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It is common in the Aspen area for second homeowners to upgrade by buying a larger or better located house. And most times they want to sell their existing home before they purchase the new home. I have recently seen a couple of transactions in which a prospective buyer of an upgraded home in the […]

The entire lending industry is based on the assumption that lenders making loans secured by collateral will have their interest in the collateral protected in virtually all  circumstances.  In the world of risks that can create a catastrophic failure of collateral value to a lender, perhaps the murkiest and most difficult to quantify is the […]

On December 4, 2012 the Department of Justice announced that during the 2012 fiscal year, it recovered $4.9 billion in settlements and judgments in civil cases involving alleged fraud against the government. That amount constitutes a record recovery for a single year, eclipsing the previous record by more than $1.7 billion. Of that amount, $3.3 […]

During construction, walking the line between ensuring the Owner’s best interests are met  and allowing the construction professionals – the architects, engineers, general contractors, subcontractors, planning consultants – to do their job can be a tightrope act for any Owner’s Representative in a construction project.  After all, an experienced OR may be tasked with spearheading […]

Recent changes to Colorado law concerning challenges to the disallowance of conservation easement tax credits may have a significant impact on transferees of those credits.  For many years, Colorado has provided tax incentives to landowners who donate conservation easements on their Colorado properties.  An incentive system of state income tax credits was created to provide […]

The Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act (ISLA) is a federal law which governs the sale or lease of subdivided property through the use of interstate commerce. If a real estate developer or its agent markets or offers any property for sale using “interstate commerce” and does not meet an exemption to ISLA, then the […]

The residential market in Aspen was active this summer and fall, and continues to be active as we head toward the winter holidays. Prices have not regained their pre-slump levels, but they are definitely on the rebound — at least in the core area of Aspen and the immediately surrounding areas of Pitkin County. In […]

In Colorado, as in every other state, various government entities have the power of eminent domain. The State of Colorado, as well as incorporated towns and cities, have broad eminent domain powers to take property for any recognized public purpose, with only a few limitations. In addition, special districts are considered government entities for many […]

If you have a construction defect claim, you cannot simply file a complaint against the construction professionals responsible.  In 2003, the Colorado legislature enacted the Colorado Construction Defect Action Reform Act, C.R.S. § 13-20-801 et seq. (“CDARA”), which was designed, in part, to reduce litigation and promote resolution of claims prior to suit by instituting a […]

Arbitration is touted as faster and cheaper than the court system.  However, there are no guarantees that this is the case and, more often than not, arbitration is not faster and is exponentially more expensive.  There are several reasons for this: Most arbitration companies charge a large upfront fee based on the amount in controversy […]