About Ouray County, CO

Ouray, Colorado is A year around playground. Ouray, Colorado is known as the Switzerland of American. There's no guessing why. The town is surrounded by tall rugged peaks reaching over 12,000 and 13,000 feet.

This area is host to world class jeeping, hiking, climbing and biking in the summer. Ouray, Colorado is a gem on the Western Slope. This small mountain town got its start in the mining era in the late 1800s. Tourism keeps it going today. Somehow this town has managed to perserve it's history and you can see this in the buildings. Most of them are restored Victorian style structures. At this time of the year, the town is getting ready for it's winter time activities like cross country skiing, snowmobiling and of course ice climbing. Be sure to take some time to enjoy the Ouray Brewery and Obrien's Pub, and to relax in the hot springs pool. Obrien's has some really great tasting food including an Asian Tuna Salad, Shepard's Pie and a pilled high Turkey Reuben. We enjoyed the Box Canyon Brown Ale at the Ouray Brewery.

This last picture was taken from one of the trails by the Box Canyon Falls. It's looks down on Ouray. The falls is also a must see, but it's only open for one more week this year, and then won't be open again until next summer.

For all your Colorado Western Slope real estate information, please give me a call.

Debbie Laity

GRI, REO Specialist, SFR, CNE, AHWD

Broker Associate

Cedaredge Land Company www.debbiesellscolorado.com

970-856-3173 Office

Although I work out of my real estate office in Montrose, CO, I also live in Ridgway, Ouray County, Colorado, a county with a population of less than 5,000. I get the occasional listing or buyer looking in this area, which alway pleases me, since I love living here so much. This past May Day, as I worked from my beautiful home with the spectacular view of the Cimarron Mountains, I thought I'd take a look at the residential active and sold listings for Ouray County on our MLS.

I found 262 such listings, of which 28 sold in the last 6 months. That represents less than 11% of the inventory. Of the active listings, prices range from $99,000 to $7,995,000. Average asking price is $603,916, and median asking price, $408,000. Average days on the market is 332 (and counting).

Of the sold listings, the prices ranged from $99,000 to $770,000. The average sale price was $306,579, and median sale price, $260,000. Average days on market was 225.

Out of the 262 listings, 17 are bank-owned (foreclosures), which represents less than 7% of the total market. Of these 17 listings, 10 sold within the last 6 months, ranging in sale prices from $148,000 to $328,000. Those 10 sales out of the total of 28 sales means that almost 36% of the sales were foreclsoures.

Of the 7 active foreclosure listings, 3 are under contract ranging in asking price from $144,900 to $292,500. The 4 remaining active listings not under contract range in price from $155,000 to $450,000. The latter started out with an original price of $750,000!

Clearly, what is moving in Ouray County are the real bargains (i.e., bank-owned) or more relatively affordable homes for Ouray County, i.e., close to $300,000 and under. While it is a great time to buy in Ouray County, in fact, there is not a whole lot of bargain or affordable inventory. Such inventory that exists goes quickly. So, if you're thinking of buying in Ouray County, you will need to keep a close eye on the market and move quickly to take advnatage of these good deals.

Do you live in Ouray County? Are you buying or selling? Let us know what your experiences have been like in this market

Ninah

P.S. Do you recognize this photo? It's in Ouray County. If you've never seen this in person, you may have seen it in the original John Wayne movie, True Grit.

Ouray Colorado Condo For Sale

Contact Alan Brown Coldwell Banker Bailey & Co Real Estate 970-209-8436

This Condo in Ouray Colorado is located in the heart of the downtown area within walking distance to most things including the Hot Springs Pool This unit is in great condition, it is 2 story with 405 sq ft on each floor for a total of 810 sq ft. There is a full bath on the main floor with the 2 bedrooms and 1 bath on the 2nd floor. There is a deck off one of the bedrooms upstairs. There are 2 heat sources in this unit, mainly it has electric baseboard heat with a propane gas fireplace in the living room.

There are a total of 16 units in this complex. Most of them are used for short term rentals on a weekly or nightly basis. Rental rates vary by season, to give you an idea of the income that can be generated from owning this condo, weekly rates are around $800/week or $150/night. On average other units are rented out for 75/100 days a year. As of the time of this blog the asking price on this unit is $179,500 Ouary Colorado is located at the foot of the San Juan Mountain range and about 45 minute drive from the Telluride ski area. Ouray is called the "Little Switzerland of America" for its spectacular views of the snow covered mountains. Ouray started life in the 1800's as a mining town and still has some active mines in the region. Check out this web site for photos and videos of Ouray and the surrounding area.

If you would like more information on this Condo or you would like to see it contact me Alan Brown 970-209-8436 alanbrownrealtor@gmail.com

PRICED REDUCED FEB 25 NOW $179,900

If you're like most small businesses in today's economy you're probably looking for new and innovative ways to cut costs while still maintaining your day to day business activities. This is a common problem that we hear every day from small business owners and entrepreneurs in a wide variety of industries.

Many small businesses, self-employed individuals, and even large corporations are turning to a virtual office assistant to stay on top of administrative tasks while eliminating the need to fund a full-time staff. As USA Today wrote, "The savings come from being able to concentrate efforts on building the business instead of balancing the checkbook and typing envelopes."

Your time and money are worth more when you are able to concentrate on what you do best and leave the rest to an assistant.

What exactly is a virtual office assistant?
"Virtual Assistants (VAs) are independent entrepreneurs providing professional administrative, creative, managerial, technical, business office and/or personal support services. Virtual assistants use the most advanced means of communication, and the newest and most efficient and time-saving office products and work delivery, regardless of geographic boundaries. Virtual Assistants work from their own offices, on a contractual basis, and abide by an established Code of Ethics requiring integrity, honesty and due diligence."

~The Alliance for Virtual Business

What tasks can a virtual office assistant do for me?
Here are just a few tasks that a Virtual Office Assistant can handle for their clients:

§ Appointment Setting
§ Cold calling
§ Answering Phones
§ Database management
§ Newsletter preparation
§ Lead qualification
§ Internet marketing
§ Social networking activities

How much money can I save by hiring a virtual office assistant vs. an employee?
Although exact dollar amounts will vary, you can expect to see a huge savings in the following areas:

§ Avoid buying an additional computer for your assistant.
§ Avoid buying a desk for an assistant.
§ Avoid paying FICA (Social Security Tax) - legally!
§ Avoid paying unemployment tax - legally!
§ Avoid paying for holiday, vacation, and sick time.
§ Have happier workers who are more efficient at their jobs.
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These things alone can add up to a substantial savings for any small business but at Team Double-Click® the savings don't stop there. For a limited time we're offering a 15% rate reduction on all of our virtual office assistant services in order to help clients combat a poor economy. We understand that if a company cuts costs too deeply it can no longer grow and so we're reaching out to small businesses everywhere who are interested in saving money without taking away from their business.

If you would like a free consultation to see how a virtual assistant can save money for your business please visit us at www.teamdoubleclick.com. Talk to one of our experienced Virtual Services Representatives and start saving money today!

You are welcome to reprint this article as long as the following byline is included: Team Double-Click^® provides virtual assistance for small and home-based businesses. Visit Team Double-Click's Web site at http://www.teamdoubleclick.com or phone 888.827.9129.