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Lifestyle is a choice

Leah Baxter
Special to the Daily

Summit County real estate buyers are looking for lifestyle when they are choosing homes and locations. The lifestyle in Summit County is pretty relaxed. No one seems to be in a hurry, which is great, you can leave all your cares behind. There is so much to do in Summit County, bike riding, hiking, fishing, dirt biking, skiing, snowboarding, nordic skiing , sailing, wine tasting, dining, etc. You get the idea, so what are you waiting for, now is the best time in history to buy that mountain property. As you may or may not be aware interest rates are extremely low, some under 4 percent. Most people are aware of the old adage “would’ve, could’ve, should’ve” That time to buy is now!

Just because a property is for sale doesn’t necessarily mean the owner is desperate to sell. There are several circumstances that may motivate sellers. They may be wanting to take advantage of the lower prices and trade up to something bigger, they may want to cash out and move on to other things in their lives, or they may have some pressing financial issues that they need to address.

As a buyer, it’s important to take many aspects of a property into consideration before determining how much to offer. Offering an arbitrary percentage off of the asking price or some specific price per square foot is simple, but can often cause animosity with the seller and can result in an outright rejection of your offer and/or an unwillingness to negotiate with you.



Do your homework…or better yet, have a local Realtor do the homework for you. If you have a solid, fact based rationale for your offer, sellers are much more likely to enter into negotiations based on the facts. Here are some things to consider when determining your offer price:

Look at all of the comparable sales in the neighborhood and the condition of those properties vs. the property you are considering.



Compare and adjust for the age and style of the properties…compare apples to apples.

How is it furnished? Is it up to date or will you have to remodel to get it to the comparable standards

Is it the highest or lowest priced property in the neighborhood? Based on price per square foot, is it already a great deal?

Is it the right location for you? Remember the old rule of “location, location, location” still holds true.

Have there been numerous price reductions and is it now priced to sell?

What is the county assessed value? Are you starting off with immediate gain, loss or are you breaking even?

If this is the right property for you and your family to create many memories in, whether full-time or part-time, then make an offer. Overall today’s home buyer wants to find a home in a location where he can feel a part of the community and take advantage of all that a community has to offer.

Leah Baxter can be reached at (970) 389-6367 or at leah@leahbaxter.com.


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