Steamboat Foreclosures Update

Keeping an eye on the foreclosure and motivated seller situation in Steamboat Springs, Co:

This week we identified a few new properties for our list:

1. Custom Catamount home
2. 5br ski home with a pool
3. 5br home in the Tree House subdivision
4. Duplex near Sheraton Golf course
5. Small home on 5 Acres
6. 2br townhome near Steamboat ski area
7. Large home on Acreage

The above properties may sell for significantly less than asking depending on current loan balances. For details and more information, contact Chris or Amy.

Positive signs

In today's economy it is very difficult to ascertain a clear picture as to where we are headed. On a daily basis, news stories about increasing foreclosure numbers (link) and the housing recovery pop up on the news wires. Trying to understand where we are headed is tough.

One concrete event which happened in this month was the Developers Diversified Realty Corporation CMBS offering. The CMBS (Commercial mortgage backed securities) market was a key driver of funding for commercial projects. A market that was $700 billion at the peak has virtually disappeared. The success of Developers Diversified Realty Corporaton offering is a positive sign to see.

Another article which caught my eye was Citigroup successfully executing sale leaseback deals for 17 of it's west coast branches (article). Seeing actual deals take place is a good sign and hopefully the start of more activity.

FDIC Owned Duplex

Here is a link to an FDIC owned duplex priced below replacement cost: Link to Duplex

When these properties first hit the market they were priced over $500/sq ft and over $3.5 million each. During construction I walked these properties on multiple occasions, inspecting the construction type and materials used. These units are 90% finished and from our initial walk through, it appears to be a minimal amount of work required to finish the properties.

We continually post information about bank owned properties and/or what we feel are strong opportunities. Thanks for following our blog.

Have a Great Thanksgiving!!!

Opening Day at the Steamboat Ski Area this Wednesday!

Opening day of the 2009/2010 Steamboat Springs ski season commences this Wednesday, November 25th. The Steamboat Ski and Resort Corporation kicks off the season with Scholarship Day, a traditional opening day benefit for the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club's Scholarship Fund. Lift tickets are specially priced at $20.00.
The mountain opens at 8:30am. The first 100 people on the mountain will get a free T-shirt. Other events and specials of the day include free tips from the Ski and Snowboard School instructors, discounts at RideSports, Steamboat Ski and Sport, Gondola Joe's, Geano's and the Bear River Bar & Grill. With all the recent snow it is sure to be a great day out on the slopes!

Steamboat Springs receives $1M grant for tree removal

The Steamboat Pilot reported today that the city of Steamboat Springs has received a $1 million grant through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and the Colorado State Forest Service for removal of trees that present a wildfire risk in the Steamboat area. The project is expected to start in early December on land owned by the city, Steamboat Ski and Resort Corp., several homeowners’ associations and private homeowners in the city and Routt County. In a Thursday news release, the city cited lodgepole pines affected by the bark beetle epidemic as a focus of the project.

“The tremendous number of standing dead trees in this old-growth forest has resulted in very high to extreme forest fuels loading, as well as increased the risk of injury and property damage from hazard tree blowdown,” the release stated. Ron Lindroth, hired as the city’s Fire Department chief in September, is coordinating the project.

St. Cloud Mountain Club Offers $4500 Discovery Membership

The St. Cloud Mountain Club will begin its full-time operations on November 25th, to coincide with the opening day of the Steamboat Ski Area. This is the clubs second season. New this season is their Discovery Membership.
The Discovery Membership offers full access to the club and all of its amenities for the entire 2009/2010 season, benefits include:

• Valet Parking
• Ski Storage & Ski Valet Service
• Private Lockers & Boot Dryers
• Luxurious, Private Members Lounge with Full Bar
• Complimentary Breakfast & Espresso Bar
• Private Lunch & Apres Ski Dining
• $1,000 Club Credit (if you sign up before December 15th)

Join the club for the 2009/2010 ski season for only $4500. Sign up before December 15th, 2009 and receive a $1000 Club Credit, sign up before January 15th, 2010 and receive a $500 Club Credit (Club Credits are good for purchases of food and beverages in the Club).
If you need more information please give us a call or send us an email.

Colorado Group Realty Debuts New Website

Colorado Group Realty recently launched our new website at www.mybrokers.com.
"The new CGR website manages to retain the friendly look-and-feel that our clients associate with Colorado Group, but its functionality has been greatly enhanced. The new search features allow you to slice-and-dice your search information the way you like it, store favorites, and even be sent an email when a new listing that matches your criterion comes on the market. The mortgage calculator, quickly calculates how you can finance the property you are viewing" explains one of our website committee members. New features at mybrokers.com include: A new property search tool that allows searches by subdivision and map. The user may save their searches and receive emails on new listings. The twelve geographic areas that make up Yampa Valley real estate are highlighted, and allow the user to search $100,000 or $500,000 properties with just one click. In addition to the Steamboat Pilot webcam on Colorado Group Realty’s downtown office roof, 4 new webcams have been added. Now when visiting a broker bio page, you may play a video of the broker introducing themselves. Lastly, sold property reports can be found on 8 different areas, presented by the month.
Many of the features from the previous mybrokers.com have remained: Information about the Colorado Group Realty Charitable Foundation, the Steamboat Springs Real Estate Roundup & Expo, broker bio pages, the popular blog. The viewer can also find the Smart Buyers Guide, 2009 Mid Year Statistics and the 2009 Annual Report.
“We know that our clients have come to rely on Colorado Group Realty for easy to find and up to date real estate information. We feel that our new website delivers in both of these areas. The introduction of video clips into the site, allows you to actually see and hear from our brokers” said Bart Kounovsky, Chief Operating Officer.

Downtown Halloween Stroll Draws Big Crowds

Children and adults of all ages loved the beautiful weather and trick-or-treating at the Downtown Halloween Stroll. The streets were closed and filled with thousands of people enjoying this fun community event.