Colorado Springs Homes & Colorado Land Blog

This morning we headed off toward Manitou Springs to see a great new listing.  Sometimes a commercial building is just a commercial building.  And other times the location, the features, the setting bring an idea to life.  Today was one of those days.

Highly visalbe building and property with an incredible setitng right on the bike path & the creek.  An outdoor patio is already in place.  The main level is the restaurant with true Colorado charm that boasts beamed-vaulted ceilings and a metal room along with a stone exterior.

There is a separate dining room for private parties, wine tastings, meetings and much more.  The walk-out basement has a second full-size kitchen for catering, cooking classes, beer making, etc.

The building includes 6600 square feet and has good parking and tremendous access.  $645,000.  Ask about our list of commercial lenders to talk to if needed or desired.

Although we may not have as long of a growing season we do have a love for fresh vegetables and fruit. There also seems to be something about digging in the dirt that is not only a hobby for many but a therapeutic outlet as well. In the event that you live in a town home, loft or home that is too small for a garden there are multiple Colorado Springs Community Garden programs here and more are planned for 2012.

Finding a Colorado Springs home with character and a large yard can be a challenge. There is a great craftsman / bungalow style home for sale in the highly sought after area in central Colorado Springs. Not only do you have the lush look and feel of established landscaping, huge trees and great yards but you also have homes with character like this one at 805 N. Meade that was originally built in 1946. With new windows in place, an added huge master suite and a basement with a fireplace it is full of “hard to find” desirable features in this area.

Just in case gardening is for you but you have not started yet because you don’t know how to built or create your raised garden bed here is a link to Sunset Magazine’s approach.

It’s downright gusty today which makes me think it’s a good time to talk about our sometimes unpredictable spring weather. Most of our eyes are on Tornado Alley today, but with this wind we can’t help but think about home too. Here is a list of things to have on hand (preferably in a plastic container in an easy-to-reach place).

1. Flashlights. One per person in the family plus two. Why the plus two? Batteries die, life happens we forget to replace them, we set one down and forget it, kids borrow them for games and don’t return them, etc.

2. Batteries. For flashlights and kid’s games.

3. Bottled water. BPA’s aside, it’s good to keep some bottled water on hand for emergency situations. Rotate the bottled water every month or two if BPAs are a big concern for you.

4. A cooking stove. Not a big camper? Never been to REI? Head on over and get yourself a cooking stove and a pot and a pan. What can you make with it? Anything you would make on your stove top at home…if you had electricity! If you have a gas stove, check the pilot and turn off the oven if the pilot goes out to avoid blowing up your house when the lights come back on.

5. Blankets. Extra blankets are great to have on hand, particularly during colder days and nights.

6. Fire. If you don’t have an indoor wood fire place, this will be a little more difficult, but if sitting around a fire outside would be warmer than staying bundled up inside the house, then head on out and if you’re lucky enough, make some s’mores with your pantry items. If you don’t have a cooking stove, wrap up potatoes, carrots, ground beef and some onions in aluminum foil, place at the bottom of a fire in red hot coals and have yourself some camp-stew!

7. First Aid Kit. Keep a seperate kit from the one you use daily in your house so you know it is always stocked.

8. Cooler and ice. Try to avoid opening and closing the refrigerator and freezer doors. It can stay cool enough to keep the food for up to 10 hours before needing ice. After that time you will need to pull out the ice from the freezer and frozen items, and pack or use up any food that will spoil if not kept cold.

9. Games. You’re less likely to go crazy and have complainers on your hands if you can make it a fun adventure and stay entertained. Cards, board games, telling stories, singing songs, reading books, making up dances, talking about our daily lives, that’s what we used to do for fun.

Every once in awhile you just need to be spontaneous and get out of town. Here are some top picks to get you thinking:

1. Fort Collins, CO. Fort Collins is a happening town with a laid back vibe. Bicycling is a great way to explore the town and the breweries that lie within city limits. O’Dells Brewing has a great outdoor patio to sip the latest brews, and an indoor area if the weather or the 3 o’clock showers come in. Head to Horsetooth Reservoir for some sun, sand and water. A nominal fee gets you to the beach area. Great hiking is nearby if the thought of paying to enjoy nature gives you the hibee jeebies.

2. Steamboat, CO. Steamboat still has snow to ski on, so it’s perfect for anyone looking to get one more run in before hanging up the skis for the season. Snuggle up at the end of the day in front of a warm fire, sipping wine or hot chocolate. Sign up for a spa day to finish relaxing before heading back home.

3. Pagosa Springs, CO. You simply must go to the hot springs resort and soak. It’s beautiful, relaxing, family-friendly, and there is great hiking within a short distance. Make a road trip of it and stop by the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Mesa Verde National Park.

4. Estes Park, CO. In Estes you are surrounded by beautiful mountains. Explore them further on foot or snowshoe (conditions vary). There’s nothing quite like a view from the top of one of these beauties. The YMCA of the Rockies is a great place to stay, as are many accomodations in town, but the Y has guides to take you on hikes which is perfect if you aren’t a big hiker but want to go anyways. With Rocky Mountain National Park right there you can feast your eyes on the beauty that is Colorado, and many of the creatures that call it home.

5. Basalt, CO. You’re best of finding a vacation rental home in this area, but it’s perfectly situated between Snowmass/Aspen and Glenwood Springs. Basalt lies in the valley, giving the feeling of home on the range, amidst mountains. Very peaceful, great food, and lively entertainment in either direction. Bike or hike in the mountains then soak in Glenwood. It’s a win-win.

After spring break many families start to think about summer break, where their kids will be, new work arrangements, and some even think about not only where the kids will be, but what they will be doing while there. It is not too early to be thinking about these things, in fact, many summer camps are enrolling now. Sleepover camps can start as early as the second grade, but this decision should be based on your own child’s readiness. If summer night camp isn’t an option, there are a lot of day camp options offered right in Colorado Springs.

Not everyone goes to summer programs, so what do they do? There are a few pools in the area that are open to the public, many of the pools offer swim lessons. Enrolling your kids in swim programs is a great way to introduce them to swim safety, and post class gives them a place to hang out with friends. As a parent, it’s nice to have some down time, but you do need to stay there…no running errands, unless your kid is old enough and been through several swim lessons.

Another option is to work with a group of parents. Each family takes the group of kids one day a week, giving the parents the option of working most of the summer yet, and only having a house full of kids one day a week. If the kids are all good friends and involved in similar activities (science club, astronomy, soccer, basketball, etc.) find ways to teach them new things in a more laid-back and fun atmosphere. Have budding artists on your hands? Take a nature walk and arm them with cameras or canvases. The jocks in your life would love to learn new drills, play games, and improve on their skills for the upcoming season. Find coaching techniques and drills to run that doesn’t make it feel like work or a regular practice.

No matter where the kids are, make sure that they are staying entertained in a safe environment. If parents can’t be home to watch the kids, enlist the help of friends, family and neighbors who can.

When new neighbors move to your neighborhood, it’s sort of like the first day of school for them. They don’t know anybody in the area, but hope to make lifelong friends who will be by their side through thick and thin. Granted, you don’t know them yet so picking out items for a welcome basket can be tricky, but here are a few ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

1. Going Green. If it’s spring or summer, consider putting together a basket of flower seeds, gardening gloves, trowel, watering can, and a couple of potted plants or flowers from a garden center. It will brighten their day (and their yard!).

2. Who can say no to cookies? Bake up a batch of your world-famous (or Grandma’s world-famous) cookies, along with an apron, a recipe card for the cookies and the dry ingredients layered in a mason jar. To go the extra mile, throw in a whisk and wooden spoons, and the basket could be a mixing bowl (think bright colors like yellow, orange, or popular blue).

3. Clean it up. Every new homeowner wants to move into the cleanest home possible. Help them out with a jar of of soaps: Mrs. Meyers brand at Target is popular, try the lemon or lavendar, along with cleaning rags, green cleaning products for floors and general cleaning all bundled up nicely in a basket or large glass jar with a lid. They can reuse the jar for storing cookies, bath salts, or anything else they want.

4. That’s Amore! Take a pizza pan or stone, and include pizza cutter, rolling pin, dish towels, pizza sauce, seasonings, cookbook, and pizza crust recipe. You can spin it staying with an Italian theme, and put together a pasta basket with pastas, sauces, a bottle of your favorite wine or Chianti! Who knows, you might even be invited over for this dinner or another dinner?!

5. If the new folks are moving in during the fall or winter, think warm, hearty, soup. Put together a basket with crackers, soup mix, spoons and a couple of bright colored bowls. If you have a favorite soup recipe, toss it in, or if you know your neighbors are home, make up a batch for them. Nothing says, “Welcome home!” like a warm bowl of soup.

As a Realtor I see all kinds of different lots, sizes, and the need for….unique building solutions. There is one such lot currently available in Manitou Springs that continues to make me wonder who would build there, and yet, what an amazing house with views it would be if they did. This lot is known as 0 Canon Ave with spacious views of Manitou Springs and Pikes Peak. Here are a few images I’ve scoured the internet for to get your creative juices flowing, and perhaps you will have just the client for this land.

House on the Rock

When in doubt, turn to mastermind Frank Lloyd Wright. Sort of like the building version of WWFLWD? Pictured above is the infamous House on the Rock in Spring Green, Wisconsin. Is it a little crazy have a massive hallway sticking out like that? Sure, it is, but the views from the infinity hallway are pretty neat.

This design above intended for a beach area, although the warm tones and woods would make it feel very modern-chic in Manitou, and perfect for this building site (in one person’s humble opinion). With several windows, balconies coming off of various rooms, and a small footprint, it can be a wonderful year-round home or a great vacation home. Can you just imagine sipping tea every morning from the upstairs balcony stair at Pikes Peak? I can.

This image is of a home built on a mountainside, in Lebanon. The house is constructed of green building materials and is being used to elevate the green building movement in Lebanon. It can be done, and done well to look like another European villa, no matter where in the world it is placed!

Why look any further than our own backyard for mountainside building? Pictured here is the Manitou Springs Cliff Dwellings. Certainly if they could do it all those years ago, certainly we could find a way to build at Canon Ave.  This photo of Manitou Springs is provided courtesy of TripAdvisor.

If you’re looking to build a house or are in the middle of building one, or say even living in your own house and looking to do renovations, every detail you select makes your house more suited or customized to you, the owner. This made me think at what point is a home considered a custom home? Here’s the definition of a custom home: 

“A custom home is one that is especially designed to meet the specifications of the person who commissioned it. Stock building plans are not custom designed; the same plan may be sold to many different people.”

Simply put, the building plans need to be unique in that there is no other design like it, and you won’t see it again. A true one-of-a-kind. While your neighbor may have painted teal on the outside of their home, it does not actually make it a custom home. Just like putting in great landscaping, higher-quality products inside (read granite), or making different design style choices. I will take this one step further though, if you find yourself in a stock home, but down the road decide to hire an architect to make significant changes to the house, then at that point you may in fact have a custom home. In a nutshell, you would have to change the “bones” of the house.

Today while I was preparing to write about Colorado Springs Real Estate an email email came in with a question from one of my customers. It quickly became the topic of this post.  The reason is that there seems to a lot of questions & also a lot of miscommunication about this issue.  The question asked was, “I heard that the healthcare bill included a new 6% tax on the sale of property.  It is true and if so, when does it take affect?”

I have heard this question before, in the past month I have probably been asked a dozen times.  The answer is no.  To give you additional information the National Association of Realtors President released a short video answering this question in more detail that can be found here.