This week, U.S. News and World report again released its popular ‘best places to live’ ranking, and once again, Colorado got snubbed in a big way. Just two short years ago Colorado Springs ranked as the 3rd-best place to live in the United States in the same report...
Vacancy tax on nightly rentals 7500/unit in major ski town
Crested Butte, CO it the latest to propose a vacancy tax with one major shift, nightly rentals would be covered by the new tax along with second homeowners. Who knew that Colorado ski towns would be taking economic lessons from Portland Oregon,one of the worst...
Colorado first in nation on rising insurance costs; why?
Colorado property insurance costs have roughly doubled since 2020 placing Colorado in the top spot of insurance increases in the entire country. What is the top factor driving Colorado insurance rates much higher than the national average (it is not...
One CO town proposes to tax employers for hiring workers
Reading the headline, it sounds absolutely crazy to propose taxing businesses for creating jobs, but is this really a crazy idea? Is every job worth the same in Colorado? For example if someone builds a large hotel in Steamboat creating 15 jobs, should the developer...
Think your property taxes are high, are you ready for a 40% increase?
I’m amazed that there hasn’t been a bigger emphasis on the financial cliffs that most major cities will soon face. Most cities are heavily funded by property taxes and most importantly commercial property taxes. How will cities fund their budgets that...
Colorado bans property evictions
The legislature is back at it again, thinking that they are going to solve the housing crisis by even more regulations and expense on property owners. The new proposal (HB 26-1106) will essentially ban evictions in many towns and quadruple the cost of evictions...
Colorado calls taxes junk fees: 4 huge changes for landlords
2025 was the year for housing in the Colorado legislature; the underlying theme is that more regulation of everything will somehow bring costs down. Unfortunately the opposite is occurring with many lower priced rentals drastically increasing prices to comply with...
Pot reclassified, what does this mean for Colorado
With the stroke of a pen, President Trump has radically altered federal law in regard to Cannabis. The big news is that Marijuana is no longer in the same classification as heroin. What does this mean for Colorado’s Cannabis industry? How will this impact Colorado...
Colorado grants itself right of first refusal on most multifamily properties
There is yet another law coming out of the Colorado statehouse on affordable housing. This new law allows state and local governments the first right of refusal on most multifamily property and requires notice to the government of any intent to sell prior to listing...
8300 Buildings in Colorado impacted by new law, are you?
Our legislature recently enacted a new law that will impact large property owners starting this year. Who is impacted by the “Decarbonization law” Who will be paying millions for building upgrades (hint not the government)? Who will be on the hook for fines up to...
Colorado habitability bill: does a faulty outlet make a property uninhabitable?
Why is it so expensive to rent and live in Colorado? Every time I open the news, I’m amazed at what is happening in the Colorado legislature. As a rental property owner, I cringe as it is becoming next to impossible to cost effectively operate a rental property. The...
Colorado Property taxes jump 40%
How can property taxes jump 40% since 2023 when values are basically flat in most areas? Is there anything you can do about it? In 2022, with property values and in turn taxes surging, the Colorado governor signed a grand bargain to save on property taxes in...
Does Breckenridge need more tourists?
“Summit County has to look at itself in the mirror and say (maybe we need to) change the way that we treat people that come in and try to be a little bit more receptive to having them here… I don’t think that Summit County in general, has rolled out the red carpet to...
Survey results should Nederland buy Eldora, the results surprised
In my last blog post, Should the town of Nederland buy Eldora ski resort. The results were not as clear cut as I had thought. It was evenly split between the two, but the responses were very interesting. Please see below. Thank you to everyone...
2025 New Colorado Real estate laws
First, thank you to everyone who reads my blogs and has contacted your legislatures and various associations to ensure that the real estate industry is being heard at the Colorado Capital. Many of the original proposed bills have been...
Best time to appeal property taxes in 15 years
In Colorado you will be receiving your new tax assessment in the next few weeks (typically the beginning of May) and time is of the essence as you have a limited window if you want to fight your tax value. Your taxes are likely going up even though the market...
Ikon and Epic passes increase, will this impact ski real estate?
Wow, how skiing has changed over the last decade. Assuming a family of 4, a full ikon pass will cost almost $5k/year and that is before you take a bite of an overpriced slice of pizza!. On the flip side, an epic pass for 4 will be closer to 4k/year. What do the...
New Colorado backdoor tax proposal to charge second homeowners more
Why is Steamboat Springs leading the way? Although in the last legislative session the initiative to charge second homeowners more was defeated, it is rearing its head again in the form of a new backdoor “vacancy tax”. The leaders of this new push are the Colorado...
Colorado bill prohibits the collection of a security deposit
The above is a picture of what we found in a property we were involved in; needless to say they did not get their security deposit back due to some huge electrical problems, water issues, etc....! Although, all eyes and media attention seems to be...
Condo death spiral in Denver: are ski condos next?
Condos were once the hottest real estate in Denver and throughout the front range and now suddenly the tides have turned. Days on the market has almost doubled, prices are down, and sellers are now in a panic to dump properties. Is now a good time to...
Which Colorado ski town is the best 2025 investment?
As I predicted, we are starting to see some big changes in Colorado ski real estate. Even as prices in many markets throughout the country are staying flat, some Colorado ski real estate is still increasing while others are starting to correct. What is causing the...
4 golden rules of Ski investing
I learned the hard way about investing in mountain towns. I successfully lost over 100k on my first ski investment property! Hindsight 20/20 I violated 1 of the 4 golden rules of investing in mountain property. I developed these 4 rules after evaluating thousands...
Moose now use crosswalks, is this a harbinger for 3 big changes in Colorado ski real estate
Having lived and worked in the Colorado mountains for almost 25 years I have witnessed first hand the radical transformation that has occurred in every single ski town. How have ski town demographics changed? Is the moose a harbinger for big changes in each mountain...
6 CO ski towns rentals effect on estate
Voters in Steamboat Springs, Aspen, Dillon, Glenwood Springs, Carbondale, and Summit County will all decide whether to impose additional taxes, with at least part of those funds in each municipality going to support affordable housing. What are the new short term...



























