Vail Real Estate Finder

Colorado Homes: Buy, Sell, Invest

Single Family Homes

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While it may be our preference to live in a house that only includes our family and ours alone, the price of doing so can be much higher than you might expect.  Not only the purchase price, but also the maintenance fees.  Especially in a mountain community.

For those that may not be clear, a single-family home means that the building/house is a structure maintained and used by itself.  It’s more ‘private’, if you will. Even though a dwelling unit shares one or more walls with another dwelling unit, it is a single family residence if it has direct access to a street or thoroughfare and does not share heating facilities, hot water equipment, nor any other essential facility or service with any other dwelling unit.

In a single family home you would not, generally speaking, expect the type things you find in short-term accommodations (hotel, motels, inns), large-scale rental accommodation (condominiums and/or apartments).

With a single family home you will generally find your own yard, just for you, and a garage.

It is important to note that In the United States, the term “Single Family Residence” specifically refers to the structure- not the occupants.  In a single family home that is not rented, you can do what you wish – but let’s talk.

Pros and cons

Single-detached homes have both advantages and disadvantages.  In the Vail Valley, if you are purchasing a single family home, you are probably at a level of financial stability that you probably care little about the disadvantages – other than those related to the investment potential.

Anyway, let’s talk about the pros and cons briefly.

Advantages are that the entire space around the building is private to the owner and family, and in some cases you one can add onto the existing house if more room is needed (an extra garage bay for example).  Depending on how your house is used (i.e., are you renting it), you may or may not have property management fees.  In most cases, you’ll want to plan on some fees – for such basics as snow removal in the winter months.

Disadvantages are that all maintenance and repair costs — interior, exterior, and everything in between — are at the owner’s expense. Amenities such as pools and playgrounds are usually absent, unless built at private expense, or if a municipal playground is available. Some single-detached homes do have these features within the lot or nearby, given that their owners pay a homeowners fee similar to those in condos or townhomes.[citation needed] Snow maintenance (shoveling and removal), landscaping and lawn upkeep costs are at the owner’s expense.

To read more about Single Family Homes visit with our friends at Wikipedia.

Duplex Homes in the Vail Valley

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Vail Real Estate - A Duplex Home

Duplex homes are common in the Vail Valley – two separate families on the same piece of property.  Very efficient!  You’ll see them in almost all locations – though not so much in the ‘village’ areas of Vail or Beaver Creek.  You’ll find mostly condominiums and townhomes there.

A duplex house is a residence, again with two separate living areas and connected by a common or ‘party’ wall (the wall that is in the middle of the properties).  This ‘party’ wall spans from the ground level to the upper point of the home.  This wall is not where your celebrations occur, but is, more like a ‘common’ wall in the property.  The location of the common wall varies in location and size.

You’ll see separate entrances for two households. This includes two-story houses having a complete apartment on each floor and also side-by-side apartments on a single lot that share a common wall.[1] By contrast, a building comprising two attached units on two distinct properties is typically considered semi-detached or twin homes but sometimes also duplex.

The term “duplex” can’t be extended to three-unit and four-unit buildings, as they would be referred to with specific terms such as triplex and fourplex or quadplex/quadruplex.[2] Because of the flexibility of the term, the line between an apartment building and a duplex is somewhat blurred, with apartment buildings tending to be bigger, while duplexes are usually the size of a normal house.

To read more about duplex homes, visit with our friends at Wikipedia.

Fractional Ownership of a Home

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What is Fractional and why should I consider it?

Vail Fractional Partial Ownership - One Willow Bridge, Four Seasons

Fractional ownership can apply to almost anything – you own part of something rather than all of it.  There are examples of fractional ownership of airplanes, yachts and certainly homes.  There is rumor if not proof that the fractional ownership of home started in Colorado in the 1990s.  You can read more about fractional ownership on Wikipedia.

Fractional Properties

There are fractional ownership properties in Vail Colorado that appeal to specific families and situations.  While they work great for property ownership for many people, they may not work for others.   Why?  Some families are flexible and can travel at different times of the year.  Other families have to travel for ski vacations during school breaks and thus have a rigid schedule.  Be sure you know what you are purchasing prior to making an investment.

Renting a fractional property, however, for your vacation is always a good option.  The properties in this category are well maintained and generally have fantastic amenities.  We rent fractional properties on a regular basis for all seasons of the year.

If you own a fractional property, you work with the property staff to choose the weeks you would like to be in town for your vacation.  These weeks can ‘float’ or change from year-to-year or, in some cases, remain constant.

Generally speaking, any fractional ownership interest may be sold or transferred by the owner or sold through a licensed real estate agent, subject to the governing documents of the particular property you are investigating.

You can expect on-site housekeeping and concierge services as well as parking unless otherwise noted.