Real Estate Information Archive

Planting Aspens?

Friday, May 18, 2007

by Robin Rasmussen

Aspens...where do I start... If you plant aspens in your yard, be prepared for a bit of education and a bit of heart ache as well. You would think thatt these trees are hearty alpine tree ready for anything that nature throws its way. The opposite is true...at least in my yard. Ever spring I dig up the dead aspens, cut down the dying/diseased ones and hope that the healthy ones don't blow over (due to their shallow roots).

We had Greg at the la plata county extension office (an excellent free resourse) come over last year to help us figure out what was killing all of our aspens...our tree were covered with borers, caterpillars, cancers and fungus. We managed to clean up most of it and have stayed on top of the rest. If it weren't for the root suckers, I don't think that these fragile trees could exist anywhere!

aspen trees

Bayfield Sewer

Thursday, May 17, 2007

by Robin Rasmussen

Well, it has been a long saga after Bayfield realized that their building was out-pacing their ability to effectively treat the sewer water. Bayfield imposed a building moratorium and it looked like that builder would not be able to pick up their hammers again until 2008. Now, with a patch work plan in place to reduce high volume sewer contributors and fast track an expansion effort, the town of Bayfield is back in business...Many of the Bayfield constuction projects will be caught in the cold with build times around 6-8months.

Eco-Broker

Friday, December 08, 2006

by Robin Rasmussen

We have both been busy this year wrapping up another great year in Real Estate and getting ready for next year which we hope will be a much "greener" year. By "green" I mean more knowlegable about highly efficient homes and programs that support that technology! We are both working on our Eco-Broker designation which will mean that we will have much more knowlege about high effieciency features in homes, green mortgage programs (I'll save that for another blog entry), Colorado state rebate programs and much much more. It is a wonderful time in Real Estate becasue we have the technology for MONEY SAVING green products and we are getting the knowlege to better serve our clients.

To learn more about the Eco-Broker program that we are going through go to: https://www.ecobroker.com/

Eco-Broker durango real estate

New regulations for Colorado mortgage brokers

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

by Robin Rasmussen

Many people have learned their lessons with to-good-to-be-true loans that are out there and if they haven’t learned yet…they will.

Lenders have recently been put under the Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies and on or after January 1, 2007, all mortgage brokers conducting business in this state must be registered with the Division of Real Estate pursuant to HB06-1161. This is a necessary step in protecting people’s largest investment and makes mortgage brokers in the state of Colorado accountable for their actions.

weekend of sports

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

by Robin Rasmussen

What a great weekend for sports in Durango! The Fort Lewis men's soccer team is advancing to play for the Division II national championship. Right after the men's soccer team won the state championships for men’s elite cyclocross kicked off. It was a great race...not a huge number of racers in the elite field, but what a great line up of racers with legends like: Todd Wells (national cyclocross champ), Ned Overend, Travis Brown and a stacked field of up and coming talent. Matt Shriver pulled off an amazing victory after Todd Wells smashed his front chainring and had to switch out bikes. Todd was coming back with fury, but just ran out of time. Still, Matt was just an amazing powerhouse to hold off the field.

Cyclocross

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

by Robin Rasmussen

What an amazing place we live at here in Durango. It is so easy to get outside and enjoy life here. It is no secret among elite athletes that Durango is a great place to be. Last night I went to the Abbey theatre for a fundraiser for the Developmental Junior cycling team to watch a cyclocross movie. For those who may be asking...what is cyclocross?, well it is essentially racing a modified road bike on a circuit in the worst possible conditions for an hour. It is a tough race with many accelerations, running and leaping over barriers. While I was sitting there watching the movie, I forget sometimes how amazing many of our local athletes are. While watching the movie they kept showing clips of Todd Wells and Travis Brown. The audience was also filled with amazing talent from collegiate champions, professional riders (who actually get paid to ride!), to the really enthusiastic junior riders. I just have to sit back sometimes and put everything into perspective. We are living the dream here in Durango for the weather and the effortless escape to the outdoors…we just have to stop sometimes and appreciate what we have. State championships are going to be held here in Durango this Saturday.

Pre-qualify vs. Pre-approval

Monday, October 30, 2006

by Robin Rasmussen

Yes, market seems to be adjusting, but not all of the lessons of the hot market should be lost. Start looking at property once you are prepared and aware of your financial profile and purchasing power. It is still important to go to a lender and find out what kind of payment you’re looking at. This should be a free no obligation service.

You can go 2 different ways Pre-qualification will get you some numbers to work with and a letter to present with an offer to buy a house. It is quick and requires little work on your part.

Pre-Approval is a step above that and mean that you already have all you information together for a loan and have a number that you can work with for a purchase price. With Pre-approval you have put much lender work behind you and are ready to take the next step with fewer question marks.

manufactured vs. modular - what is the difference

Friday, October 27, 2006

by Robin Rasmussen

When looking at homes in Durango, Bayfield or anywhere else, it is important to know what you are looking at when you walk through the door. It can be difficult sometimes to tell if it is a mobile/manufactured, modular or a stick built. Why does it matter and what are the differences?

Manufactured homes and modular homes are not the same. They are constructed to different codes. Manufactured homes are built to HUD code and modular homes are built UBC/IRC code (which is the same code that stick-built homes are built to). Most lenders won’t lend on mobile/manufactured homes. There are loan packages for mobiles/manufactured homes they are just more difficult to come by.

Generally, you can tell if it is a mobile/manufactured by either a plate outside or a sticker around the main electrical box in the home. A modular home is partially built off-site and has a sticker usually located underneath the kitchen sink.

The difference seems insignificant at a glance, but can mean all the difference when looking into financing. Make sure that you find out which kind of home you are looking at. You can’t always tell at a glance and many people do not know there is a difference. Just because the MLS sheet says that it is one type it still could be the other…always double check for accuracy.