La Veta – Cuchara Valley Blog

Long-term mortgage rates have hovered around a very favorable 5 percent thanks to the Federal Reserve’s purchases of mortgage-backed securities, a program meant to keep rates low and make home buying more affordable.

The central bank’s policymaking committee confirmed on Jan. 27 that it will keep rates near these record lows in order to prop up the economy; but it still plans to terminate the mortgage purchase program at the end of March.

A couple of interesting items have appeared on the Agenda for next week’s regularly scheduled  La Veta Town Board Meeting.  Local Bruce Cantrell has asked for time to discuss a new proposal on Grandote Golf.  And Dwight Harrison intends to request an Executive Session regarding the related Grandote lawsuits.  These are not Public Hearings nor Workshops, so the comments  may be very brief at this point.  the General Meeting begins at 7:00 PM, Tuesday Feb.2 at Community Center. Full Agenda is at  http://www.townoflaveta-co.gov/uploads/agenda_2_2_2010.pdf

The big snow is predicted to be mostly west and south of La Veta and Cuchara.  But it looks like we are going to at least catch the edge of the storm. Current estimates are 4″ to 8″.  Hopefully that will drop a foot or more up on the mountain tops.  We need the moisture.

We are still looking for that restaurant operator to take over the Timbers property in Cuchara.  In case you may have a different use, it is also now on the Market for sale. Contact me for Lease or Purchase options.

We had a huge crowd at the La Veta Inn on Saturday.  The entertainment was great. The evening meals and service were wonderful too. Thanks to all the participation and support, we raised over $4,000 for our Red Cross Haiti Fund.

Reporter Anthony Mestas at The Pueblo Chieftain has a frontpage article today regarding the ongoing disputes between owner Randy Briggs and La Veta Mayor Mickey Schmitt  over Town annexation of Grandote Peaks Golf.   Mestas was able to get more quotable interviews with both principals than most others have to date.  The result, seems to be a pretty well balanced article.  Maybe the Town should reduce it’s fee and invite an Annexation proposal limited to only 5 acres, to provide a site for a new Clubhouse only.  What do you think?  See it here at  http://bit.ly/6fyfGU

A big hearty Thank You to our first corporate donation to the regional Haiti Fund.  Our own Spanish Peaks Board of Realtors has pledged a generous $1,000 to open the funding.

Our Bachman and Associates office is organizing a Benefit this weekend for the survivors of Haiti.  In conjunction with the American Red Cross offices in Trinidad, we are sponsoring a fund raiser dance this Saturday evening Jan.23 at the La Veta Inn.  The D and A band starts at 5:30 followed by Planet O  at 8:00.  The Medskers at La Veta Inn are providing the support and even donating a portion of the evening’s food and beverage sales to the effort.  Please join us in this worthy effort or send us your donation check, payable to Red Cross-Haiti Fund.

I missed posting the past week while taking a trip down to Waco,  catching up with relatives and visiting my dear Mother. We went by driving tour this time.  Saw lots of small towns nearly boarded up and empty now.  A sad sign of the changing times I guess.  But also saw a few bustling little towns with smiling faces and seemingly healthy economies.

Biggest change might have been Childress, TX.  Two new hotels, two new restaurants, several other new businesses, etc.   With no apparent tourist attraction nor industry boom, we were puzzled.  We asked several, to what they owed their apparent economic health.  They each just smiled and said “nothing in particular”.  “We do always try to get along, to trade locally and to help each other.”  A busier highway thru town may be helping them too, but they sure show the value of just getting along and helping each other.

According to RealtyTimes, a Natl Assoc of Realtors Survey shows that almost everyone uses the Internet during the home search process. 90% used the Internet at some point and 76% said they did so frequently. Just seven years ago only 41% of buyers indicated any Internet use at all.

Of course, people looking for a home use more than just one information source. The top five were: Internet (90%), real estate agent (87%), yard signs (59%), open houses (46%) and newspaper advertising (40%). While people used a variety of sources, they certainly didn’t perceive them all to be equally useful. When asked which information sources were very useful, the top three were real estate agent (81%), Internet (77%) and yard signs (42%). Ten percent of buyers found open houses to be very useful sources of information while another 25% found them to be somewhat useful. 

It is interesting that the methods that actually work – that bring the right home in front of buyers – are among the least expensive: the Internet, working with an agent (who learns about properties through the MLS), and signs. 84% of buyers learned about their home through one of these sources.  Conversely, some of the most expensive methods – newspapers, home books and magazines, and television – are among the least effective. Only 4% of buyers found their homes via these media.    (by Bob Hunt)