Also, our town is a big hit! In 2011 Durango was once again in the national spotlight! Here is a summary of what the Durango Herald published about us: Click Here for the Article

* Best Places to Live 2011 and Best Place to Put Your OutdoorLife First – Men’s Journal

* Top Micropolitan Area in the US – Politicom

* Top Ten Western Towns – True West Magazine

* Top 200 Town in the US – Outdoor Life Magazine

* Top 10 “Life is Better Here” Town and “Next Big Thing” – Outside Magazine

* Colorado’s Secret Stashes – Ski Magazine

* Durango selected as the start of the prestigious US Pro Cycling Challenge - Click Here for the Article

What sold this past week?

17 properties sold in Durango, Colorado and area over the last week, that’s 5 more than last week. Some really good deals – check it out.

Click Here for Sold Listings

New Durango Real Estate Listings this week:

There are 38 new listings this week. That’s 6 more than last week!

Click Here for New Listings

Bankowned Listings (REO):

Due to continuing interest we are including REO property, which means “Real Estate Owned” in bank-lingo, in other words, bankowned properties, or foreclosed properties after the foreclosure process is completed. The bank/lender now owns the property. They are typically sold at a discount, hence the popularity! Please follow this link to our foreclosure page on our website. It shows all active bankowned and foreclosure listings in the area and is continually updated. Bookmark it and visit it often! Or email us, info@blueribbondurango.com to get set up for automatic email notifications on new bankowned listings!

Click here for Foreclosures & Bankowned Homes in the Durango & Surrounding Areas

 And Back by Popular demand – the Market Snapshot – Free and Instant Home Valuations! A cool map based comparable report that shows new listings and sales comparables to your house, for sellers or buyers.   Sign up by clicking here. Or go to Durangohousevalues.com. You’ll love it!

Be sure to LIKE Blue Ribbon Properties on Facebook!

Get the current market situation and find out what your home is worth. Sign up for the market snapshot here

Disclaimer – these links and information are based on the Durango local multi listing service. While all information is deemed accurate there are no guarantees. Does not include for sale by owners or foreclosure properties that are not listed on the MLS.

Book Review: ‘The Smartest Money Book You’ll Ever Read: Everything You Need to Know About Growing, Spending and Enjoying Your Money’ Author: Daniel R. Solin

Today’s post-recession, pro-consumer, anti-bank zeitgeist reflects a dramatic sea change in the world of personal finance advice. Gone are the days when the cable TV pundits whose eyes bulge as they holler hysterics about what, when and whether to buy, sell or hold are taken seriously as anything but entertainment.

All the rules of thumb (e.g., owning a home is good) have been revised and nuanced (e.g., owning a home is good if X, Y and Z, but renting makes more sense if A, B and C).

And there’s also been a sea change in how this advice is delivered. Instead of a once-weekly column in the local paper by a financial writer, these days there is a steady stream — flood, even — of advice-blog posts written by actual financial advisers and delivered in short, simple chunks right-sized for today’s shrunken attention spans.

Daniel R. Solin is one such expert/blogger, and uses the same pithy style, linking to complementary online resources as he does in his advice columns on HuffingtonPost.com and USNews.com in his new book, “The Smartest Money Book You’ll Ever Read: Everything You Need to Know About Growing, Spending and Enjoying Your Money.”

Here are four of Solin’s smartest financial do’s and don’ts:

1. Don’t try to play the market. Solin practically pleads with readers not to base their housing or stock market investment decisions on their guesses as to whether the market will rise or fall, and when.

On real estate, Solin says to get aggressive about building equity by making conservative mortgage decisions and extra payments, when possible, rather than trying to sell at the top of the market and buy at the bottom.

And when it comes to the stock market, Solin exhorts readers: “Don’t just do something — stand there!” Solin repeatedly cites historical evidence that simply getting and staying in the market yields better results in the long term than what he calls “hyperactive” investing.

2. Do consider other options to a reverse mortgage to access fast cash in retirement. “Smartest” offers loads of Solin’s advice for retirees whose portfolios, plans and bottom lines have been adversely affected by the recession.

Rather than seeing a costly, legacy-draining reverse mortgage as their first resort for access to large amounts of cash, Solin first cautions retirees to get serious about whether anything but health, food and shelter are truly needs vs. wants (note: helping your children is not a need, in his book) and lists a number of more attractive, but less commonly considered options for accessing cash, including a “regular” home refinance or loan against a 401(k) or cash value life insurance policy.

3. Don’t confuse salespeople for financial advisers. Calling the investment industry “friend and foe,” Solin points out the sobering truth that 95 percent of actively managed funds fail to equal or beat their market indexes, yet the fees for investing in actively managed funds tend to be several times more expensive than for index funds, eroding whatever returns investors in active funds do attain.

Solin urges readers to be aware of the difference between an investment broker, who he says is more accurately described as a salesperson; and a financial adviser, who can take a look at your life and your money and help you set goals, pick low-fee investments, rebalance your portfolio, manage your tax exposure and manage your emotions.

Solin recommends that readers put together a trusted team including an estate planning attorney, a certified public accountant (CPA), and fee-only (i.e., not commission-based) investment and insurance advisers.

4. Do shop around. Solin likens our monthly income and expenses to our body’s metabolism. In the same way we gain weight over the years by consuming calories on autopilot, we can lose cash by having our insurance, investment and other expenses auto-debited, making it highly unlikely that we’ll notice when fees and bills rise.

Solin advises checking in on these items at regular intervals, and shopping around to see whether we can find a better deal.

“Smartest” makes a great effort to be comprehensive in terms of covering every area of financial life, but it doesn’t actually go deep enough to be the only book you need. Rather, it is a great start at giving you the rationale for getting motivated to grow up and get serious about your finances, and provides you with a primer and a road map for the work ahead of you.

With 40-plus chapters averaging a couple of pages in length each, “Smartest” feels rather like a collection of Solin’s blog posts; this will leave some readers hungry for more depth and detail, but will certainly appeal to many others who cringe at the density of a more traditional personal finance title.

To its credit, “Smartest” also does a good job of pointing out where you can find tools to execute Solin’s recommendations or learn more about a given subject online, mostly on the wildly popular and free, do-it-yourself money management platform Mint.com.

Generally, “Smartest” is written in plain English — though its approach is a tad bit imbalanced, getting a little bit in the weeds and detailed in the sections of his particular expertise and borderline vague and oversimplified in others.

However, if you are looking to start your proactive financial planning up again, after the trauma of the recession, or if you are just taking control of your finances for the first time, “Smartest” is a smart choice for the starter book you need to put your own personal money train in motion.

Click Here for the Daily Real Estate News Article

By Tara-Nicholle Nelson
Inman News®

–

Claudia Williams
Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor
Blue Ribbon Properties, 835 Main Ave #214, Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office), 970 749 3555 (cell), 970 247 8360 (fax), blueribbondurango.com

Connect with Claudia on facebook, buzztown, twitter, linked in and my blog articles

Be sure to LIKE Blue Ribbon Properties on Facebook!

Check out the New Market Snapshot to monitor the value of your home and get current local market conditions

Season’s  Greetings

This year has brought expansion to Blue Ribbon Properties, we added three new agents welcoming Terry Sadler, Don Ferris and Bill Powell. We’ve expanded into property management in Bayfield, Durango and Farmington area in addition to our continuing premium real estate sales services in Colorado and New Mexico. Sales volume is up and that’s a tentatively strong signal for the upcoming year!

What a turbulent year 2011 has been, another year marked with dramatic changes and challenges. Several of you took advantage of the opportunities in this market, refinanced at historically low interest rates or bought real estate at reduced prices. Others are still waiting in the wings for the right deal to come along, or maybe you are getting frustrated trying to sell your property in a tough market.

Regardless of your position in the real estate market, we continue to see that your need for accurate and up to date information is greater than ever. We continue to pride ourselves on having established our blog as one of Durango’s best sources for real estate statistics! Every Friday we post an update of sales and new listings and we are proud to say that our number of subscribers is steadily increasing.

If you haven’t subscribed to our blog articles, we would like to encourage you to do so at BlueRibbonDurango.com or follow us on Facebook at fb.com/blueribbonproperties.

Overall, the recent activity, coupled with the pent up demand of potential home buyers who haven’t bought in the past few years, leads me to continue to forecast a healthy albeit slow market recovery.

Being the optimist that I am, I can’t help but point out the positive news and real estate market headlines over the past few weeks:

“The U.S. Economy – Finally, Some Positive News”, The Economist, Nov 26, 2011

“an improved outlook for at least the near future is now showing up all over the economic data.“

“Housing in 2012: Things are looking up”, Money Magazine, Dec 2011

“The outlook: Most of the country will see the housing market stabilize, just don’t bet on a big increase in prices.”

“Housing looking better …”, Durango Herald,  Nov 20, 2011

“We’ve recently had some OK local economic news. Real estate appears to be recovering. Builders are feeling confident enough to start spec homes for would-be buyers, and between September and October, foreclosures fell 15 percent. New home permits are trending upward nationally and in Colorado. The National Association of Home Builders reports new home sales rose 5.7 percent last month. Nationwide, home inventory has fallen to about six months, a far cry from the 12-month surplus in 2009. And some believe the pent-up demand of people waiting for a more robust economy, living with family and friends, is about to be unleashed..”

As another year comes to a close we are reminded of just how fortunate we are to have wonderful families and friends, steady business and last but not least we get to live in beautiful Durango and enjoy all the wonderful activities around us. We know that it is the people in our lives that bring real joy and happiness. Together we can overcome anything!

We sincerely value your business and are here to help you with all your real estate needs. If you know anyone who may be thinking about buying, selling or renting, or simply could use information on real estate please do refer them our way. We promise to take excellent care of you and them!

Have a Happy New Year! Here’s to an awesome 2012!

Claudia Williams and the Blue Ribbon Team

Be sure to LIKE Blue Ribbon Properties on Facebook!

Get the current market situation and find out what your home is worth. Sign up for the market snapshot here

What sold this past week?

20 properties sold in Durango, Colorado and area over the last week. That’s 7 more than last week! Some really good deals – check it out.

Click Here for Sold Listings

New Durango Real Estate Listings this week:

There are 22 new listings this week, click here for new listings.

Click Here for New Listings

Bankowned Listings (REO):

Due to continuing interest we are including REO property, which means “Real Estate Owned” in bank-lingo, in other words, bankowned properties, or foreclosed properties after the foreclosure process is completed. The bank/lender now owns the property. They are typically sold at a discount, hence the popularity! Please follow this link to our foreclosure page on our website. It shows all active bankowned and foreclosure listings in the area and is continually updated. Bookmark it and visit it often! Or email us, info@blueribbondurango.com to get set up for automatic email notifications on new bankowned listings!

Click here for Foreclosures & Bankowned Homes in the Durango & Surrounding Areas

And Back by Popular demand – the Market Snapshot – Free and Instant Home Valuations! A cool map based comparable report that shows new listings and sales comparables to your house, for sellers or buyers.   Sign up by clicking here. Or go to Durangohousevalues.com. You’ll love it!

Be sure to LIKE Blue Ribbon Properties on Facebook!

Get the current market situation and find out what your home is worth. Sign up for the market snapshot here

Disclaimer – these links and information are based on the Durango local multi listing service. While all information is deemed accurate there are no guarantees. Does not include for sale by owners or foreclosure properties that are not listed on the MLS.

Go to www.durangofilm.org for schedules and info. Have fun!

Oh – I love referrals! If you know anyone who is thinking about buying or selling, send them my way. I will take excellent care of them. Thanks! Claudia

–
Claudia Williams
Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor
Blue Ribbon Properties
835 Main Ave #214
Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office)
970 749 3555 (cell)
970 247 8360 (fax)
www.blueribbondurango.com

Check out my blog
The Scoop on Durango Real Estate
www.blueribbondurango.com/blog

 CLICK HERE TO READ FULL ARTICLE

In the local Durango market:

What has sold?
17Homes have sold in Durango in the past week.  Homes were priced from $94k-$400k.

-Average list price was $279k     -Average sold price: $259k
-Average Days on market: 215
-Average sold price per square foot from these homes: $216.00
-15 homes were in town, the other 2in rural Durango locations

Click Here to View CMA Presentation
 

How many homes are under contract?

There are currently 71homes in Durango with pending sales.  Listed prices range from $154,000 to $5.7 mil.

25 of these homes are in town.
46 are in rural areas of Durango.

Any New listings?

There are 33 new listings that have posted in the last week. 9 are in town and 24 are in rural areas of Durango. Prices range from $135k-$1.5 mil.

Click here to see new listings

*These statistics are only for Durango in town and rural areas of Durango over the last 7 days.  If you would like statistics on other surrounding areas or specific time frames outside of this criteria, just email or call, we would be happy to send the info your way!

Shaheen Hangval
Broker Associate/EcoBroker with Blue Ribbon Properties

835 Main Ave. Suite # 214
Office: 970-247-8388 Fax: 970-247-8360
Shaheen’s Cell: 970-769-2441

Last week an investor client of mine told me about how her agent in Denver used docusign and how easy it is.  I thought it sounded great so I immediately signed up for it. I’ve done three offers with it and I’m sold (no, I do not work for docusign)! What a great and hassle free way to get all the signatures on all the contracts and pages that we need to get a deal done. It’s a great time saver both for me and clients, you won’t need to sit in the office and wait for all the contracts to be prepared. Just go online anytime and do your signing. And did I mention how green it is? A lot less printing out, just print the documents when all the signatures are on it. Sound complicated? Don’t worry, it’s super easy.

This is how it works: I create a secure digital envelope with all the docs in it, I choose the receivers (by email) and I place these little yellow e-sticky notes on all the spots that need signing or initialing (or additional language if that is needed). The signor, once appoved and signed up on docusign, just clicks on these spots to sign and done. No printing, scanning, faxing etc. Very elegant solution.

Is it legal? I asked myself the same thing and called the Colorado Legal Hotline to double check. Absolutely, they say. Congress signed the esign act in 2000. Docusign signatures are tracked and certified and will hold up in court.

Go Docusign! See a demo at www.docusign.com

It’s especially perfect for those buyers making lots of offers to secure the best Durango real estate deals possible. Call me to try it out, let’s make some offers.

——

Claudia Williams
Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor
Blue Ribbon Properties
835 Main Ave #214
Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office)
970 749 3555 (cell)
970 247 8360 (fax)
www.blueribbondurango.com
Check out my blog
The Scoop on Durango Real Estate
www.blueribbondurango.com/blog

Though conventional wisdom may suggest that consumers are buying fewer environmentally friendly products because of the economic downturn, a new study shows that consumers in the US, UK and Japan actually are placing more emphasis on buying so-called  “green” items than they did before the recession began, according to (***pdf) a survey from Penn, Schoen & Berland and JWT, writes Environmental Leader.
The study shows that the purchase of products now that are environmentally friendly has increased slightly over pre-recession times, going from 15% to 16%, while the purchase of products based on quality, convenience and ethics has decreased:
Moreover, survey respondents expect to buy even more green items once the recession bottoms out:

Price Still Biggest Barrier
Although purchase of “green” products and services continues to grow – potentially because of increasing environmental consciousness – consumers still say price is the biggest barrier to purchasing them. Among US consumers, 35%  share this viewpoint, with corresponding figures of 31% in the UK and 43% in Japan.
Recent research from Generate Insight found that teens say they are passing on green purchases in order to save money, while a different survey from Enviromedia Social Marketing shows that four of five consumers are purchasing green items.
According to a study by the Grocery Manufacturer’s Association and Deloitte, 54% of shoppers consider environmental sustainability characteristics in their buying decisions; however, only 22% actually buy green products on their shopping trips.

If you’re considering upgrading your car, here’s a quick look at what you can expect:

IF you trade in an older car
AND that car gets 18 mpg or less…
AND you purchase or lease a new car that gets at least 22 mpg…
You can qualify for a $3,500 voucher that is applied to the price of the new car.
In addition, you can get an extra $1,000-for a total of $4,500-if you upgrade to a new car that gets 10 mpg better than the old car that you’re trading in.

Want to Upgrade an SUV, Truck or Minivan?

If you’re upgrading an SUV, truck or minivan, the numbers work out a little different:
IF you trade in an older SUV, pickup truck or minivan…
AND that vehicle gets 18 mpg or less…
AND you purchase or lease a new SUV, pickup or minivan that gets at least 2 mpg better gas mileage than the vehicle you’re trading in…
You can qualify for a $3,500 voucher that is applied to the price of the new SUV, truck or minivan.
In addition, the voucher increases to $4,500 if the miles per gallon of the new truck or SUV is at least 5 mpg higher than the old one you’re trading in.

What’s the Catch?

There are a number of provisions that must be met in order to qualify for the incentive. First and foremost, the vehicle that you’re trading in must have been built in the last 25 years-meaning, it’s a 1984 model or newer.
Second, it must only get 18 mpg or worse. Remember, the program is aimed at getting bad-mileage vehicles off the road. So, if your car gets 25 mpg, it’s not the type of car this program is targeting.
Additionally, the vehicle must be drivable, must be registered, and must have been insured for at least the past year. Essentially, you have to actually trade in a vehicle that you’ve been using, as opposed to a dead car that’s been stored on blocks for a couple of years while you tried to figure out what to do with it.

Should You Take Advantage of CARS?

Basically, this program is designed to replace older, less fuel-efficient vehicles with new fuel efficient ones. If your vehicle is fuel efficient, you probably don’t even qualify.

Additionally, if your vehicle has a trade-in value that’s greater than $3,500 or $4,500, the program doesn’t make much sense for you. That’s because the program requires your trade-in to be destroyed, since one goal of the program is to get older, gas-guzzlers off the road for good. That means, the dealership probably won’t add-in much additional trade-in value. In fact, you’ll probably only see a modest bump equal to the approximate scrap value of your vehicle. So, if you can get, say, $5,000 or more for your vehicle as a trade-in without the program, you’re probably better off going that route.

Don’t Wait Too Long to Act

The CARS program is supposed to run until November 1, 2009.UNLESS the funds that Congress set aside for the program run out before then, in which case, it’s all over. So if you’re considering this program, don’t wait too long – contact a dealer about your trade in and which new vehicle you’d like to purchase or lease.

The final rules and details of the program are expected to be released at the end of July. In the meantime, you may want to visit the government’s official CARS website at http://www.cars.gov for more information-including a FAQ page-and to see if your vehicle qualifies for the program.

 
Provided to you Exclusively
by
Julie Cooley
Mortgage Goddess, if you need a loan or need to get pre-approved call Julie.
 
 Julie Cooley
Mortgage Goddess
First National Bank of Durango
Office: 970-382-5741
Cell: 970-749-2231
Toll Free: 866-227-3005
E-Mail: jcooley@fnbdurango.com
Website: www.fnbdurango.com 

________
–
Claudia Williams
Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor
Blue Ribbon Properties
835 Main Ave #214
Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office)
970 749 3555 (cell)
970 247 8360 (fax)
www.blueribbondurango.com

Check out my blog
The Scoop on Durango Real Estate
www.blueribbondurango.com/blog

Our downtown office scores 95 out of 100, walker’s paradise!
My home on the edge of Durango scores only 32 out of 100, mostly car-dependent. They don’t take into consideration biking, but true, I’m afraid we do drive most places. Get your score at www.walkscore.com

How It Works

Walk Score helps people find walkable places to live. Walk Score calculates the walkability of an address by locating nearby stores, restaurants, schools, parks, etc. Walk Score measures how easy it is to live a car-lite lifestyle—not how pretty the area is for walking.

What does my score mean?
Your Walk Score is a number between 0 and 100. Here are general guidelines for interpreting your score:

90–100 = Walkers’ Paradise: Most errands can be accomplished on foot and many people get by without owning a car.
70–89 = Very Walkable: It’s possible to get by without owning a car.
50–69 = Somewhat Walkable: Some stores and amenities are within walking distance, but many everyday trips still require a bike, public transportation, or car.
25–49 = Car-Dependent: Only a few destinations are within easy walking range. For most errands, driving or public transportation is a must.
0–24 = Car-Dependent (Driving Only): Virtually no neighborhood destinations within walking range. You can walk from your house to your car!

–
Claudia Williams
Owner/Ecobroker/Exchangor
Blue Ribbon Properties
835 Main Ave #214
Durango, CO 81301

970 247 8388 (office)
970 749 3555 (cell)
970 247 8360 (fax)
www.blueribbondurango.com

Check out my blog
The Scoop on Durango Real Estate
www.blueribbondurango.com/blog