Colorado Gives Day | Growing Gardens
Guess what? Today is Colorado Gives Day. One of our favorite orgs in Boulder is raising funds to provide fresh food, plant starts, and seeds to those in need. In 2020 alone, Growing Gardens donated 18,000lbs of fresh produce to our local community. Please support this amazing organization. Donate HERE. Osman Parvez is the Founder and Employing Broker of House Einstein. Originally from the Finger Lakes region of New York, he lives in Boulder with his wife and their Labrador Retriever. He has been a Realtor since 2005. Osman is the primary author of the House Einstein blog with over 1,200 [...]
The Coronavirus in Boulder [We’re in this Together]
Clients, Colleagues, and Friends, As this virus has made clear, we're all in this together. No one is immune. Boulder schools are closed, CU is closed, and soon, it's possible that some U.S. cities will be on lock down. There is a lot of fear and anxiety out there. Our position is that the health of staff, colleagues, and clients come before real estate transactions. We will act accordingly to protect the health and well being of our community. This means some changes to our business practices. At House Einstein, we have a bunch of deals under contract right now. [...]
House Einstein Podcast #1: A Conversation with Ray Tuomey, Service, Humanistic Workplaces, Boulder Business Culture
By Osman Parvez One of the things I believe is that life and business is about experimentation. This is one of those experiments. As you may recall, a few months ago I announced a new initiative for House Einstein. During the next twelve months, we are going to create a dozen impactful podcasts. These discussions will be authentic, meaningful, and intensely local. I want to connect with people, help listeners learn something new, and most importantly, have great conversations. My intention is to allow the conversation to wander and go deeper. I want to get the real story. Pour yourself [...]
Cohousing – What Is It and How Does It Impact You?
by Sophie Kloor ---- I was born right outside Boulder. Most people don’t know that I was raised in an unconventional way. I grew up at Nyland Cohousing Community in Lafayette, Colorado. The majority of buyers and sellers alike have little to no idea about Cohousing, and how it can impact real estate options. What is Cohousing? Cohousing revolves around the concept of intentional community. Owners and renters live private lives in homes or apartments, while they simultaneously share common spaces such as open space, playgrounds, community gardens, sports areas, woodshops and more. These shared spaces traditionally include a “common [...]
Housing for Cold Springs Fire Evacuees
Hey Boulder! As of this writing, 2,000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to the Cold Springs Fire. Want to do something? If you have housing to offer evacuees or emergency personnel, call the Office of Emergency Management at 303-413-7730 (non emergency number) to share what you have. They will add it to the database of resources. These are your neighbors. p.s. I just called to offer my vacant SoBo rental. ---- Want to get blog updates via email? Click HERE. Ready to buy or sell? Schedule an appointment or call 303.746.6896. You can [...]
Long’s Urban Oasis
by Osman Parvez ---- If you're new to Boulder, you've probably wondered about Long's Gardens - a patch of land visible from Broadway, just North of the North Boulder Rec Center. It's a third generation Iris farm founded in 1905 with a long history in Boulder. Check out this video: From a real estate perspective, this patch of land is unique in Boulder. It's the city's only urban farm with 15+ acres of land being utilized by Long's Garden, the Mountain Flower Dairy, and Growing Gardens. I would like to see this land protected by a permanent conservation [...]
The Impact of the Expanded Smoking Ban in Boulder
by Osman Parvez City Council passed an expanded smoking ban last night. Effective March 19, smoking will be banned at all Parks and Recreation and Open Space & Mountain Parks lands, all multi-use paths and 25 feet on each side of the paths, 25 feet from all transit stops and building doorways, outdoor seating areas at restaurants or taverns, the downtown Boulder Business Improvement District, the Boulder Civic Area, and the area surrounding Boulder High School. A map of the entire downtown Boulder smoke-free area is below. The ordinance prohibits smoking and using e-cigarettes or electronic smoking devices. Violators will be subject [...]
Deception by Design or Community Forum? [Aspenization]
by Osman Parvez Earlier this week, I attended Why Housing Matters - a community form to discuss housing challenges in Boulder. Here are my takeaways. - It's challenging to conduct a meaningful workshop for an overflowing amount of participants in the span of a couple of hours. eTown Hall could barely contain all of us. Given the size of the audience and the time constraint, the staff did a great job. - Several City Council Members were in attendance. - Michael Pyatok, the keynote speaker, has an agenda. It's called higher density. Recasting it as "coziness" is insulting Orwellian doublespeak. Boulder [...]
Community Forum To Take On Housing Challenges!
by Osman Parvez On Thursday January 22nd, the City of Boulder announced that it will be hosting a community forum called Why Housing Matters! to discuss opportunities and ways to address Boulder's housing challenges. This public forum will give residents a chance to engage in constructive conversations regarding how to best achieve our city's housing goals, while simultaneously upholding our community values. Participants in the forum will be asked to choose two Housing Boulder goals to discuss in greater detail with their fellow community members. Additionally, members of the five Housing Boulder working groups will be at the forum to listen [...]
What’s It Worth? FAR LESS Than You Thought
by Osman Parvez About a month ago, I told you about a 5325 Hickory Avenue. I asked you to play a game: What It's Worth. Here are the results. 17 people provided their best estimates of the eventual sale price. Estimates ranged from a low of $549,000 to a high of $698,700, a spread of nearly $150,000. The average estimate was $616,517. The house closed on January 8th. The actual sale price? $565,000 or about 6% BELOW the asking price. In a market with record low inventory and intense buyer demand, this is shocking. What happened? A [...]
Meet the Spirits [Spooky Fun]
by Osman Parvez Yesterday's Community Harvest Festival certainly fit the bill and attendance was almost 3x expected. Kids everywhere, fantastic music, and tasty food. What more could you ask for? Here's another Boulder event worth attending. MEET THE SPIRITS Starting at NOON this SUNDAY, October 12th, stroll up 9th street to Columbia Cemetery. Boulder’s Parks and Rec and Historic Boulder will be bringing more than 30 of Boulder’s dearly departed back to life. Notable spirits include including Eben G. Fine, Mary Rippon, and James P. Maxwell. This year, “Meet the Spirits” will host a new [...]
Why We Live Here
by Osman Parvez Here's Balcony Nine Media with a glimpse of Summer in Boulder. It was produced for the 2014 TEDx Boulder conference. THIS is why we live here. A Boulder Summer ...Up next? A Boulder Autumn
Move with a View
by Osman Parvez I helped a friend move a Craigslist couch earlier this week. Check out the view from Stanford Ave! Flatbed trailers are super handy for moving large items like couches and box fridges, without having to navigate a ramp or lift over a tailgate. Yes, I help friends and clients move. Just don't expect a House Einstein or Realty Unique box truck with cheesy "we'll move you" advertising. --- Ready to buy or sell? Click HERE to schedule an appointment or call 303.746.6896. As always, your referrals are deeply appreciated.
Come, Get Your Fall On [Events]
by Osman Parvez UPDATE: The Community Harvest Festival has been postponed until next Wednesday, October 8th. Are you ready for fall? Here's an event you should put on your calendar: Growing Garden's Community Harvest Festival Bring on the pumpkins! It's a family friendly event with pumpkin and face painting, live bluegrass, a beer garden sponsored by Post Brewing, and Oskar Blue's Chuburger Bonewagon (food truck). It's also held in one of the nicest autumn spots in town, the Growing Gardens Urban Farm on Hawthorne Ave. When: Wednesday October 1st 8th, 4pm to 7:30pm. Where: Growing Gardens, 1630 Hawthorne [...]
BBC Coverage of Boulder Housing
by Osman Parvez Boulder's housing challenges are becoming international news. Here's a video from the BBC highlighting the problem. It features a few notable residents. hat tip: N. Fiore --- Like this analysis? Subscribe to my research. Ready to buy or sell? Click HERE to schedule an appointment or call 303.746.6896. As always, your referrals are deeply appreciated.
