Boulder County Real Producers March 2023

Photo by Kevin Snyder, Kevin Snyder Photography

This section has been created to give you easier access when searching for a trusted real estate affiliate. Take a minute to familiarize yourself with the businesses sponsoring your magazine. These local businesses are proud to partner with you and make this magazine possible. Please support these businesses and thank them for supporting the REALTOR® community!

AIR CONDITIONING

Squeaks Services (303) 280-5765

www,squeaksservices.com

ARCHITECTURE

Rodwin Architecture

Scott Rodwin

1245 Pearl St. Ste. 202, Boulder, CO 80302 (303) 413-8556

RodwinArch.com

BANK/FINANCE

MidFirst Bank

840 Pearl Street Boulder, CO 80302 (303) 376-3820

www.midfirst.com

CLEANING SERVICES

Perkins Detail

Cleaning Service

Denise Perkins (915) 270-3216

nextdoor.com/pages/ perkins-detail-cleaningservice-brighton-co/

CUSTOM BUILDER

Wood Brothers Homes (303) 717-8207

www.woodbrothers homes.com

CUSTOM HOME DESIGN & BUILD

Cooper Building Group 372 W. Elm St. Louisville, CO 80027 (720) 595-9684

www.cooperbuilding group.com

ESTATE SALES

Blue Moon Estate Sales

Dulgunn Lkhagvadorj

390 E Mississippi Ave Denver, CO 80210 (720) 432-2726

www.bluemoonestatesales. com/boulder

FLOORING

McDonald Carpet One (303) 449-0011

mcdonaldcarpetone boulder.com

FULL SERVICE PROPERTY CARE

Granite Property Services

Christopher Hardman (720) 483-1037

www.GraniteProperty Service.com

HANDYMAN/WOOD CRAFTSMAN

Omega Carpentry

Omega Perkins, Jr (915) 249-9020

nextdoor.com/pages/

omega-carpentry-brighton-co

HEATING & COOLING

Meyers Heating & Air, Inc. (303) 442-6640

meyersheatingac.com

HOME INSPECTION

Beagle Home Inspections LLC. (303) 731-6891

beaglehomeinspections.com

Inspections Over Coffee (303) 500-3378

InspectionsOverCoffee.com

INSURANCE

Superior Insurance Agency

Vicki Kupfner (720) 259-0444

www.superiorinsure.com

INTERIOR DECORATING & DESIGN

2212 Design Inc. Property Staging Services

Laura Akahoshi

(720) 791-4800

www.2212Design.com

LANDSCAPING/ HANDYMAN/

PRESSURE WASHING

Granite Property Services

Christopher Hardman (720) 483-1037

www.GraniteProperty Service.com

MUSIC SCHOOL

Boulder Symphony Music Academy

Andrew Krimm

4730 Table Mesa Drive Suite I-300

Boulder, CO 80305 (720) 328-8286

www.bouldersymphony musicacademy.org

PRESSURE WASHING

Premier Window Cleaning and Pressure Washing

Nick Casso (303) 564-5574

premierwindowcleaning denver.org

PRIVATE PRESCHOOL

Boulder Country Day School

Diana Emerson

4820 Nautilus Court North Boulder, CO 80301 (303) 527-4931 x295

bouldercountryday.org

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT

Peak Property Management at Re/Mex Elevate

Terri Ellerington (303) 974-5477

www.peakpmelevated.com

RESTORATION - WATER, FIRE & MOLD

24-7 Restoration, Inc.

Deb Barone (303) 485-1730

www.247restoration.com

TITLE INSURANCE

First American Title Insurance Company

4940 Pearl East Circle, Ste 104 Boulder, CO 80301 (303) 449-8442

FirstAmColorado.com

MEET THE BOULDER COUNTY

REAL PRODUCERS TEAM

If you are interested in contributing or nominating REALTORS® for certain stories, please email us at john.mendez@ realproducersmag.com.

720-438-0080

Dr. Felicia Santelli Writer felicia@santellihealingcenter. com

Kevin Snyder Photographer kevinsnyderphotography@gmail. com

Darren Thornberry Senior Writer

Kim Ash Ad Manager ads.rpboulder@ realproducersmag.com

Liv Berger Photographer theheadshotgal.com 312-208-1305

Caitlin Berve Associate Editor content.co@ realproducersmag.com 505-402-4599

John Mendez Publisher John.Mendez@ realproducersmag.com 303-596-1685

By John Mendez

WELL, THREE MONTHS INTO THE NEW YEAR AND WHO KNOWS WHAT TO EXPECT?

Interest rates are still higher than last year, home inventory is starting to show signs of coming out, but the average days on the market is a little longer than what has been in the last year. The good news is there is a lot of activity in the 80027 rebuilding effort from the Marshall Fire. Most of the lots have been cleared, and the first home after the rebuild has already been re-occupied by the original homeowner. Framed homes are popping up, and it beginning to show signs of life. For many of the homeowners caught up in the rebuild,

it’s been a struggle as most homes were underinsured and selling the lots or rebuilding is facing most Marshall Fire homeowners.

A reminder, the YTD rankings that were published in the February issue are a result of production for Boulder County only. A few folks wrote us and asked why they weren’t higher in the ranking as they had sales outside of Boulder County.

If you have a topic you’d like us to cover, just let us know. If you have a referral of someone you’d like us to feature, let us know that too. We also

want everyone to know that the partners/ vendors in this publication have been vetted or screened by us, we meet with everyone, and ALL of them have REALTOR® referrals. So, please if you have a choice in the vendor that you use, please consider using one of the ones in this publication.

Regards, JOHN MENDEZ Publisher — Boulder County Real Producers Cell — 303-596-1685

John.Mendez@RealProducersmag.com

BOULDER COUNTY REAL PRODUCERS,

that sells HOME STYLING

A stunning and enduring impression will ensure your listing stands above the competition. Our staging designs highlight the best features of the home and help potential buyers see themselves living in the space. This emotional connection is often the difference between a good offer and a great offer.

www.2212design.com

720.791.4800 Style2Sell@2212Design.com

Terri and her team have been VERY responsive to all of our investors looking to rent their properties. She is very professional, and always willing to help. You can trust her!

home repair

By Christopher Hardman

Tricks Trade of the

Keeping a Home Safe

Homeowners and investors don’t just want a pretty house with the right number of rooms; they want a safe home that will stand for decades. Luckily, there are three easy tools you can use to make sure the homes you buy, sell and live in are safe and sturdy. And you’ve likely already heard of them.

After the Marshall Fires a little over a year ago, Boulder County is well

aware of the devastating effect fires can have on a community and home. So, have you checked your smoke detector lately? Smoke is the number one cause of death related to fires. Not only do you need to change the batteries in your smoke detector, but you also need to keep an eye on

its appearance. Did you know smoke detectors turn yellow by design? The sensors within the detector only work properly for about 10 years (five years if it has a built-in carbon monoxide detector), so the plastic is designed to start turning yellow after five to seven years as a visual cue that you need to replace the whole unit soon. And that’s 10 years from the manufacturing date, not the sold-by date. Your smoke detector should have a sticker

You can reach Christopher Hardman, handyman, and Granite Property Services at granitepropservices@gmail.com.

on it showing the date of manufacture. If it doesn’t, your safest bet is to replace it now. What color are the smoke detectors in the houses you’re listing or your clients are purchasing?

Like homes, smoke detectors are all about location, location, location. According to federal and Colorado codes, smoke detectors must be installed a MINIMUM of 18 inches from all corners and 3 feet from ceiling fans. If they are too close to either of these, the airflow will be changed in such a way that the sensor might not go off when it should. If you want your clients to be safe in their homes, do them a favor and examine their smoke detectors’ color and location.

Another detector that will save your clients and that

is required by federal and Colorado codes is a carbon monoxide detector. If the home your clients are buying or selling has gas appliances, it MUST have a carbon monoxide detector. Carbon monoxide, as you likely know, is colorless, odorless and deadly. The gas is easy to breathe in and doesn’t cause immediate problems, which is what makes it so dangerous. Over time, your clients could develop a headache and become sleepy. Longterm, high exposure will make them unable to wake up and give them a sunburn appearance.

While your carbon monoxide detector can be mounted next to your smoke detector following the same location rules, it needs to be replaced every

five years. Not every 10 years. If it goes off, leave the house and call 911 immediately. It will detect carbon monoxide levels much sooner than you or your clients can. To keep your clients safe, check their carbon monoxide detectors too.

The last detector will help protect your client’s house, their investment, from its most damaging element: water. The Insurance Information Institute claims that 98% of homes will experience water damage in their lifetime, and the average cost of water damage repairs comes to $11,605. They say that 1 in 60 homes file a claim for water damage yearly. The difference between that $11,000 repair and something much less can be a simple water detector. These sensors are typically forgotten about by many homeowners, landlords and property managers. Still, they can make a massive difference between a bit of cleanup and a large mold and mildew problem.

Real estate is all about relationships. One way you can show your clients you care about them and their homes is to recommend or gift them a set of water detectors. Tell your clients to place a water detector in their mechanical room with their water heater, their laundry room behind the washer, their kitchen and bathrooms under the vanities and in their crawl space by the hose bib. These sensors are cheap and easy to install, and if your clients tell their insurance companies they have water

WHILE NOTHING WILL STOP AN ACT OF GOD LIKE THE MARSHALL FIRES, YOU CAN HELP YOUR CLIENTS PROTECT THEMSELVES AND THEIR HOMES WITH THESE 3 SIMPLE TOOLS: SMOKE, CARBON DIOXIDE AND WATER DETECTORS.

detectors, they might get a discount on their payments.

While nothing will stop an act of god like the Marshall Fires, you can help your clients protect themselves and their homes with these 3 simple tools: smoke, carbon dioxide and water detectors. Fire and water damage account for 54.5% of all insurance claims, according to the Insurance Information Institute. The detector will only alert you and your clients to the problem, but quick action will significantly lessen the damages. These sensors are straightforward to use and care for. However, if you want to eliminate the stress of adding 3 more things to your to-do list, hire a handyman to install and replace your smoke, carbon monoxide and water detectors.

DREW VILLA

Mountain Pizza

How do you like your pizza? If you talk to Drew Villa for any length of time, this question will inevitably come up when he invites you over for a pie made to your specifications with the best ingredients in his outdoor pizza oven. Drew loves fine dining and using food to connect with people. When he first moved to Boulder, he intended to work in the tech industry and have a pizza food truck on the side (before the food truck craze).

Now Drew creates custom pizzas for clients, friends and neighbors. Many of his ingredients come from the 67-crop garden that he built both for food and to conserve Colorado’s water. He tore out the water-chugging grass. This year he filled his entire freezer with gnocchi and tomato sauce with potatoes and veggies from his garden and hand-delivered them as gifts. Food is obviously Drew’s love language.

After graduating from Virginia Commonwealth University, Drew

received his graduate degree from the International School of Business in Grenoble, France, in the Alps. Upon returning to the east coast, he found the Appalachian Mountains now looked like hills. So he booked a flight to Boulder to see the Rocky, aka “real,” Mountains and, within a week, was packing to move to Colorado.

Soon Drew found himself heading up sales for Eldora Ski Resort. On one of his days off, the St. Julian Hotel called for bulk lift tickets for their

Article by Caitlin Berve, Ignited Ink Writing | Photos by Kevin Snyder, Kevin Snyder Photography

VIP guests, so he drove up and down the mountain to deliver the tickets. After witnessing his drive to deliver for his clients and build relationships, a friend suggested Drew look into real estate. That was Drew’s ah-ha moment. He has used that same drive to become an outstanding REALTOR® with a passion for always doing the right thing for his clients.

Tell Me What You Don’t Want

At first, Drew found a niche selling mountain properties using his Eldora Network while living downtown on Pearl Street, but he has since moved to Gunbarrel and expanded his clientele throughout Boulder County. He loves working with first-time home buyers because he likes to see people reach their American dream and still remembers what it was like buying his first property. Drew is also

passionate about working with luxury homes and land clients because each property is unique and requires attention to detail. He spends the time to engage and prepare his clients in custom buying and selling strategies. His clients see him as a caring, trustworthy person who wades through the details and perseveres for them.

Drew believes being a REALTOR® means being a coach, not a salesman. He pledges to his clients, “I promise you two things. One, I will help you plow through and determine what you want and don’t want and why, so when the time comes, you won’t need me to tell you what to do. We will have a discussion together, and you will already feel confident in your choice. And two, by the time you have purchased your new home, we will be good friends.” For example, if a

client says they want an acre, Drew tries to figure out if they really want that much land or if they simply don’t want people looking into their windows from the house next door. For Drew, real estate is about taking the time to listen and use a funnel process to figure out not what his clients want but what they don’t want. That way, they don’t miss out on real estate and lifestyle opportunities.

When asked where he saw real estate going, Drew said, “Do not listen to the doom and gloom on the news. It’s like watching a horror movie. If you’re worried about mortgage rates, remember if you’re renting, your mortgage rate is 100%. In Boulder County, the average appreciation over the last 10 years is 3-4%, but last year it was at 10%. Don’t let the headlines get in the way of your plans.”

Building Community

When Drew gives back to his community, he starts by coaching youth soccer at Boulder Indoor Soccer and his immediate community. Right now, he’s working to improve the topiary and entrance leading into his neighborhood because he takes pride in his living environment. As he was being interviewed, Drew noticed a piece of trash outside he intended to pick up once the call was done. He has also asked his neighbors about starting a neighborhood watch and is wading through the hoops required to get their roads repaired. Since his neighborhood is technically not in the city, it’s not on a regular road repair schedule.

One of the ways Drew and 8Z Real Estate support our larger community is through Greenhouse Scholars. This incredible program works with the highest-performing young leaders from under-resourced communities to inspire, motivate, model and lead broader change through education and mentorship. Greenhouse Scholars guides these young people from high school through college and graduate school and into their careers, so they have the opportunity to improve our communities and change the world. One of Drew’s favorite parts of supporting Greenhouse Scholars is attending their February gathering to hear and be moved by the scholars’ stories.

For fun, you’ll find Drew playing indoor soccer or looking for the next creative adventure, whether that’s snowboarding, slinging pizzas or building an igloo complete with a staircase, couch and functioning fireplace/chimney. One thing is for sure, he’ll bring friends and clients along to further build community and share experiences.

You can reach Drew Villa at drew. villa@8z.com or 303-210-8926 or on Instagram @VillaState_8Z

When the Marshall fire destroyed hundreds of homes in Louisville and Superior on Dec. 30, 2021, a local design-build construction firm was left reeling with shock. Not only does Cooper Building Group’s founder Mirek Maez live in the community that was shaken to its core, but more than a dozen of the homes he and business partner Heidi Newlin had remodeled were destroyed. Clients they’d worked so hard for were homeless as snow fell quietly on New Year’s Eve, an eerie white blanket over the region’s collective pain.

Today, around 85% of Cooper’s work is getting those customers into new homes right where their old ones stood.

“The Marshall fire has been a deeply personal experience for us,” says Newlin. “A lot of our clients’ homes burned. We’ve pledged to help build back the community we have been in for the last 10 years. We have always stayed as local as possible with our sourcing and support of small businesses. It’s been amazing to see our subcontractors and suppliers stepping up, commissions being waived, and the community being so kind.”

Cooper Building Group is focused on innovative construction practices and new building methods that include Next Generation Homes and Passive Houses. They achieve this by being a design and build firm, from conception to landscaping, in-house, with one team. Cooper handles everything (and I do mean everything) for the duration of the project, whether that’s residential or commercial construction, renovation or new builds. “Whether it’s easy or hard, whether it takes one or a hundred phone calls or driving a thousand miles for materials, we get it done,” Maez explains.

Maez and Newlin bring extensive experience as a general contractor and interior architect, respectively, to every project,

and they never build the same thing twice. For Cooper, “custom” isn’t a buzzword. It’s a fact. And it happens because Cooper is one entity with one contract and one unified flow of work from initial concept through

“Cooper Building Group did a wonderful job building my addition and new home. The design seemed simple, but the details were quite complex. They were great creative problem solvers when it came to saving money. I was so pleased every step of the way, and to say this in the construction industry is saying something. I would recommend them to anyone and hire them back any time.” — Karla D.

completion. “We have a process that works quicker and smoother,” Maez says. “It’s proven to be a more productive way. This building process ensures the end result is both functional and beautiful.”

Transparency is a primary value for the company. There’s no guesswork on cost, timelines, Cooper’s general contracting fees, and the overall budget. Clients often come to Maez and Newlin with plans drawn up but no idea about the cost, execution or timeline. Sticker shock is avoided when Cooper gets involved earlier in the process and designs something in-house that’s within the homeowner’s budget. Regardless, the company will look for every way to keep costs low but will never compromise quality to get there. Newlin says that the firm’s personal relationships with their clients, who are often REALTORS®, help them bring to fruition a new home or a stunning remodel that is balanced in exquisite design and functionality. “We’re client-driven,” she says. “We don’t repeat designs. Everyone gets a home that’s truly theirs.”

Since the Marshall fire, Cooper Building Group has been using fire-resistant exterior materials such as self-closing vents to ward off embers that can get into attics and fire-rated siding materials. Such products cost more, but it goes without saying that their clients and friends rebuilding in the burn scar want every advantage going forward. Additionally, Cooper has developed a healthy home-building model and homeowner maintenance plan. It focuses on good indoor air quality, using low or no VOC materials, point source water filtration (even in bathroom sinks) and ionization in ducting, and on community connectivity, safety and outdoor living spaces. The maintenance plan helps the homeowner know when it’s time to change air filters, re-caulk showers to prevent mold growth, and so on.

If total cohesion in the design and build process and far less stress appeal to you, consider Louisvillebased Cooper Building Group for a new build or remodel. Then sit back and watch the magic happen.

Control Your Controllables to

Sell Your Home

Article by Laura Sugiyama

Rarely does a day go exactly as planned, and some days just go off the rails. Like today — My husband and I have a noon flight for a long overdue visit with our daughter in the Netherlands. Work is organized and in good hands: the house sitter is confirmed, instructions are written out, and I only have a few items left to pack. Easy peasy.

Nope. Our dog, Sunday, wakes us up at 5:11 a.m. with a demand to be let outside. By 5:12 a.m., she encounters a skunk for the first time ever. And upon learning the hard way that a skunk will NEVER want to be her friend, she proceeds to share this knowledge by running through the house rubbing against every piece of upholstered furniture she encounters. It takes two baking soda baths — for her and the furniture — and nearly two hours to lower the smell from unbearable to merely offensive. I finally sit for my first sip of coffee at 7:30 a.m. Turning on the TV for background noise, I learn of a ground stoppage for all flights. This sets in motion two hours online and on the phone to rebook delayed flights and missed connections. My “leisurely” morning is anything but leisurely. Still, 24 hours later, we are recounting our adventures over coffee and stroop waffles in an Amsterdam café. Only possible because we controlled the controllables.

The same is true when preparing your home for sale. If you control the controllables you will create the space necessary to accommodate the unexpected and still make your timeline.

There are many controllables in preparing your home for the market, but the three that will have the biggest impact are interior paint, professional cleaning services, and home

staging. Invest in these services up front to help get to the closing table despite the occasional skunk.

Interior Paint

If it has been more than a few years since your last interior paint job, consider a refresh. New paint provides an opportunity to update and/or neutralize your space. Not only will fresh paint remove unsightly blemishes — corner dents, wall scuffs, your 3-year-old’s masterpiece — in addition, your buyer will recognize that New Paint smell, which immediately sets a positive tone for the home tour.

Choose a warm light beige (or greige) for the walls, with a complementary white trim. Your listing broker may have a favorite go-to color pallet that’s proven effective, or you can ask a professional painter or home stager for assistance with color selection.

Professional Cleaners

Ask for a move-out clean, and your professional cleaner will get to work cleaning grout lines, scrubbing baseboards, and mopping under appliances. They’ll get the dust bunnies hiding under the beds and remove the build-up from the long-overlooked ceiling fans. Moving is a lot of work without the added stress of ensuring a deep clean.

Schedule the cleaners within a few days of your list date or open house. Not only will your home look clean, but it will also smell clean. This tells prospective buyers that

you take great pride in your home, which equates to great care.

Home Staging

New construction or historic beauty, small condo or mini-mansion, starter or luxury, every home will benefit from home staging. A vacant home often feels sterile and lays bare any negative elements since the eyes have nothing more interesting to land on. Staging brings texture, color and emotional touch points that help buyers connect with the home. Staging also gives scale to rooms, which would otherwise look and feel much smaller. Well-furnished spaces help show buyers how a space lives, addressing questions before buyers even know they have them.

An occupied home will naturally reflect the style of the current homeowner, and this can hinder the ability of a buyer to see themselves in the home. A professional home stager will provide advice to de-personalize while still maintaining a home’s warmth, recommend furniture layout for flow and to optimize space in every room, and may even provide artwork, accessories and furniture to elevate the space to reflect the needs of today’s buyer. Thus, when

prospective buyers visit, they can see the space as their home without effort or imagination.

Preparing a home for sale can be a daunting process with many challenges along the way. Arranging for these services early in the process not only helps to ensure your home will show in its best light but also helps in setting a timeline. Working back from the target list date, your schedule may look something like this:

• List minus 4 weeks: Engage home stager for a consultation (occupied) or site visit (vacant).

• List minus 2 weeks: Refresh the interior with new paint.

• List minus 3 days: Make it shine with a professional, move-out cleaning service

• List minus 2 days: Bring it all together with home staging, whether vacant or occupied

There is a lot that goes into selling a home. Controlling the controllables will help to manage the unexpected with less stress and without derailing the entire process. Do this, and you, too, can manage a dog on the losing end of a skunk encounter and still make happy hour.

meet ELAINE & GARY Collins

Finding Real Estate and Each Other

Gary Collins grew up at the edge of the Adirondacks in northern New York and moved to Colorado after college to ski. After a brief stint of teaching skiing, and an even shorter career as an elementary school physical education teacher, he attended one year of law school at the University of Denver and then began his career in real estate with Van Schaack & Co. He became a partner at his own company and later joined Moore and Company Real Estate as the managing broker for the Boulder office. Gary then became a partner at WK Real Estate in 2001 before selling his interest while staying in residential and commercial sales.

Article

Elaine Collins also moved to Colorado to ski after college. With her biochemistry degree, she pursued job opportunities in a number of research laboratories. However, the 1982 recession had a different idea. She was lucky to find what she thought would be a temporary job with Moore and Company Real Estate, and her interest in real estate was born. Looking back,

she credits her dad’s investment in land over the years with building the foundation for her real estate interest. WK Real Estate has been her home since 2001.

Both Gary and Elaine were fortunate to have the late Bill Moore as a mentor and friend. Moore and Company is where Elaine and Gary met. After years of friendship (and a divorce for each), they married and blended a family of six children, who, unknowingly, provided them with negotiating skills never imagined.

Getting Down to Business

For Gary and Elaine, real estate is all about people and relationships, not a client’s price range. Elaine says, “We’ve had the privilege of meeting some amazing people through our work, many of whom have become lifelong friends. From first-time homebuyers to scientists, artists, business experts, a world-renowned author and more, we can’t think of many other professions that offer this kind of opportunity to meet people we would not have otherwise had the good fortune to know.”

by Caitlin Berve, Ignited Ink Writing

Photos by Kevin Snyder, Kevin Snyder Photography

Gary and Elaine see their role as trusted real estate advisors, focusing on patience and process. “We provide the information, and the clients make the decisions,” says Gary. They try to do what’s best for each individual client and their unique situation. Elaine says, “We have made many recommendations to clients over the years, including not proceeding with a contemplated purchase or sale. We look at business in the long-term and strive to keep relationships good.”

The Collins surround themselves with respected professionals such as lenders, inspectors, contractors and attorneys to help their clients jump through the various hoops of buying and selling, making the transactions as smooth and successful as possible. Even so, the Collins are there every step of the way. Clients work directly with Gary and Elaine, not an

assistant or junior agent. Gary says, “As an industry, we see a lot about the volume of transactions that a firm or individual closes, but what clients are primarily concerned with is their transaction and the expertise and experience the broker adds.”

Each member of the Collins duo brings unique skills to the table. With his year of law school and many years

of managing broker experience, Gary has an excellent grasp of contracts and great writing skills (which he credits to his English teacher mother). He comes up with creative, alternative solutions for issues that arise. Elaine’s background in administration and training as a scientist mean she always pays attention to even the smallest details and has superb problem-solving skills. Their many years in the industry allow the Collins to draw from experience while continually being open to learning. Not surprisingly, they don’t always agree on everything, which provides clients with alternative perspectives that lead to the best decisions.

The Collins have no intention of retiring in the foreseeable future and are not concerned with winning accolades at this point. Instead, they just want the satisfaction of giving every person and transaction their best effort.

Gary and Elaine stay in touch with their clients via calls, e-mails and texts, depending upon how that person likes to communicate. Gary says, “It is our job to adapt to the client’s style, not vice-versa.” Some people want more communication, some less. They are always interested in what’s hap pening in their clients’ lives and many times will share a meal or a hike.

Giving Back to Boulder County and Beyond

Elaine and Gary donate to the WK Real Estate fund all year. This fund pools money from all WK agents and allows for larger and more effective donations to give back to the local community at places such as Community Food Share, Habitat for Humanity and Share-A-Gift program. Combined, the agents at WK Real Estate give back to more than 100 nonprofit organizations by donating time, money and goods each year.

Regionally, Elaine and Gary support Trout Unlimited, a fly-fishing organization determined to conserve, protect and recover

our rivers and streams. Water is our most precious resource in Colorado. This organization also teaches the younger generations about the importance of our Colorado ecosystem and provides educational opportunities in fly fishing and conservation. Elaine and Gary consistently sponsor a dog for the Meeker Classic Sheepdog Trials held in Meeker, Colorado, and also regularly donate to the wild animal sanctuary in Keenesburg — a place that rescues and cares for captive exotic and endangered large carnivores. Globally, the Collins donate to World Central Kitchen and the International Humane Society.

The Collins place top importance on being available to fill in needed gaps. For example, during and after the Marshall Fire, they spent much of their time and energy helping to arrange both short and long-term housing for displaced people, locating furniture and renting a moving truck, donating gift cards for fire victims and donating water and food for the firefighters/emergency personnel. Gary says, “We didn’t do anything heroic,” but assisting people during a crisis is a big deal. In short, Elaine and Gary enjoy helping individuals in need personally, not just through organizations.

Living Life,

Family and Fun

Family is the most important part of Gary and Elaine’s life, and they credit their happiness and success to having had wonderful parents. They now have a rather extensive flock with all of the kids, their significant others, grandkids, cousins, nieces and nephews — some local but most spread across the country. They keep in touch by visiting, calling and zooming often. Gary says, “Boulder is a nice place to visit, so even though the kids are grown and gone, they keep coming back.” Elaine says, “We have a crew with many interests, so when we gather, we enjoy hiking, skiing, fly-fishing, cooking, going out to eat, watching movies, completing escape rooms and attending concerts. We love

to see who they become.” With an empty nest, Gary and Elaine now have a four-legged kid, Paisley, a border-collie/heeler rescue who keeps them on their toes.

For fun, Gary and Elaine take advantage of Colorado and travel to other places in the country and the world. They enjoy fly-fishing in both fresh and salt water, downhill and cross-country skiing, hiking, kayaking and scuba diving. Elaine regularly swims with a masters group, and Gary takes his bike out when the weather permits. Gary says, “We are mediocre at a lot of hobbies.” But they have a lot of fun anyway.

Downtime at the Collins residence might include grilling a steak, enjoying a nice bottle of wine, listening to music or podcasts, reading, and, of course, petting the pup.

You can reach Elaine Collins at 303-947-6129 or ecollins@wkre.com.

You can reach Gary Collins at 303-898-3531 or gcollins@wkre.com.

Article by Scott Rodwin, Rodwin Architecture and Skycastle Construction

SO EXPENSIVE? Why Is

Home Construction

WILL IT STAY THAT WAY?

Beginning in 2010, Boulder construction prices have risen about 10% year-overyear until the arrival of the pandemic. For a hot second in April 2020, no one was building or buying anything; then, starting that May, it seemed like every one in the country decided to move to Boulder County. Since then, local construc tion prices have risen an unbelievable 60%. It’s an unprecedented increase that has paralleled the rise in real estate costs in general. And while the red-hot market has been good for many REALTORS®, the cost of construction is shocking and frustrating to nearly everyone who is trying to create their dream home here.

Every conversation we have with a new client starts with the question, “How much will it cost to build our new home?” I imagine you get this question too. An accurate answer is a bit complicated, but for a quick rule of thumb, the range $500-800 per square foot is a reasonable place to start. (Apply that figure to all square footage, including unfinished spaces like garages and basements). And while it is easy to exceed that range, it is extremely difficult to go below it.

Here are the main reasons it’s so expensive:

Labor Shortage

The single clearest reason is that the region’s decade-long building boom has resulted in an intense, state-wide and chronic shortage of skilled labor. Every plumber, framer and electrician is able

to command premium prices as their services are in high demand right now. The Great Recession devastated the construction industry and forced roughly 50% of skilled contractors to permanently leave the field. Additionally, as the price of housing has increased in Boulder, more and more of the folks who design and build our homes have had to drive from further and further away, which increases costs. Lastly, the contractors’ cost of doing business has increased dramatically as well — from salaries to gas and vehicles to the cost of everything they buy.

Supply-Chain Related Material Cost Increases

The price of a 2x4 has never been a front-page story. Until COVID-19. Suddenly everyone knew that lumber futures rose 400% in a single year. While that one category has come down dramatically in the last several months, it’s still well above historical norms, and other high-fliers like steel are still in the stratosphere and going up and up. Most building materials had a less dramatic increase over the last 2.5 years (generally 15-100%), but still unprecedentedly large.

Building Codes

The rigor of Building Codes generally increases every year. Structural, mechanical,

electrical, green building and life-safety codes are constantly being updated, and with each revision, it becomes more expensive to meet their requirements. For example, in Boulder County, all construction must now be ignition (fire)-resistant, and all new homes must have a fire suppression (sprinkler) system. You do get a better, safer home, but it costs more. Note that the Boulder City and County areas also have more stringent codes than surrounding municipalities, so the cost of construction here is correspondingly higher.

Low Quality, Aging Building Stock

The cost of construction is affected by how much we need to change. The majority of our existing building stock was built between 1950-1990, which was a low point for quality in the history of residential building. So, every year, as these generally poorly designed and built homes age, the delta between them and a new code-compliant home gets larger and larger. The more we need to change, the more expensive the work.

Only High-End, Custom SingleFamily Homes Allowed

You know and understand that the constrained supply of housing accelerates price increases. However, to unpack the issue a little further, note in most other areas of the country, when there is a demand for less expensive housing, the market has the ability to respond. Other than a handful of Affordable Housing units in the city and unincorporated Boulder County, we don’t have that ability. There are no large subdivisions being built here, and the economy of scale of those subdivisions dramatically reduces their cost per square foot of construction. Additionally, due to a combination of state construction defect laws and anti-density rules and politics, we have very few local condo projects in the city and county — another staple of lower-cost housing. Since we have locally eliminated the two main types of entry-level housing, it means

that nearly all housing is forced to be the most expensive kind — single-family custom homes. And due to the high land costs and banking rules for the value ratio of land-to-improvements, nearly all of these single-family homes are in the upper end; it’s not economically feasible to buy a $900K lot and put a $500K house on it. The story is different in Longmont, Erie, Westminster and some of the other surrounding towns that have more land and less restrictive zoning rules. This has kept the price of housing more reasonable in those areas.

Great Expectations

Homeowners have higher standards today than they did previously. A decade ago, if someone came to us wanting a starter custom home, we might suggest plastic laminate counter tops and vinyl windows. Nowadays, their expectations start at low-end granite and wood/aluminum-clad windows. The price delta between vinyl and wood windows is about 5x. This shift in expectations is true in every category of construction. Additionally, the geometry of a house has a large impact on its cost; a simple box with a gable roof and small windows is inexpensive to build, but most clients desire a more complex and extraordinary form, again seeking to match a quality level commensurate with the land cost. Rising buyer quality expectations are actually responsible for some of the largest cost increases over the last decade.

Fixed and Soft Costs

The requirements for fixed and soft costs have been rising, especially in Boulder. This includes the cost of permits, utility connections and site improvements like landscape and sidewalks. Additionally, the amount of required documentation and testing for permit and construction has increased every year, and this drives up design and engineering fees. Lastly, greater risk requires greater reward,

and projects in the Boulder area have a much higher likelihood of encountering obstacles than in other cities; therefore, developers, builders, landlords and ordinary homeowners look for a higher rate of return on their development projects.

External Financial Forces

Between mortgage rates that jumped from 3% to over 7% in just two years, and the downturn in the crypto and stock market, many buyers’ buying power took an enormous hit.

The Cost of Time

Lastly, between labor shortages, material supply chain delays and the sudden need to rebuild 1000 homes lost in the Marshall Fire, it takes much longer to build or remodel now than it did pre-pandemic. From the time someone contacts an architect and secures their land, it used to take two years to move into a custom home. Now it’s three. The 50% increase in time costs proportionally more money for things like salaries of site supervisors, rental of porta-johns and the duration of a builder’s risk insurance policy.

Crystal Ball — What’s Next?

Cumulatively, all of these forces have been working together to dramatically drive up the cost of housing at a record pace over the last few years. Despite the talk of a possible recession nationally, the local custom home market has such a pent-up demand, it has so far remained fairly insulated from the housing downturn that is now materializing elsewhere in the country. Nationally, despite the U.S. being short about 4 million housing units, current predictions anticipate a fairly substantial retraction in housing prices and a corresponding reduction in housing construction starts. The latter will likely put a welcome damper on the cost of construction products like lumber and appliances everywhere, including Boulder County. However, until we experience a local slow-down in construction demand (which is unlikely for several years due to the Marshall Fire rebuilding), coupled with a strong international revitalization of the supply chain, I anticipate that while there might be a leveling off of construction costs, there won’t be a reduction in the foreseeable future.

What about Marshall Fire reconstruction costs?

Many people have asked us, given everything we’ve listed in this article, how we can solve the tragic dilemma of the enormous gap between what insurance companies are willing to pay for rebuilding and what it actually costs. There are lots of ways people are working on this conundrum: grants from the community foundation and the state; generous Energy Star and Passive House rebates from Xcel; pro bono services, donations and discounts from

local businesses, architects, builders and material vendors; exemptions from some building code updates; and creative delivery methods like manufactured housing, or banding together with their neighbors to allow production homebuilders to bring an economy of scale to the endeavor. There is no silver bullet to solve the whole problem, but all these concerted community efforts have helped to mitigate some of the worst impacts of the financial gap. See a list at cgbg.org/resources and rebuildingbetter.org/chapter-three.

partner profile

By Article by Caitlin Berve

JUSTIN WOOD MEET AND WOOD BROTHERS HOMES

With the zoning and open space regulations designed to keep Boulder County green and beautiful, it can be a challenge to find the perfect home in the perfect location for some wannabe homeowners. However, you don’t always need both. Wood Brothers Homes is happy to remodel a house or help design and build an infill a lot, so all you have to do is help your clients find the perfect location, and Wood Brothers Homes will transform it into their perfect home.

You can reach Justin Woods and Woods Brothers Homes at justin@woodbrothershomes.com or (303) 717 – 8207.

you or your clients are interested in a high-quality, energy-efficient custom home

Wood Brothers Homes specializes in high-quality, energy-efficient homes and personalized interactions between their builders and your clients. They love building single-family, custom infill homes, where they can scrap an older home in a mature neighborhood to help make the property work for a modern family. They’ve honed their process into three simple steps.

First, Wood Brothers Homes starts with location. They can work with a property your clients own or are interested in or can offer plots they already plan to build on. Wood Brothers Homes works with multiple award-winning architects to help start the design process for their dream home. While the plans are being designed, WBH will do their due diligence, working with a surveyor and structural and energy engineers, getting soil reports, etc. Then they will begin applying for the necessary permits from the municipal department.

If

— then Justin and Wood Brothers Homes should be on your radar. You can reach Justin Woods and Woods Brothers Homes at justin@ woodbrothershomes.com or 303-717-8207.

Second, they will work with your clients to help customize their homes and figure out the budget. This phase includes site preparation, landscape design and selecting fixtures such as cabinets and tile and exterior design features.

The third and final phase is building. By this time, Wood Brothers Homes has received the approved permits. They will go through pre-construction with the city and your clients, build a construction schedule and get to work. The entire process usually takes 16-18 months, from planning to handing the keys to your clients.

Like all things since the pandemic, home construction materials have been pricey and hard to come by, but Wood Brothers Homes is happy to report this is improving. While windows and some electrical panels are still back-ordered, supplies like lumber, cabinets and appliances are arriving faster. Meaning your clients have a better shot of getting what they want in a timely manner.

Justin Wood, his family and the team at Wood Brothers Homes are so proud of their custom homes design and construction that they offer a 2-10 warranty — which is significantly longer than the industry standard. They provide a 10-year structural warranty to give your clients peace of mind about their new home.

Justin always wanted to own his own business, so while everyone else was recovering from the 2008 recession, in 2009, Justin forged ahead and started fixing and flipping homes. He soon transitioned into custom home builds and hasn’t looked back. Real estate renovations and buildings were a natural fit for Justin because his grandfather was a builder that owned another rendition of Wood Brothers Homes. That makes Justin and his brothers legacy home builders, with over 50 years of experience between them.

When he’s not working, Justin loves spending time with his wife and five kids (ages 9, 8, 5, 2 and infant) and traveling. Last summer, the Wood family spent a week in a cabin in Michigan for a family reunion (on Justin’s wife’s side), and despite being hot and sticky with humidity, they had a great time connecting with family and making memories. Here in Boulder County, Justin and his family enjoy hiking, riding bikes, bowling and playing catch.

Clients looking to build dream custom homes aren’t the bulk of the Wood Brothers Homes projects at the moment. Since January 2022, they have been working hard to help get the survivors of the Marshall Fire back in their community. In fact, on Dec. 16, 2022, WBH was the first builder to hand the keys back to a Louisville family after the fires, making that house a very special Christmas present.

One of the biggest issues all Marshall Fire builders have faced is insurance. Most homeowners insurance requires families to be in their renovated or rebuilt homes within a certain timeframe. To help get as many families back into high-quality homes as soon as possible while helping to alleviate

some of the pressure on the people grieving the devastation of their houses, Wood Brothers Homes hired an insurance specialist just to focus on those builds. They currently have 30 Louisville, Superior, and Boulder County rebuilds under contract and are still taking new clients. They expect these 30 homes to take 1-1.5 years to complete.

The major difference between working with survivors of a natural disaster to building a custom home and working with other homeowners is want versus need. Most of Wood Brothers Homes’ clients want to build or renovate a custom home. They are excited about the whole process. The survivors of the Marshall Fire didn’t want a new home. Most loved their old homes. They need a new home, and Wood Brothers Homes is there to help them through the grieving of their old home and look forward to a freshly built one. They even donated pre-lit Christmas trees in 2022 to Marshall Fire families and hosted an ornament decorating party in their office.

If you or your clients are interested in a high quality, energy efficient custom home – then Justin and Wood Brothers Homes should be on your radar. You can reach Justin Woods and Woods Brothers Homes at justin@woodbrothershomes. com or (303) 717 – 8207.

Stress or Bad?

Article by Dr. Felicia Santelli

Good

health and wellness

“Stress is the trash of modern life … we all generate it, but if you don’t dispose of it properly, it will pile up and overtake your life.” —

Terri Guillemets

Emotions can cause stress — stress can cause emotions. Does that make it all wrong? Not really. It all depends on how long do you choose to hold on to it.

A psychologist walked around a room while teaching stress management to an audience. As she raised a glass of water, everyone expected they’d be asked the “half empty or half full” question. Instead, with a smile on her face, she inquired: “How heavy is this glass of water?” Responses ranged from 8 to 20 oz.

She replied, “The absolute weight is really not relevant. It depends on how long I hold it. If I hold the glass for a minute, that’s not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I’ll have an ache in my arm. If I hold it for a day, you’ll have to call an ambulance! In each case, it’s the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes.”

“And that’s the way it is with stress! If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won’t be able to carry on.”

She continued, “The stress and worries in life are like that glass of water. Think about them for a short while, and nothing happens. Think about them a bit longer, and they begin to hurt. And if you think about them all day long, you will feel paralyzed — incapable of doing anything.”

Some scientists posit that what matters is not just the level of stress or even its type but how we react to it. The same stress, perceived differently, can trigger different

physical responses with differing consequences in turn for both performance and health. Since stress is unavoidable, learning how to harness it is wiser than fruitless attempts to eliminate it.

Each moment of every day, a conversation is taking place inside us that’s one of the most vital we will ever find ourselves engaged in. It’s the silent, often subconscious, and never-ending conversation of emotion-based signals. The reason this conversation is so important is that the quality of the emotional impact determines the kind of chemicals that are released into our bodies.

When we feel what we would typically call negative emotions (for instance, anger, hate, jealousy and rage), the brain receives a signal that mirrors our feelings. Such emotions are irregular and chaotic, and the signals they send look irregular and chaotic.

If you can envision a chart of the ups and downs for the stock market on a wild and volatile day, you’ll have an idea of the kind of signals we create in our bodies in times of high emotional stress. The human body interprets this stress and sets mecha nisms into motion to help us respond appropriately.

The Fight or Flight Response

The stress from negative emo tions increases the levels of cortisol and adrenaline in our bloodstreams, hormones that are often called stress hormones. They prepare us for a quick and powerful reaction to whatever is causing stress. That reaction includes redirecting the blood supply from the organs deep within our bodies to the places where it’s most needed: the muscles, limbs, and extremities that we use to run as fast as we can to get away from it—our instinctive fight-or-flight response.

For our distant ancestors, this response would save them from an angry bear that had camped out in their cave. When they felt that the threat was gone, their emotions shifted, and the elevated levels of stress hormones returned to normal levels.

The key here is that the stress response is supposed to be temand brief. When it kicks in, we infuse our bodies with the chemistry needed to respond quickly and powerfully to the threat. It’s all about survival. The important point is that when such high levels of stress chemicals are present, we can become superhuman.

We’ve heard stories of the 98-pound woman successfully tilting an automobile off the ground long enough to save her child pinned beneath — and doing so without first considering if such a feat was even possible.

The flip side is that while the benefits can be helpful during a brief period, stress that triggers the surge effectively shuts down the release of other chemicals that support important functions in our bodies. The release of vital chemicals that support functions of growth, immunity and anti-aging are dramatically reduced during times of fight or flight.

In other words, the body can be only in one mode or the other: fight/flight mode or healing/growth mode Clearly, we were never meant to live day in and day out with constant stress. Yet, this is precisely the situation that many of us find ourselves in today.

In our modern world of information overload, speed dating, multiple consecutive double cappuccinos and the often-heard complaint that life is “speeding up,” it’s inevitable that our bodies feel we’re in a constant state of never-ending stress. People who cannot find a release from this find themselves in sustained fightor-flight mode with all of the consequences that come with the territory.

A quick look at an office or a classroom, or even a glance at our family members over Sunday dinner, confirms what the data suggests. It’s not surprising to find that people with the highest levels of sustained stress are generally in the poorest health.

The rise in U.S. statistics for stress-related conditions, including heart disease and stroke, eating disorders, immune deficiencies, and some cancers, is not unusual when we consider the relentless stress that many people experience in their daily lives.

The good news is that the same mechanism that creates and sustains our stress responses, often on a subconscious level, can also be regulated to help us relieve the stress in a healthy way — even when times are difficult. And we can do so quickly and intentionally. As with the example of how long we hold the glass of water, it is important that we actively engage in reducing the time we hold onto the negative emotions of anger, hate, etc.

When we feel a sense of well-being, the level of stress hormones in our bodies decreases, while the life-affirming chemistry of a healthy immune system with anti-aging properties increases.

Just as our brains send stress signals when we feel negative emotions, in the presence of positive emotions, such as appreciation, gratitude, compassion and caring, the brain releases chemicals into the body that support immunity and growth.

“The truth is that stress doesn’t come from your boss, your kids, your spouse, traffic jams, health challenges, or other circumstances. It comes from your thoughts about these circumstances”. — Andrew Bernstein, author of “The Myth of Stress”

References:

http://www.gannett.cornell.edu/topics/stress/index.cfm http://www.greggbraden.com/blog/ how-our-emotions-affect-our-health/