Why we love Durango!

by Shaheen Hangval, Buyer Specialist at Blue Ribbon Properties:

"What is so special about Durango?," my family asked me after I told them I had decided to move to from a big city to a small mountain town. Growing up in a large city in Texas, I had acquired many "city life" comforts, why all of a sudden was I drawn to a small Colorado town?

The first time I experienced Durango was when I was driving through on a road trip to California with a dear friend. It was late and we needed to stop and rest. "We'll stay at cheap motel once we get to the next town" suggested my friend. As we turned down the winding road, the town lights of Durango popped out of the town nestled between the surrounding hillsides. "Wow, this must be Durango". We stopped at what seemed like one of the most affordable motels to get a good nights rest. In the morning we got a wake up call at 8:00am and were asked if we wanted to get on the 9:00 free raft ride through town. "What?! Free rafting with a cheap hotel stay? Sure!" The next thing you know we are enjoying an adventure down the Animas river and we hadn't even had breakfast yet. The first lesson I learned about Durango was if you are here, adventure will find you. One year later I was an official Durango resident.

The memories I have acquired in the 6 years I have been in Durango are full of wonderful friendships and great adventures. There is a strong sense of community for all ages. It seems as though any time you have a question or need a hand there is always someone right there ready to help.

Outdoor activities have always interested me and Durango offers a wide variety of options year round. There are paved walking trails along the Animas river that runs through town and miles of mountain biking and hiking trails up by the college. In the summer, all ages and lifestyles can enjoy the river. Here you will see families in rafts riding along extreme kayakers and in the low season you will see people in inner tubes soaking up the sun. In winter you can snowboard or ski at the resort that is only 25 miles from town or snowshoe on the hiking trails. Snowmobiling or cross country skiing is also accessible. Sledding is also a favorite past time of mine, all you need is a little hill with snow on it and a cardboard box!

Geographically the four corners area is truly unique. If you need a change of scenery, like mountains to desert, it's not too far away. The town is only 4 miles across which makes commuting a breeze. It's only a short car ride anywhere in town, fun bike ride, accessible walk or bus ride. We are also known for our wide variety of restaurants from steakhouses to middle eastern cuisine. Fun events like the Film Festival, Taste of Durango and Tour De Fat are celebrated in Durango each year. There is plenty of entertainment and food even for a "city girl" like myself.

Being in real estate I see all types of people with different interests coming and going here.
I have seen Durango draw the young and adventurous, people getting ready to retire, ambitious students beginning a college career, families and single business professionals.
Even coming from a large city, I know everything I need right now in my life is already here. I love this town, this community and all of the adventure that comes with it.

Shaheen Hangval
shaheen@blueribbondurango.com

Time to be postitive! It's a great time to be in Durango

There are scores and scores of bad news out there, it can be downright depressing. Things are not so bad and to send you off into the weekend on a positive note I will give you a link to an optimistic article by Bob Kunkel in the Herald. Yes, it's a few months old (from December) but still true. Here are my favorite reasons, I think they all mean increased tourism/second home/lifestyle choice buyers.

1. Airport arrivals and lodging nights increased.
2. Durango has a real prospect of a first-class conference and events center.
3. Durango was selected as a top 10 holiday season town by HGTV.
What a great time to be in Durango and to be optimistic.

Article - Many Reasons to be Optimistic in Durango


Claudia

Durango - on Foreclosures and such ...

If you read the Durango Herald this morning you will know that one of the first page headlines reads:

Foreclosures in county hit record high

The headline sounds horrific, you read on and realize that it could be a whole lot worse. We had 1 in about 762 homes foreclose in La Plata Country, which is about 10 times less than average for Colorado. Here's the link to the Durango Herald website: Click here for the article.

And here's my 5 cents worth on this topic:

Of the 148 foreclosure filings last year only 26 actually went to sale, and I don't know how many of the 26 went to a private buyer or one of the lenders. For buyers that means there aren't a whole lot of properties actually for sale on the auction block. The majority of them get taken over before they go to auction. They do hit the market, usually the lender will list them with a local realtor, bookmark this page, I will give you a summary of bank owned homes and homes priced like foreclosed and bank owned homes on a regular basis.

Now, if you are a struggling homeowner worried about going into foreclosure, if you are behind on your payments or in hardship in any other way, there are lots of options for you now. First, a quick disclosure, I'm a licensed real estate agent, not an attorney or accountant, but I can give you some numbers and website to call and look at for information before you sign anything or do anything:

Colorado Foreclosure Hotline (free legal advice)
http://www.coloradoforeclosurehotline.org/
1-877-601-HOPE

Strategy to stall foreclosures (I don't have any experience with this so don't know if it's for real)
Ask the Bank to "Produce the original of the note"
Video of TV Clip on this Strategy

Good luck to you struggling home owners. Call me to discuss options for selling your home, if you like.

For you home buyers, subscribe to this blog for notifications of foreclosures, bank owned properties, short sales opportunities, or just homes priced like foreclosures.

Have a good weekend. Got to our website to search the local MLS: www.blueribbondurango.com


Claudia Williams

The Scoop on Durango - The birth of...

Hi, my name is Claudia Williams and I am the owner/broker here at Blue Ribbon Properties in beautiful Durango, Colorado. This is my first time blogging, so please bear with me. I hope to provide anyone interested with fun and interesting information on Durango, not just real estate related.

Let me start by telling you a bit about my company. We are an independent full service brokerage with 7 agents and are located in downtown Durango’s Main Mall at 835 Main Ave #214. We love working with buyers and sellers, are local, enthusiastic, experienced, small and personal and always strive to be professional, flexible, creative and effective. That’s enough marketing talk for now, you’ll get to meet us by following our publishings here at “THE SCOOP”.

Durango, Colorado is one of the best places to live on Earth. Great weather, sunny days, breath taking scenery, and artistic flair are just a few of Durango's hallmarks. Durango is the best place to live.

Look for posts on these topics in the next few weeks:

Real Estate Statistics – we’ll try to make it interesting by following the sales/ under contracts each week to give you a glimpse into what is happening in our market

Weekly Hot Real Estate Picks by Claudia – I will pick and share with you 3 properties that are or are priced like bank owned homes / foreclosures and I will tell you why…

Why we love Durango – by Shaheen (one of our Buyer’s specialist)

The Stimulus Package, deals for Buyers and Sellers, not just but also the 1st time home buyer tax credit

Foreclosures, Short Sales, Tips for struggling homeowners

Info on lenders, mortgages, seller financing and other creative ideas and trends in the financial world, can’t buy or sell without the financial part in place! Is it time to refinance?

Our ramblings on current market conditions. Has the market hit bottom? What drives housing cycles? Is this relevant for Durango?

The time to by is now and how to take advantage of this opportunity of a lifetime, and why this statement will surely start an argument.

See you online.

Claudia Williams

Search our MLS at:

blueribbondurango.com