Barbara Salisbury's (realtorbarbara) Blog

When one is thinking of buying a home the usual questions one asks are: How much payment can I afford? Do I have enough down payment?  Another question you need to ask your self is do I have enough to cover the closing costs?  To answer that question, of course, you need to know how much those fe...

There's a quick and easy way to go sky diving here in the Denver area.  It's indoor sky diving at Sky Venture Colorado right here in the Entertainment District n Lone Tree.  If you don't believe me just check out the website www.skyventurecolorado.com.  There's a really cool video of people sky d...

Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from the decay of radium in the soil.  It is constantly being generated by the radium in rocks, soil, water and materials made from rocks and soil, like some building materials.  This gas is odorless, colorless, invisible and can only be detected with the use...

If you live in Highlands Ranch, whether you are an avid reader or occasional reader, I think I know something in which you might be interested.  Book Clubs!  If you read very little this might be a means for helping your interest in reading and enticing you to read more.  If you are an avid reade...

My first and my last bicycles were purchased at the Bicycle Pedal'r in Highlands Ranch.  The first and the last were actually the same one.  I'm a novice bike rider now although as a child I was quite experienced, but never had my own bike.  I rode my brother's bike. I have a Trek bicycle which I...

I am referring to Roxborough State Park and its natural red rock formations which lean at 60 degree angles and add breathtaking beauty to this wonderful hiking area.  This park, which is about 11 miles from my house in Highlands Ranch, was set aside as a state park in 1975, but was not opened to ...

The parts of the equation:  Inventory:  December 3, 2008  Homes and condos = 22,271 (a 19.12% decline in inventory from December 2007)  Mortgage Rates:  At 4 year lows, hovering just under 5%.  Job Growth:  Up in 2008 over 2007 and predicted to increase more in 2009. These 2nd two factors will ca...

The number of houses sold in 2008 in the Denver area was off 6.47% from 2007.  An interesting piece of data to consider is that December of 2008 had 2772 homes closed and November 2008 had 2602 homes closed.  This is the first time in 6 years that December outperformed November in the number of h...

Interest rates for home mortgages are hovering just under 5% for conforming loans and just over 6% for Jumbo loans.   With the $7500 Fed offered home buyer tax credit, which is like getting a loan for $7500 interest free for 10 years, low down payment programs available for many people and many s...