Matta

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MATTASpring 2011

PIKES PEAK URBAN LIVING: Benjamin Day & Hannah Parsons

•“So you started your own brokerage? Congratulations!” Um, no, we didn’t start are our brokerage. We started our own group, with two members, Ben and Hannah. Starting our own brokerage would mean that not only would Amy and Bob never see us, our clients would probably never see us!•“Are you working from home, or are you always at the office killing trees?” The first part of that question would be Hannah’s crew, and the second, Ben’s. We do have offices, nice quiet ones, on the northwest side near Ute Valley Park on Chuckwagon. As far as killing trees, part of the new brokerage model is greening things up and using more social media and face-time in our business to communicate with clients.•“How are you changing things?” We are focusing our specializations. Hannah has literally shown every quality listing on the market over the last three years downtown. Ben continues to preview most of Northwest. Hannah is superb on ecological and landscaping questions; Ben is good at being a nerd, and creating objective visualizations of business decisions. With so many personal relationship overlaps, we are able to tighten community bonds, while diving more enthusiastically into our market skillsets.

Ben & Hannah Have Created a One-of-a-Kind Business PartnershipIt started in January, 2010. After weathering four years of chronically shrinking

opportunity, and realizing that neither of us were particularly happy with our present brokerage model, we began discussions a new vision in real estate. Both of us are heavy planners and strategic thinkers; perhaps too strategic, because by the end of September, we were still grouching about our present real estate brokerages and had only ruled out starting our own brokerage model.

Enter Cherise and Gordon. In early October, we lunched with Cherise Selley and her husband, Gordon. They own a small, boutique brokerage called Selley Group Real Estate, LLC. We broke bread, the meeting went three times longer than scheduled, Hannah flew off to India for two weeks, Ben helped the Barnes buy a house, and three weeks later, the path was set. On November 3rd, the switch was made official and Hannah’s wonderfully branded and logo’ed, “Pikes Peak Urban Living” gained a second participant.

Why did we do this? Many of our colleagues in the real estate business LOVE to gossip about what goes on

with their peers at other brokerages, and at industry events we are regularly cornered by multiple people “wanting to know the deal”. Most are sent away confused, because our motivation is not the traditional real estate motivation. We are working parents with young kids. We hate 24/7 work. It’s not for us. We need allies. We need to breathe every now and then. We need to know someone has our back. This partnership accommodates these needs.

We also have a very different vision for real estate. It’s relational, not transactional. Facebook is a better measure of our “inventory” than the MLS. The number one reason people get into the real estate business is the personal freedom. The number one reason they switch companies is to make more money. The latter idea of making more money appears to be coming true because we’re doing more of what we love: direct connection with our people and permission to practice our art.

Our business is built on deep smarts and deeper connections. It’s about helping people make decisions that still work 20 years from now. It’s about improving quality of life. It’s about having fun. Welcome to PIKES PEAK URBAN LIVING.

HOW WE GROW: PPUL FAQ

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UPCOMING CULTURAL ATTRACTIONS

EVENT LOCATION & TIME FAQ

Memorial Day Weekend at La Floret in Black Forest. May 27 through May 29, 2011. La Foret, 6145 Shoup Road, 80908.

One of two local bluegrass and folk festivals, Meadowgrass is now in it’s third year, outdoors, at scenic La Foret. Camping available with campfire jams Fri. & Sat. Discounted tickets for KRCC members. www.meadowgrassmusicfestival.org

Fiddles,Vittles &Vino

Sunday, July 31st Rockledge Ranch A melding of history, culture and cuisine, the annual event at Rockledge Ranch offers great local food, choice wine and great pickin’. This year’s line-up includes Town Mountain, Henhouse Prowlers and Grass it Up. Proceeds are donated to the Rockledge Ranch Historic Site. Look for Parsons and her cool hat.www.fiddlesvittlesandvino.com

The 1st Annual PPUL Craft-Brewing & Early Season VeggieExchangeto benefit PikesPeak Urban Gardens

Dates and location to be determined, sometime July/August, 2011. This is a social media promoted event (although a lot more organized than a flash mob), so you makers of mead may need to make the mobile migration...

COLORADO-only brews and brewers invited for a beer exchange and twilight outdoor social gathering at a fantastic location. Choice Vittles provided. $5 admission per person as a donation to support the continued community building efforts of our very own Pikes Peak Urban Gardens. Your $5 are tomorrow’s white-candy onion plantings!

Wet-Wading & Dry Fly Season

June 18 or thereabouts to September 15, 2011. Small, gravel-bottomed streams and places west of Pikes Peak to the Utah Border. Yes, it’s bone dry on this side of the divide, but there’s a ton of snow on the west side this year.

Chaco-friendly riparians are best approached upstream with a #14 Parachute hopper trailing a #18 Green Copper John on 6x. Dirty Boy angling education is best deployed sans Gore-Tex. Check in for updates: Twitter.com/COSBenny

24/7 constantly scanning the horizon for cultural attractions and choice recreational events

Now Mobile-app’ed, there is no excuse for boredom any night of the week. www.PEAKRADAR.com

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I can take no credit for most of the garden tips you will However, I will take full credit for introducing you to perhaps THE best gardening resource in the Colorado Springs area. Pikes Peak Urban Gardens exists to “cultivate, educate, and serve the community through urban garden projects in the Pikes Peak region". It is simply because they exist that I was bold enough to begin a community garden in my own backyard. This will be the third year for the Urban Squirrel Garden and we are already planning and purchasing seed.

For most backyard gardeners, it doesn’t make sense to try and grow a little bit of everything. Instead, focus on your strengths and grow what you grow best. Start talking with friends and

MANURE & BEYOND: URBAN GARDENING

AT A MILE PLUSThe following “Garden Tips” were taken from an email I recently received from PIKES PEAK URBAN GARDENS:

•§   Even if it is warm it is too early to plant anything in the garden.

•§   If the weather stays warm enough to thaw the ground and dry it, work in some last minute compost or good quality aged cow or alpaca manure.

•§   On warm days, drag out the garden hose and water the garden. When it is time to plant the ground should be moist 10 to 12 inches down.

•§   If you plan to start seeds indoors, it is time to purchase seeds.

•§   It is now time to plant seeds for broccoli, cabbage and kohlrabi as well as peppers.

•§   April 9 – 15th is the time to start tomatoes indoors. According to Larry, we want our tomato plants short but stocky by May 21st. Remember good light, good soil, keep warm and keep moist. Transplant to bigger pots if needed and don't let them get root bound in smaller pots. You will need to harden the plants off before finally putting them in the soil. You do this by exposing them to the outdoors (a lightly shaded spot with not much wind is best at first) for one hour the first day (then bring them in), two hours the next day, three the third day. Then if it is the right time to plant them out we also place milk jugs over the plants (top off and bottom cut off) for a week or so for extra protection.

Scenes from the 2010 Cedar Street Urban Squirrel Garden: Charlotte & Worms; Lilly & Zucchini; Cool Signage; Corb shoveling unmentionables

MATTAPIKES PEAK URBAN LIVING @

The Selley Group Real Estate, LLC

2139 Chuckwagon Drive

Colorado Springs, CO 80919

ECO-BROKERS KILL FEWER TREESPERMISSION ASSET (noun): Value placed in an individual or organization that an important, concentrated population considers trustworthy, reliable, consistent, and worth talking about with friends and family. Characterized by deep connections on multiple levels, objective data and thorough research, and a thoughtful application that empowers and benefits the end-user. Hard to obtain; easy to lose.

One of the major shared values we enjoy as real estate brokers is the belief in being “worth referring”. There is a huge difference in real estate business models that “believe” in referrals and ask for them; and a business model that intentionally goes out of it’s way to create content and provide service that is highly personalized and connects with the consumer.

When we first started discussing a business partnership,we each had our unique specialties, but also overlapping pursuits. We have created the following places online for you

to engage with us, stay ahead of real estate trends, and most importantly, have fun in the community.

This online migration is also necessary because we are committed to making more with less: engaging more rapidly, providing easier access and using less paper is a shared goal in our business. So please, join our online conversation at the resource you find easiest to use.ZILLOW PROFILES

The Permission Asset is gaining steam in the world of Social Real Estate. In this issue, Hannah has BIG bragging rights, because to the best of our knowledge, she has been reviewed more times and received more five-star ratings than any other agent in the Pikes Peak Region with 14 5-stars (and nothing but 5-star ratings). These ratings can only be provided by consumers who have had actual working experiences with the broker. In a distant second with 9 5-star reviews is Ben. If you feel so inclined, help us keep our lead. Simply type our names in when researching your home at www.Zillow.com.

Click Hannah or Ben to view

Zillow Profile

Hannah Ben

www.PikesPeakUrbanLiving.com

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.Facebook.com/PikesPeakUrbanLiving

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