After a 75—minute visit to a UC Health Urgent Care facility during which my husband Jeremy was given intravenous pain meds and then sent home with a kidney stone, we received a bill in the mail for $4000. Seriously? Why do we even have Health Insurance? Public Service Announcement: NEVER visit a UC Health Urgent Care—another day, I will write a blog about the fleecing of Denver Metro families by these facilities.

Car insurance, Health insurance, Life Insurance, Dental Insurance, Home Insurance, Cell Phone Insurance, Pet Insurance, the list goes on and on. Might as well add another to the mix: Title Insurance. This type of insurance is actually pretty critical when you’re purchasing a home. Within your contract to buy a property, you will find a

Where can the Millennials find a place to live in Denver now? I get this question a lot. Back in February I wrote a blog on Affordable Neighborhoods Near Denver, http://lindseyfriedmanhomes.com/2016/02/29/affordable-neighborhoods-part-i/. Before I wrote that post, I actually had to look up the definition of a Millennial- and sadly, I found out I wasn’t one. In October 2004, researchers Neil Howe and William Strauss defined the group as “those born in 1982 and approximately 20 years thereafter,” putting the range at 34 years of age to 14 years of age. That range encompasses a vast array of stages in one’s life- a 23-year old’s life and priorities typically look very different from a 34- year old’s needs and goals in owning a home. That’s what make this

The National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) announced its official list of the top landscape design trends for 2016. https://www.landscapeprofessionals.org/

As the voice of the landscape industry, NALP crafts its annual forecast based on current consumer demands and lifestyle trends, in addition to considering broader horticultural, architectural and design factors.

"The latest trends reflect the desire to bring the indoors out—to create comfortable landscapes that are both functional and beautiful," says Missy Henriksen, vice president of public affairs, NALP. "At the same time, we’re seeing a shift toward sustainable landscapes that reflect a renewed sense of mindfulness for the Earth and its ecosystems." Not to mention that

Radon, Lead Based Paint- these are things that realtors address with their clients when buying a home. These are things that sound scary and come with homes, especially older ones. I’m fairly certain I have asbestos in my sparkly popcorn ceilings (please still feel free to come over!) but I’m looking past that for now.

I think the arrival of spring has inspired me to create a fresh, clean, and healthy home. Or, it could be a manifestation of my lack of control living with three “boys.” But really, I feel like I spend so much time on BPA -free water bottles and non-high-fructose corn syrup ketchup and don’t really address what I spray all over, wipe with and wash with. Let’s open up the windows and breathe!!!

And let me just lay it out there: I

You might ask yourself, “Why does Lindsey from time to time send out a real estate snapshot showing a list of on the market and sold properties in my neighborhood? I’m not going to sell my house any time soon.” Why, it’s elementary! I want to make sure you are as educated as possible on the market- and not using 9News to arrive at your conclusions.

Housing averages, which generally irk me, do not tell the real story and are not predictive. It is more useful to study individual houses or neighborhoods over time, which can give you a much more reliable and granular picture of your local housing market.  As Alan N. Weiss, co-founder of the Case-Shiller Weiss housing market index and an expert on everything real estate data says, “Don’t be fooled by

Around 7:30 a few mornings ago my idyllic “me” time was interrupted by a familiar sound of summer—the roar of rideable lawn mowers in the neighbor’s yard. Could it be that on March 11th it is that time again? We’ve had such warm days as of late and with daylight savings time providing us with an additional hour of daylight, I almost feel like I should start prepping and planting my pots to add some color in the yard to offset the dusty brown grass of winter. But March in Denver is such a crapshoot—I’m sure in a few days we’ll get a blast of heavy, wet snow that could wipe out all my efforts.

There are a few things we all can do to get our growing spaces prepped for summer without feeling counterproductive should a storm come our way. Besides,

Jeremy and I have embarked on many a home improvement project, for better or worse. Actually, these projects have generally paid off. I remember when we redid our entire kitchen on Hudson Street in Cherry Point, finished off with terra cotta paint and greenish concrete counter tops—hard to picture, I know. Bold move, but, when we went to sell the house it was under contract in 2 days.

Anyway, on to the appliances, ah, the appliances. Brand new! All were running fine except the oven. When turned on to preheat, no one could be within 20 feet of it and have a conversation. It was so loud, like being on a runway motioning for an airplane to fit into its bay. You’d think with how loud it was, it would heat up in nanoseconds. Wrong. It took nearly 30

My husband and I have always been Denverites since we moved here 17 years ago—we’ve lived in the Highlands, Hutchinson Hills, Cherry Point, and then…bam! The proverbial urban flight happened…we moved to the “burbs.” Most of our city friends still love us though and unbeknownst to us when we made the choice to move to Littleton, there are many “urban-like” opportunities nestled in this area.

Me three years ago: “We’re moving next month.”
My Friends: “Oh, really—how exciting! Where?”
Me: “Actually, Littleton!”
My Friends: “What? Why are you moving to Littleton? Gosh, I don’t know a thing about Littleton. How far is that from Denver?”

Low and behold, it’s actually ranked #24 out of 100 small to mid-size cities with populations between 20,000 and

What an exciting year 2015 was…I love this industry! Never a dull moment.

Inventory: The lowest levels of inventory recorded— 1 month for both detached and attached single family homes in the early spring months of 2015. This means it would take 1 month to sell all of these properties if no more came on the market. It is said that 3 months or below is a seller’s market, 6 months or more is a buyer’s.

Market Movement: 67% of sales in April 2015 were under contract in 7 days or less.

Highest Sales Prices: Home prices rose at double digit rates. The average home price climbed from $318,541 in 2014 to $358,578 in 2015 for an increase of 12.56%. Highest ever recorded sales prices for both attached and detached single family homes: $279,495 for

When I was introduced to the concept of blogging years ago I perceived it basically in the same vein as Facebook—blah blah blah. A way in which self-absorbed people thrust themselves out into the world, at least behind a computer, with a delusional belief that lots of other people care what they thought about a particular topic (aside from immediate family, of course, and even then, debatable).

I have a refreshed view of blogging now, having started reading some and finding my favorite bloggers. These blogs are some of the most spot-on, poignant, entertaining writing I’ve ever read. Don’t get me wrong, there are some really bad blogs too but let’s face it, time is limited and if I don’t have time to read a whole book then the least I can do is tap into