Ruthie's Corner

Home Sellers’ Questions Answered (a few may surprise you)  I love working with home sellers! It’s such an exciting time for me to be an integral part of their moving on to what’s next for them, whether it’s upsizing, downsizing, or moving across the country for a new job! I understand their concerns and it’s my pleasure to work diligently on their behalf. Today, I’m sharing their answers to their Top 3 Questions… 1) What is most important when preparing my home to get listed? There are three things that are most important, excluding of course location– because your home will either be in a good location that qualified buyers desire or isn’t- there isn’t anything we can do about that. But the three things sellers can effect are: 1- Light 2- Clean 3- Uncluttered Light – The #1 thing buyers always mention when entering a home is, ” Oh my, it’s awful dark in here.” And we turn around and walk out the door to see the next home. Yes, everyone wants to walk in and see ...

Home Buyers Want to Know Your Home Inside-Out While home buyers are as individual as the home they plan on purchasing, one thing they share is a desire to insure that the home they will call their own is as good beneath the surface as it appears to be. “Will the roof leak?" “Is the wiring safe?” “What about the plumbing?” These and others, are the questions that the buyers looking at your home will seek professional help to answer. According to industry experts, there are at least 33 physical problems that will come under scrutiny during a home inspection. We've identified the 11 most common of these and, if not identified and dealt with, any of these 11 items you dearly in terms of repair. In most cases, you can make a reasonable pre-inspection yourself, if you know what you’re looking for.   And knowing what you’re looking for can help prevent little problems from growing into costly and unmanageable ones. 11 Things That You need to Know   to Pass ...

4 Tips for Saving Money for your 1st Home Saving money is never easy. When you’re hoping to purchase your first home, saving is a necessity! Try these cost-saving tips and soon you’ll have a nest egg to put toward your new place. 1.  Make a budget and stick to it . Consumer.gov has tips for making a budget. Create your budget and then commit to sticking to it (knowing that hard work will pay off when you find that beautiful home to call your own)! Be sure to track what you spend. And make sure to avoid any unnecessary spending – this is not the time to be buying a new car or making any similar large purchase. 2.  Talk to a lender about what you can afford . I know it’s exciting to go out looking at homes. But before doing so, you owe it to yourself to speak to a lender. Your lender will ask about your income and expenses and, within about 10 minutes, will be able to calculate what you can afford. Your lender can also help lay out all expenses associated with ...

6 Reasons Your Home Won't Sell Are you ready to sell your home and want it to have a great first impression on the market? Or maybe your home has been listed for a few weeks or months, and you can't figure out why it won't sell, and you know your agent is working hard to market it. We've listed below the top 6 reasons your home may not make a good impression and end up stagnant on the market. 1. IT'S OVERPRICED To be clear, an overpriced home is the #1 reason a home won't sell. We often times want our homes to be worth a lot more than we may see based on the data, but if you put your home on the market for the number you wish it will bring instead of the price it actually needs to be, your home can sit on the market for months without getting a single showing. If you're thinking you need to price high to leave room for negotiations, statistics show that views for your property, for buyers in your price r...

10 Staging Tips To Get Your Home Sold Ready to sell your house? Here is a few staging tips to get your home prepared for the market. When listing a home that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions, you want to make sure it's presented in the best light. You wouldn't buy a $50,000 dollar car if it was filled from top to bottom in someone's personal content and trash. This is the same mindset you need to carry into selling your home that will be worth well over a $100,000. 1.  SAY BYE TO CLUTTER The best thing you can do for your home for sale is to get rid of all of your clutter! Make a rule for your home that for every new piece that comes in, one must go. One of the biggest factors to a cluttered home is too much furniture. Generally, in a professional staging, half the home owner's furniture is removed to make the house look much bigger. Look around your house and see what you can pack away. It'll be w...

Don't Replace Your Agent With The Internet With the influx of new technology and web based solutions, it isn't a surprise that everything is moving fast into the era of the internet. From sites like Uber to Grubhub, we generally can pull up our phones or laptops to order what we want with ease. And with every industry being revolutionized by technology, the same methods are "attempting" to be applied to the real estate industry.  We could all agree that the simplification of the process through paperwork would be much appreciated by agents and buyers/sellers alike; but the attempt of replacing the agent by sites like Zillow and other third party resources, can lead to a snowball affect of disaster. Think about real estate being smack dab in the middle of fast food and a doctor. You can use your mobile device to quickly place your order for a $20 meal, but when it comes to getting a surgery, you'll want to put that phone...

Snow day in the mountains! It’s a snowy mess up here today! While Victor doesn’t have the totals yet that the rest of the county does, we have the wind for sure! Glad to see the moisture that is for sure but if traveling in the area please use caution when traveling. Check local road cameras or reports before traveling!

It is that time again! Time to put in for your Colorado Hunting licenses! The deadline is April 4 th ! You can apply for your licenses online at https://www.co.wildlifelicense.com Looking to purchase a Colorado Hunting property? Contact us today! 

A beautiful Thursday Morning here at 9494 Ft! Gotta love the mountain air before a storm blows in! Waiting to see if much comes out of this storm, Not sure if we are in for a blizzard or a dusting... Gotta love Colorado weather! However, we have everything prepared in case it is a big one so feeding the cattle will be done with ease, I can work from the house and by the fire place so I don't have to try and drive with the snow plows. Over all I am more excited to get some moisture in the ground! We need it fire dangers are high here and there have been a few small fires already this year. With the warmer months coming I am hoping that the people who come to enjoy our little slice of heaven are smart about fires and we avoid another big one. Hope everyone has a wonderful day today! If you are expecting a storm, hope you stay warm and safe! 

Today, while a normal Wednesday in many ways is also bittersweet. Yesterday we loaded up a bull that was a bit too dangerous to have on the ranch.  He would get on the fight almost anytime you had to deal with him. I will not miss being chased over the fence that is for sure but it is still sad to see him go. A few months back he ran over my fiancé and that was the last straw. So after months of eluding capture he was caught and yesterday hauled off to his fate. Why I say it is bittersweet, I love my cows and I hate to loose a wonderful bull who did give me good calves, but I am looking forward the check I will get in the mail tomorrow! That will really help with wedding planning and fixing my truck! Hope you all have a wonderful Wednesday! (picture is not of the bull I sold but of one of my favorite bulls  Ferdinand!)

Two great lots in Lakemoor West Build your dream home or a weekend getaway on the two adjacent lots! Enjoy fishing in the stream that runs through the lots, see the wildlife that comes off the BLM which borders the property. 16 acres of mountain paradise for you to enjoy! For more information contact Ruth Grainger-Starr  (719)648-2288

Ranch in Victor Colorado THIS IS A WONDERFUL LITTLE RANCH, MADE UP OF PATENTED MINING CLAIMS, EASY ACCESS, GREAT VIEWS, GREAT HUNTING, HOUSE LOOKS PLAIN FROM THE ROAD BUT SUPER NICE INSIDE, GREAT SHOP AND STORAGE AREA IN THE LOWER LEVEL, MUST SEE TO APPRECIATE. EXISITNG WATER SYSTEM IS A DEVELOPED SPRING WHICH GRAVITY FLOWS INTO A CISTERN, GREAT WATER AND PLENTY OF IT, BUT NO WELL PERMIT. COULD DRILL A WELL, IN FACT COULD DRILL A WELL ON EACH SEPARATE PARCEL. List Price $1,350,000.00 MLS#7591442 Call Ruth Grainger (719)648-2288  or  Reed Grainger(719)641-6912 For more information

Gold Pan Ranch in Park County Colorado! The mountain ranch you have been looking for! 1877 contiguous acres, no easements for others through, two mountain tops, springs, ponds, and a live stream you can take irrigation water out of! Two hours from Colorado Springs airport on paved roads. Deer, antelope and elk live on the ranch! Excellent grass that has been well managed. Great views of Pikes Peak, amazing rock formations. A better property for horseback riding is hard to imagine! List price $2,999,990. MLS# 5988066 Contact Reed Grainger (719)641-6912 or Ruth Grainger (719)648-2288