A little about Brooke Mitchell... Realtor in the Pikes Peak / Colorado Springs area

This is a true Briargate Beauty with extended hardwoods throughout the main level traffic areas. This house is SO immaculate; ready for new buyer to move right in! They've done some awesome upgrades, like Corian counters w/Travertine back splash, pendant lighting and walk-out to deck at the kitchen. The adjoining family room vaults and includes a beautiful fireplace! Upstairs there are 4 great-size bedrooms, including a master with walk-in closet & 5-piece bath. The basement includes a large laundry room, bedroom, bath, wet bar and walk-out to the patio. The interior & exterior spaces of this home really lend to great entertaining lay-out!

Check out more in this personalized web page - http://birnamwooddrive.com/

Well, if you lived here for any length of time... okay if you've lived here a week.. you know what a nuisance the miller moths are as they migrate through Colorado. But one thing most people aren't expecting is these annoying little creatures can cause traffic accidents?! I know driving at night, they are worse than previous years, dive-bombing our vehicles. With our open-top Jeep during these beautiful days, they often hit us in the head.

This morning one or more moths was the cause of a traffic accident in Briargate. A young woman was trying to shoo a moth from her vehicle and ran into a tree, wrecking her car.

On another note, some friends of ours were rear-ended last week, while sitting still to turn left into a parking lot a young man hit them going 50-60MPH and his car burst into flames afterwards. 5 people were taken by ambulance to the hospital. Going that fast rear-ending somebody, this young man was obviously distracted!

The moral of the story: whether it's a moth, a bee... or a meal, or a cell phone, try to remain calm and focused when driving. The moths ARE annoying, but they really can't hurt you, focus on the road.

This one has everything... 4 nice bedrooms, 4 baths, 3 car all on a huge corner lot. Be close to everything available in Falcon and 5-7 miles to Colorado Springs. I love the front porch and nice entry. The main level has either 9-foot or 2-story throughout. Living and Dining adjoin... great for entertaining. 2-story family room with tile-clad fireplace and custom built-ins, plus a full wall of windows. The eat-in kitchen is completely upgraded with Corian counters, undermount epoxy sink, stainless appliances, 42" upper cabinets with full pantry cabinet.

Upstairs enjoy two spacious bedrooms, loft area overlooking family room plus a sweet master suite... spacious main area, 2 walk-in closets, sitting area, 5-piece bath!

Basement has 9 foot ceilings, huge Rec room could be great theater room, and another huge bedroom.

The backyard includes an extended patio, rocked RV parking space, play set, shed and completely fenced for dogs and kids! This nice corner lot is awesome.

Check out the 'virtual tour' - http://www.indianechoterrace.com/

This is a great listing! I'm so excited to have it on the market! Greenough Road is located close to the Falcon Safeway shopping center, as well as other new nearby shopping and restaurants... oh AND it adjoins open space/trails to the side and rear.

This great home has a nice main level bedroom with attached 3/4 bath... it's great for visitors, office or somebody needing main level living. The 2-story living room could also be a beautiful formal dining room. The kitchen has a rare gas range, nice island, pantry and sliding door to the HUGE yard! Adjoining the kitchen is a cozy family room with fireplace. There are 4 super-nice bedrooms upstairs, all close-by the laundry room. The master has an attached bath and TWO walk-in closets. All this and there could be expanded finished space in the unfinished basement.

This area offers an easy commute to Peterson Air Force Base, Schreiver Air Force Base, Colorado Springs... and more. Let me know if you'd like to see it in person!

Recent message sent to parents:

"DISTRICT 20 CHANGES SCHOOL START TIMES
TO IMPROVE STUDENT SAFETY AND ACADEMIC SUCCESS

Students will benefit from additional sleep and safer morning arrivals at school when Academy District 20 implements new start times for all schools for the 2012-13 school year. All traditional high schools will start at 7:45 a.m. compared to current start times as early as 7:05 a.m.  The changes result in a reduction from four to three transportation tiers and continue to increase efficiency in the district's transportation department.

"We are pleased to be able to implement these changes because we feel all students will benefit," said Academy District 20 Superintendent Dr. Mark Hatchell. "Many in our community have long been concerned about how early our high schools start.  A recent task force studied our transportation services and did recommend that start times be changed if transportation efficiencies could be gained."

Later morning start times for high school students are expected to improve attendance and academic focus. Those students will also benefit from more daylight to walk, drive, or catch buses in the morning to school.

The restructuring of the district's school start times will result in condensing all of the start times to within an hour from the earliest to the latest. Currently, there is a two-hour spread between the earliest high school start time and the latest elementary start time. With the new schedule, all elementary schools will start no later than 8:45 a.m. No elementary school children will be dropped off at the end of the day any later than 4:30 p.m.

The reduction in one tier of busing means that middle school and high school students in some areas will ride the same bus. This arrangement already occurs on some Challenger Middle School and Pine Creek High School bus routes. All Academy District 20 buses are equipped with cameras and drivers are trained to maintain student safety.

A complete list of all the new start and end times for each school is available at www.asd20.org/starttimes.

CONGRATULATIONS (to me )

Today is the 10 year anniversary of being an active Real Estate Broker in the state of Colorado. I’ve been through good markets and bad… had weeks of working a LOT and weeks of working scarcely little.

Thankfully all along the way, I’ve have the support of my husband, kids, family, and of course the wonderful clients I’ve had the privilege of helping buy and sell homes all over the region... there have been some awesome (and well, some not-so-awesome) lenders, the fellow Realtors I’ve worked with, plus title reps and closers, and home inspectors. I could not have had such a successful 10 years without each of you.

So, THANK YOU all SO much for your support, encouragement, business, education and respect over the years. Here’s to many, many more years in this crazy business!!

If you are getting ready to come to Colorado for house-hunting in the area or just to visit, you might experience altitude sickness. Just the altitude isn't the entire problem, it's less oxygen and VERY dry air. One of the best things you can do is take at least a half day to relax and breathe in the fresh Colorado air... aaahhh, refreshing. Also drink LOTS of water! We all know water is one of the best, most natural things for our bodies, but especially when you change climates and visit higher altitudes. If you are flying into a local airport, I'd recommend staying in the city for a little bit before heading to the mountains to ski... and watch that alcohol intake! Altitude sickness is not specific to gender or healthy lifestyle.

Altitude sickness includes feeling light-headed or having headaches and dizziness... and can be mild to severe. Check out more details and symptoms from WedMd here - http://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/altitude-sickness-topic-overview

And come to Colorado!!... just keep yourself hydrated!

We love the Pike's Peak Library District! Not only do they offer a variety of books, but locations all over town and programs for people of all ages. We love that we can pick up books at one place and drop them at another depending on location... so convenient. There are at least 15 branches of the Pike's Peak Library from Ute Pass to Falcon and Monument to Fountain! Plus mobile library is available. Find and renew books on-line, use computers and more!

http://www.klein-place.com/

This was a great home when I sold it to them... but they've made it quite a gem by finishing the basement and adding professional landscaping! The entry has hardwoods and the main level living & dining rooms share fireplace and new carpet... plus 2-story or at least 9 foot ceilings. Plus the kitchen adjoining the family room has a huge dining space leading to an oversized patio, and yard with playset... oh and this backs to a HUGE open space!! The kitchen has great storage with a nice pantry and 42 inch upper cabinets!!

Upstairs enjoy 4 nice-size bedrooms including master and 1 other with walk-in closets. The master has 2 sinks and a nice soaking tub with beautiful tile surround.  Bedroom 4 is huge, great for a couple kids to share or office / guest room... lots of options.

The newly finished basement of course has new carpet, a gorgeous bathroom, Rec Room and bedroom (or exercise or office?)

This house has it all when it comes to location, nestled nicely on a quiet street... yet close to Peterson and Schriever Air Force bases, as well as great schools. Evans Elementary is an IB school and the middle school is currently working on their IB certification! Also nearby you'll enjoy an array of shopping and restaurants along the Powers corridor and easy access to the Colorado Springs airport.

Message or call me... I'd be happy to show it to your personally!!

If you're moving to Colorado and hoping those snow-capped peaks mean it's white here all winter, you might be a little disappointed. I don't know what the stats are, but it seems we're more likely to have snow on Halloween than on Christmas... strange but true. It's looking like 2011 might be the exception. Although we're not expecting snow ON Christmas day, we had a storm yesterday and one heading into the area now with the Pike's Peak Region expecting anywhere from 4-15 inches (this includes Woodland Park/Teller County, so don't be frightnened).

As of right now, the big, beautiful individual flakes seem to be floating gently to the ground. So for those of us who live at higher elevations and in treed areas, we're likely to at least still have snow on the ground. Maybe the hopes of sledding on Christmas weekend will be realized this year!

Hope this guy finds his way to the north pole in the next 3 days!!

Many people ask what our weather patterns are like... how hot it gets here, how cold, and how much snow?!?! Well for starters Colorado Springs normally only reaches the mid-90s, limiting the necessity for air conditioning. Plus dry air is never as extreme as air temps with humidity included. In the winter November and December are cold with limited snow, some weeks we only reach freezing as a high temperature but other weeks we get into the 50s. And with our beautiful sunshine, 50 feels amazing! It often snows at least once by the end of October, but not a heavy snow. The larger amounts of snow fall in March and April (and sometimes May). The nice thing about a Spring snow is it could snow a foot one day and be in the 60s the next, melting that snow off. Spring skiing is the best!!

We recently received an update on our son's status with TCA's wait list. The Classical Academy (TCA) is a charter school located in Academy School District 20. ALL students apply to be on the wait list.

This email letter offers from great insight into their process and how they enroll students for the coming school year. They indicate here how many spots normally open up per grades.

Although months away, our TCA Registrar’s office is already planning for our 2012 fall enrollment at The Classical Academy.  We want to personally invite you to a special TCA Prospective Family Informational Meeting on November 29th at 7:00 pm, since your family has been on our waiting list for some time. According to our records, your child, ****** Mitchell, [I blocked this out for our privacy] is number 243 on the Kindergarten waitlist. We annually enroll 272 Kindergarteners, and frequently go through most of the waiting list to fill every Kindergarten seat. Each year, we also have openings for approximately 6 to 8 students in 1st and 2nd grade; 10 to 20 openings in 3rd and 4th grades; and 4 to 6 openings in 5th and 6th grades.  No matter your placement on the list, I encourage you to attend this important meeting to learn more about our extraordinary school.

TCA Prospective Family Informational Meeting

November 29, 2011

7:00 to 8:30 pm

TCA East Elementary Campus Gymnasium

12201 Cross Peak View 80921

(Between Pikes Peak Community College and New Life Church

FYI-address does NOT mapquest)

As a charter school, TCA is a unique learning community.  Our mission is to partner with your family in the education of your children.  Before you make this important decision, we want you to be fully aware of the expectations and commitments that are woven into the fabric of a TCA education. While there are special demands on TCA families and students, there are overwhelming "life" rewards for a TCA education.  Plan now to attend this important time to meet our leaders, have your questions answered, and learn more about the following topics.

• The TCA Approach to Learning--our philosophy and curriculum
• Our Core Values and how they apply to life at TCA—relationships, discipline, behavioral standards, etc.
• Our vision for our learning community--our students, families, and faculty
• The understanding and commitment needed to thrive at TCA

We look forward to welcoming you into the life of this wonderful school!

Sincerely,

Kara McIntyre

TCA Registrar

As posted about a month ago, I would try to follow up on the Renaissance Hotel, as we all get tired of driving by this eye-sore that promised to be a beautiful hotel and resort in northern Colorado Springs. According to the Colorado Springs Gazette:

"UPDATE: Flintco Inc. was declared the winning bidder for the stalled Renaissance Hotel project after no other bids were received at a foreclosure auction Thursday morning.

About two-dozen people gathered to watch. Flintco CEO Tom Maxwell attended.

Flintco, based in Tulsa, Okla., was the project's general contractor."

http://www.gazette.com/articles/renaissance-126998-hotel-colorado.html

El Paso County Tax records still indicate John Q Hammons as the owner of record; recording the auction sale could take time. Often the tax assessor records deeds within a month on residential property. It appears Flintco will be looking for buyers. I can't imagine the challenge of finding a $22-28 million buyer for a hotel. I'd love to see continued construction and a full operational hotel !! Again, I'll keep you posted!

The following email was sent out to parents on the Academy School District 20 email distribution list on Friday, November 11:

Greetings Academy District 20 staff and families:

The Academy District 20 Board of Education voted during its regular meeting Nov. 10, 2011, to implement a fee for transportation services beginning in fall 2012. The board made its decision based on an eight-month task force study and recommendations by task force members in April 2011. The Academy District 20 Board of Education, in accordance with state law, conducted a public hearing Oct. 20, 2011, to hear comments about the proposed fee.

Special education students with individual education plans that require transportation and students who qualify for free and reduced lunch will receive free transportation services. The rate for most students will be 50 cents per ride. About 6,500 students in the district ride buses regularly. More information about the fee and the logistical process for providing radio frequency identification cards to all bus riders for fall 2012 will be communicated during the coming months.

The MLS refers to the Multiple Listing Service... not Major League Soccer in this case. The local MLS is supported by Pike's Peak Realtor Services. Through this system most Realtors list their available properties for sale (and for rent), so as to cooperate with other Realtors in our efforts to sell homes. When you search our site ( http://springshomes.com/homes/colorado-springs.html ) you are accessing the MLS. Sometimes you'll find a house 'available' here that is actually under contract; so in an effort to clear up why, below are some brief explanations of these statuses. If you are doing a search for Available/Active homes, these statuses may show up: A, UCSS, UND, RGT... which is why a home might appear available and we'll tell you when you contact us that it has a contract on it.

ACT = Active - active, accepting offers, and available to show (sometimes with restriction on hours, days, specific notices, etc)

UCSS = Under Contract Short Sale - a home where the seller is 'upside-down' is a short sale; in this case they have received an offer acceptable to the seller and the sellers' lender(s) are in the review process

UND = Under contract - the seller has accepted an offer, but are still willing to review offers to be placed in a back-up position only

RGT = Under Contract with a First Right of Refusal - the seller has accepted an offer, but significant contingencies (often another home the potential buyer needs to sell); buyer and seller have contractually agreed the seller has a right to show and review other offers. If seller receives another acceptable offer, they put the 1st position buyers on "notice" to remove their contingencies (normally 1-3 days). If 1st position buyer cannot remove contingencies, 2nd position buyer moves into 1st position and former buyers' contract is terminated.

PEND = Pending - seller has accepted an offer, normal inspection, appraisal, title and loan conditions may still need to be met. The seller no longer wishes to show the home.

CLOSD = Sold - seller accepted an offer, buyer met all contingencies, property has closed

EXP = Expired - the most recent listing broker's listing agreement has expired

CAN = Cancelled - seller's listing agreement has been cancelled

WITH = Withdrawn - seller and listing broker temporarily withdrew home from MLS, normally with intent of putting it back on market; listing agreement is still in place between seller and listing broker

** If there is ever a question or doubt, please send us an email request, we are pleased to clarify a home's availability to the best of our knowledge!

On this beautiful snowy day, I think we're reminded of things we don't think of living and selling here for so many years. It's a great reminder. Although the snow it beautiful and one of the reasons some of us live here... and it's great for skiers, sledders, and students enjoying a snow day alike, it can also make a huge mess of our roads.

In response to the often-asked question, "When will the snow plow come to our neighborhood?", whether your home or office... here's a little info from the City of Colorado Springs:

For those who enjoy a good run and maybe dinner & a beverage afterwards, there are a couple local places that have run clubs. Our favorite Briargate Mexican restaurant has a run club at both their Briargate and Rockrimmon locations and a cycle club at Rockrimmon. You can run at Briargate on Tuesday evenings, Rockrimmon on Wednesday evening and cycle from Rockrimmon on Saturday. No membership or purchase required, show up and meet some local outdoor physical fitness enthusiasts for one of these local run events. But I HIGHLY recommend enjoying some great food afterwards!!

I understand Jack Quinn's downtown also has a run club.

I am a parent in Academy School District 20 and took the opportunity to attend the October 20 meeting at D20's Admin building regarding possibly implementing a transportation fee for bus riders. A proposal was presented and then parents, students, community members were permitted to make public comment. Here are some of the arguments that were presented and my opinions... yes my opinions, not those of the administration, parents, students, residents of D20 or the opinion of Boylan & Company Real Estate and it's management (I hope that was enough of a disclaimer).

Proposal:

1. Non-choice in neighborhood school students $.50 / ride ($5.00/week for round-trip transportation)
2. Choice in District 20 $.60 / ride
3. Choice out-of-district $.70 / ride
4. Students only charged for rides that actually take.
5. This will save the district about $500,000/year in the first year and $700,000 in subsequent 2 years. (This is a small percentage of the total transportation budget. $6million total budget, we receive $4million from the state. Savings will then be 1/8 to 1/6 of the annual budget)

Arguments of those in favor:

1. Colorado does not require transportation to public school. Nominal fee can divert some of the expense.
2. The District, like everyone, has been impacted by the slight downturn in the economy, and the reduced property taxes based on reduced property values means less money coming in. School districts here and all over are having to find ways to make cuts; better to make them in transportation than in the classroom.
3. District advertises that 'choice' students get NO transportation, and then offer those students transportation from school to school. Choice students should pay fee.
4. Transportation reports only 10% reduction in ridership.
5. If IEP plan requires transportation or income qualifications, they will not require fee.
6. One dad, "Only a nominal fee to take my student across town to Air Academy, sign me up." (altered, not word-for-word quote).

Arguments of those in opposition:

1. Fees should not be charged to students going to their neighborhood school.
2. Estimated 10% reduced ridership could be inaccurate.  This will cause excessive additional crowding during drop-off and pick-up times.
3. If increased walkers, will district staff more crosswalks?
4. Details and expense of tracking ridership need to be worked out.
5. New 'walkers' become targets to potential predators as a result of routine walking routes to school.
6. Rising costs at school (sports, meals, activities, classroom needs) not met by school budgets are already coming out of parents' pockets. This is added weekly expense.
7. Some buses to sport competitions only drop off students and head back to schools; leaving a vacant bus heading back to district. Parents then wasting gas, time, money and adding impact on the environment because of additional drivers. Especially obvious in those schools emphasizing importance of the environment, recycling, and our "footprint" on the earth.
8. Reduced housing values.
9. Is this temporary? If the economy picks back up, will the district eliminate the fee, parent opinion is no.

Additional comments:

1. Transportation please REALLY evaluate rates, examples notes of wasted time, buses, drivers, etc.  Also, really evaluate transport for special needs (i.e. large bus with 1-5 students on board)
2. Expectations from some parents on schools to staff from 5am-6pm to accommodate dual working-parent families (particularly military).

Now begins my commentary and arguments why my family would be for or against the fee and/or the structure:

1. We live in district and choice to a school which is not our neighborhood school. The district indicates we do not get transportation. Then transportation is offered. I expect to pay a fee and am willing to, to divert child care expenses and transportation expenses of our own.
2. MOST families in our district are relatively well-off (I hope that's not a terrible term). We are all being pulled in new directions financially, along with our wonderful local school district. The fees to send a student on the bus each week could be equal to about 1 gourmet cup of coffee. I think we all have that in our budget.
3. My income is down as a real estate professional in a slightly down economy, and I am willing to pay it.
4. I think in-neighborhood students should have a drastically reduced fee and choice student should have an increased fee (yes, that includes me); something like $.25 for in-neighborhood ($2.50/week, like the change on your nightstand) and $75 for choice (doesn't matter if they are in or out of district, they have to get to a D20 school and go from there).
5. Transportation fees alone cannot be blamed for reduced housing values, I think that is a false and impossible to track claim. D49 may have some decreased housing values, but that cannot be tracked directly to the fee they now assess to their riders. Again, the economic downturn has lead to decreased values since 2006, and especially since 2008; short sales and foreclosures bringing down values for years... before D49 added transportation fee.
6. I sold a $350,000 house in just 8 days for only $5000 less than list price in D49 / Woodmen Hills. Things are not as doom-and-gloom as some television financial "experts" and real estate professionals want to make them out to be.
7. We make lots of choices as adults & parents. We chose to have children, and therefore have to feed them. If costs in the cafeterias have gone up, how can we expect our costs not to go up.
8. We choose to enroll them in sports and other extra-curricular activities. If the district increases their expenses, they have to pass the cost on to parents.
9. Income evaluations can be made to 'excuse' students from the fee.
10. Adding up to (one parent estimated) $2500 for a student's 12-13 year school career, is just a minimal fee in my opinion.
11. This may affect home buyers coming to the area, however I think if District 20 continues to remain a top-notch district in it's excellent teachers, activities, etc, the transportation fee will be so minimal to incoming buyers' decisions. District 49 has had crowding & budget issues for at least 8 years; these districts are very different in their overall make-up and conditions (rural, military, economic, etc.).
12. We evaluate frequently my commission income, working and paying for child care. Like I said earlier we ALL make decisions every day that affect ourselves and our children. We cannot expect the public school system to go beyond that and provide child care for our student from 5/6am-5/6pm; that is simply not the schools' responsibility. We are their parents.
13. Colorado does not require transportation to public schools.

I hope this was helpful to those who were unable to make the meeting. There was a lot of opposition, but I think people accepting of the fee don't often attend meetings such as this. I hope my opinions don't offend anyone. If they do, I reiterate they are solely my opinions, not that of the district, many parents, or my office.

More to come, as always, when we hear more from the district...

If you drive anywhere on the north end of Colorado Springs, you've noticed the HUGE hotel under construction near I-25 and Interquest Pkwy. The hotel, being built by John Q Hammons (touts themselves on their web site as the largest privately owned independent hotel management chain), was abandoned approximately 2 years ago. It was, at the time, 70% complete and $22 million; unfortunately the builder reportedly ran out of money. i observed protesters for years with objections to John Q Hammons' business or human resources practices. Any relation to that protest is pure speculation on my part.

The hotel is going up for auction at the El Paso County Sheriff's office tomorrow, Thursday, Oct 20 at 10am. This gorgeous 300 room hotel, also includes 50,000 sq ft of meeting space and 41 suites facing a great Pike's Peak view. This hotel and conference center has potential to add employment opportunities to our area and drive large business conferences to the area. This could be a great boost for our local economy and tourism! I am so excited to see this project complete, so hopefully the Sheriff's sale tomorrow results in a successful purchase and completion of this gorgeous building and surrounding property.

I'm sure I'm not the only one who also hopes this area growth will include gas and convenience stores along Interquest Pkwy between I-25 and Powers! I'd also love some update on the also-vacated development at the southeast corner of Interquest and Hwy 83/Voyager.  More to come as I find out!!

Some of my information is courtesy of KOAA 5, our local NBC affiliate. Thanks!

You may or may not already know, there is a fly-in community just east of Colorado Springs adjoining the runways at Meadowlake Airport. Just 10-15 minutes from Colorado Springs, you can take either Woodmen east to Hwy 24 or Hwy 24 northeast from central Colorado Springs to Judge Orr Rd. Just a couple blocks east of that intersection is this great little airport. Adjoining it on the east and west sides are some homes that have personal runways and hangars for small, private aircraft.

In this link are the two homes I found, one gorgeous home available for $549,900 and one sold recently for $295,000. You can see a significant difference in their size, upgrades and age...

RES - Customer Full/All Photos  (click the link, to get from house to house, click the blue arrows by the property address near the top)

If you want help searching in a specific neighborhood such as this, I'm happy to help tailor a search to meet your needs. Whether you'd like to be alerted the moment a house comes up in a community such as a fly-in, or would just like to know what types of homes are available in the area and price range that meets your families' needs, let me know!

I have had a wonderfully busy week so far, is it really only Tuesday night?!?! I've logged over 250 miles already in the past two days with a great, fun couple from New Jersey (I'm convinced their not all corrupt up there ;-) ) Showing from Monument, Black Forest, Falcon, central Colorado Springs to Woodland Park. Along the way we stopped to enjoy some great scenery during my favorite season in Colorado!! Check these out... and it's upper 60s to upper 70s. GORGEOUS!!!

(ABOVE) Fall foliage from a gorgeous log deck outside Woodland Park, CO - Pike's Peak in the background - WOW!!

Back-lit cloud & pine trees in Black Forest, northeast Colorado Springs

One more high-mileage day to go this week with some families from Scotland!! Touring some potential home based business properties east and west of Colorado Springs.

Happy fall !!!