Your CORE Advisor Blog

An Instruction Manual for a Home!

This is sweet!  And a great idea for anyone with custom features in a home that could use a little explaining.

OK THIS video is kind of crude.  It is for  a Bank Owned, REO (foreclosed, repossesed from a former owner (Not the one in this film… ))  This was the original owner, who had left a VCR tape for its future guests, inhabitants or owners.   I just filmed it playing on a TV with my flip camera so the quality isn’t as good as it is on the original tape (which will go with the home).   

If the buyer of this home requests it, I may delete these videos from Youtube later but wanted to have it available on the web for a client or all clients for that matter (who might be interested in living “Off the Grid” and decided this would be the easiest place to pop it up there for now. Plus I said I would post regularly.

So what good does this do you… Well if your thinking of buying a Solar Powered Home near Telluride Colorado, then this is the instruction manual to your new home… Otherwise the main benefit would be some general education about having a solar and wind generated home and ways or ideas on how to conserve energy.  

VIDEO 1:

Solar System Operations Manual 312 Elam Ridge Rd Part1

VIDEO 1:

Solar System and Stereo Instruction Manual 312 Elam Ridge Rd

VIDEO 3:

Solar System and Kitchen Manual 312 Elam Ridge Rd

Cant afford this home?

You could also check out this cool looking ebook I found on saving energy in your existing home (with or without solar power) at http://budurl.com/SaveElectricity  I haven’t bought it yet, but for $20 I plan to.  The video sales pitch seems to be talking about the same kind of issues of saving energy by keeping some appliances and items from drawing electricity even while they are shut off.   If you buy it before I do, let me know what you think of it. 

Or if you want to help me out, check out these clickbank products on solar, wind and energy saving products in this little hoplink widgets… Note if you do buy something I will make a commission off of the product, thus you would be helping me keep on bloggin.

Thanks, Chris Ormsbee

Hello, if you don’t know my name is Chris Ormsbee. 

I am a Realtor working for Century 21 Action Realty in Montrose Colorado. 

We/I am located at 1245 E Main St and our office phone number is (970) 249-7777 (lucky sevens)… I have a partner too.  Her name is Diane Haynes so feel free to call her too… (970) 596-3521.  Our Team name is “The Montrose Gold Team”  and we have the website www.MontroseGoldTeam.com but I just checked and it is “parked” at GoDaddy… still… oops… Gotta fix that (put it on the todo list).  Will probably point it to www.SoldCORE.com my original website, which does point to this blog under the button on the right. 

BTW SoldCORE is kindof underconstruction as well.  If you want to search properties in the area, check out www.C21ActionRealty.com it has the IDX service all hooked up.  I am going to try to offload this to the office site soon from my site (its on the todo list…) 

Today is my Birthday!  Yeah I officially cleared another year!  Still breathing!  Still not perfect (but its a goal to keep getting better all the time - like fine wine, scotch or whiskey!) I am now 46 and have been selling Real Estate for over 4 years now.  Wow! 

On bad days, I Often I wonder why I picked this profession (the pay has been less than great lately), but deep down I know why… I love Real Estate, I love learning, I love variety, and I love people in general.  I especially like helping people. 

I hope my blog (this blog) helps people, including myself.  It provides a means for me to share what I know and what I want to know, with more than one person at a time (more efficient).  I have recently become addicted to Facebook and had a stint on twitter (that I need to revive as well).  I am trying to embrace social media in an attempt to educate as well as drum up business and I suppose make my life more fulfilling in general.

So here are other ways to keep up with me:

Facebook  - Name:  Chris Ormsbee  Web address:  http://profile.to/chrisormsbee

I kind of over twitterized and have several accounts (don’t think I have touched any since March sorry guys…)  but I had flavors of interest I was trying to use… think they all still work.  And I will follow you back eventually I need a tool here too.

Twitter 1 - ChrisOrmsbee - To be or not to be an internet marketer!  (to peddle real estate and whatever I can believe in and make money off of).

Twitter 2 - ProfRealEstate - Professional Real Estate (”dude” I guess!)

Twitter 3 - YourCoreAdvisor - To tie into and brand with this blog (I hope!)

Twitter 4 - ProForeclosure - (Trying to niche in on foreclosures - but a lot more money is to be made investing in foreclosures, than as a Realtor… Takes lots of time with a lot of uncertainty of return, still I know a lot about the process and how to deal with the various issues… and help people in this situation)

So follow me or be my friend there!  I am pretty friendly, but sometimes strange (especially my sense of humor), and I am definitely opinionated and most of you will probably not agree with all of them (but thats cool).

Other social sites to come (once cloning is a reality or I find a tool to integrate better across the sites to share my thoughts and ideas…)  Or if someone gives me a personal geek for my Bday!  haha (did you know I used to be a geek [I have a BS in Computer Science from CSU 1986], so I like it.  I just don’t have enough waking hours to do it all).

So here it is! 

I was never big on New Years Resolutions so I am going to do a

Birthday Resolution…

As we get older “regularity” can be a problem for some, so I am going to try to dedicate some time on a regular basis to tweeting, sharing my thoughts on facebook and posting here.   My goal is 8 hours per week as follows (2 hours for blog posts, 2 hours for tweeting, 4 hours for facebook (cut back from about 16 now), and 2 hours for other social media (TBD).   I am going to post this “Schedule” on my wall. in an effort to make it a reality.   And of course about 40-50 hrs/week straight up real estate dealing.  The rest is mine, and my kid’s and my girl friend’s…   Its a lofty goal and so often we just jump when a client calls (so it kills our schedules), but I am going to try real hard to be more regular as I age…

Your job is to send buyers and sellers to me, or if thats you call us!

Also please make helpful suggestions (like how to stop the viagra spammer comments) and where you think I should focus (for your benefit).   BTW Diane is less than convinced that this Social Media is worthwhile - so please feel free to drop her an email to convince her otherwise (NO SPAM PLEASE).  She can be emailed at: DianeHaynes@C21ActionRealty.com

I can be emailed at ChrisOrmsbee@SoldCORE.com

Thanks in Advance!  Chris

Diane Haynes and Chris Ormsbee

Here is a couple photos driving down Main Street in Montrose.   (I was going to post a whole series but ran out of time and had this saved in drafts since June…)  But as Arnold Schwarzenegger, said in “The Terminator”  “Ill be back”

I often like to use photos to capture for rent signs and phone numbers, for sale signs, FSBO signs, etc.  One brilliant teacher’s program I bought (whom unfortunately I forget which one so I can’t give credit right now) also suggested taking a small (8×12) white board and writing the address on the white board in large print and then holding it up to take the photo of the property or house.  This way you have all the pertinent information and as “they” say “a picture is worth a thousand words”.

Anyway, while I don’t claim to be a professional photographer, I like to shoot lots of digital photos and hope to get lucky and sometimes it works, but for informational purposes, like what does the street look like, town etc. I think the drive by shootings (of photos) are often sufficient. 

I even shoot through the windshield as you will see (reflections) or hold my camera up through the sunroof, so cut me a little slack on the quality or composition, we can call them informational photos…

Great Property & Location for Restaurant/Bar

Drive by shooting of McDonalds on Main St Montrose

Looking West on Corner of Main and Locust

The Red Barn Restaurant - Good Food & Good Times!

Century 21 Action Realty (My Office) Corner of Main and San Juan Ave

Dominos Pizza at NE Corner Main and Nevada

Half of the Coffee Trader (Sorry) at Main and Junction

Old Hallmark Building NW Corner Main and Cascade

Thats all for now!

Montrose is a high desert mountain valley… So how is it so green and beautiful here. Largely the water in this valley comes from the Gunnison River and is diverted from the Black Canyon through the Gunnison Tunnel… This was built back in 1909 and this year in 2009 Montrose is celebrating the 100 year anniversary of this amazing engineering feat!

Here is Marc Catlin - Manager of the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users talking about it:

Here is a nice little video showing photos from when the tunnel was first constructed:

The easy answer is the sky!  The rain, snow, hail and sleet… But mostly snow because it is the convenient method of storage mother nature provides… From there it gets a little tricky…

On the eastern slope (or east side of the Continental Divide) much of it is diverted through tunnels from the Western Slope to the Eastern Slope…

Check out this video about Transmountain Diversion:

I was reading a series of blog posts from people seemingly more knowledgable than I about the general economy.     Sadly funny and sickening at the same time, but puts this whole debacle into a light and format that the average American can understand.   Thank you Rick Newman…

http://www.usnews.com/blogs/flowchart/2008/12/17/why-i-deserve-a-bailout.html

When scrambling to pay property taxes each year, I have often thought I should start a church to qualify for non profit status and tax exemption from property taxes.   After reading this blog post I can see I got it all wrong and should aspire to be a bank…

The “Bank of Chris”.  Or maybe “Ormsbee Savings and Loan…”  I will settle for a mere 500K!  OK even 100K!  Wheres my TARP funds?

A song from the Pink Floyd, The Wall Album…

But also a real question to you my reader.

It seems many of my blog comments are from other bloggers trying to get back links and they are generic flattering one liners, or questions that really don’t make sense in their context.

So prove your existence to me please!

If there are any real people out there, please post a “comment ” in the form of a “Real” Real Estate Question here that you are burning to know about, I will get material  by researching and answering your questions in a post and I will know I am not wasting my time and energy. 

Please do your part and give some “Go Juice” or encouragement to Your CORE Advisor.

Thanks in advance.  Chris Ormsbee

And don’t forget you can call us too.

6-4-09 - A FUN NIGHT IN MONTROSE!

I Went to Main in Motion in Montrose Colorado tonight. 

For those of you reading, that are not from Montrose, this is a local special event hosted through the summer  on Thursday evenings where there is live music up and down Main Street in Downtown Montrose and other entertainment, special food booths ranging from Cedar Creek Church’s .10 hot dogs with free pop and water to caterers and local restaurants sharing or selling their treats and yummy food.  

There are other small retail booths or represented causes that range from political to non profit fund raising or volunteer recruiting.   Stores are open late and often offering special deals or discounts to encourage shopping.  Some restaurants offer specials and in many cases their own live music.  

But, the best part of Main in Motion is seeing all the people out and about town.  Its a great place to socialize and see old friends or make new friends.

I think Main in Motion or other programs like it that are designed by communities to liven up areas that might be otherwise “dead” at that time of day or night are great ways to strengthen communities on both a business and a social level.   I saw friends, past and current clients.

Even in a small community it is easy to get caught up in life, work, kids, soccer, school, camps, etc.  and not see friends you would like to see as often as you would like to see them.  This type of thing (socializing at events) gives us a chance to pause and enjoy the fruits of our labor and catch up with old friends…

Montrose is a small community with about 40,000 people in the county according to the US Census Bureau Estimate…   http://www.google.com/publicdata?ds=uspopulation&met=population&idim=county:08085

And about 17,000 people within the Montrose City limits according to the City of Montrose Website:

http://www.cityofmontrose.org/index.aspx?nid=255

The Main in Motion event is sponsored by the MAMA group - Montrose Area Merchants Association.

Main in Motion has its own website at: http://www.maininmotion.com/   Check it out and see all the vendors, numbers on how to participate on a merchant/vendor/cause level, etc.

We ended up the evening at the Canyon Creek Bed and Breakfast which has live music on the deck, drinks and catered food next door.  They set up lawn furniture on the front lawn.  It’s always packed. 

Tonight the Cliff Dwellers were playing.  I love these guys but I am biased a lot of them are my friends.  They ROCK, JAM and GROOVE!  Tom Chamberlain a friend since Junior high school and now a local Montrose Architect is the drummer.   Tonight Bobby Morales was also there with his Harmonica as well.  It was a lot of fun.

I highly recommend Main in Motion to locals and visitors to check out how friendly and fun Montrose can be.  So next Thursday evening… Go check it out and eat something delicious and buy something fun or pretty…  Or if you must work, come network, sign up to peddle your wares/services or bring a bunch of business cards. 

If you really want to work… There are also several commercial buildings for sale or rent along Main Street in Montrose.  I do commercial!  Its actually my favorite kind of real estate because it is more numbers based decisions with less emotion.    So if you really want to work, bring your business, your idea or your dream to downtown Montrose.

If your not from Montrose, and don’t plan to come here… check out similar activities and things in your town… They are fun and good for the community!

Of course I need this final shameless sales pitch to justify my time here… If you need to buy or sell a home or if you know someone who does please have them call me… Chris Ormsbee  (970) 209-0252  or my partner Diane Haynes at (970) 596-3521.  We can also refer you to other Realtors around the country.  Realtors can do referrals to generate a little extra cash and help you select a good Realtor in an unknown area.  The way it works is, we help you find a Realtor in the new area and they will share usually 10-25% of their commission with us for sending them the business.  Its like affiliate marketing for Realtors. 

In case you didn’t know Diane and I are both Realtors and Broker Associates licensed by the State of Colorado Real Estate Commission.  We work together as a team for you representing you as either Buyers Agents or Sellers Agents in your transaction.  Two Realtors for the price of one!  You know “they” always say “two heads are better than one.”  Whoever “they” are (my guess is smart Moms and Grandmas).  We believe them and we think you or your friends will benefit from the combined strength of our team.  Give us a call or tell your friends to call.  Our office CENTURY 21 Action Realty is located at 1245 E Main Street and the office number is (970) 249-7777.