Crested Butte, CO

As I sit in front of my pc writing this blog it is snowing outside and everything is white and magical in Crested Butte, Colorado. Tomorrow, there will be first tracks! Yay! I spent the entire day adding some really cool content to my website, such as descriptions and photos of Red Mountain Ranch, one of the communities offering ranch-style living. Contact me for Crested Butte real estate information or if you are interested in Crested Butte condos and land. Come and enjoy this awesome community!

Yesterday's NY Times had an article (link below) about a few Crested Butte locals who live here and work "real" white collar jobs elsewhere. They frequently travel for business but are able to live in this magnificent place and enjoy all of the perks of a local's existence. Could anything be better? I know a few others, not mentioned in the article, who do the same thing. They have high paying, sometimes high powered jobs, but are able to balance out the associated stresses by living here a great deal of the time. I worked the same balance when my house here was my second home, and I came here mostly on the weekends from California. Unfortunately, my job wasn't flexible as to my physical presence, so I couldn't spend much time here during the week. How I envy those people who can telecommute. Hopefully this segment of Crested Butte's population will only grow in the future. -Diane

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/greathomesanddestinations/06crested.html?ref=escapes

We're three months or more into this new adventure and every day something new and usually wonderful comes up! At our 6th yoga session this morning, not only did we expand our lungs and body, but also found out about meditation classes on Thursdays! Then signed up for nordic skiing lessons tomorrow!

In between all that I am spending hours researching and learning about this unique resort real estate market. All my skills and experience as a full time realtor for over 20 years will come handy when it's time to listen to what my clients really want ... is it a ski in/ski out condo or a slopeside 5+ bedroom home to host family and friends at? Good listening and understanding and negotiation skills will come in handy. Meanwhile, another trip around town to check out the inventory and recent sales.

Yes, sales! There have been quite a few sales since the beginning of the year! Yes, business is down and prices are lower, but it seems that smart buyers are beginning to see real value in some of our listings. I will endeavor to make this blog a place where you can find out what the sales have been and what are the BEST BUYS in our market each month. I look forward to continuing to help families realize their homeownership dreams - in dreamy Crested Butte and the Gunnison Valley! For more information about homes and condos or Crested Butte real estate for sale in historic Crested Butte, exciting Mt Crested Butte, give me a call (970-596-8480) or email CrestedButteBroker@gmail.com.

Diane's Blog 1/19/09

My Butte Heaven?

When I moved to Crested Butte full time in 2000, I had an interesting experience at the post office. While waiting in line for a package, I noticed the man at the counter looked very much like my old boss from the trading desk at Drexel Burnham in New York. Indeed, it was he. After saying hi, and then watching the stunned look on his face relax, I couldn't help but thinking that this was a movie moment. Since Drexel had gone down in infamy after then U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Rudy Giuliani went after us, I was reminded of the Steve Martin movie My Blue Heaven. In that movie, Steve Martin is a mobster who joins the Witness Protection Program and is sent off to a San Diego suburb. There he finds other WPP Mob squealers, and they all live in a small town, integrating their big city ways into small town life. Maybe Crested Butte was the place that ex-Wall Street executives went after scandal struck?

So, for all you Greenwich, CT and NY, NY denizens, there is life after Broad Street. If you manage to sell your house in Greenwich or Darien, you can buy a considerable house in Crested Butte and the overall expenses are lower. Our local school was just  ranked in the top 8% of schools in the state (link: CB Schools rank highly). Instead of Kindergarten tuition in the low 5 figures, here it is free. Yes, free. Think of the money that will save you over the course of a child's primary education. More than one kid? Start multiplying the savings. Additionally, our school bond just passed, so the architectural committee is already meeting to plan the expansion which will begin this summer. The bond only brings our real estate tax level up to about 3.5%; compare that to New Jersey taxes and your jaw will drop.

The only additional expenses here are around $850 per adult for a season lift pass. How much does your gym cost annually? No need for a gym here, there are a million acres of open space. Ski in the winter, hike, bike, ride horses, kayak, rock climb in the summer and your lungs will be so full of fresh air they will thank you for the change.Whether you are fleeing mobsters, disgrace or just big city life, Crested Butte may be the place for you. The locals are exceedingly friendly, and who knows, you may already know people in line at the post office.

- Diane

This is my first ActiveRain post. I've been blogging for 3 years on my personal website (http://www.crestedbuttebroker.com) using the Moveable Type blog platform. While my blog and web site are number 1 ranked on Google, Yahoo, MSN and various other niche search engines for our local real estate market (Crested Butte Colorado) I soon realized the "requirement" of adding ActiveRain blog posts to the mix to create maximum market online exposure, specifically for outlets like Google News alerts.

The point I am trying to make here? To be the best you must continue to evolve as a real estate broker and you must strive to hit on all cylinders when it comes to real estate promotions - specifically electronic sales and marketing. As soon as you think you've got the Internet thing figured out a new standard, a better technology, a new industry network or more clever competitors show up to force you to jump a little higher.

When I first got into real estate in Crested Butte (2006) I quickly determined our local industry was stuck in the proverbial dark ages of marketing and advertising. I couldn't find any local virtual tour providers or even web development companies that specialized in real estate sites. There weren't any agents around here with decent web sites, blogs, e-newsletters, virtual tours or even decent photography of their million dollar listings.

The only advertising outlet (it seemed) was a print ad in the local Crested Butte News - which meant EVERY broker that had any money placed ads - one on top of each other - throughout the weekly edition of this newspaper. Needless to say, a horribly ineffective method of creating exposure for brokers and their listings.

So, the first thing I did (even before I was licensed) was to begin work on a dedicated web site that promoted my listings, promoted my market/community and of course, me. As soon as I was licensed to sell I went live with my site and within 2 weeks I had my first two deals - representing out of state buyers on local purchases. These buyers found me online. It was then I knew I was on to something.

The next step? I started my blog (http://www.crested-butte-real-estate.com/blog) and began my Crested Butte Real Estate Insider e-newsletter. Basically, I took my best blogs and repurposed them in my monthly opt-in/opt-out newsletter adding in my listing promotions. If you weren't on my site reading it at my blog then it ended up in your email inbox.

Then I got into virtual tours. We are a destination resort market, so most real estate shopping occurs virtually before anyone is actually in town looking at the real thing. As painful as it was for a full time real estate broker, I jumped in and spent HOURS/DAYS researching technologies. I selected a program (Real Tour Vision), trained and then started my own virtual tour company. I wanted ALL of my listings to have a dedicated virtual tour. To pay for the camera, equipment and software I offered to do virtual tours for other brokers and before I thought about it I had produced over 150 tours for other agents. I have become these agent's "best friends" and I have toured more local real estate listings than anyone. (Helpful when you represent buyers or you are trying to determine value for a new listing)

The bottom line for today's real estate professional? Don't sit back. Once you put your stuff out there like I did EVERYONE you compete with begins to figure out your formula. ActiveRain is a powerful network for real estate pros and another "requirement" if you want to compete.

Thanks for reading,

Channing Boucher
Benson Sotheby's International Realty
Crested Butte Colorado
http://www.crested-butte-real-estate.com