Steamboat First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit

If you are considering using the first time homebuyer's tax credit It's time to start thinking about if this is a good opportunity for you. Properties must be under contract by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30th, 2010 so I would recommend starting to get a feel for what you like and the market by February or March and looking seriously by March or the beginning of April. It is also a good time to start getting your info together and talking to a great mortgage broker. I can recommend a couple if you would like.

The tax credits are a tax credit not a deduction. It is important to consider that a tax credit is a dollar for dollar tax reduction, rather than a reduction in taxable income that would only save you a percentage of your deduction based on the tax rate. A first time homebuyer is defined as a person that hasn’t owned a home in the last three years.

For example, on the $8,000 first time homebuyer tax credit, if you owe $1,000 in taxes, you will receive a refund of $7,000. To qualify for either the first time homebuyer tax credit or the move up credit, all contracts need to be in effect no later than April 30, 2010 and close no later than June 30, 2010. Please be sure that you consult your tax consultant to be sure that you qualify for the credit.

As always, please call me with any questions 970-819-6930

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Had an amazing day Backcountry Skiing

Steamboat is truly a wonderland. It has been 2 weeks since the last storm and we had 6-12 inches of perfect powdered sugar snow. I am liking my new training program and having such a compelling goal in April has me motivated.

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Gorgeous Bluebird Powder Day In Steamboat

Credit "Dam Skier TGR Forums - Steamboat 12-31-09"

And today we have one thing in common, we are working! No complaints but it would be fun to sneak up for a couple of hours as the snow has been great on the mountain. See the picture above and here is a page with some great Steamboat Powder shots taken on New Years Eve 2009.

I try to be a cool boss and sent my assistant up to ski and video some with my new helmet cam so the rest of us can see what it was like. I will post the video if it turns out and am working on a fun new site called Steamboat Videos where you will be able to share in some of our Steamboat Adventures. It's just a shell right now but we will "work" diligently to allow you to make a quick visit to Steamboat anytime you have a couple of minutes in front of your computer.

Don't expect anything to professional but they will be fun clips of different Steamboat adventures and hopefully a good excuse for me to sneak out for an hour or so on days like this ...

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Skiing on Waves

Here is a very cool video from Salomon FreeskiTV at least if you are a dedicated skier and water-skier like me. Cody Townsend and Mike Douglas get out with Alpine boots and bindings tow in with a jet ski and ski big waves. In case you wonder ski boots float in salt water. Click here to see the Skiing on waves video The first minute is a little slow so skip in some.

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Steamboat: Weather Channel Epic Conditions

Here is a great video from the Weather Channel Epic Conditions series that explains part of why Steamboat gets such great snow. It combines some nice ski video and is a must see for nearly anyone that loves Steamboat. I think that you will enjoy it and may learn a few things in the process. It is a little dramatic saying things like "It Strikes Fear in nearly anyone that comes here. Click here to see the Steamboat Epic Conditions Video

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Happy New Years Steamboat!

I hope that you and yours had a very Happy New Years! 2009 was a challenging year in many ways but these are the times that bring out the best in good people and I have been fortunate to witness many good instances of that. I feel closer to my family and friends. Doing business required a lot of thought, hard work, creativity and attention to all aspects of each opportunity. In the same way it was extraordinary because it let us grow and show who we are as people and a community in tough times. I am lucky to have an incredible family along with a group of friends that is second to none.

As I think about my family I can truly say I feel lucky everyday. Many thanks to my parents, grandparents and siblings that made me who I am to my incredible wife and kids that inspire me to my awesome outlaws who have taught me so much.

To all my friends that I get to enjoy Steamboat with, life in general and who have given me such great advice I am truly grateful. While my schedule doesn't allow me to be out having fun most days I appreciate all of you that call to get me out on the bike, skis, river, trails, ice rink and so many more fun places.

While I don't look back and say wow that was a great year the numbers were and it is in great part thanks to friends that trusted me to navigate this market for them and referred their friends to do the same. That makes up 80 plus % of my business. It has been fun to work at every level and property type in the market from several first time buyers to helping a good friend buy Slopeside Grill to a large mix of luxury properties. I am grateful so many people place their trust in me and I work hard to make sure that is a good idea.

If I have one business value that never changes it is take care of others and I won't have to worry about myself. This came from my grandfather when I was 5, it is sometimes expensive in the short term in missed opportunity from saying it is not the time yet but I have no doubt it is what made the great business aspects of 2009 possible not to mention the value of truly enjoying the friends I am so fortunate to work with everyday. It is very satisfying to to not only know that this is how I want to be but see others place value in this approach. It is nice to live in a place where others see the greater good. Heartfelt thanks to all of you!

In 2009 I was able to recognize the fundamental changes in my business and what it takes to help people navigate these changes. It has been a year of much thought and learning. I also increased my dedication to making Steamboat great by being even more active in the Boards of the Urban Renewal Authority that is revitalizing the base area, the Steamboat Chamber of Commerce which helps Steamboat stay strong, contribute to various causes that help our communities and help jump start the Steamboat Walk of the Olympians to name some of few of the biggest efforts. I even got to sponsor half of Santa's visits to downtown Steamboat this year when funding came up short. I am fortunate to work with a lot of great people in each of these efforts.

2009 brought many things business wise that make me feel great about the future. I was able to be successful in a difficult year, grow my market share, increase the quality of my network significantly, made a very active effort to learn more and peel back the layers to really understand what is going on, was humbled to get a lot of calls asking for insights from many leaders of our community, bankers, appraisers etc and usually knew what they wanted to know, Learned from some of the best on a national level that share my philosophy, really brought together my ideas on how to do this business right and have started to implement them. I hired a great guy to help implement many of my ideas, am looking for a great assistant, distilled all of my ideas so I can put together a winning strategy on the web and so many more things. There was a significant flight to quality this year in both properties and who people chose to work with. I saw this happening in several ways but was humbled to have several people point this out.

I am very optimistic for 2010. There are many positive signs that we are working through the problems both nationally and locally, I have been busy for 9 months and see more people starting to get there, people want to be in Steamboat to spend quality time with those that matter to them and have the means to do so, volumes are up significantly this fall, buyers and sellers are getting closer, there is an opportunity to get the best properties as good prices, parts of the market have fully recovered and I am fortunate to have a significant group of people I am actively working with to buy and sell quality properties.

I wish all of you a great year in 2010. Thank you for everything.

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