Buying My First Mountain Home in Crested Butte Home
After many years of boys’ ski trips and skiing throughout the Western USA, one of my older brothers asked me if I had any interest in buying a second home in the mountains. He had a vision of getting three other couples together to build a mountain home. That sounded interesting, but I felt building a home with four couples would be a disaster. Luckily, the other two couples declined. My brother Rick and I decided we would go on a ski trip and do some research. For some reason, we did not bring our wives. We both have three children, and at the time they were all under ten years old. Since he was the older, smarter brother he had put together the plan, and it all sounded great to me.
We flew to Crested Butte, Colorado for a four-day ski trip. We had a loosely-defined mission, but we were pretty sure we wanted to stick our toes in the water and look into getting a mountain ski home. We figured if we did not like it after a couple of years, we would just sell it. We thought we wanted to build a home rather than buying one.
My brother had built two homes, so he thought that was a good strategy – we would get exactly what we wanted; we could put in two master bedrooms so each couple would have one if we were there together. Rick is a very successful commercial real estate attorney, and he was running the operation. He contacted a real estate agent and an architect. We looked at many lots on the mountain close to the ski runs, and met with the architect to talk about the process of building a home, the costs, the timeframe, etc.
I believe it was day three before we decided that the process of building a home with our two wives involved would be complex and could get very expensive quickly. We drove around looking again in the areas we had looked at lots to build on. There was a home for sale, one we had not noticed before. This happens a lot; what you see depends on what you’re looking for. The home was on Mt. Crested Butte and three houses in from the ski run so very close to Crested Butte ski-in ski-out and it looked like a nice place. We called Reggie at Coldwell Banker Bighorn Realty who was our real estate agent, to set up a showing. The word came back that there were renters in there; we could not get in to see the house on our trip. Hmmm…
Rick was the detail man, but I was the salesman, and I told him we were going to get into that ski house. We went to the liquor store and bought two bottles of wine and a twelve-pack of beer. We went to the house, knocked on the door, and when the people answered and saw us with beer and wine, they said, “Come on in.” Then they asked, “Who are you?” We handed them the beer and wine while we explained we wanted to walk through the house for only five minutes and we would be out of their way. We went through the house and determined it would work. We called the agent and said we wanted to meet to discuss putting an offer on the home. We went back to Dallas with an offer pending… our wives said, “WHAT? YOU put an offer on a ski house in Crested Butte and WE haven’t even seen it?” We replied, “Yes, and how can you be mad at us for buying you a ski house in Crested Butte?”
We bought that home and shared it for six years. It was a great journey for us, and we got to experience many wonderful times with our kids, family and friends. We divided up the calendar, alternating the holidays throughout the year, and we invited friends, co-workers and clients to come visit. One thing we did not anticipate was that we rarely spent time together in our new mountain home. After six years of dipping our toe in the water, we then dove in headfirst. My wife and I bought and sold two lots – one was in the Prospect Subdivision (we thought we would build on both but did not), and then another second home that we now live in full-time.
As a Crested Butte real estate agent, I have had the opportunity to work with hundreds of people and introduce them to the wonders of mountain living. I represent many people considering a mountain home as a place to share with others so they can create special memories with family, friends and clients for years to come. Because of my role as a real estate agent, I have a unique perspective on many aspects of remote second home ownership. This series of tips is a guide for you to better understand some of the challenges of searching, selecting, buying, and maintaining a second home in the mountains. There are lots of great mountain towns and mountain ski towns – the setting for many of the stories in this series of tips is my home of Crested Butte, Colorado, but in the broad strokes they apply to any mountain ski town.
If you are a Buyer looking for your first mountain home – I have been in your shoes, looking for that perfect Crested Butte Colorado mountain property that would work for my family. I was a second homeowner here in Crested Butte for 10 years before we moved our family here full time from Texas. I have an intimate knowledge and understanding of the many areas, developments, and location amenities that each property has to offer you and your family. I have also skied, hiked, biked, climbed, floated and fished throughout the Gunnison valley and can help you understand the beauty of this mountain paradise.
Call me to help you navigate the various options in condos, town homes and single family homes here in Crested Butte. There is a wide variety of options, in location, amenities, and price point. I appreciate the opportunity to help you find the perfect mountain home for you and your family!
If you have an interest in Crested Butte Real Estate and would like to start a conversation about homes, condos or land in the Crested Butte CO real estate market, give me a call.
How can I help you?
See all the big picture and all the details of the Crested Butte Real Estate Market report and the level of detail is representative of what you can expect from me as your Crested Butte Real Estate Agent. If you are considering Selling your home and interested in finding out what your existing property is worth, or considering me to represent you as a Buyer, I would appreciate the opportunity to earn your business (or that of a friend you think I could help).
Visit www.chriskopf.com. Phone: (970) 209-5405, or chriskopf@bighornrealty.com
Thanks,
Chris Kopf
Previews® Property Specialist
Coldwell Banker Bighorn Realty
(970) 209-5405
chriskopf@bighornrealty.com
#1 Crested Butte Real Estate Agent 2014
based on Total Volume
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