Vickie Slade

Lafayette, CO is a Wonderful Place to Live

Lafayette, Colorado is located just east of Boulder (about 10 miles). From Lafayette, you have vivid views of the front range and are within a quick commute to Boulder, Denver, the Airport and Ft. Collins. Lafayette, offers a variety of recreational choices including an award winning golf course (Indian Peaks), a killer skate board park, recreational center, and a multitude of pakrs, walking and biking trails. Lafayette also has great schools, a state-of-the-art library, a variety of downtown restaurants and shops and provides great opportunities for new businesses.

Yesterday, on our warm January day (55+ degrees), I ventured over to Wanake Lake Park. It is a park that offers the young and the young at heart, opportunity to enjoy the lake, the playground, park and of course the path that encircles the entire lake. Whether biking, jogging or walking is your passion, you can get a bit of exercise while taking in a little nature and the outdoors. Even the geese were enjoying the bright sunshine yeyesterday as they padded over the ice the is crusting a portion of the lake. And, of course, Wanaka Lake Park is a dog-friendly park.

Residents of Lafayette already know it is a wonderful place to live. If you're considering Lafayette, consider the housing statistics below for December.

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Worth taking note: inventory is down, number of sales and average sales price are up, average days on the market is down. Combined...... it is a "Perfect storm" for home owners to be selling their homes. And... Buyer's this would be a good time to take advantage of Lafayette's home prices before they go up further. Lafayette is an affordable alternative to Boulder and Lousiville with so much to offer.

Erie Positioned for Growth in 2012

The town of Erie is positioned for growth in 2012. Don't be surprised if you see the first homes built in the Bridgewater development being built this year. They will be the first of what is expected to be a 2,700-unit development which will Span over 900 acres. The development will be located between historic downtown Erie and Erie High School and north of Erie Parkway.

Erie is also planing some additional projects within the community for revitalization.

The Bridgewater development may be on the cutting edge as Erie Positions itself for growth in 2012 and for contributing to the overall market rebound. In fact, Erie's Mayor, Joe Wilson was quoted as saying "this is probably the development of the decade, and it's a testament to everything Erie offers." The Bridgewater development could add as many as 10,000 residents; pretty substantial growth when you consider that Erie currently only has about 19,000 residents.

Recently, it was reported that Erie is planning for a larger police force. As Erie's plans are are positioned for growth in 2012, Erie could break ground on a new police station later this year; perhaps as early as August. The new police facility is slated to be built on a six-acre site located at the corner of County Line Road and Telleen Avenue.

Erie is a unique community which is spread out over three different counties, Boulder, Broomfield and Weld. Located just West of I-25, with easy access to Boulder, Denver, and Fort Collins, it is gaining a lot of popularity as a place to live and raise a family. Home prices in Erie are typically much more affordable than Boulder and Louisville and the commute is only slighly longer for people working in Boulder. Erie has added a lot of infastructure in the last few years such as their new, state-of-the art community center and athletic fields and the new library. New start ups are finding Erie to be a viable alternative for their businesses.

Louisville, A Community for Kids

Louisville is not only a town, it is a "community". A community that is all about families and kids and reaching out to interact and help each other.

I absolutely love a story I just read in the local paper which highlighted a special project which is being spear headed by a mom of three, Amanda Hassenstab. She came up with a great idea of a "Community Sample Day." It is such a great idea, and one that can only come together and actually happen in a a place like Louisville which is a Community for kids and their families.

Scheduled for January 28th, the community sample day will give families an opportunity to check out up to four different classes (all for FREE) over a 2 hour period. They will get to sample each class for approximately 20 minutes. What a great idea...... getting to try out a class to determine if you actually want to take it. This is a brilliant concept and one that seems to be catching on. Children differ in so many ways including their list of what excites them and what motivates them. Sometimes they don't even know what that means, until they are exposed to something that flips that magical switch.

A number of Businesses in the Louisville community will be getting involved in this important event for the kids. (Love it when a community comes together!). The Louisville Public Library will host a story time and will be giving away books. Sassafras photography will be taking photos, Assorted goods will be giving away a Valentine's basket, free dishes of ice cream will be given out by Put A Spoon In It and..... there are likely to be even more participants by the time the event actually occurs. (For a small fee of only $25, vendors can take part in the Sample Day.)

Louisville is a unique community for sure and not just for the Kids. Louisville offers a lifestyle so appealing that it has been voted not just once, but twice by Money magazine as the best place to live and raise a family.

Boulder Issues New Roof Mandate

If you live in the city of Boulder, you may be required to replace your roof before 2014. The city of Boulder has issued a new roof mandate that will require all homes within the city of Boulder which currently have a roof covering which consists of 50% or more of wood by volume to be replaced before January 1, 2014.

The new ordinance states that no new wood roofs can be installed including any that have been treated with fire retardant treatments. It further states that no person owning a building with a wood roof shall fail to remove or cause to be remove their existing wood roof.

The city of Boulder issues the new roof mandate to help protect Boulder residents from unnecessary risk of fire. Although wood shake roofs were used extensively in the past, not only for their aesthetic appeal, they also had good insinuative qualities. Unfortunately, they also substantially increased the risk of structure fire. Wood shake roofs have a class C fire rating (or no rating), which offers little or no degree of fire protection. In contrast, most types of clay tile, concrete tile, slate, metal, and composition shingles have a class a or class b rating which offer a high degree or moderate degree of roof protection.

Homeowners who have wood roofs should start their research now. Their research should include a study about the various types of roofing material available, their cost, lifespan, pros and cons. Homeowners should also make sure they choose a reputable roofing company; ask for references and check to see if they are a member of the Better Business Bureau. Also, do your online research to see if the company has a history of complaints or negative comments. Of course, you can also check with your local real estate professional who typically has worked with numerous roofing companies through his/her varied real estate transactions.

Boulder County Real Estate - Louisville Market Trends

Below are the price trends (sold vs. listed price) for Louisville, CO as well as the Market Inventory Trends.

Louisville was recently named, again, by Money Magazine as the best place to live.

Need more information about Louisville, CO...... our community and our schools? Give me a shout. Would be happy to send you additional information. Also you can visit www.JustListedInBoulder.com and sign up for listing alerts or to view additional market data on the specific community you may be interested in.