This summer, take simple steps for be er air
It’s another hot, sunny, bluesky day in Denver. The air is still and looks clear! Despite the beautiful day, you may feel irritation in your throat or a tightness in your chest while out walking the dog, at the park, riding your bike, or on an afternoon run. Your asthma may also be acting up.
This is likely the impact of ground-level ozone: the Front Range’s most pressing air quality problem each summer. We can’t see or smell it, but this pollutant accumulates the most on hot and sunny blue-sky days, reaching its highest levels in the afternoons and evenings.
While ozone serves an important purpose high up in the atmosphere — protecting us from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation — at ground level, high concentrations of ozone are unhealthy. Ozone makes it difficult to breathe, increases our susceptibility to respiratory infections, and exacerbates respiratory ailments such as asthma.
High ozone levels affect all of us. Even if you are healthy, ozone can impact the cells in your lungs during and after exposure, like
sunburn, and repeated exposure over time can lead to reduced lung function. The people at higher risk of exposure or more sensitive to this air pollution include the elderly, those with respiratory conditions, outdoor workers, outdoor athletes, and especially children, whose lungs are still developing.
Where does this air pollution come from? Ground-level ozone is not directly emitted from any source. It forms in the air when two chemicals, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx), react in the sunshine and heat of summer days. These chemicals are called ozone precursors, and they are released into the air from emissions made by our gaspowered vehicles, gas-powered lawn equipment, and oil and gas production across the Front Range.
Both colorless and odorless, ozone is different than wildfire smoke, tiny particulate matter called PM2.5 or PM10, and the visible Denver “brown cloud” of years past. However, ozone can combine with other air quality issues, and is sometimes referred to as “smog.”
errands, or taking the bus or the light rail to get where you need to go. Don’t forget: youth ride for free on RTD! For shorter distances, leave the car at home and walk, ride a scooter, or your bike or e-bike.
Fuel up your car after 5 p.m. to avoid releasing emissions during the heat of the day. Skip idling your car: instead, roll down the windows and turn off the engine while waiting in parking lots or lines. Consider a low- or zeroemissions vehicle, like an electric vehicle (EV), when it’s time to purchase a new vehicle.
While air quality in the region has greatly improved in the past half century, ozone remains a pressing issue to our health and environment. But as our gas-powered vehicles and gas-powered lawn equipment contribute to its formation, we all have the power to reduce ground-level ozone in the Front Range each summer!
First, sign up for ozone alerts. Visit SimpleStepsBetterAir.org to sign up for emails or text “BetterAirCO” to 21000 to receive air quality alerts on your phone. When the Colorado Department of Health and Environment (CDPHE) forecasts a high ozone day, the Regional Air Quality Council (RAQC) will send you a timely text or email to let you know.
On high ozone days, protect your health by avoiding outdoor exercise or heavy exertion between noon and 8 p.m. Still want to get outside? Plan ahead and spend time outside in the morning, or later in the evening, when ozone levels will be lower.
Second, reduce your emissions! Take some Simple Steps for Better Air: Skip two car trips per week by carpooling, combining
Mow the lawn after 5 p.m. if you still use gas-powered equipment. Even better, upgrade your old gas lawn mower, trimmer, or leaf blower to a new electric one with a 30% state discount at participating retailers this year!
And if your job can be done remotely, work from home at least one day a week and eliminate your commute altogether.
Taking these timely, simple steps in the summer improves our Front Range air quality, our health, and our ability to enjoy the outdoors! Visit SimpleStepsBetterAir.org for more information about how to reduce your ozone impact this summer and help your community breathe easier.
Seniors Over 70 Should Consider Downsizing Into a Rental, Not a Smaller Home
Regular readers know that I’ve written about this topic before, but it bears repeating. Just last week a reader called me about listing their home and helping them to buy a smaller, easier to maintain home.
Most agents would welcome this opportunity to have two paydays from a single client, but I’m different, because Rita and I were in a similar situation two years ago and chose another path, and we’re glad we did.
your “golden years” and travel, there’s the added stress of securing your home and handling yard maintenance and snow removal in your absence, so your home doesn’t look like you are on vacation.
We sold our 4,000-squarefoot home and moved into a 1,200-square-foot apartment. A recent study showed that this is a trend among us Baby Boomers.
Homeownership has a lot of costs, responsibility and tasks. The costs include rising property taxes which you will want to appeal every two years, plus rising insurance costs which can’t be appealed. For many, HOA dues and special assessments are an added burden.
Also, just as you might want to enjoy
Condo ownership at least offers a lock-and-leave situation, but still entails those other expenses. Rental relieves you of all the above.
I still recommend home ownership for non-seniors, because it is a proven strategy for wealth accumulation. Indeed it is the appreciation from our owned real estate which set Rita and me up for retirement far more than our earned income.
As one of my fellow Realtors is fond of saying, “If you have too little real estate or not enough, I’m here to help you!”
Fortunately, most seniors over 70 probably own their home free and clear, which means that selling their home can produce a lot of cash to invest in annui-
Kudos to Wendy Renee, Loan Officer Extraordinaire
Last week, I had a double closing that was only made possible by the diligent work of our in-house lender, Wendy Renee of Fairway Independent Mortgage. I can’t go to press this week without describing her work to you!
As happens now and then, I “doubleended” a listing, selling it to an out-ofstate buyer who was unrepresented. This was an investor who has purchased 18 homes and had her own lender, but that lender couldn’t perform and two subsequent lenders failed her, until the last one said we’d have to move the closing to August 15th instead of July 31st. The problem was that my seller was under contract to buy her replace-
ment home on July 31st, and the seller of that home couldn’t postpone the closing because of the contract they had on their replacement home.
So I introduced the out-of-state buyer by phone to Wendy, who said she could meet the deadline — and she did!
Making that possible was the fact that Fairway has every lending function inhouse. She issued disclosures on day 1, got underwriting approval on day 2, sent the Initial Closing Disclosure on day 3, and got the appraisal transferred and a Clear-to-Close on day 7. The loan proceeds were wired on day 7 so we had them for closing at 8 a.m. on day 8.
Thanks, Wendy. You’re amazing!
List With Me & Get Totally Free Local Moving
It has long been my practice — and that of some of my broker associates — that if you hire me to list your current home and to purchase your replacement home, I will not only reduce my commission for selling your current home but provide totally free local moving using our company moving truck (similar to a large U-Haul) and our own moving personnel. We also provide free moving boxes and packing paper/bubble wrap.
using traditional moving companies, you know that our totally free moving can save you thousands of dollars, even for a move within the metro area.
ties or CDs which could well provide enough monthly income to compensate for paying rent. A quick calculation can tell you whether your money will in fact outlive you, when that invested income is added to your Social Security and other income. That was the calculation that Rita and I made.
The question then arises, where can I rent an apartment that suits my needs? Should I go into a 55+ “independent living” complex or a regular rental?
A 55+ community may suit you, especially if you’re a widow or widower or otherwise single, because it can provide much-wanted companionship with its many activities. Some such communities offer “continuous care,” meaning that if you suffer a health setback, you can switch to assisted living, nursing home care and or even memory care without having to move to another com-
munity. I recommend Jenn Gomer from CarePatrol, 720-675-8308, who will interview you about your needs and wants and help you find the right 55+ community for you. She found the complex that Rita and I selected, although we have since moved to a regular rental closer to my office. You pay nothing for her services. She is compensated by the community which you end up choosing,
Are Real Estate Agents Overpaid?
Here’s some data cited by Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman at a conference last week:
Seventy-seven percent of agents haven’t made a sale this year, slightly worse than the 70 percent average seen in previous years. Of the agents who do make a sale, more than half earn less than $50,000 a year, and nearly a fourth make $100,000. More than a third of agents have to work a second job just to be able to stay in real estate. (from Inman News)
Trusts Are Another Tool for Leaving Home to Heirs
On July 25th, I wrote about title issues, especially when it relates to leaving a home to your heirs. With input from attorney Dan McKenzie, I wrote about the use of beneficiary deeds and life estates.
A reader asked, “what about trusts?” So I asked Dan to address that topic, and he sent me the following:
Trusts offer several advantages over beneficiary deeds and life estates. Like those two options, a properly funded trust avoids probate. Unlike those two options, however, it also allows your chosen trustee to step in and manage the property during an incapacity event, which is a more significant risk than death at any point in your life. Also, trusts allow you to control things over a few steps and can include instructions on handling things during the various phases of occupancy.
For example, if I want to leave a house to my two kids at my death, I could do that with a beneficiary deed, and that would avoid probate. However, the two kids would become equal co-owners, with no obligation to
each other or any way to resolve disputes about the property. If the property is passed to them through a trust, you can specify as many details as you want in the trust agreement about who is in charge: how costs will be split, decisions will be made, disputes will be resolved, etc.
Similarly, a trust can allow someone to live in the house for some time but ultimately direct where that house goes after a particular event. This is very common when one spouse brings a house into a second marriage. The spouse who does not have an ownership interest often wants assurance that they can stay in the house if they survive the house's owner. But the house's owner wants assurance that, ultimately, this significant asset will pass to their kids, not their step-kids.
A trust can include all the instructions about handling that, such as who is responsible for the maintenance, upkeep, insurance, and taxes during the surviving spouse's occupancy. A life estate doesn't give you a way to provide so much instruction.
Just pack and unpack. We will even pick up your flattened boxes and packing materials after you unpack!
If you have ever priced moving costs
I bought our first moving truck in 2004. We replaced it with a newer truck (above) in 2016. I calculate that we’ve saved clients hundreds of thousands of dollars in moving costs over the years.
MARTIN
Rich Martin
December 31, 1939 - July 23, 2024
In Loving Memory of Charles Richard Martin
Rich is survived by his spouse of 62 years, Janice (Rutt), 4 children (Steve, Scott, Shellie, Stan), 18 grandchildren, and 15 great grandchildren.
A funeral service to honor and celebrate Rich’s life will be held on Friday, August 30, 2024, 10:00 AM at Zion Lutheran Church, 1400 Skeel St., Brighton, CO. In lieu of owers, donations may be made to Zion Lutheran School in memory of Rich.
William Ray “Ray” Kilgore December 3, 1935 - July 24, 2024
On July 24th, William Ray Kilgore passed away peacefully in Brighton, Colorado at the age of 88. Known to his loved ones as Ray, he is survived by his wife Colleen, brother Jerry, sons Michael and Randy, and daughter Julie as well as grandchildren Michael Jr., Nathan, Luke, and Liam. He also leaves behind four great grandchildren and four great-great grandchildren.
Born in Denver in 1935, Ray was a hardworking and kind man with a passion for science, woodworking and serving his community. He dutifully served his country in the United States Naval Air Reserve from March of 1954 to March 1961 and took pride in his acts of service to the community as a Boy Scout leader for Troop 75, arbitrator for the Better Business Bureau and Union Steward for the Communications Workers of America Union. As a man with a deep love for learning, Ray was able to pursue an interest in technology and engineering at the Pickens Tech Center in Aurora, where he taught classes on hydraulics and pneumatics as well as served on the advisory board.
After growing up in Milliken, Ray moved to Brighton in 1955 where he gave back to his community by acting as a sitting member on the City of Brighton Board of Adjustment and Charter Chair Commission. He also chose to volunteer as an ambulance driver for Platte Valley Ambulance, where he sought to both help those around him as well as inspire his children, two of whom had taken an interest in medicine.
After taking over Kilgore Supply Company in Milliken with his brother Jerry, Ray spent most of his professional life working in the farming and construction supply industry. He went on to make a name for himself by
founding Farmers Elevator in Brush and Colorado Tool Center in Englewood; both of which he built from the ground up, taking pride in his meticulous accounting and inventory systems which helped to keep his businesses both pro table and organized. Later, he dedicated his time to working with United Power, not only serving on their Board of Directors for fteen years but also acting as President of their USA subsidiary branch. In 1993 he was recognized by Who’s Who Worldwide for outstanding achievements as a global business leader.
Ray liked to spend his free time between his home in Brighton and cabin in Bailey, while also occasionally heading south to Sun City, Arizona to enjoy the warm weather or San Carlos, Mexico where he liked to go deep sea shing with his son and grandson. Sometimes described as “one helluva sherman” by those who joined him, Ray participated in numerous shing tournaments over his years of visiting San Carlos, even winning a Cantina Cup Tournament as well as competing in an IGFA world championship in Cabo. Known for his quick wit, ornery character and love for making people laugh, Ray and his tightly knit group of “co ee club” friends remained close throughout his life. He was also an animal lover, having adopted a number of cats and dogs that he cared for with his wife Colleen over the more than sixty nine years that they were together.
He will be greatly missed and lovingly remembered by everyone lucky enough to have known him.
Services will be held on Friday, August 2nd at 3pm at the Presbyterian Church in Brighton
KILGORE
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