Laszlo & Associates’ lawyers proud to call Boulder ‘home’

Laszlo & Associates LLC is a Boulder-based law firm providing legal services in all areas of criminal and civil litigation.

Nancy Salomone, a trial lawyer who has practiced criminal defense exclusively for 10 years, heads Lazlo & Associates’ criminal law division. Nancy was fortunate to stumble upon RE/MAX of Boulder as a new law graduate relocating from Ann Arbor, Michigan. Now firmly rooted here, both her law practice and her two children are proud to be “born and raised” in Boulder.

Ted Laszlo, who heads the civil litigation section, has his grown children to thank for his relocation from Ohio to Boulder. Ted specializes in personal injury, medical malpractice and business disputes.

The attorneys of Laszlo & Associates are committed to tackling serious legal issues with the kind of cooperation and teamwork that is uniquely Boulder. For more information about its attorneys and their areas of specialty, please visit its Web site at http://www.laszlolaw.com/.

Boulder sales stats drop but still doing well comparatively

While the latest real estate data for Boulder County reflects a not-so-surprising downhill trend, it continues to show the strength and stamina that have sustained it while other markets have been in freefall for months or longer.

“I’ve still got to feel good about our overall market, our market compared with Colorado’s and Colorado’s compared with the nation’s,” Ken Hotard, vice president of public affairs for the Boulder Area Realtor Association, says.

Boulder County – and Boulder, in particular – is showing strength in property values, and giving “an absolutely amazing performance in the real estate market given state and national economic conditions. I’m not sure where you would go to find a better looking set of data in any housing market,” he says.

One bright spot is the reduction of homes on the market, which has sustained average and median sales prices, he says. In many Boulder markets, prices either increased or dropped only slightly.

“We’ve continued our decline in sales volume,” Hotard notes. “We’re not sure we’ve seen the end of that. We do believe 2009 is the year we’ll bottom out. We’re not sure when it will happen, though I suspect it will be in the second half.”

When the situation has hit rock bottom, chances are it won’t skyrocket back up, he says. “Sometimes you hit bottom and get a big bounce, but the nature of this downturn suggests the bounce isn’t big, but it’s sustainable.”

Year-over-year sales are down, and lending is still a problem, Hotard says. Credit is available to people with A-plus credit, a job and a down payment, but a “huge portion” of qualified, potential buyers don’t fit that profile and tight credit has eliminated them from the market. “Breaking credit free is key to recovery,” he adds.

Whether the foreclosure trend will continue as 2.5 million mortgages adjust this year and 3 million next is in question, as many borrowers may renegotiate their loans and avoid foreclosure or receive assistance from the federal government, Hotard says. “The first quarter (of this year) will be very telling in terms of understanding how various stimulus packages are going to be applied and what the likely and potential effects are,” he says. “The picture’s not quite clear.”

Another bright spot the data doesn’t reflect: the interest rate has dropped to as low as 4.75 percent for 30-year fixed mortgages and likely to fall more, Hotard says. Such “clearly historic low” interest rates will potentially attract buyers, though they will still have to qualify and have a down payment, Hotard says.

“Personally, I think there’s pent-up demand for automobiles and for real estate,” he says. “Credit is the question. When it’s addressed, we will have a much better picture of what emerging from a recession might look like. The positive side is there are some unbelievable opportunities for individuals who are interested in investing today, first-time homebuyers and parents wishing to buy property where their kids are going to college. There are tremendous opportunities where a short three- to four-year investment could produce solid returns.”

Boulder’s own Hotel Boulderado celebrates a century in service

The Hotel Boulderado recently passed a milestone only the most elite businesses ever reach: 100 years of operations. Its centennial celebration the first weekend in January attracted 1,500-plus visitors and featured Ragtime dance performances, music from the 1910s, the Legendary Ladies in Victorian costume and the feeling that everyone in attendance – be it employee or guest – was part of history.

Here are some interesting tidbits about Boulder’s first luxurious hotel:

- Boulder had a population of 8,000 in 1905, the year the idea for the hotel was conceived;

- The $131,664.73 to build the hotel was raised locally by selling shares at $100 apiece. However, though the amount wasn’t enough to finish the fifth floor, so the spaces on the west side of the floor were rented out to traveling salesmen until it could be completed;

- The hotel’s foundation is made of large blocks of orange-red sandstone from the no-longer-active Colorado Red Sandstone Co. of Fort Collins;

- The Hotel Boulderado opened New Year’s Day 1909;

- When Hotel Boulderado opened, rooms cost between $1 and $2.50 a day while today they range between $174 and $394;

- In the hotel’s beginning, unseen men worked 24/7 stoking the huge coal furnace to provide hot water and to keep the hotel evenly heated;

- The hotel lacks rooms and suites ending in the number 13 to avoid any conflict with guests’ superstitions;

- Such famous figures as Robert Frost, Helen Keller, Douglas Fairbanks, Ethel Barrymore, and Louis Armstrong have stayed at the hotel (the names of more recent and still-living famous guests are kept confidential to protect their privacy);

- Two panels of stained glass ceiling in the lobby broke in 1959 when the skylight collapsed under the weight of the snow following a heavy snowfall and crashed into the stained glass. All of the panels were replaced with red, white and blue Plexiglas in the 1960s and then with stained glass in 1977 to return the hotel to its original glory.

Beverly Silva, director of marketing and sales for the Hotel Boulderado, says the hotel’s secret to success is its uniqueness and “really, the friendly service. All of our core management has been here more than 25 years. Even though we’re not related, we’re like a family. We have many long-term employees who put their hearts into it.”

Book offers tips to saving money without sacrificing lifestyle

With the recession now a fact, it’s becoming more common – if not chic – to save money while keeping your lifestyle intact. Ellie Kay, family finance expert and author of the recently released “Living Rich for Less,” offers these few simple money-saving tips to help families save up to $30,000 in 2009 – and it all starts at home:

• Shop around for insurance rates: While comparing insurance rates has become Progressive.com’s motto, Kay says it’s a wise move to take advantage of Progressive.com’s comparison that could result in saving $350 on your annual premium.
• Insure only your home’s actual value: If your home’s valued has dropped in the last year, then you shouldn’t insure it at its previous value. Insuring your home at its current value could save you $300 a year.
• Clip coupons and buy on sale: Don’t put those coupons in Sunday’s paper in the recycle bin. Instead, not only use them, but use them in conjunction with sales to save even more. Kay’s family saved more than $8,000 this way in 2008.
• Check for available discounts: Check with your insurance carrier to see what discounts you may be eligible for and then take advantage of them. Customers who pay in full, are loyal, sign up for paperless billing, etc., may qualify for additional discounts. All the “little” discounts available can add up to big savings.
• Pay in paper – not plastic: Paying for everything in cash makes sticking to a budget and tracking expenses easier without racking up credit card debt and finance charges.
• Travel less, pay less: Those who take mass transit to work or who are stay-at-home parents who don’t drive their vehicles much during the day should investigate “Pay as You Drive” insurance programs that can potentially save 25 percent or more, depending on how and how much (or how little) they drive.
• Higher deductibles result in lower costs: Insurance is necessary for catastrophic events but not necessarily for minor fender-benders. According to the Insurance Information Institute, raising your deductibles to just $500 could reduce Collision and Comprehensive costs 15 percent to 30 percent, and lower your premiums.

Colorado’s population grows 2 percent from ’07 to ’08

Colorado ranked fifth for population growth between July 1, 2007, and July 1, 2008. Its population grew from 4,842,770 residents in 2007 to 4,939456 in 2008, an increase of 2 percent, according to estimates the U.S. Census Bureau released in late December. It was one of the six Rocky Mountain States that dominated the top 10 fastest-growing states.

Utah earned the title of the nation’s fastest-growing state with a population reaching 2.7 million, an increase of 2.5 percent. Arizona was the second fastest-growing state, with its population increasing 2.3 percent, while Texas and North Carolina ranked third and fourth with a growth rate each of 2 percent. Nevada, which had been among the four fastest-growing states each of the last 24 years, grew only 1.8 percent, earning it the eighth slot in the rankings.

However, the states that grew the fastest didn’t necessarily grow the most between 2007 and 2008. Utah, Wyoming, Nevada and Idaho – all of which were in the top 10 fastest-growing states – didn’t make it to the list of the top 10 numeric growers. Texas gained more people than any other state, with 484,000 new residents calling the Lone Star State home, followed by California (379,000), North Carolina (181,000), Georgia (162,000) and Arizona (147,000). Colorado’s growth of 96,686 residents did earn it the eighth spot among states gaining the most population.

Michigan and Rhode Island were the only two states to lose population: Michigan’s population declined 0.5 percent (46,000), while Rhode Island’s fell 0.2 percent (2,000).

California remained the title-holder of the most populous state, with about 36.8 million residents on July 1, 2008, followed by Texas (24.3 million), New York (19.5 million), Florida (18.3 million) and Illinois (12.9 million).

Here’s a complete list of the top 10 fastest-growing states as well as the top 10 numeric gainers, according to the U.S. Census Bureau: