San Juans = Snowboarding Heaven

  This e-blast  from the Pagosa Springs Town Tourism Committee hit my Q a few days ago indicating that Wolf Creek has done it again…The Most Snow In The Nation! Many times the biggest hurdle between me and a day of riding is getting there due to avalanche control. In the words of the great Poo…bother.

Never the less it is always worth it. Just to give you a little taste of our area’s powder I have put up this little Youtube ditty featuring some of the local talent. I saw it posted on my Facebook trail last night. (Thank you Dave Liebson)  For reference this bowl is less than a mile from Wolf Creek Ski area on the Pagosa Springs side of the divide.

 

DISCLAIMER-PagosaReGuy or any said affiliate shall not be held liable for any mis-representation of facts or footage associated with this posting. Furthermore any damage incurred to PC Mac or any other viewing device from drooling, spitting or all around loosing it shall not be the responsibility of PagosaReGuy.

BootJack Ranch #7 on World’s Most Expensive Homes list.

I picked up this headline this morning through my RSS reader-World’s Most Expensive Homes 2008

BootJack Ranch, tucked into the base of WolfCreek Pass, made the list at #7.

Click here to read more

Wolf Creek opens it’s 2008 Season Saturday

Pagosa Daily Post reports-

Wolf Creek Ski Area, east of Pagosa Springs atop Wolf Creek Pass, will be opening this Saturday, November 8 for the 2008-2009 Wolf Creek is reporting an all natural base of 14 inches with 10 inches of new snow from the current storm and …Read More

Or go to the Wolf Creek web site. 

 

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Pagosa Springs by Danny Oertli

2008 Mountain Chili Cha Cha…found on the economic trail map

  I met a stranger for the last time for lunch yesterday. Ed Furtawapproached me about helping him with

an on-line presense for issues dear to my heart which I do not have time to go into today. (But stay tuned).

I say I met a stranger for the last time, because after spending just a few minutes with Ed and his wife Gail, i felt that we could enjoy each other’s company for a long time to come.

One of the major points of discussion was the 3rd annaul Mountain Chili Cha Cha that will take place here in Pagosa Springs on September 27′th of this year. The Mountain Chili Cha Cha is just one of the

Many events that will be formulated to promote comerse in the middle of our paradise…Pagos Springs.

Mtn Chili Cha Cha

Here is an excerpt from GECKO, the brainchild of Morgan Murri, where you can find out more about the competitions.

Challenging & beautiful fall trail run. $1,000 prize purse.

15 mile: 2 loops (map), 7 mile (map), 3 mile (map), Trail Race. Up, down and around Reservoir Hill in Pagosa Springs, Co.

All runs begin and end in Town Park, down town Pagosa Springs, Co.

The 3 mile run will include approximately 50% trail and 50% road running. It also includes an abrupt climb early in the run for about ½ mile.

The 7 mile run is a challenging loop, with more than 700’ of climbing. The course consists of approximately 1.5 miles of paved road, the balance being trail; ranging from dirt road…read more

Wolf Creek Village Road constructioin

I got to sneak away to the Continental Divide trail a few days back. It was an amazing but short trip

The Divide

with a handful of friends backpacking and flicking our rods at the high mountain Brook Trout in Spruce Lakes.

As we were making our way out, the last 3 miles gave us a small glimpse of a piece of land that has been a hotbed of discussion for several years. I saw, to my surprise, some heavy equipment operators working on what appeared to be a road in and around the area that has been proposed as the possible future site of “The Village at Wolf Creek”.

I could tell you about my findings but I will point you to an article in the Durango Herald that will bring you up to date on what is happening in our beloved San Juans.

Joe Hanel of The Durango Herald says it better than me.

The “Village” dream at Wolf Creek lives on

The settlement’s terms are secret, but developer Bob Honts said Tuesday that owners of the ski area and the village “have amicably resolved all their differences in this settlement.”

Honts “absolutely” intends to build the village, despite a series of legal defeats this year.

Read More

Elk hunting and real estate investing- the 3 P’s

Fall-my favorite time of year. I don’t know why it strikes me so strongly. I think maybe it is from boyhood memories of growing up in the South. The autumn temperature drop was accompanied  with an acute degrading of moisture content in the air. This was a very welcomed change. Along with the Fall change came the preperation for hunting season, a ritual that I still participate in though I live in a different place and time.

   As I paid my dues in the forest this year, my mind wandered to the disciplines involved in this endeavor known as big game hunting. Remarkably they are very applicable to many things in life. One of which is real estate investing.

So as my “Tribute to the hunt” (and my nod to the myriad of southern license plates affixed to an army of camoflaged 4×4’s) here are  3 principles that both successful  hunters and real estate investors have in common:

Preparation-

 Preparing to spend several days in the mountains of Colorado can not be pulled off without a little forsight. What will the weather be like? What is the best altitude for the type of game we are after this time of year? How far will we be from a good water source? You wouldn’t go into the hunt without adequately addressing these and a hundred other issues. As one begins the process of looking for investment real estate purchases many thing have to be considered. What EXACTLY is the economic tempo of a given real estate market? I don’t mean what is the media spewing, I mean what are the most current sales records conveying? Has the time-line of sales been studied for a specific neighborhood with seasonal adjustments made? There are factors at hand that are best spoken to by professional real estate brokers who live, eat and breath a specific market. They are excellent sources of information when it comes to preparing for investment purchases.

Planning-

Without a plan for Elk hunting in the mountains around Pagosa Springs, you will be just as effective sitting on the couch at LaTazza. (O.K. lame comparison. I happen to be writing this from there, it was the first thing that came into my mind.) To successfully get into harvest range of game you can’t just have a plan, you have to have plan A through F.- Virtually an  alphabet soup of back-up plans. In real estate investing having the proper plan to fit your desires is essential. What type of financing works best? Should you finance locally or elsewhere? What is you exit strategy should things change for you? As a real estate professional, these are the kind of questions that I field on a daily basis. It pays to have someone help you plan strategically for your real estate investments. Someone who can help you hatch a plan that is specific to you and your desires.

Patience-

 Wait for daylight, wait for the wind to change, wait for the rain to stop, wait for the right animal, wait for the right shot. The opportunities for increasing patience in the world of hunting are endless. Without the proper patience failure is in-evadable. It is no different with real estate purchases. Speaking from experience, ( and not a pleasant one) lacking patience will hurt you. It hurts in your wallet, it hurts in your intellect, emotions and spirit. Being patient also means having “patient” money. This is advice that you won’t get from all mortgage or real estate professionals. What I mean is if you are not buying with cash, are you able to hold the note for a long enough period of time? Banking on the “maybe” is a tough gamble in this line of business. Make sure you can withstand the weather if the winds  change. I have spent too many hours this year consoling sellers who are “just trying to get out” because they were not allowed the luxury of patience due to a squeeze in the budget after their real estate purchases.

 I have a few men that I owe much to in the realm of hunting wisdom and knowledge. I could have never been as successful without their input and guidance. How did they get so good? Experience. Real estate investing is no different. We are experiencing a fantastic time to buy investment property in Pagosa Springs right now. Go for it. Just remember the basic disciplines. If you are new to the investing world, enlist the guidance of a real estate professional that you can trust. Then one day you can pass on the wisdom and learned disciplines to someone else.

Pagosa Real Estate- The REAL real estate picture

There is a lot of negative press around the country right now concerning the real estate market. I know that human nature desires to hear the extreme news, so that’s what the media is going to provide. I personally am a little tired of hearing about it, so I am choosing to spread a little “thumbs up cheer” about the whole situation. Fortunately for me , I have the opportunity to help people purchase and sell real estate in a wonderful place that has numerous positive aspects, so that makes it easy. Here are a few reasons that I know Pagosa Springs Colorado is a good real estate investment:

The national economy is in really good shape:

Interest rates are at incredible lows and are moving downward. The 30 year fixed rate is at 6.45% and the 15 year comes in at 6.12%. National job growth is strong. According to Whitehouse.gov our country has added jobs for 47 straight months, and the unemployment rate hovers at an impressive 4.6%. Americans on average have 7% more buying power than they did in 2003. These are far better numbers than many of you have encountered at any given time during the past 30 years.

Pagosa’s geographical boundaries:

We live in a county that has about 66% national forest and public land. Let me put it another way. Name a city. Denver, Houston, Boston or wherever. Suppose we took a big imaginary marker and made 66% of any of these places national forest. Not just any national forest, one with unparalleled snow fall, topography, annual sunshine, amazing rnivers, trails, abundant wildlife and fish. Would that increase the land value of the remaining residential and commercial parcels? Simple economics tell us it would. The argument to this is “Pagosa will never have that density.” My future-predictor works about as well as yours does so I don’t know. However, I challenge you to spend some time with a resident or two that has lived here for 25 years or more. Ask them if they thought that McDonald’s would ever be in Pagosa in the 80’s! Talk to them about the progression of Aspen or Vail and you may come away with a different perspective.

The numbers don’t lie:

 Looking at the median sales price of residential, single family, stick framed homes in the past 6 years shows the trend line. Real estate markets, just like everything in life, have a cyclical flow. The median price of homes sold in 2001 was $175,000 while the same look at 2007 to date gives us a price of $277,500. That is a 58.6% increase in 6 years or about 9.8% per year. Not a bad investment on the whole.

Hey, it’s Pagosa Springs!:

Ask yourself one question. Why do you live or vacation in Pagosa Springs? When you find the real answer you will see that the attraction that brought you to our wonderful town has not, and will not ever change. Surroundings, location, climate, recreation opportunities, topography and culture. That is the draw…THAT is the value.

 

A little walk to the point.

I awoke to 2 pokes in the ribs this morning. “If your going hunting, you’d better get up” my lovely Rachel said. “My alarm didn’t go off. ” I replied. “Twice already, you keep hitting snooze.” she said. A little sleep deprivation is making me crazy I guess.

  I just wanted to check out a local area that I am not familiar with. I thought the wind would not be right for a morning hunt, but I wanted to scout the draw to see if there was game for a future evening venture. I was right on 2 accounts. The wind was not right…but there is elk in the area.

   Soaking wet from shoulders down (we had a lot of rain last night) and satisfied that this is a good area to invest some time in later…what to do now?

   The sun was just coming up and I looked behind me to view Pordonia Peak. I still had good energy, I needed to test my recently sprained ankle…why not? What is that old saying? ” Why did the man climb the mountain?” “Because it was there” of course. This was the kind of mood I was in.

  You know it is the simple things in life that make it rich.  As I hiked and climbed my thoughts turned to my family and then my Creator. I found it a great time to pray and talk to my Father. There was confession, there was laughter, there were tears shed and burdens lifted. I realized that with the struggles of business, and the woes of family there are always a few things that remain solid. My God and His Sovereignty, His truth and precepts, His Love and Mercy…and Justice.

   Wow what a morning of simple reflection and rejuvenation. I cherish these times above most, and wonder how anyone who does not know the truth, manage to function with any level of sanity.

   And to think, I almost overslept!