with. District 38 is even farther north, and often they will have a late start or cancellation, even when D20 does not. D11, which covers most of the Springs area wise, seldom has to close or have a late start, because it is just enough lower in elevation that it may not even have snowed at all. District 49, which covers the eastern plains as well as part of Black Forest, will often have problems from wind blown snow and visibility, even if the snow is not deep.

My wife is a school teacher in school district 20 (The Classical Academy), and she loves a late start or snow day as much as the kids. Today was a good illustration as to why field trips are tough to schedule though. Her kindergarten class does an annual trip to Garden of the Gods, and it was rescheduled from last week to this past Tuesday, which turned out to be a fantastic day to do it. Today however, would not have been a good one! I guess it encourages living for the day, because you really don't know what tomorrow will bring, especially with our fickle spring weather!

We don't often talk about wildfires and snow in the same day in Colorado Springs, but here we are with a 10,000 acre brush fire burning at Fort Carson, and snow coming down. The fire started yesterday afternoon, and we could see the smoke pretty clearly up north, 20 miles away or so. One air born firefighter was killed when his plane crashed after dumping slurry on the blaze. It is such dangerous work, I am amazed and thankful it doesn't happen more often. Brush fires or grass fires on Fort Carson aren't really that rare (they do some controlled burns to minimize the risk of large fires), but one this size is, and it is already being called the largest in the county's history according to the sheriff.
The warmth of yesterday accompanied by the high winds of spring weather changes undoubtedly contributed to the rapid spread of this one. Thankfully the newly arrived cold and snow should help douse before it gets any bigger, and hopefully no one else gets hurt fighting it. Cold and wet snowy weather are expected to hang around into tomorrow.

It isn't a record, but I think 80 degrees is on the warm side for tax day in Colorado Springs. It was a perfect chance to get the hot tub drained, cleaned a refilled, and the warm dry sun felt very good. Rain and snow are in the forecast for the next couple of days, so we'll enjoy it while we can!
Speaking of tax day, I thought I would plug one of the tax benefits of owning a home. The obvious interest deduction is the one most discussed, but actually the tax free gain on the sale of your home is sometimes more important. This is because the way the tax tables work these days, sometimes using the standard deduction instead of itemizing is the best thing anyway, depending on the situation.
The tax free sale is generally interesting for everyone (current recession excepted), because even when homes are appreciating slowly, in the long run they are still appreciating, and when you sell, it is one of the few things you don't get taxed on (with some limits, of course). A $200,000 house that eventually sells for $250,000 after 5 years or so may have a $50,000 tax free gain on it. While you can often beat the appreciation rate with other investments, you usually cannot beat the leverage allowed (with only 3% down, this could be only a $6,000 investment!), and after taxes, that money is harder to match. Plus you get to live in it the whole time!

Only in Colorado Springs. Yesterday we woke up with snow on the ground from a little overnight snow shower, and I went golfing in 60+ degree weather in the afternoon. I had never played any of the of the military courses here, and had an opportunity to play the Silver Spruce at Peterson AFB. It was very nice, and the air traffic of the Colorado Springs Airport was a fun distraction from time to time. While I did not hit very well, we managed to get 18 holes in on the twilight special, and it was good exercise, if my sore muscles are any measure of that!
Speaking of Peterson (and Shriever), this morning's paper covered the new base housing projects going on at both. Shriever will finally have a couple of hundred homes, and Peterson will end up with around 600 after tearing down some, building some and renovating some.

I have an inspection today, and thought I would share a few notes about such things. In Colorado Springs, home inspectors are not licensed, but I only work with ones that are certified, usually by either ASHI (American Society of Home Inspectors) or NAHI (National Association of Home Inspectors), and that have errors and omissions insurance. I always attend home inspections for my buyers, because I want to hear what is said in case interpretation is needed in negotiating inspection issues. They are time consuming, but it has really helped in the past to be there, so I continue to do it.
Here, a typical home inspection is around $300, plus some additional services if desired, such as radon testing, water flow and/or potability testing (if the home is on a well), and sometimes we have to get additional inspectors involved if there are indications of mold, wood destroying insects (termites), or structural issues. It takes between 1 1/2 and 3 hours usually. I had an out of state client who said the inspector who came out when they sold their home, was only there for 20 minutes. That would be pretty impossible to do a proper job.
Generally radon testing is always a good idea. Radon is suspected as the #2 cause of lung cancer in the US, and while there are differences of opinion as to what the REAL limit should be for radon (the US EPA says 4 Pcl, in Canada they used to say 10, now it is 5), it is best if you know what you have before you just blow this off. Mitigation typically costs around $1,000 here.
We don't often run into mold, and the inspector will usually look for it to determine whether additional inspection or testing is done. The same applies to wood destroying insects. While termites are not very prevalent here, they do show up from time to time, especially in older neighborhoods where the trees have finally grown up.
Structural issues come up from time to time for a couple of reasons. We have some tricky soil conditions here. Sometimes the builder did not do things right, although this is more rare. Often, site drainage has been modified from what the builder had done, for landscaping usually, and it results in water coming in contact with expansive or poorly compacted soil, and this can create problems. We also have some hillside "creep zones", and even mine tunnels under the ground that can also wreak havoc. The areas most likely to have structural issues to watch for are west of I25, but they can happen almost anywhere.
The most common issues that come up on inspection reports are roof problems (previously undetected hail damage), electrical issues (usually homeowner done), furnace cleaning and servicing, bathroom grout issues and site drainage. The purpose of the inspection is really for the buyer to understand the true condition of the house at closing, so that they know what their "honey do" list will look like. The list of things the seller normally takes care of fall into the category of "safe, sound and sanitary". If any of these areas is affected, we typically ask the seller to take care of it. In Colorado, the inspection clause of the real estate contract is one of the most important contingencies. A buyer can terminate the contract for any inspection issue they choose.
Finally, a shameless plug for my favorite home inspector, Randy Morrow at Hawkeye Home Inspections. He does a great job, has inspected hundreds of homes for my clients, and I trust him completely. His number is 719-330-9821, and he does pre-inspections for sellers in addition to "due diligence" homes inspections for buyers.

Colorado Springs has some really nice home available in the 600's. I showed a bunch of them this week, and the one that the buyer selected was close to 5,000 square feet on 2.5 acres, 2 years old, and had WONDERFUL views.
The ones they did not select were very, very nice as well. One was on almost 6 acres in High Forest Ranch, in the trees. One was on 2.5 acres on the golf course in Kings Deer (really great views on that one!). Another was on 2.5 acres just minutes from the Powers shopping corridor. Bottom line, there is great selection in that price range right now! Here is a link to a couple of them:Some Nice $650,000 homes
This particular client was not looking for horse or looser covenanted properties, but this link is to one my listings for $659,900 that has a fantastic set of outbuilding, 5 treed acres, and a very nice 5,000 sf stucco ranch style home. 7115 Wildridge Road
The weather has turned decidedly winter like. After waking up to fog yesterday, it cleared up a bit, followed by rain, then thunder, then snow, and this morning, snow and wind. While it is not snowing a lot (less than an inch fell here), the wind makes it look and feel more like January than April!
This weekend is pretty much the end of ski season, despite great quantities of snow. Breckenridge will remain open until the following weekend, they are still report close to a 7 foot base, with this storm expected to drop another foot or so.

High end home sales in Colorado Springs are taking a disproportional beating in this recession. In doing a little number crunching, I was surprised to discover that while sales overall are still down 19% over last year's disappointing results, sales over $500,000 are down 42.3% from the 1st quarter of '07. While I pick the $500k mark somewhat arbitrarily, the fact is, only 4.4% of our sales exceeded that price in the 1st quarter (it was over 6% last year), so it makes a logical "line in the sand".
Today's "rain and snow" forecast has not shown up, and while it is not out of the question that it still might, it is not surprising if it misses us completely. The weather forecasters in Colorado Springs have one of the most difficult jobs in the world, with so many mountains sitting just west of us, slight changes in pressure make huge differences as to whether we see snow, or sun!

Preliminary Colorado Springs real estate sales data for March show a continued strong buyers market. Here are some of the early statistics. These are obviously subject to revision when the Pikes Peak Association Realtors releases official reports by Monday of next week, but these should be very close:
Sales 722 homes, down 19% from March of '07
Average (Mean) Price $236,514 down 7.2% from March of '07
Inventory 5883 up 3.9% over March of '07
Foreclosure / Short sale transactions represented about 25.6% of sales, and about 11.5% of the existing inventory, down slightly from January and February.
In addition, the Gazette reports this morning that foreclosure filings were 488, a record month. Things have not turned around yet!