They say the cold weather is nearly upon us - as we say goodbye to the short-wearing warm weather days of grilling, smoking (meats, that is), and BBQ-ing, I wanted to share some pretty cool BBQs and Smokers with you all. Now, by no means is my own personal grill anywhere NEAR as cool as these (in fact, my wife pushed mine home down the street one fine spring morning from a neighbor with a 'free' sign attached to it. . . but that's ANOTHER story entirely!!) editor's note: Nicole is the BEST wife ever!! In any case, enjoy the coming winter months, keep those steaks and burgers cookin' and enjoy the pics! -Tim Mancuso 11/03/2008

How many of us are celebrating Halloween this year? On top of that, how many of us are dressing in costume @ the office today?! Here's a history of Halloween for you, from LandAmerica: HISTORY OF HALLOWEEN Over 2000 years ago, the Celts celebrated the beginning of their new year on November 1 with bonfires and a feast called Samhain. They believed that this turning point of the year, the end of summer and beginning of winter, was a time when the spirits of the dead and other magical beings could communicate with the living. In the early centuries of Christianity, church holy days were often set to coincide with existing pagan festivals in order to bring people into the Catholic faith. Pope Gregory III, in the 700s, moved the holiday of All Saints' Day from March to November 1. On that d... 10/31/2008

Recap of First Half 2008 Home Price Performance By Lon Welsh and Terry Wenze, Your Castle Real Estate. The average home price in Metro Denver increased +2% in the full year 2005 to the full year 2006. Comparing 2006 to 2007, the average home price across the metro dropped 3%, to $303,000. The half of 2008 was $275,000 vs. the first half of 2007 was $306,000: a 10% decrease. These numbers will be slightly different than Metrolist, as they are just Denver Metro and don't include outlying areas like Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, or Boulder. The average price of a foreclosure dropped -6% to $168,000 in the first half of 2008. The average short sale was steady at $212,000. The average price of a non-distress sale decreased 5% to $352,000. Sales volume was down for single family homes. For... 10/30/2008

Investor often ask me what types of real estate investments are available on the market.  Here's what we tell them. This is the first of several postings on the topic. Please offer comments - positive or negative! Assignments.  If you don't have much equity to work with, and/or if your credit power is limited, assignments can be a way to get started in real estate investing.  You will need to have a strong "sales" personality to succeed at it, though.    Rental Condo or Rental Home.  Purchase of a residential property to be rented out to tenants, usually on a 6-12 month lease term.  This is how most new landlords get started.  You can hire out all of the property management functions, but in many cases you will do many of them on your own.  There are smaller down payment requirements th... 10/30/2008

    If you have not heard already, the inventory of home on the market in Denver has been declining. This is not true in many regions of the county. Your clients, who often only see national headlines, might not be aware of this favorable news. Our market has some unusual factors at work. Let's explore them, so you can better help your clients.If you look at the first chart (MOI 1), you'll see the MOI (months of inventory) for Denver's suburbs on the bottom axis and the average sales price in that suburb on the axis on the left side. Denver metro currently has about six months of inventory (a balanced market, on average), but you can see there is a lot of variety from one city to the next. Lower cost areas, such as Thornton, are seeing inventory move fast. Sellers (mainly banks) don't ... 10/30/2008

As investors we face a number of very real and very scary challenges. Making sense of this market is no mean feat and one has to be very careful with his or her investment. However, we usually think about danger as financial. Unfortunately, on rare occasion it can be even worse than that. The majority of the homes investors are buying these days are vacant and once in a while people break in and live in these properties illegally.  The last thing you want to do is walk in on someone camped out in a house, perhaps conducting illegal an activity.      This is no joke, you want to be HEARD when you walk into a property that is supposed to vacant. So make a lot of noise when you're at the front door. I always knock loudly before entering.  Stomp your feet a little. Yell "Hello!" a couple of... 10/30/2008

A lot of investors ask what an egress window is and when one is needed. Technically, it's a window for a room below grade that a municipality has deemed large enough to be safe for exit in case of emergency.   While there are some variations, the window needs to be large enough that a firefighter with an oxygen bottle on their back could get in, then carry out an injured person in a fire.  Most often, it's associated with a basement bedroom window, making it a legal bedroom. Basement bedrooms without egress windows are illegal.  Installing an egress window makes them legal.      The confusion is that different cities, counties and agencies have different size requirements and height-above-floor requirements for these windows. Therefore, before you start cutting into the concrete foundat... 10/30/2008

You walk into a property you're looking to buy and rent and you walk down into the basement and voila! you find a full second kitchen.   Great!  You start calculating how much rent you could get if you could rent the downstairs separate from the upstairs and the cashflow is out of this world!  But wait, there are a number of very real problems with this scenario.     First of all, it's illegal unless the property is zoned for more than one tenant and the property has been converted to non-residential use. But there are even more practical reasons why having two separate tenants is often not a great idea. The first is the utilities. Since it's a house there will only be one bill for Excel and water. Who's going to pay it?  Can you really get the tenants to pro-rate their share if you pay... 10/30/2008

A lot of clients ask me how to figure out what market rents are in a neighborhood. This is a critical input into the calculations an investor needs to make in order to determine what their return on investment will be on a rental property. So you don't want to screw this up! Unfortunately, this is one of the many figures new investors get wrong. One place people go to get rents is Rent-o-Meter. Rent-o-Meter is billed as an online resource to get accurate market rents. In my experience it is anything but! However, I have a fairly simple solution. Multiply what you see on Rent-o-Meter by 80% and you'll probably be close. I can't explain why but I find rents on Rent-o-Meter to be about 25% high, so multiplying their rents by 80% will get you close (do the math, it works out). So then, how ... 10/30/2008

The talk around the water cooler these days is all about LOANS. Who can get them? At what price? What if I already have a few loans, do I still qualify?  A year or two ago the question was at what price do I get a loan (those were the days!).  Today it is "am I still in the game?"        Here's the deal:  if you have an owner occupied loan and 3 investor loans you cannot buy any more properties and get Fannie Mae / Freddie Mac financing, meaning you can't get a conventional 30-year fixed loan. Now, my hope is that someone reads this and tells me I'm wrong. That would be great!  But as far as I know that is the case.       Where does this leave you?  You can pursue loans that are warehoused by lenders, meaning they are not sold on the backend to Fannie or Freddie. You are probably lookin... 10/30/2008

Just wanted to put in a NON-POLITICAL plug for early voting here. GET OUT AND VOTE! And if you are so inclined, I highly recommend early voting if it is available in your local area. My own experience was fantastic - no lines, no crowds, no rush, no bad weather, no drunks (always nice), no parking issues, no crowded booths, no B.O. wafting over from the happy people next to you (there were no people next to me), no broken / shut-down machines, it was in a word - EXCELLENT! On top of that, there were PLENTY of 'I Voted' stickers, which I highly treasure each election season. So, to sum up here, Get out and vote, and vote EARLY if you are able! My guess is many others have had the same positive experience in their early voting - feel free to share it here as well. Thank you for reading, m... 10/27/2008

Last election, regular voting was mess in Castle Rock, Colorado. Waiting, lines, delays, etc. Will it be better this time? Who knows so if you don't want to find out the hard way, vote early. I voted early in Lone Tree. And you can to in Castle Rockat the early voting site: Philip S. Miller Library, 100 S. Wilcox St., Castle Rock, CO It was a breeze. No lines, no crowds, no waiting. Another thing to consider is that it is a huge ballot, there are many amendments to vote against. Early voting will be available there this week Monday through Thursday, Oct. 27-30 from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. They want a picture ID so be sure to bring one along with your yellow signature card. More details at DouglasVotes.com or call the Elections Office at 303.660.7444. 10/26/2008

Investor often ask me what types of real estate investments are available on the market.  Here's what we tell them. This is the first of several postings on the topic. Please offer comments - positive or negative! Assignments.  If you don't have much equity to work with, and/or if your credit power is limited, assignments can be a way to get started in real estate investing.  You will need to have a strong "sales" personality to succeed at it, though.    Rental Condo or Rental Home.  Purchase of a residential property to be rented out to tenants, usually on a 6-12 month lease term.  This is how most new landlords get started.  You can hire out all of the property management functions, but in many cases you will do many of them on your own.  There are smaller down payment requirements th... 09/24/2008

Here’s an analysis of what has happened with home prices in different suburbs around Denver Metro between Jan-May of 2007 and Jan-May 2008: The average home in Castle Rock didn’t actually drop 17% in value. Instead, sales volume of the large, expensive homes (those over 4,000 square feet) plummeted 71%, while consumer instead bought many more mid-size homes in the 2,400 – 3,000 sq ft range. Here, sale volume increased 26%. The mix of selling fewer expensive luxury homes and selling many more affordable mid-market homes drove most of the sales price decline in Castle Rock. The average price of a mid-size home in the 1,800 – 2,400 square foot range declined only 1.7%. This is why it looks like home prices are declining in Denver – there are many factors at work. 09/07/2008

The Meadows offers a little something for everyone.  Below is the community calendar so you can start planning your event. PumpkinFest & Punkin' Chuckin'October 25, 2008 Holidays in The Meadows TMDecember 13, 2008The Grange in The Meadows Easter EggStravaganzaApril 4, 2009Butterfield Crossing Park Kite FestivalApril 2009 Community Wide Garage SaleMay 2009 Community Cleanup DayMay 2009 Old Fashioned 4th of JulyJuly 4, 2009 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Monthly Events and Activities: The Second Fifty Women's ClubThe Second Fifty Women's Club in The Meadows has been created to provide women who view their second fifty as the best years of their lives. The club's objectives are to help broaden your circle of friends, expand knowledge of the world around you, and above all, be fun. Women over 50 years of... 08/22/2008

    Every close-knit community needs a gathering place, a soulful center. At The Meadows, this place is called The Grange, a cultural arts center and two outdoor pools that brings neighbors together to learn, play and simply get to know each other better. The Grange offers something for everyone in the community, including a variety of music and art classes, homeowner association board meetings, children's playgroups and story hour as well as a meeting place for several community groups and clubs. Residents of The Meadows also have the opportunity to rent the building for private functions. Click here for our current class schedule The Grange is also a place to learn more about the community, available new homes and area amenities. You can pick up one of our Model Home Tour Guides, a ha... 08/22/2008

And one of the Winners Is: Castle Rock, Colorado Family Circle Magazine set out to find communities across the country that combine big-city opportunities with suburban charm. Those communities had to offer an ideal blend of affordable houses, good jobs, top-rated schools, wide-open spaces, and, plain and simple, just a lot less stress. Castle Rock, Colorado was named among the Top Ten perfect places to call home! Many of us desire the same things: fewer crowds, less concrete, less hassles, more serenity, nature and neighbors we can count on. That's probably why Family Circle chose Castle Rock, Colorado as one of the Top Ten places to raise a family, where living costs, commute times, and crime rates are low, and the educational and cultural scenes are way above average. Moms and dads s... 08/22/2008

It began as a way to share their feelings about Colorado. When the Vickers family discovered the land that has today become Castle Pines, they envisioned it as a special place for those who truly appreciate the sheer beauty of nature. Bringing together the best and brightest development team, they created an internationally acclaimed community recognized for its award-winning architecture, its sensitivity to the natural environment, its commitment to careful planning, and its national caliber amenities. The vision of Castle Pines Village continues today, as residents come together to create a community unique for its superlative design and active lifestyle. There is commitment and dedication here, real people caring about their neighbors and the spectacular place they share...the place ... 08/22/2008

CPR classes will be held at the Castle Rock Fire and Rescue Department on the following dates and times: Wednesday 09/10/08 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm Saturday 09/27/08 8:00 am - 12:00 noon.  To sign up please contact Debbie Stanley at 303.660.1066.  It may well give you the confidence to respond in an emergency situation with skills that can save a life! Click Here for Directions to the Castle Rock, Colorado Fire Department Thanks for stopping by, Mark & Wendy Richards Principals/Realtors The Richards Group, Inc. Keller Williams Real Estate, L.L.C. Castle Rock, Colorado Office Cell: 303.204.2688 (Wendy) Cell: 303.204.8949 (Mark) Home: 720.733.1548 eFax: 303.785.9169 Search for Homes: www.SearchinDenver.com Email: TheRichardsGroup@kw.com   08/21/2008

Did You Know This About Castle Rock, Colorado? Castle Rock Parks and Recreation Department is a finalist for the Gold Medal Award, one of the highest national honors that can be bestowed on a parks and recreation program. Thanks for stopping by, Mark & Wendy Richards Principals/Realtors The Richards Group, Inc. Keller Williams Real Estate, L.L.C. Castle Rock, Colorado Office Cell: 303.204.2688 (Wendy) Cell: 303.204.8949 (Mark) Home: 720.733.1548 eFax: 303.785.9169 Search for Homes: www.SearchinDenver.com Email: TheRichardsGroup@kw.com 08/19/2008