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Summit County real estate deals require expert local knowledge

For one of the most important financial transactions in your life, hiring a Summit REALTORS® member is essential

By Lauren Glendenning
Brought to you by Summit REALTORS®
A mountain Realtor can help you find your dream home while guiding you through one of the most complex and important financial transactions of your life.
A mountain Realtor can help you find your dream home while guiding you through one of the most complex and important financial transactions of your life.
Photo by Lindey Miller
The Summit REALTORS® members deliver:
  1. Timely, relevant listing information.
  2.   Expert market knowledge.
  3.   Full access to properties for sale on the Summit MLS (multiple listing service).
  4.   Professional, ethical standards.  
  5.   A Summit REALTOR® has access to national, state and local education to keep Realtors current in their knowledge, including 24 Summit-area specific classes.
  6.   A Summit REALTOR® has access to excellent technology that helps Realtors search listings, access properties and evaluate data.

    Find your mountain real estate expert at summitrealtors.org/landing/discover.

There’s no shortage of real estate professionals willing to help you buy or sell a home, but in the Colorado mountain markets of Summit and Park Counties, it’s essential to hire a professional with valuable local experience.  

With so many vacation homes, unique communities and homeowners organizations, a real estate broker will provide comprehensive and competent expertise, said Dana Cottrell, a Realtor and president of Summit REALTORS®.

“You want to work with someone who understands what it means to live, buy, sell and show safely in the mountains,” she said. 



With low interest rates making it such an appealing time to invest in mountain property, it’s essential that you work with a professional who knows the ropes and can guide you through this important process. 

Local experience



In Summit County, professional real estate brokers are true mountain guides that assist buyers and sellers with all kinds of complexities that can come up during a transaction. You want to use someone who’s a member of Summit REALTORS® to ensure you’re getting accurate market knowledge from a mountain professional guide. 

“Our association offers frequent continuing education classes specific to topics affecting Summit, Lake and Park counties,” Cottrell said.

“We’re your rock during a complex process,” said Dana Cottrell, president of Summit REALTORS®. “Our members are passionate and have amazing expertise.”
“We’re your rock during a complex process,” said Dana Cottrell, president of Summit REALTORS®. “Our members are passionate and have amazing expertise.”
What can a REALTOR® do for you?
  • Realtors vow to treat their clients ethically and are held to a strict Code of Ethics
  • Realtors help protect buyers and sellers throughout the transaction.
  • Realtors negotiate the best price by using current and leading market data.
  • Realtors know your neighborhood and community.
  • Realtors are your advocates during one of the most significant financial transactions you’ll make in your lifetime.
  • Realtors offer a human connection to a complex process.
  • Realtors are supported by the nation’s largest professional trade organization — the National Association of REALTORS® — protecting your property and community long after contracts are signed.

 Source: National Association of REALTORS®

Market knowledge

Summit REALTORS® members are the best representatives for buyers and sellers in our mountain region because they have the local knowledge that can make or break transactions.

An experienced mountain REALTOR® can provide information about:

  • Utilities
  • Water rights
  • Short-term rental rules
  • Local transfer taxes
  • Zoning
  • Schools
  • HOA requirements (Are pets allowed? Can you rent the property?)

“We also have objective information about each property. We can use that data to help you determine if the property has what you need,” Cottrell said. “By understanding both your needs and search area, we can point out neighborhoods you don’t know much about, but might suit your needs.”

The REALTOR®  difference

Beware of online resources or companies that say you don’t need a Realtor, said Tom Coolidge, past president of Summit REALTORS®.

“Real estate is often the largest investment you’ll make in your lifetime — you need professional guidance,” he said.

Having a concerned, but objective, third part helps you stay focused on the issues most important to you as you buy and sell mountain property, Cottrell said, adding that “buyers and sellers have to be protected with integrity, local knowledge and professionalism through the entirety of the transaction.”

For one of the most important financial transactions in your life, hiring a Summit REALTORS® member is essential to avoiding delays or costly mistakes.
For one of the most important financial transactions in your life, hiring a Summit REALTORS® member is essential to avoiding delays or costly mistakes.

Expert guidance

A mountain broker is going to spend an average of 50 to 100 hours managing each and every deal, helping clients avoid delays or costly mistakes. 

“Let us help handle picking the perfect neighborhood by your favorite mountain, finding the picture-perfect home or flawless building site, tackle the piles of paperwork, take up the tedious details and protect your interests, all with a professional and ethical relationship,” Cottrell said. “We will help you find your mountain home, and make you feel like a true local.” 

Find your mountain real estate expert at summitrealtors.org/landing/discover.


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