Random thoughts, photos and rants woven together make a fine tapestry or so I'd like to think.. a blog. I've been selling real estate in Colorado long enough it is a strong part of me. Sharing knowledge about my trade along with the beauty of Colorado through photos is my way of attracting those who appreciate the same things. I enjoy sharing, hopefully that joy shines through.Tornadoes Touchdown
Last night Larry announced he was going up to the top of the ridge because there was a tornado watch in Douglas County. Of course I wasn’t going to let him have all that fun alone, so I grabbed the camera bag and joined him.
On the way to I-25 he decided it would be a good idea to fill up the gas tank, since it was registering empty. As much as I hated to waste time, we stopped for fuel. Running out of gas while storm chasing or worse being chased by a storm would be a real bummer!
As we pulled into the Conoco in Lone Tree, we saw it.
A long tall skinny funnel cloud was touching the ground just to the SE of us. It was huge. Yes, it was a real tornado!
I fumbled around grasping for my Canon while watching in awe and surprise.
Last time I saw a tornado in Douglas County, I didn’t even know I was watching one. It was a big, black nasty square cloud, not a neat, trim funnel. Today’s tornado was a classic. There was no wondering what it was.
Luckily but at the same time disappointing, the funnel dissipated into thin air. Gone.
I never got time to snap a shot. Darn!
When the gas tank filled up, we took of to Surrey Ridge to hang out and see if we could spot another one. The clouds were swirling and churning, but the real show was over. The temperature had dropped 30 degrees and the elements that create a tornado were gone.
We weren’t the only storm chasers on the road. There were many others out taking in the views. The most interesting and scary were the news helicopters in the air. I would love to have a seat in one of them…what a bird’s eye view.
Maybe in my next life…
Enjoy the storm chaser photos, but keep in mind this really isn’t “normal” for Colorado. We aren’t known as tornado alley!
Visit this link to learn more about Tornado Safety.
-
- News Copters were everywhere!
Denver Welcomes the DNC
Downtown Denver is welcoming the delegates, candidates, media and others to the city tonight. Not wanting to miss
out on the scene, we took a drive tonight before the street closures are to begin.
A stranger to the city with no prior knowledge of the event would not remain in the dark for long. The city is bustling with people, and most obvious the police force. They are out patrolling in cars, on foot, on mountain bikes, and motorcycles. Every block is covered, not by one or two officers but groups all decked out with riot gear.
I hope they don’t get to use it.
In the effort to secure the venues, fences are now surrounding
Fences now surround the venues. It’s so sad to have to obscure the beauty. Of course some delightful soul placed a few dozen red and white roses on the fence, turning an eyesore into art of a sort. Now if someone could just paint those big monster dump trucks blocking the entrance the view would be further improved!
-
- The Blogger Tent
-
- Pepsi Center behind chain link fence
-
- Colorado Convention Center
-
- Police on Mountain Bikes
-
- Democratics in a window display
-
- Welcome To Denver DNC!
To our very special visiting guest, I hope you enjoy your stay while having the time of your life. Please look beyond the security mess and know you are probably in the safest place on earth this week.
Rocky Mtn. Balloon Festival
Once again summer is nearing an end and the Rocky Mountain Balloon Festival comes to Chatfield. Beginning Friday,
August 21, 2008 for 3 days this colorful and fun festival will offer live music, a car show and other activities throughout the day. Vendors are present to sell food, refreshments and of course souvenors of the event.
The Event starts early, 6:30 - 8:00 a.m. with a Media Mass Ascension Flight. Saturday at dusk is a wonderful “Lites in the Nite” balloon illumination. By the way the Festival is free, but to enter Chatfield State Park there is a $7 fee, unless of course you have a Colorado State Parks Pass.
Mark you calendar now, I’ll see you in the park!
Donkeyization of Denver
Ever since the DNC announced Denver as the 2008 location for the Democratic National Convention, a Paul Revere-like mantra has been running through my mind.
“The Democrats are coming! The Democrats are coming!”
Oddly enough my good friend Teresa Boardman who sells St. Paul Real Estate has a similar issue. The opposition Republican Party is meeting in her town. Teresa, also known for her wonderful photography posted a photo entitled “The Elephantization of St. Paul” thus providing inspiration for this post.
The past months leading up to date have been filled with a flurry of planning, much like the pre-prepartation for that hallowed mother-in-law’s visit, Denver has been cleaning, planning preparing and fretting. The Democratic National Convention in size is not a large convention, but it’s the reality of having the world’s eye focus on our beautiful mile-high town that has everyone at attention.
I must say, last week I was downtown and it is looking very nice! The flowers are in full bloom, the red, white and blue banners are hanging fresh to welcome visitors. Obviously all the fretting and planning is paying off.
I had to chuckle at the news piece last night, a local beauty salon donated their services to groom the homeless. Obviously someone somewhere feels a need to beautify even our unsolvable unsightly homeless problem even if only for a few days.
The only tension it seems comes from the obligatory protest groups who seem to follow limelight where ever they can steal it. They and the local police are bound to tangle sooner or later. I wonder what the purpose other than to make trouble for trouble’s sake? It seems to me the effort would be better spent on making a difference in a positive way, think gandi or Mandela. Just saying…
Transportation issues are of concern to the locals, many who will need to get to work each day as normal. Mayor Hickenlooper has committed to making the trip much the same as normal, but that remains to be seen! Lucky for us there will be 1000 FREE bicycles available to those who are slick enough to sign up quick. Humana and Bikes Belong are bringing the bikes to Denver and then on to the Twiin Cities the following weeks.
I’ve toured cities all over the world via bike. As far as I’m concerned seeing a city from the seat of a bicycle offers more interesting reward than any other sort of transportation. Besides getting you there quicker you work up a worthy appetite! Considering all the food carts on the street and restaurants stocked with the finest food available, a hearty appetite is a good thing!
DNC Convention Activities
Aside from the normal Colorado sight seeing activities always available to visitors, many other special activities have been planned. A traveling exhibition that promises an interesting and educational time for young and old is the nonpartisan American Presidential Experience . Visitors will be able to view a replica of Air Force One, look through the window of the Presidential Limousine or sit at the desk in the Oval Office.
The Green Frontier Fest begins the day prior to the Democratic convention, at Sculpture Park on the west side of the Denver Performing Arts Complex, Speer side. There will be a farmers’ market, displays on renewable technologies and ways to protect the environment at home.
There will be several Green Tours highlighting renewable energy during the convention.
DNC Mementos
There will be no shortage of souvenirs to stuff into the suitcase home. My favorite so far is the Dems Do Denver collection of goodies presented by Denver artists. Be sure to take a peek at the darling Donkeys in typical Denver activities. They are all so cute, it’s hard to pick just one favorite! They can be ordered online or purchased in person at the Tattered Cover in Lodo or on Colfax.
The last time Denver hosted the Democratic National Convention was in 1908, 100 years ago. At that time the highlight of the convention was when loads of snow was hauled in from the mountains for the delegates to enjoy a snowball fight.
Somehow I think that was just another way to let off steam, perhaps we should outfit the delegates and the demonstrators with a few tons of Colorado’s finest powder and let them have at each other…
May the best donkey win!
Walk Score
These days more and more home buyers contact me with the goal of buying a home in a walkable neighborhood. Most don’t ask me in those terms, usually they say they want to buy a home in an area where they can walk to a restaurant, park and the bus stop. Sometimes buyers need these amenities close by because they prefer not to drive, can’t drive or they are committed to using only one car in a two or more driver family!
No matter how they ask I hear “walkable neighborhood.” Lucky for us some brilliant people have put together a website that actually has a way to measure the “walkability” of many metro neighborhoods. Ha! Where do these people come up with these ideas!
Getting a Walk Score is just as easy as inputting the address, waiting a few seconds and walla! There’s your score along with all the attractions/amenities on a Google map for you to see! How easy is that?
What makes a neighborhood walkable?
According to Walk Score a neighborhood should have a “center.” It needs to be have “density” or a compact composition in order to support public transportation and enough local businesses to stay in business. There should be a diverse cross-section of incomes providing housing across all levels. Parks and public space are also very important to provide places to play and congregate. Naturally the neighborhood needs to be “foot friendly”. If you can’t walk safely on a sidewalk, it just isn’t going to work!
I don’t know about you, but a place like this sounds very appealing to me. How the people who invented lay out the scores is beyond me.
Is there a downside?
Probably! As much as I am excited about having an easy method for measuring a home’s walk score, I can’t imagine it being the sole reason for purchasing a home or not…
Just for grins I input a home I have listed in Denver’s City Park. This home is located one block from the entrance to the City Park Golf Course. Now this may not be an exciting feature for everyone, ask a golfer and I will guarantee they will agree, this location is awesome.
Well the Walk Score people only gave my listing a score of 52! I suspect golf course homes don’t rate extra points! Boo!
OK, I won’t contest, but I would like to encourage any golfer out there who is interested in buying a nice urban Denver home close to a golf course, Denver City Park, Denver Zoo and a few minutes from downtown Denver to give me a call!
Operators are standing by! (yes LIVE operators!)
Denver Real Estate ~ What’s selling?
Each month since April 2008 our sold statistics get better. Homes are selling, in fact we are selling more homes this year than last. No we aren’t tearing up the charts, but improvement however modest is good.
Below is a compilation of the sold stats for one week in July for both 2008 and 2007.
Sold Numbers for the Week of July 7, 2008
Average metro - area home sales prices
|
County |
Sales |
Average |
Same Week |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Adams |
174 |
$202,375 |
171 |
|
Arapahoe |
191 |
$281,709 |
210 |
|
165 |
$349,394 |
140 |
|
|
20 |
$328,630 |
45 |
|
|
367 |
$270,680 |
234 |
|
|
Douglas |
197 |
$369,036 |
180 |
|
Jefferson |
115 |
$284,528 |
218 |
|
Total |
1229 |
|
1198 |
If you are interested in learning the statistics for your neighborhood, please contact me.
Beijing 2008 Olympics
Besides selling Denver real estate, photography is my passion. Oddly enough I’ve always loved watching the Olympics, so naturally my dream would be to cover the Olympics as a photographer. hahaha
Well that dream most like won’t ever come true, so instead I live vicariously be following photog blogs. The stories & photos that are emerging are better than the network coverage.
With that said, I’d like to share my sources with you. Please feel free to add your favorites as you find them.
A collection of WordPress Blogs
A Model of Olympic Village made of Legos!
A live Olympic Dashboard ~ Complete with graphs and medal count.
WARNING!
Reading these might clue you in to winners prior to your enjoyment of watching them win! Thanks to the miracle of video.
A funny find! Well it may not be funny for the Chinese. I just hope we never have to deal with a crowded population like this in Denver, Colorado!
Public Transportation
Instead of being attached to the sun visor in the car, the garage door opener now resides in my purse. It’s more convenient there since I’ve been temporarily banned from driving. A simple foot surgery on my accelerator foot is what’s slowing me down. After 10 days of home imprisonment, it was time to for a change of scenery, so I decided to check out public transportation.
Lucky for me and the residents of Lone Tree, we have a cool connection called Call-N-Ride. It’s a nifty little coach that comes to pick up passengers at their front door, with an appointment of course. I called for a personal pick up and within the hour I was boarded and on my way to the Lincoln Station of the RTD Light Rail.
My destination was the Denver Botanic Gardens. I had researched my route online, to confirm there was a bus route (#24) north on University. The bus stop was also conveniently located at the University Station, so all I needed to do was sit and wait.
In a few minutes the #24 came along. As a first-timer on the bus I asked for help. Thinking I needed to pay an additional fee, I discovered my Light Rail ticket entitled me to a transfer at no additional cost. Such a deal, 3 modes of transportation for $3, less than a gallon of gas!
My Saturday experience was pleasant and actually fun. At first I was unsure of what to expect, but each step of the way the drivers of both the bus and coach were friendly and helpful. Actually they went beyond helpful and anticipated my return trip home, providing tips and time lines.
The cost was most reasonable, relative to today’s cost of gasoline it was actually a bargain. The amount of time the trip took also surprised me. I figured I’d be waiting around at a bus stop for much longer than I did. In the end I was only in transit for less than an hour. That’s only about 15-20 minutes longer than the trip would have taken had I driven.
What did I learn? Besides being easy, inexpensive and convenient, the RTD system is a pleasant way to travel. When the opportunity arises, I will use it again. Beyond that, I now can attest to buyers moving into Denver that our Public Transportation System is first class.
NOTE: Call-n-Ride offers curb to curb service in the Metro Denver Communities of Arapahoe, Aurora, Brighton, Broomfield, Dry Creek, Evergreen, Gateway, Highlands Ranch, Interlocken/Westmoor, Longmont, Lousiville, Meridian, North Inverness, Orchard, Parker, South INverness, South Thornton, Northglenn, Superior, and Thornton/Northglenn.
Now about the Botanic Gardens…
Take a virtual tour of what I saw at the Denver Botanic Gardens as seen through my viewfinder.
FHA Downpayment Assistance
The financial industry is in a flux, each day there seems to be changes in guidelines, new rules, and other issues to make finding a home loan more difficult. The latest from one of my lender consultants is this:
FHA Seller Down Payment Assistance ENDS soon. If you have cash-strapped buyers who’ve been “waiting” for the bottom of the real estate market, the time is now! I’d be happy to speak with you or your buyers to educate them about their options, but this program was eliminated by the legislation passed this week. I have seen several marketing pieces from the DPA programs suggesting that new legislation will be passed to restore DPA–do not be mislead by these solicitations, the same legislators that introduced, ran and passed the bill to eliminate the program are the ones who introduced the new bill to restore it!
I agree, if you are home buyer who is “sitting on the fence” waiting to purchase, now is a good time to reconsider your options. The Denver metro market has been seeing strength in values, days on market and a lessening of inventory every month since April 2008. This might mean we “hit bottom” in April. Time will tell, but the longer one waits the more likely they will be buying on the “upswing.”
First time buyers who are counting on receiving Seller Downpayment Assistance…Act now! If you have questions about the Denver real estate market, home financing or real estate in general, please call me.
I welcome your call!
Colorado Living
Between work, traveling for work and my recent foot surgery, I’ve been very lax in posting to the blog. Just so everyone knows, I’m still alive and kickin!
Last Sunday we took a drive to the mountains where I got some great mountain flower shots. To find this scene, take I-70 to the top of Vail Pass. Exit and follow the road over Shrine Pass. You will be delighted by the many changing mountain scenes. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Here’s one…
Living in Colorado has it’s rewards. 
This site brought to you by Kristal Kraft, a licensed Colorado Real Estate Broker