Conifer, CO

April 18 and I'm writing from my little horse ranch in Conifer at about 8000 feet. We are snowed in! I was able to keep my driveway open for most  of yesterday but I eventually got stuck-- even with chains. And now the snow has accumulated to a depth well beyond the capacity of my Ford F350 or it's captain.

We lost power some time after 2 AM as did all of Conifer and most, if not all of Evergreen. According to IREA we can expect to the power loss to last through the weekend and possibly as late as Monday.

I've called my neighbors who usually rely on me for plowing and they are all okay, hunkered down and waiting it out. Maybe we'll have a neighborhood Monopoly match later. One Belle Meade neighbor has a generator so we may head over there-- eventually. He's a Scotch drinker though so it could get interesting.

Anyway, it's springtime in Denver! It will be in the sixties by Tuesday and soon all this snow will be a distant memory. But for now it's time to play in the snow.

I have started to see signs of cabin fever in my wife though! It's been 3 hours since we noticed the power outage--she's starting to show some minor insanity. Most recently she asked if I would snowshoe to Starbucks to get her a latte. It's only 2.5 miles but I just don't see it happening. Maybe I'll make a run to Sushi Hai--I suspect they don't need power to make a big plate of raw fish!

Well we all survived! IREA had the power up at our place by Saturday evening. It was fully restored to all of Conifer later that night. Sunday morning I was able to dig out my plow and open up the road. Several LARGE trees came down around me while I was plowing. In fact one tree leaned over and caused a fire in my neighbors yard. The fire was contained without any help, the Elk Creek fire department scouted it but wasn't very impressed! All in all it was a great weekend. The snow provided a nice reprieve from the constant connection, whirls and buzzing, that we're so used to. At least for the Maioccos  it was a weekend of bonding over the Monopoly board!

Happy days!

Here's a link to my earlier article about Conifer Real Estate

And A Great Conifer Horse Property

And I wrote a little ditty about Evergreen real estate as well.

Conifer, Colorado

Welcome to the Conifer Community Website. Conifer is an unincorporated mountain town of Jefferson County, Colorado in the foothills South and West of Denver, CO along highway 285. Conifer serves as the gateway to Colorado’s Southern mountains, South Park and a wealth of fly-fishing, mountain biking, skiing, snowmobiling and overall Colorado mountain activities!

The town of Conifer sits at about 8,300 feet although there are homes at the top of Conifer mountain approaching 10,000 feet in elevation and at the bottom of Foxton Road at the North Fork of the South Platte River the elevation is about 6,400 feet.!

Conifer is home to the well known and visible sledding hill of Meyers Ranch open Space. Passersby on Highway 285 can see sledders and snowboarders enjoying the gently sloping grassy hillside which in the spring and summer can be filled with hikers, mountain bikers and an occasional herd of Elk.

Residents in Conifer typically commute to Denver and enjoy a peaceful, low population density community with its own schools including West Jefferson Elementary, West Jefferson Middle School and Conifer High School—Home to the Lobos.

The real estate market in Conifer is one of great price diversity, with homes starting, at the time of this posting at $134,900, but with 15 homes over $1,000,000 including Conifer’s most expensive active listing at $2,500,000 in Rampart Highlands off of Richmond Hill. That said the average purchase price of homes so far in 2009 in Conifer is about $300,000.

Homes can range from the weekend mountain cabin to expansive rocky mountain horse property. Equestrians enjoy extensive trails, varied terrain and quick access to specialized veterinary care.

Conifer experienced a tremendous surge of retail growth in 2007 and 2008 with new grocery stores, including King Soopers and Safeway’s Flagship store—complete with it’s own boutique coffee bar, juice bar, sushi bar, and a lot more! In fact I believe it is the second biggest Safeway store in the U.S.! In addition many new restaurants have popped up in Conifer including: Pier 49 Pizza, Heidi’s Deli, Anthony’s Pizza, Chile’s—which despite my own efforts to eat as much as I could has subsequently closed, a beautiful Sushi restaurant- Sushi Hai, Lucille’s Steakhouse, Sonic, 3 Margaritas- who was kind enough to sponsor the third grade lacrosse team, Qdoba, Wendy’s, Fiesta Jalisco, Raven’s—a local eatery and tavern, and probably a few more that are slipping my memory right now. But none of them compete with J.J. Madwells manicotti at 26412 Main Street!

Be sure to check out these related posts:

Littleton Horse Property

Golden Real Estate

Evergreen Real Estate

Investing in Real Estate 9 - Scrapes, Pops and New Construction

This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, scrapes, pops and new construction, in the Conifer area in Denver.

What this investment is: Purchasing a small home in an expensive neighborhood that may or may not need work. The home is bulldozed and a new home or duplex is put on the lot. Alternatively, the existing home is renovated and more square footage is added on. A pop-top is adding a second story to an existing home to add more square footage (commonly, a master bedroom suite).

Equity needed: Being able to document your income and your assets will be critical. For a commercial loan, your net worth should generally be at least as much as the loan you are seeking. The good news is that the commercial loan usually does not show up on your credit report, so it doesn't count towards the "four investment home limitation" from Fannie / Freddie.

Importance of credit: Essential. A 720 FICO is a must. A 740 would be better.

Importance of experience with contractors: Critical. If you have never done it before, start with an easier "paint and carpet" project to build your skills. The more sophisticated the project, the better your contractor management skills must be to make money. Not surprisingly, the simpler projects have lower profit margins than the complicated projects. Make sure you can take the time to really focus on the project. We run classes on how to do this from time to time. Go to http://www.yourcastle.org/events.cfm to see when the next session is.

Important of experience with property managers: Generally not important for this type of investment.

Investing in Real Estate 8 - Condo Conversions

This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, fix and flips, in the Conifer area in Denver.

What this investment is: A synthesis of the fix and flip and rental operations - purchasing an apartment building in a neighborhood dominated by owner occupants, then converting the building from apartment building to condominium. Often requires renovation of the units to meet the expectations of owner-occupant buyers in that area. Complex and time consuming, but has wonderful tax advantages compares to fix and flips and often has superior returns to all other asset classes. Ideally suited for the sophisticated investor with extensive experience.

Equity needed: Being able to document your income and your assets will be critical. For a commercial loan, your net worth should generally be at least as much as the loan you are seeking. The good news is that the commercial loan usually does not show up on your credit report, so it doesn't count towards the "four investment home limitation" from Fannie / Freddie.

Importance of credit: Essential. A 720 FICO is a must. A 740 would be better.

Importance of experience with contractors: Critical. If you have never done it before, start with an easier "paint and carpet" project to build your skills. The more sophisticated the project, the better your contractor management skills must be to make money. Not surprisingly, the simpler projects have lower profit margins than the complicated projects. Make sure you can take the time to really focus on the project. We run classes on how to do this from time to time. Go to http://www.yourcastle.org/events.cfm to see when the next session is.

Important of experience with property managers: Not important; the majority of our clients manage their own rentals when they get started. Ideally you will have started with some smaller investment rentals and built property management experience. Now, when you have to finally manage a property manager, it will be easy since you have done the job yourself in the past.

Investing in Real Estate 7 - Fix and Flips

This blog will discuss a type of real estate investment, fix and flips, in the Conifer area in Denver.

What this investment is: Purchasing a home that needs work. The scope can range from the basic "paint and carpet" to extensive overhauls to scraping a decrepit property and completely starting over. Usually does not involve tenants, and the objective is to get in and out of the property as quickly as possible. Great for beginners with the right skill sets or the willingness to learn.

Equity needed: With hard money loans (defined in next paragraph), potentially 0% and they'll finance the construction costs, too. Expect a LOT of strings to be attached. A small local lender might give you 75% of the purchase price and the renovation budget, and the terms will be a lot more pleasant than the hard money option. Or you can do 20% down and get a convention, non-owner occupied loan and pay for the renovation with cash or your Home Depot credit card.

Importance of credit: If you get a hard money loan, your credit will not matter as much. These are harder to find than they were last year. If you get a traditional loan, it'll be a non-owner occupant loan, credit score will be very important. A 720 FICO score would help a lot. Being able to document your income and your assets will be critical. A hard money lender will lend you money based on the value of the property you are purchasing. If the property is worth $200,000 and you are able to purchase it for $150,000, a Hard Money Lender will probably give you a loan regardless of your down payment or credit score. However, the fees and the interest rate will be much less desirable than more conventional forms of financing. Hard Money Lenders can usually close very quickly, and from the Sellers' point of view, you are purchasing with Cash.

Importance of experience with contractors: Critical. If you have never done it before, start with an easier "paint and carpet" project to build your skills. The more sophisticated the project, the better your contractor management skills must be to make money. Not surprisingly, the simpler projects have lower profit margins than the complicated projects. Make sure you can take the time to really focus on the project. We run classes on how to do this from time to time. Go to http://www.yourcastle.org/events.cfm to see when the next session is.

Important of experience with property managers: Not important.