Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Colorado Springs Does It Again - Another Number 1 Place to Live!

Colorado Springs gets lots of the awards for being one of the best places to live. The latest is from Outside Magazine, the Facebook share link is: Outside Magazine Best Places to Live Article
I love it when we win one of these, not because we don't already know about such things, but because it gets the word out, and when you make a living selling real estate like I do, every little bit helps!
Today is one of those great cool summer days, with lots of rain the forecast, but a very sunny, breezy beautiful morning for walking, or about anything else you could ever want to do outside!

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784! Visit me on Facebook to see even more photos!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Summertime: Lots to Do In Colorado Springs!

My wife is accusing me of becoming a Facebook junky, and she's probably right. One of the things I noticed however, since signing up, is how many different things there are to do around Colorado Springs that people find. Here are some examples that I've seen or heard about people doing in the past week or so (many on Facebook!):
Attend a Rockies baseball game in Denver (they are in 2nd place in the NL West at the moment)
See the AAA SkySox locally instead
Water World waterslides in Denver
Elitches Theme and Water Park in Denver
Hiking in these gorgeous mountains
Fishing in our beautiful clear mountain streams or lakes
Boating and water skiing down in Pueblo at Pueblo Reservoir
Attend a music or food festival in one of the mountain towns
Attend a music or food festival here in the Springs
White water rafting on Arkansas River
Go to Cripple Creek to sightsee or gamble
Camping
Mountain Biking
Go the movies
Swimming at a community pool
Visit Rocky Mountain National Park

Ok, I know you can do some of these anywhere. The point is, there are lots of things to do here in the summer! There are of course plenty of other things to do, our tourist attractions include things like Pikes Peak Cog Railway, Royal Gorge, 7 Falls, Cave of the Winds, Manitou Cliff Dwellings, Garden of the Gods, the Air Force Academy, Focus on the Family, and on it goes.
Missing from the list? Surfing.

Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784! Visit me on Facebook to see even more photos!

Monday, July 20, 2009

Colorado Springs Weather is Hard on Roofs

We are in the rainy season here, but rain season is also hail season, and hail is the main reason roofs get replaced in Colorado Springs. It has always been somewhat rare to see a 20 year roof here, because somewhere along the way, they get replaced due to hail damage. More roofs are being replaced lately because of a change in roofing technology. 'T Lock' composition roofs were the norm for many years. However, the shingles are no longer available, so we are starting to see even minor wind damage result in full roof replacement. This can be an expensive surprise in the middle of the sale process, as most insurance companies don't want to simply 'give' you a new roof. They are doing 'prorations' for age to reduce their payouts, resulting in the seller being responsible for their regular deductible, as well the 'depreciation' of the roof due to age. Part of the normal home inspection process is to have the roof checked, and we are regularly asking sellers to have the roof certified to ensure the buyer is not going to get stuck with an expensive problem.
The new roofs are typically the 30 or 40 year 'architectural grade' composition shingles. They are generally more hail and wind resistant and look a bit nicer. As a result, we hope to see more 20 year old roofs in the future, barring some major hail storms!
This week we have very typical Colorado Springs summer weather in store, with highs in the 80s', lows in the 50's, and a chance of thunderstorms almost every day.
Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784! Visit me on Facebook to see even more photos!

Thursday, July 16, 2009

First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit Questions Still Coming Up

I've gotten a few questions just in the last week again about the 1st Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, and thought I'd address them here. Note: This post is corrected as of 8-26-09.
This program was put in place to stimulate the housing market by giving qualified 1st time home buyers a financial incentive to buy something now (as if incredible interest rates and low prices weren't already reason enough!). The IRS has a pretty good web site information center on this at http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=205416,00.html, but let me give you the 'Readers Digest' version.
1. The credit is 10% of the purchase, up to $8,000 ($4,000 for married filing separately). It is a credit, not a deduction, and it is refunded to you even if you did not owe any taxes.
2. It can be taken against your 2008 OR 2009 taxes, so if you already filed 2008, you can file an amended return to get it back.
3. To qualify, you can't have owned a home in the prior 3 years, and it is phased out in the higher income brackets.
4. It is a GREAT deal. Since FHA financing only requires 3.5% down, it effectively means the IRS is making your down payment on an FHA deal all the way to a $228,000 purchase, which is right at the average sale price in Colorado Springs.
5. It only applies to purchases between April 8, 2008 and December 1 2009. This means that even if you bought your house last year, before the economy really tanked, you are still eligible, and if you have not bought yet, you have until 12/1 to close.
6. You have to file a tax return and complete a required tax form in order to get this, it is NOT an automatic. If you've previously filed your 2008 return, you can amend the return to receive this as refund.
Hope this helps! Not a first time home buyer? Not a problem, pass this information along to someone who might be! Questions? Call Rick Van Wieren at 888-568-6784 or 719-590-4768 or email rick@ricksellscolorado.com.
This blog posting is being made at http://livingincoloradosprings.blogspot.com/, and is also being seen on a test basis at http://www.facebook.com/rick.vanwieren

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Colorado In the Summer - My Kind of Place


This weekend my wife Holly and I took a little time off on Sunday (sorry pastor!) and went up to the mountains to get a 'mountain fix'. We look up at the mountains all the time, but it really takes some effort sometimes to just drop everything for a day and enjoy them! We went to 11 Mile Canyon, a National Forest area just about an hour from our house, and sat next to the roaring river (South Platte) for a while soaking in the sun, the cool breeze, and powerful sounds of rushing water. It was great! We took the scenic loop back around through Cripple Creek and made a small donation to the gaming industry (Cripple Creek is a gambling town), and then headed back to the Springs in time for dinner. We just missed a big thunderstorm I guess, and I don't think we ever even saw 80 degrees the whole time we were out, though it was scheduled to be a hot day in town. One of the great things about living in Colorado Springs that I love, is that we can drive to snow in the winter, but not have to live in it too much, and in the summer, that we can drive quickly to the cool breezes of the mountains and be away from it all, but still have all the conveniences of city living.
Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784! Visit me on Facebook to see even more photos!

Tuesday, July 07, 2009

Wild Weather is Part of the Fun in Colorado Springs


Yesterday I was showing property in Black Forest when we came across a stretch of road that was all white from a hail storm that had just passed through. When we got to the house, we just had to get a couple of shots for posterity. Yesterday was a gorgeous day, got up to maybe 83 degrees, but afternoon thunderstorms are always capable of changing things up for a while, and it was 59 degrees on my car thermometer right after the hail fell!
To be prepared for our variable weather, it is usually good to have jacket of some sort along, no matter how warm the day, as a 'just in case'. When I show property, we usually kick our shoes off if it has rained or if the house has very clean floors, so bringing shoes that are easy to put on and off is a good idea when you come out for a house hunting trip. Staying hydrated, even on days with above average humidity is also a good idea, we try to remember to grab a bottle of water for everyone before we head out as well!


Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784! Visit me on Facebook to see even more photos!

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

June '09 Colorado Springs Home Sales Looking Better

While the data is still preliminary, it looks like in June of 2009 we actually posted a year to year gain in home sales since last June of '08! Sales were up .7%, and while prices are still soft (down 12.2% for the average), the ratio of selling price to the list price has firmed up to 97.52%, indicating sellers are being pretty realistic in their pricing and not coming down as much in the negotiation. This may also be partially attributed to a smaller percentage of 'distressed' properties, these made up only 21.2% of June sales after peaking at 36.8% of January '09 sales.
Into the numbers? The following link provides more details and some graphs:
Colorado Springs Home Sales Data
It is another beautiful day in paradise here, with blue skies, cool morning temps (it was still in the 50's at 7), and a forecast high of 90, the hottest we've seen yet this year!
Got questions about living in Colorado Springs? Call me at 719-590-4768 or 888-568-6784! Visit me on Facebook to see even more photos!