What upgrades will make you money when you sell your condo in Frisco,
your home in the Reserve at Frisco or your townhome in Waterdance? A client of mine is currently making some upgrades to his Frisco duplex, and he is concentrating on the kitchen. Kitchen and bath upgrades will almost always make your money back and may even increase the price you can ask. It is worthwhile to add granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. Replacing cabinets is a big project, but if the home is older than 15 or 20 years you may need to do that too. Perhaps a coat of paint and new knobs will be enough, but not in high end properties. Appropriate upgrades will help your Frisco property sell faster, and closer to the top of its price range. Overdoing in the lower price ranges may……

In Summit County, home owners are busy in the summer
getting all our home maintenance and landscaping jobs done in just three short months. In spring, we get outside, walk around the house and realize that it might be time to paint it again. Now is a good time to prepare, deciding not only what color to use, but what product to use. My husband recently retired after being a painting contractor for a number of years, and over time, I picked up a thing or to from him. We have had a discussion or two about what “paint” means. To him, paint is a product and he won’t use it on the outside of a house at this altitude. To me, it is a process. You paint your house, even if you are using a stain to do it. I think most people use the words interchangeably, but be sure you know which it is that you want when you go to the paint store or hire someone to “paint” your house.

Our high altitude makes a difference in the paint or stain that you use on your Colorado home, as the UV rays…..

Real estate in Silverthorne, Frisco, Breckenridge and the rest of Summit County is still pretty darn good.
It is not as strong as it was, but relative to other parts of the country, our market is very good! Vacation home Buyers who pay cash or have good credit scores still can buy. This spring and summer should be a good time to do so, as I think prices will plateau, given the current economic climate.

A Realtor friend of mine recently noted that she saw a “disconnect” between Buyers and Sellers, meaning that Sellers see their property in Silverthorne or elsewhere in Summit County as being worth more than it actually is. Buyers see it as worth less than it should sell for. I have noticed the same thing and I liked the way she put it. I think the disconnect is because we are coming off a couple of really good years where property values appreciated in leaps and bounds. People were able to price much higher than the last comparable sale and get it, as Buyers were ready, willing and able to buy. Today they are willing, but not so ready, and often, not able. In the past, Buyers thought it was okay to stretch to make the purchase, and lenders cooperated with interest only or stated income (no verification) loans. Those loans are now a thing of the past.

For the most part, Sellers have yet to realize what the market is like today, and sometimes it takes several……

Anyone living in Summit County can take advantage of the annual Doggy days event at the Silverthorne recreation center.
Once a year, before the pool is shut down for its annual cleaning and maintenance, dog owners have the opportunity to allow their dogs to swim in the pool. It has turned into quite an event, with several sessions and even a Big Air contest! This year it will be Sunday, April 27th, 2008. Water loving dogs like labs and retrievers have a ball at a time of year when they are not able to access lakes and rivers because of ice. It is so popular that you need to make a reservation by calling Christian Liles at 970-262-7380 or email cliles@silverthorne.org. Sessions are from 9am to 10:30am and 11am to 12:30 pm.

You must provide copies of current vacination certificates for Rabies, Distemper and Bordetella before the 27th or the dog will not be able to participate. Cost is $12 for one dog, $15 for two, and $17 for 3, which is the maximum per family. The Big Air contest is at 12:45pm at a cost of $6 per dog.

Those live with their dogs in condos in Silverthorne, Dillon, or anywhere else in the county, appreciate the opportunity to….

Copper Mountain real estate is always interesting.
It doesn’t always reflect what is going on in the rest of the market in Summit County as a whole. It is almost exclusively a second home and vacation home market with few, if any, primary residences. Copper has a total of about 3,000 condos, townhomes and single family homes. Recently some multi million dollar homes have been built in the Lewis Ranch area and they will skew the average sales price when they sell.

When trying to analyze the market, it is best to break it down by price range. As in most other areas, the lower priced property sells more than in any other price range. In 2006 there were 33 sales of condos under $300,000 at Copper Mountain. Today there are only five listed for sale, with three more under contract. What that means, if you have a condo in that price range that you would like to sell, is that you could expect that it would sell in less than two months. However, it depends on the time of year, as most sales at Copper Mountain occur in the…..