Sondra Slappey

Helle and welcome to Eagle County. If you are willing to possibly go without a garage, I think you can probably find something in the Avon area. Do you have any pets? This will make your search a little more difficult but still possible. The real estate agents here have a rental "network." I'd be glad to offer some help to you but would need to know how to get in contact. It would also be very helpful to get a little more information from you in order to send you leads that may actually work. Would you consider a condo or townhome as opposed to a house? From where are you relocating? - Mon Sep 15 2008, 09:21

What kind of amenities are important to you and will your children's schooling be an important issue? If you are looking to relocate here, I would guess that maybe you have been here before? The Vail Valley offers many different locations for lifestyle-living. Few people actually live full-time in the resort areas of "Vail Village," Beaver Creek," or "Bachelor's Gulch," but some do. Some of the very popular locals communites are East Vail, Eagle-Vail, Edwards, Arrowhead, Singletree and Edwards. Further down-valley are the more affordable communities of Eagle and Gypsum which also offer a few extra months of summer every year. Equisite and private, gated communities like Mountain Star, Lake Creek, Cordillera, Red Sky Ranch and Bellyache Ridge are in between all of these areas.

All of the communities listed above offer amenities of some type. I think it is important to quanitfy if you desire a golf course community, privacy, exclusive club membership, pool, tennis, horse facilities, social activities, etc....
Obviously, if you are a real estate agent, then you know how much price will matter. Our communities offer prices ranging from $500,000 for a small condominium or so to $20 million with everything in between.

If you would like for me to answer any specific questions, I'd be glad to help. Eagle County is the second fastest growing county in the state of Colorado. The market here has softened in the $2.5 million and under price range, but we have seen virtually no slow down in the higher end properties over $2.5 million.
I hope this offers a little help. - Tue Jun 17 2008, 20:48

Hi Sharon,
In order to get the most favorable loan terms available, you will probably need to put 10% down on your purchase. Since you have strong income and a good credit score, you should not have any trouble getting a very good rate as long as your income stream has been consistent or risen over the last 3 years. Lenders have gotten more cautious than I even realized. Granted, the confrming loan limits went up to $729,750, but financing options for more than a $417,000 loan still offer you jumbo-type rates unfortunately. Since I don't know what price range you are talking about, maybe this will or will not affect you. Have you been to Tuscon to look for houses? Maybe you could still get a really nice house for the same amount of money you will net in the Vail area as our market is just beginning to see the softening. One more very important thing to consider is that if you did get a loan with 0% down and the market continues to decline, you don't want to be upside down in your house (have no equity). Also, you can go to http://www.wikipedia.com and search for "conforming loan limits". Hope this helps! - Tue Apr 8 2008, 14:34

Hi John,
The market is starting to soften here as many thought would never happen. Remember the #1 rule for investment properties is location, location location. Obviously, there are many other factors to consider, such as condition, price, ability to short-term rent, conditon of the HOA, loan terms (if necessary), time frame, etc... Your question is difficult to answer without knowing if you are planning to spend millions of dollars or $400,000. As prices have skyrocketed in our area over the last 3 years or more, the rental market has gotten even stronger. The lower end 2 bedroom units in Avon (across from Beaver Creek) are easily renting for $700 per bedroom and sell in the $320,000 area. Nicer town homes with garages in the Edwards market are more like $800-$900 per bedroom in rent. Most of teh very expensive properties are rented short term rather than long term but there are exceptions. I hope this helps. - Tue Apr 8 2008, 14:19

This is a great time of year to b elooking for a rental in the Vail area. Many winter employees will be leaving this weekend and their leases will be ending. As a matter of fact, this is the BEST time of year to find along-term rental. You should expect to pay anywhere from $700 per bedroom and up depending on location, amenities, garage, etc.... Without a doubt, the best place to look is in the local newpaper, The Vail Daily. The website is http://www.vaildaily.com Look in classified rentals. You can also try Craigs List, but the Daily will have many more oprtions. - Tue Apr 8 2008, 14:10