Top 10 Reasons to Choose Durango (continued)



Looking Toward Electra Lake from Behind Our Office Last Week





Holy smokes!  It's been a busy fall.  We're seeing major indications here that our market has turned, most notably that people like ourselves are smiling again, primarily because we're glad to be busy.  The perfect storm of low interest rates and bottomed-out prices have spawned an animal that once seemed extinct in most real estate markets - Buyers.  We're here to tell you that the once endangered species is apparently alive and well.  They had been hiding out because they kept hearing the sky was falling along with the prices.  There have been 58 closed sales in just the resort market alone in Durango in the last year, and there are 4 more under contract.  This is on pace for a significant increase over the past couple of years.  It's not on fire by any means, and we don't envy our Sellers and the price capitulation process they're going through to make sales, but that light at the end of the tunnel may not be a train.  How did we find the elusive and once-thought-to-be-dead Buyers?  We didn't.  Prices did.  Individual Sellers and developers finally came to terms with what it was going to take to move their properties.  Price capitulation coupled with available and historically inexpensive financing, and some measure of economic upturn finally made the fence a less comfortable place to sit.  This is one reason for our delay in finishing the top ten.  We know you were checking your in-box daily.  "Where on earth are the other five reasons?" you said.  "Why am I not receiving regular communication from my Realtor in Durango?" you thought.  We're sorry for the delay. 



We also went to a sales seminar called "Ninja Selling," for a week.  You'll never see us coming now.  Kris has been wearing all black ever since.  We broke boards in half with our bare hands (this is true).  We have no idea what breaking boards in half has to do with selling real estate.  They were playing the song "Eye of the Tiger" in the background while the boards were being broken.  

Actual photo of us with broken boards



When everyone in our group was done breaking their board (some people took several tries, but Kris and I were obviously born ninjas), we gathered in a circle and sang Bette Midler's "The Rose" while holding hands. Yes, it's the one that goes:  "Some say love, it is a river..."  We couldn't make this stuff up if we tried.

And now we're sort of at a critical juncture in our careers, because real estate has been good to both of us for a long time, but we sort of feel that some of the things we learned at Ninja Selling would make a funny sitcom.  We've already named the show "Groupies."  That's what the people who run this program from the real estate company The Group call themselves, and, truth-be-told, sometimes people from our very own Wells Group call themselves that too.  We think perhaps these people may not be familiar with the common meaning of this term, provided here for your convenience http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groupie.   Our pilot episode is titled "Ninja Selling."  We pretty much feel that we could videotape the seminar and just put it out there without any editing.  At one point the leader of this cultish sales technique implored us all to take deep breaths, close our eyes, and "focus on the tip of your nose" as we prepared to perform ninja feats of strength and concentration.  He kept repeating that --  "Focus on your nose."  Say that to yourself a few times over with your eyes closed while listening to some new-age music in the background and see if you can keep yourself from dying of laughter.  We could not.  "Focus on your nose.  Focus on your nose.  We are going to break this board with the tip of your nose.  You are slowly beginning to feel very very foolish."  Anyway, we'll let you know if we decide to leave Durango for Hollywood, fame and fortune.  For now, we'll stick with what we know, although it's also true that we know that cheesy Realtor-based television programming may be entertaining. 

Now that we've completely discredited ourselves, let's move on to five more reasons people choose Durango.  Remember, these are reasons we've witnessed in our 34 year history with this place.  Did you catch that?  We're trying to distract you with useful information that is outside of the real estate sphere so that you'll identify us as human beings rather than sales automatons.  We really shouldn't let you in on all this ninja stuff, but we respect you.  "Wait a second," you may be thinking in an attempt to deconstruct this message.  "Is letting me in on their crafty sales technique, and then telling me they're letting me in just another genius subterfuge for me to feel closer to them and more likely therefore to purchase real estate from them."  This ninja stuff is so deep the metaphysics of it are infinitesimally complex.  Just remember, if all else fails, focus on the tip of your nose.  Without further ado:






 6. Unbelievable Scenery

I'm just going to shut up about this one and let the photos do the talking for me.



My family at Electra Lake



View of the Needles Behind Our Office



Chicago Basin



Fall View of Engineer Mountain



Color in the Trees on Elbert Creek Trail

  Here's the thing - these were all amateur photos that we took ourselves (okay, there may be an exception or two taken by a friend or acquaintance, and we hope they'll accept our apologies).  These are just the photos we've come across, most of them recently, while living our lives here.  If you scroll down through all of our other posts, we've included photos in this blog throughout that detail some of our own adventures.  And we're couch potatoes compared to most of the people we know here.  It's not like we had to go very far or work very hard to experience this unbelievably accessible natural beauty. 

I was recently driving the length of I-70 to Denver from Grand Junction, which passes through the main corridor of the resort communities where I recreated for most of my youth.  It's also the area where most of the visitors to Colorado go.  I passed Vail, Beaver Creek, Copper Mountain, Breckenridge, Keystone and most of Summit County on the way.  The only way to describe the scenery through those areas compared to the Durango area is to use my five-year-old's favorite put-down - boring.  If you've come to Colorado and visited those places and thought they were beautiful, well, you haven't seen the best of what Colorado has to offer, not even close. Don't believe me?  Bam!  Take this:


The View from One of My Favorite Homes We've Sold



7. Fort Lewis College

Durango is home to one of Colorado's best liberal arts colleges.  http://explore.fortlewis.edu/  It's a relatively small school with 4,000 students with incredibly strong Business and Engineering programs, along with very competitive science departments with state-of-the-art facilities.  The college is a perennial national title contender as the reigning NCAA Division II National Champions in Soccer (two titles in the last three years), and the cycling teams have 13 national championship titles.  Perhaps more importantly, the college adds a dimension to the town that is non-existent in most mountain and resort communities in the west.  It contributes to the vibrancy of the economy, the arts and diversity within the community.  The economic impact should not be underestimated.  One of the features of this community from an investment standpoint is its economic diversity.  We mentioned before that the town doesn't open and close with the tourist season, and it is not totally dependent on the tourist economy.  The college is one of the many reasons Durango's economy has been stable even during the recent economic turmoil.  The college offers a wealth of educational opportunities for students of all ages, and workshop programs in a dizzying array of topics. 





8. In the Middle of Nowhere, In the Middle of Everything 

Many mountains towns boast that they're "far removed from the maddening crowds."  If you wanted an endless array of strip malls and super-highways, you'd most likely just stay where you are.  There would be no reason to visit a town like Durango.  Many of the towns that make that claim are indeed far removed, so far that they're genuinely hard to get to.  Drive to Telluride sometime during a snowstorm, or to Aspen, or Crested Butte.  Good luck.  Better yet, fly to any of those places when the weather is inclement.   You won't need to cut your fingernails after the trip we assure you. 

Telluride's Airport - Without Snow

And you want the weather to be inclement, or else some of the reasons you go to those places are diminished.  Snow and inclement weather are just part of the mountain lifestyle.  For most of those other towns accessibility is an issue.  Durango is truly unique in that the town is in transition from the high-desert to high alpine.  Durango itself has relatively mild winter weather for the most part, and you can drive three hours south or west and it's downright balmy most of the time.  Durango Mountain Resort is twenty-five miles from town, and has it's own climate at 8,900 feet with 300 inches of snow per year, the light fluffy kind that skiers love.  There's not a single mountain pass to traverse if you're coming from most directions, and the road to the resort is excellent and well-maintained.  No other resort community can make this claim in Colorado.  The airport is primarily jet-services and is rarely ever impacted by significant weather events.

9. Family Friendly 

This is a family place.  We don't just put some goofball in a stuffed animal suit and coin some silly name for a children's program using a "z" to seem edgy (Kidz Club).  Families come here because their adventures are limitless and they feel at home among the locals in this family-first community.  Check-out the Durango Recreation Center with its monster-sized pool, water slide, climbing wall and splash pad:  http://www.durangogov.org/reccenter/index.cfm.  Or the Durango Discovery Museum, a new interactive science museum just for kids:  http://www.durangodiscovery.org/  Durango Mountain Resort runs an exceptional camp for children which combines naturalist education and adventure.  It's called the Edventure Camp.  Children in Durango have their own mountain bike teams http://durangodevo.com/, BMX club, freestyle skiing teams, and every other kind of sport and adventure available just for them.  The family atmosphere of the town combined with the extraordinary kid-friendly lifestyle is the reason many of us live here. 

The Alpine Slide at Durango Mountain Resort

Children are seemingly welcome and encouraged just about everywhere.  The Durango Arts Center has a program just for children where they can explore a variety of artistic opportunities:  http://durangoarts.org/.  We've been to some places where the old adage, "Children should be seen not heard," seems to be the primary code of etiquette.  In Durango, children are held in high regard for the joy and love they bring to our lives. 

10. The Animas River

"Here on the river's verge, I could be busy for months without changing my place, simply leaning a little more to right or left."  Cezanne. 



A River Runs Through It - The Animas in Downtown Durango


The Animas River is a significant body of water that flows from high in the San Juan Mountains right through the middle of town.  Along the way it offers up class-V rapids, gold medal fishing, one of the country's most beautiful valleys and some of the most awe-inspiring views imaginable.  It is the source of the life of our town and of this area.  We raft, kayak and tube down it.  We jump into it from bridges, cliffs and rope swings.  We lay on its beaches to contemplate the warmth of the sun and the sheen of the water.  We take from the bounty of its inhabitants (if only for a photograph).  It tells us about the health of our watershed, and the strength of the snowpack.  It communicates with the town as it flows through it, tells us what the weather is like upstream.  Most mountain communities you can name don't have one, not like this.  Some have little streams.  We have a river, magnificent in its power and beauty. 

There you have it.  We welcome you to challenge our list, to tell us why you choose Durango. 

Also, we would be remiss if we didn't remind you that prices have gone up another 5% in the last twelve months in our real estate market.  

We'd also like to make you aware of our new lodging program.  We purchased a condominium right in the heart of downtown Durango for our clients and other guests.  If you're planning on visiting our area to look at real estate we'll give you a 50% discount on our regular rates.  Not only is this the best deal in town for luxury accommodations within a block of the train station and the heart of downtown, but if you close a property while working with us as your Realtor, we'll refund the amount of your rate out of our commission.  So in essence, if you're planning on buying Durango real estate, you're lodging will be free while you visit our area to investigate it.  That's a tough deal to beat.  Here's a photo of the inside of our two-bedroom condo at The Mears House:

You can view the VRBO (Vacation Rental By Owner) listing for this property at http://www.vrbo.com/324475 .  And if you don't want to stay in town, we have a condo at the ski resort as well.  We can do the same deal there. 

If your family is larger and requires a house near the ski area, we can also offer special discounts at a property in Lake Purgatory.  Here's the VRBO link to that one:  http://www.vrbo.com/310811

Let us know when you're coming and we'll make the arrangements.

It snowed here today.  We'll see you on the slopes soon.