Summit Colorado Resort Blog

Before Breckenridge became a world famous ski resort, it was a town. A mining town but a great quaint Victorian town. Over the past 150 years, the spirit of the town hasn't changed much. Part outcast, beautiful, frontier living, and relaxing. With Breckenridge's 150th anniversary taking place in 2009, it is important to reflect on the history, heritage and especially the characters that made this Victorian mining town what it is today.

Take a look at some of the events celebrating Breckenridge's incredible history:

While your in town stop by and see Deanna and I at The Long Group Real Estate. And have some fun!

970-631-6757

www.skihomessummit.com/

This is the home to see if your looking for views, value and luxury. Located only 10-15 minutes from Breckenridge Ski Resort, Keystone Ski Resort and Copper Mountain.

Jason Long| The Long Group - Omni Real Estate Co. | request more info | 970-631-6757 1667 Falcon Cir, Silverthorne, CO   Send to Friend This is the mountain retreat you have been waiting for. Completely renovated, no expense spared with Views, Views, Views!   Share Listing 4BR/4.5BA Single Family House   offered at $1,590,000 Year Built 1997 Sq Footage 4,410 Bedrooms 4 Bathrooms 4 full, 1 partial Floors 3 Parking 3 Car garage Lot Size .35 acres HOA/Maint $11 per month DESCRIPTION Located in the prestigious Eagles Nest Golf Resort and only minutes to the ski resorts. This furnished "Designers Masterpiece" is completely renovated, no expense spared. Incredible Gore Range, Keystone mountain views from all levels. Nestled in an aspen grove with large pine trees backing up to wetlands & wildlife. Sit in the expansive great room and enjoy the 26 ft stone fireplace while enjoying the view up canyon of the Gore Range. Sit out on the over-sized deck with luxury spa and enjoy the views. Huge chefs gourmet kitchen with the latest in commercial grade appliances. Pick your view from the homes 2 master suites finished with the finest upgrades and materials. This home is designed to entertain your family and friends. With seating for 20 to dine, or the large multiple living areas with soaring ceilings. State of the art media room / home theater and audio, video, media management and music, with an easy to use control system throughout the home. Equipped with 2 laundry areas for easy laundry on either level. Designed with a low maintenance exterior, and over-sized 3 car garage. This is the best home available in Summit County, A Must See.   Huge Great Room   PROPERTY FEATURES Central heat Fireplace High/Vaulted ceiling Walk-in closet Hardwood floor Tile floor Family room Bonus/Rec room Office/Den Dining room Breakfast nook Dishwasher Refrigerator Stove/Oven Microwave Granite countertop Stainless steel appliances Basement Washer Dryer Laundry area - inside Balcony, Deck, or Patio Jacuzzi/Whirlpool   COMMUNITY FEATURES Garage parking Guest parking Clubhouse Golf course       OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES Located in the Prestigious Eagles Nest Golf Resort Only minutes to the ski resorts Hand-scraped hickory wood floors Custom hickory cabinetry throughout Incredible views of Keystone Ski Resort, The Continental Divide & The Gore Range Top of the Line audio video system throughout the home with a private media room Large custom deck with 50 jet luxury spa and views of Keystone & The Gore Range

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving weekend! Boy was it eventful here in Summit County Colorado. Thanksgiving day was cloudy with a few snow flurries but over all was a great day to enjoy the family and local activities.

Friday however was something different. We woke up to snow and with the exception of a few breaks here and there it never stopped until this morning. That's right nearly 3 days straight of snow. The I-70 closed both East and Westbound for some time yesterday and has now reopened.

The resorts are reporting great skiing conditions with a big blast from mother nature. Below are the Snow totals and on mountain conditions for all 4 Summit County CO resorts.

Have a great Holiday and enjoy the snow more is on the way!

Jason & Deanna Long

Colorado Ski Home finder

It's almost that time again, you know the end of the year and all of the changes that come with it. We had our first snow here in Summit County Colorado last week. In fact it was flurrying when I got to the office this morning. I began to think about the coming winter, the ski season and realized Christmas and the New Year are just a few short months away.

I had a couple that I showed vacation homes to this weekend and after thinking about them and the rapidly approaching new year I was reminded about all the questions they had in relation to buying their first second home / investment property. They began to ask me many questions which invariably led to 1031 exchanges.

I realized that I had not yet done an update to our blog about the changes coming to 1031 exchanges for the 2009 year. Our blog has previously covered 1031 exchanges (see How to do a 1031 exchange) so we will not deal with the entire 1031 process in this entry but focus on new changes that may impact you for 2009.

An owner of a property would typically use a 1031 exchange to defer gains and other tax payments upon the sale of an investment property. To defer these taxes, the seller of an investment property buys a replacement property of equal or higher value.

The seller has to satisfy timing requirements and other rules, but if those are met, he or she is able to sell an existing investment property and then buy a new property without having to pay the IRS any taxes. One of these requirements is that the new property purchased must be used for investment purposes.

for 2009 there is a new limit on excluding a gain when converting an investment property to a primary residence.

The Housing Assistance Tax Act of 2008 signed by President Bush and pushed by congress became law on July 30, 2008. It includes a provision which limits the amount of gain that can be excluded when you sell a house used as a primary residence if you also used the house for another purpose, such as a rental.

Under the rules of Section 121 of the Internal Revenue Code, you will not owe capital gain taxes up to $250,000 of gain, or $500,000 of gain if you are married and filing jointly, when you sell a house used as a primary residence for two of the previous five years. The two year period does not need to be consecutive to qualify for the exclusion.

Under the new law and as of January 1, 2009, the amount of gain that you can exclude will be reduced to the extent that the house was used for something other than a primary residence during the period of ownership. The exclusion is reduced by pro-ration by comparing the number of years the property is used for non-primary residence purposes to the total number of years the property is owned by the taxpayer.

Ok, lets try to make all that easy to understand by using an example in the real world. A couple that is maried uses a 1031 tax deferred exchange to acquire a house for $500,000 they plan to use as a rental in 2009. The couple rents the house for three years, and then moves into it and uses it as their primary residence for the next three years. The couple decides to sell the property at the end of the sixth year for 1 million dollars, netting a total gain of $500,000. Under the new rules, instead of being able to exclude the entire $500,000, the couple will not be able to exclude some of the gain based on how many years they used the home as a rental. Since they rented it for three years out of six, 50% of the gain, or $250,000, will not be able to be excluded from their tax liability. Because of this new limitation, the couple will be able to exclude $250,000 of the gain rather than the entire $500,000 under the rules before 2009.

There are several exceptions to this new restriction that I believe buyers and investors today must know. Any periods where the property is used other than as a primary residence that occurs prior to January 1, 2009 will not reduce the excludeable gain. Using the example above, if the three year rental period occurs prior to January 1, 2009, the exclusion would not be reduced and the couple would be able to exclude the full $500,000. In other Words if you have a second home now and plan on using it as a primary residence in the near future you may want to consider doing so before January 1, 2009.

Another important exception is that property that is first used as a primary residence and later converted to investment property will not be affected by this new law. For example, you own and live in a house for 18 years. Subsequently, you move out and rent the house for two years before

selling it. Because your investment use occurred after the last day of use as a primary residence, all of the gain accumulated over your 20 year ownership of the property can be excluded, up to $250,000, or $500,000 if you are married and filing jointly.

As always consult your tax or legal professional for advice related to investment properties. But these new rules will give you something to think about before the new year.

Jason and Deanna are real estate brokers in Summit County Colorado with a focus on second and investment properties in the resort region. See our free MLS search for Colorado resort properties.

Wow, look what we woke up to this morning! Snow in August. Summit County Colorado never ceases to amaze me. Keystone had almost there entire ski runs covered.

Buffalo mountain August 16th 2008.

Summit County area information and Real Estate

New Listing Next to Keystone Colorado

See our all new FREE no obligation Colorado resort MLS search

 See the Vitual tour

Brought to you by The Long Group Summit County Colorado Resort Homes, Condos, and Land.

WOW new price $409,000

 Open house Saturday and Sunday July 5th & 6th 2008 from 10-3. This townhome is priced to move this weekend!

Well I thought we escaped the Pine Beetle again this year. Many Colorado mountain towns have been devistated by the beetles and Summit County is no exception. We spray every year and make sure we do everything to maintain our wonderful pines. Last month Deanna and I were discussing how we saw no marks on our trees or any browning on them.

Well my folks decided to visit last weekend and the first thing my Dad said did you see that brown tree in your yard. I was in such shock I almost called him a LIAR! So I rushed to the window and looked out. I could not see the tree and everything looked healthy and green. Dad strolls over as I continue to frantically look for the elusive dead tree. He points up and says look at the top. Sure enough the whole top of the tree was brown.

I love my trees and many are very mature and beautiful. I almost get downright protective of them. I felt the Beatles had violated my space. I cannot imaging my home without their shade and greenery. Luckily I also live in the middle of an Aspen Grove.

So now I have declared all out war on the Pine Beetles. I have sprayed again this year but I am not a particular fan of chemicals but feel it is necessary to help save our trees. Spraying the trees contains a chemical called seven which also can kill bugs that are vital to our forests and waterways.

In my research I have come across a product that we are trying this year called Beetle Block from AG Bio. The research looks promising as they have studies to back up the science.

Beetle Block contains a type of Verbenone, and verbenone is a natural pheromone that beetles emit when the population of a tree has reached a high level. The pheromone is a signal to adult beetles to stay away because the tree cannot support full development of the population that has already infested the tree. Beetles turn away and seek another food source. The verbenone in Beetle Block is an exact mimic of the verbenone naturally produced by beetles.

Beetle Block has been used commercially in Montana, Wyoming, & Idaho by the forest service and other agencies.  This year a couple of our local towns have purchased it for testing on some areas.  If any of you have used the product I would love to hear your results.

One positive note Aspen trees seem to be proliferating where pine trees have been cut or have completely died out. In the comming years Summit County will have a very healthy forest for us and future generations to see.

Check out Ag Bio for more information.

Summit County Colorado area information.

One of the most popular things to do during the summer here in Summit County is to visit a couple of concerts at the Breckenridge Riverwalk Amphitheater. It's a great place to see The Blue River run by as you are watching one of the summer concerts.

This year should be one of the best as the amphitheater has been remodeled. A roof and walls were erected over the existing amphitheatre structure and other improvements were made as well. The project substantially enhances the experience by improving the acoustics, temperature control and lighting within the facility. The unique connection I spoke of to the outside environment has been maintained with six large clear doors that fold open to the Riverwalk Center lawn. Nights can be cool so bring a jacket and blankets if you want to stay warm.

From Local artist at the Blue River Concert series to the famous National Reparatory Orchestra there is music for everyone to enjoy. For a complete schedule list click here.

The NRO is a nonprofit organization that provides an 8 week fellowship program for the most promising young orchestral musicians. Alumni currently perform in virtually every major orchestra in the US and in orchestras world-wide.  Each summer, 89 musicians are chosen in a nationwide audition tour to participate in an intense symphonic orchestral experience.

The NRO performs two full orchestra concerts each week in the Riverwalk Center between mid-June and early-August. In addition, members of the NRO take part in smaller chamber concerts during the festival, and the full orchestra plays at several other locations in the state. Throughout the summer a full range of symphonic literature is performed; the equivalent of a full symphony season!

For a complete summer schedule of the NRO Click here

Have fun and we'll see you at the concerts Jason & Deanna

Breckenridge Colorado Information

Situated on the beachfront of Peak 7 in Breckenridge, Crystal Peak Lodge offers 46 ski-in/ski-out residences just steps from the new seasonal BreckConnect Gondola and the proposed new site of the Independence Super Chari.  Architecturally, the Lodge is rugged yet refined, harmonizing with the natural alpine surroundings of Colorado's most desirable setting. 

Crystal Peak Lodge is designed to reflect the environment around it. Heavy timbers, moss rock and expanses of glass contribute to the building's rugged exterior. Inside, warm wood paneling, high-end fixtures and rich fabrics will welcome homeowners in from the slopes.

Crystal Peak Lodge of Breckenridge is the result of years of careful planning by a selected group of professionals at the forefront of their respective fields.  The execution of Crystal Peak Lodge will reflect the same level of expertise, the same attention to detail and the same commitment to quality.

A limited number of residences are now avalible. Don't miss your chance to own one of the most magnificent ski resort real estate projects today. Contact Jason & Deanna Long The Long Group - Omni Real Estate Co. for further details at 1-800-620-1009 EX 199. Breckenridge Condominiums

Photos are for illustation purposes only and are not a garantee of final product.