Keep Yourself Cool This Summer

Well, summer weather is officially upon and minus the crazy days of hail and dramatic thunderstorms, the sun and warm times have found their way to Denver and I would say, bring on the summer fun! As you and the family get ready to enjoy this warm weather, I would remind you to take precautions when being out in the sun for long periods of time and have compiled a list of ways to stay hydrated whether you are enjoying a Rockies baseball game or a day of exploring in the mountains, we live in one dry climate and on top of the heat, it’s important to keep yourself hydrated!

• Who says that you have to drink your hydration? A summer favorite fruit, watermelon, is one of the best thirst quenchers in the book. The fruit is made up of 92% water mixed with salt, calcium and a bit of magnesium making this ideal for rehydration. Also if you are more of the veggie type, celery is a good choice because the stalks are 95% water and its packed full of fiber and minerals.
• Sometimes we just don’t want to drink water, understandable, so throw in a few other beverages such as milk (studies show it is better than both water and sports drinks for rehydration and recovery after exercise). Smoothies are both refreshing and nutritionally packed, a bonus!
• Drink water until you feel like a fish, not really, but as humans we need a lot of water on the daily and many of us barely get even close to the right amount. For women, it’s around 11 cups a day and for men it’s around 15 cups a day but remember, that includes 20% from food intake.
• We all love a good cocktail on a sunny patio somewhere in Denver, who doesn’t? But be careful while consuming alcoholic beverages which lead to additional fluid loss. For every alcoholic beverage you consume, make sure to have one non-alcoholic beverage, and always drink in moderation.

Besides staying hydrated it is also important to stay cool and below are a few great pools to head to with the family:

• Denver Parks and Recreation has 13 indoor pools and 16 outdoor pools, because summer is when outdoor opens, make sure to take advantage of the ones listed:
  • Outdoor: Aztlan , Green Valley Ranch, Barnum Park, Harvey Park, Berkeley Park, Harvard Gulch, Congress Park, La Alma/Lincoln, Cook Park, Mestizo-Curtis Park, Eisenhower, Ruby Hill, Garfield Park, Southwest, Globeville Argo, Swansea

Maybe you would like to have the comfort of a pool in your own backyard? If that is the case and you are thinking it may be time to look for a new house with such pool, give me a call today and let’s grab some hydrating drinks and discuss what exactly you are looking for.

Photo by ivanastar/iStock / Getty Images

Things to do in Denver this Memorial Day Weekend

This weekend is Memorial Day weekend, which means one of two things; either you are staying in the city to have a bbq or you are heading out of the city to do on a short vacation. If you are staying in Denver this weekend, I poked around to find some great activities to do for you and your family because it is a long weekend and you should go out and enjoy!

Downtown Denver Arts Festival – May 22nd – 24th

This is all weekend long and features the best of Colorado visual artists. More than 125 artists from all over the state will be there exhibiting and selling their art. A fun way to meet local and Colorado artists and see what talent can be found in our great state!

Denver Day of Rock – May 23rd

Downtown Denver will be transformed into a massive free rock concert for all of Denver to enjoy one day and one day only. With 20+ bands taking to five different stages, you are sure to find something to get down to. The performances will take place all down 16th Street Mall, making it easy to get from performance to performance. Bring the whole family to enjoy food, beverages, and of course, the music.

Take a Colorado State Capitol tour –

Modeled after the Capitol Building in Washington D.C., the Colorado State Capitol building is a stunning structure with beautiful stained glass depicting people and events essential to Colorado, combined with elegant Colorado white granite, rose onyx, and Yule marble. Even if you have been a Colorado native your whole life, this is a great building to go see inside and take a guided tour. There’s also a 99-step spiral staircase to an open-air deck offering spectacular views of the city skyline and Rocky Mountains just be sure you wear a good pair of shoes!

Coors Brewery Tour –

For those of you 21+, heading up to Golden and going on the free, self-guided Coors tour is kind of a must. What better weekend to do it then this holiday weekend? Coors Brewery is the world’s largest brewing site and they continue to use the same Rocky Mountain spring water their found Adolph Coors discovered in 1873, sounds tasty to me.

Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants – May 22nd – May 24th

What is better than a day spent with the Rockies eating hotdogs and spending time with your family? Catch a game this weekend and make sure to cheer loudly for our boys!

Denver Comic Con – May 23rd – May 25th

For all the comic and science fiction fans out there, this is the event for you. Held at the Colorado Convention Center, this fun event brings out the fans young and old. Make sure to go dressed as your favorite character and enjoy meeting some of the Comic Con greats.

Red Rocks Amphitheater –

The first Film on the Rocks is this Saturday May 23rd with the showing of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1. If you are an early morning person, head out Saturday morning for the Fitness Challenge and enjoy a heck of a workout while you take in the beautiful scenery.

Whether you are staying in town this weekend or heading off to a vacation, I want to wish you and your family a safe and happy holiday. I also want to take a quick minute and say thank you to all the men and women who have served our country and those who are serving today, thank you for all that you do. 

Photo by kwasny221/iStock / Getty Images

How to Negotiate When Buying a Home

In today’s fast-pass housing market, especially in Denver, going to buy a home can seem like an experience at an auction house. You know what I’m talking about right? Where the auctioneer (here being the home owner) has the ultimate say and you and a good dozen people stand around hoping to make the final offer and hear those magic words of “Sold!”.

So how can you best prepare when going in to negotiate? What is the best way to approach an initial offer, decide on a good price, and finally, sign on the dotted line for ownership to the house of your dreams?

Well first thing is first, you need to have help in your corner from day 1. Working with a REALTOR® is going to put you ahead of the curve because REALTORS know the industry inside and out. We know how to negotiate with sellers and buyers, we know the neighborhoods and what houses are worth, and finally, we know how to get down and creative if we need to in order to help negotiate the best price and outcome for you and your family.

First and foremost, when looking to buy or sell and when it comes to negotiations, find a good REALTOR® and even better a REALTOR® who is an MCNE ( Master Certified Negotiation Expert) (if you are looking currently feel free to give me a call, happy to talk with you).  But here are some other suggestions when it comes times to negotiate for the house of your dreams.

Denver is currently in a sellers’ market, meaning that there is a high demand for houses and sellers’ hold the power. In this type of market you need to move quick when it comes to a desirable house and make a good connection with the buyer. If a buyer doesn’t like your offer, they won’t spend a lot of time negotiating with you. So when working in this market, keep it very simple in the steps to make before negotiating and the steps during negotiation:

•  In any market, it is essential to get pre-approved right away for a loan. If a seller sees you have the means to purchase their house that always makes them more comfortable with negotiating.
• Go in strong with your offer, offer the asking price or something close to it.
• Consider writing a personal letter with your offer or even add a photo to let the seller see who the potential buyers are and an image of the new people who would enjoy the home just as much as the seller did.
• Ask only for the standard contingencies — financing, appraisal and inspection — to protect yourself down the road.
• If you really like the home, be prepared to move quickly, houses do not last long in this market.

With all of these negotiation tools in your back pocket, it is exciting to think about finding that perfect home to call your own. Always remember, REALTORS are here to help you through the processes and are your advocate and if you are looking to buy or sell, don’t hesitate to give me a call and chat about what you are looking for, I am more than happy to lend any and all master negotiation skills I have!

Photo by alengo/iStock / Getty Images

Treat your mature business like a Startup.

Even though I have been in business since 2000 I still consider myself and my business like a startup.  Technology, people and new innovations are always changing and you have to make sure you always stay on top of them.  

I recently purchased a Colorado longboard company and found myself calling it a startup but It has been around since 2008.  It never got to really see the market and it had so much potential.  My husband, Jay Modglin and I decided to buy this company because we love business and new challenges.  We saw the potential to grow this company but we also saw that it is part of a cool creative culture and we were excited to be a part of it. 

We never longboarded but I been snowboarding for over 20 years, Jay used to surf and snowboard and we both skateboarded when we were kids.  So we thought how hard could it be!  So we decided to purchase the company and then started to learn how to longboard.  Surprisingly we jumped on and picked it up right away. 

So this brings me back to my post about treating your mature business like a startup.  Maybe you should always consider your business like a startup so you are always looking for what is new and innovative for your business.  If you keep doing the same thing the same way it may not get you infront of anyone new.  

Time is never wasted when absorbing, reading and learning about the world outside of your own market.  Remaining curious and devoting time weekly to expand your own perspective can pay off for your business.  You never innovate examining your own category and what your competitors are doing.  Push yourself outside your market comfort zone to inspire fresh thinking and new ideas. 

I sell and personally invest in real estate full time and I love what I do.  Purchasing this new Longboard company made me realize that I needed to look at my real estate business like a startup and make sure I am new and innovative all the time.  

So I have recently started this blog and looking to meet new and innovative people through it.

Go and be a startup again but don't forgot to also be a mature business and act like you've made it!