Real estate investors have cash, but also caution

Mike Moran Business Times “There are a whole lot of folks with a whole lot of cash, but they’re waiting for the market to bottom out.” And that sums up the potential for real estate investment in Mesa County, according to Dale Beede, a commercial real estate agent for Coldwell Banker Prime Properties in Grand […]

Supplemental insurance can help take the sting out of health care costs

Mike Moran Business Times Amid the push to cover every U.S. citizen with health insurance, average insurance premiums continue to increase. The trend continues during an economic downturn that has many clients opting for lower monthly premiums and higher deductibles. When people face deductibles that amount to hundreds and even thousands of dollars, they also […]

Agreements help ease business succession

Mike Moran Business Times Life insurance, as they say, actually concerns the alternative to life. And in the case of business partnerships or corporations, what happens to the business after one of the principals dies can be covered by a policy that ensures assets go where the deceased intended. Such agreements also can ensure that […]

Material costs drop in July, but up for year

With the cost of home building joined at the hip with the cost of materials, July offered more opportunity in the form of slightly lower prices for construction materials. Overall, prices were 0.2 percent lower in July than they were in June, according to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Still, prices aren’t […]

Home construction goes green

Energy conservation and use of renewable energy are ongoing trends in home building and remodeling. Under current law, the window of opportunity remains open for claiming tax credits in connection with new construction. The window for remodeling current homes is closing, however, with the credits due to expire at the end of December. The federal […]

Slowdown forcing some construction workers to change careers

The numbers tell the story: On a given day, 1,800 job applicants chase 12 to 18 job openings — a ratio of 109 applicants for each job. That leaves people considering alternate careers, many as they approach the final decade of their working lives. Such is the scenario for construction workers in the Grand Valley. […]

New firm proposes housing project

A year after Zeck Homes went out of business in the midst of the Great Recession, one of the former owners has teamed with another developer to form a company planning a 20-unit housing project near the Golf Club at Redlands Mesa in Grand Junction. Matrix Communities plans a mix of single-family attached homes priced […]

Parade of Homes to showcase home construction industry

The Parade of Homes will extend over two weekends this year, offering more time for people to participant in the annual event showcasing the home construction industry in the Grand Valley. The Housing and Building Association of Northwestern Colorado has scheduled the Parade of Homes for 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 17 to 19 […]