The Group University will host a free class, “Wake-Up Money”, Wednesday, January 18, at The Group’s office at 2803 E. Harmony Road, Fort Collins.  Registration begins at 5:00 pm with the presentation beginning at 5:30 pm.

Current market conditions have created an environment for real estate investors that are unique in the history of Northern Colorado.  Larry Kendall will discuss the benefits of residential real estate investment, how to build wealth through real estate investment, how to set investment goals, and the step-by-step process for purchasing investment property. 

 Register at www.thegroupinc.com, or by calling Rachel Bomgaars at 970-377-6068 or 970-223-0700.

The Group University will host a class, Homebuyer Basics, for first-time home buyers on Wednesday, September 14, at The Group’s office at 2803 E. Harmony Road, Fort Collins. Registration begins at 5:00 pm with the presentation beginning at 5:30 pm. Information will include current local market trends, the steps in buying a home, how to increase your odds of success, current loan options, and the advantages of owning versus renting. A question and answer session will follow. Attendees will receive a First Time Home Buyer Kit.

Register at www.thegroupinc.com, or by calling Rachel Bomgaars at 970-377-6068 or 970-223-0700.

Forbes magazine ranks the Fort Collins-Loveland Metropolitan Statistical Area, basically Larimer County,  5^th in the nation as the Best Place for Business and Careers. 

Colorado had 5 communities in the top 50. Others included: Denver – 9, Colorado Springs – 30, Greeley – 42 and Boulder – 44.

Among the other things Forbes says about the area are:

• #67 in Cost of Doing Business
• #31 in Job Growth
• #12 in Education with 41% having a college degree
• Unemployment: 6.7%
• Job Growth (2010): 0.3%
• Cost of Living: -6.2% below nat’l avg
• Net Migration (2010): 2,170

The Group, Inc. Real Estate is the leading real estate company in Northern Colorado.  We have six offices in Greeley, Fort Collins, and Loveland and are celebrating our 35th year in business.

The Group, Inc., Real Estate, announced that Emily Moore has joined as a Broker Associate/Partner and can be reached at 5401 Stone Creek Circle, Loveland, 970-613-0700.  Prior to joining The Group, Inc. Ms. Moore worked in the hospitality industry as a manager of operation, and in sales and marketing for 12 years.  She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from the University of Colorado.

The Group, Inc. is Northern Colorado’s leading real estate company with six locations in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley.  www.thegroupinc.com

 The Group Real Estate, announced that Kathleen Hollarbach, has joined their Harmony Office as a Broker Associate/Partner.  Kathleen has previous experience in the home construction industry, owning and assisting in running Hollerbach Construction (a design/build company), in the Sarasota, FL area, along with her husband David prior to relocating to Northern Colorado in 2008.  She is an active volunteer in the public schools and in the community.

 Ms. Hollarbach can be reached at 2803 E. Harmony Road, Fort Collins, 970-229-0700. 

 The Group, Inc. is Northern Colorado’s leading real estate company with six locations in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley.  www.thegroupinc.com

The Fort Collins Chamber reported the following:

Wired magazine’s June issue lists Fort Collins as one of the “Emerging Epicenters” for High Tech Industry, singling out Fort Collins based companies VanDyne Super Turbo and Woodward as well as the CSU Engines and and Energy Conversion Lab. 

 The magazine states: VanDyne, a small company in Fort Collins, recently collaborated with a Colorado State University  clean-energy lab to create the SuperTurbo, a supercharger that converst exhaust energy in torque to make engines up to 30 percent more efficent. Woodward, a larger local company, is working with the same lab to develop laser ignition systems for gas, turbine and aircraft engines.”

Check out the article at:

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/05/ff_jobsclustermap/

The Group, Inc. received several awards at the Fort Collins Board of Realtors annual Community Affairs and Awards event held Tuesday, May 17. 

Earth Day Recycling Challenge Winner

Green Realtor Office of the Year

CARHOF Major Supporter in 2010

Former Fort Collins Mayor Doug Hutchinson received the Citizen of the Year award at the luncheon.  Keynote speaker was U.S. Representative Cory Gardner.

RIS Media 23rd Annual Power Broker Report

The Group Real Estate is ranked 3^rd in the nation in sales volume per sales associate for the year 2010 in the 2011 Power Broker Report compiled by RIS Media.  The magazine’s 23^rd Annual Report gave a detailed break-down of year-end production numbers for the 300 most successful real estate companies nationwide.  Nearly 1000 companies responded to the survey. 

 The Group closed 3,523 transactions, averaging over 22 transactions per associate in 2010, and totaling $922,339,823 in sales volume.  The company ranked 105^th in the nation for total transactions and 95^th for total sales volume.

 President, Eric Thompson responded to the recognition by saying, “The customer has never needed the assistance of a true real estate professional more than today. Customers today deserve to work with the very best- someone who will help them achieve their goal in the time frame that they need. The Group is the home of some of the most productive Realtors in the country and I believe our customers find value in that.”

The Group, Inc. Real Estate from Northern Colorado is locally owned by its sales associates and managers.  It has 6 offices in Fort Collins, Loveland, and Greeley.   www.thegroupinc.com

The Agilent Technologies Inc. campus emerged on Tuesday as the choice for the Aerospace Clean Energy Manufacturing and Innovation Park.

The center, sponsored partly by NASA, will give the former home of Hewlett-Packard Co. new life — and the city  thousands of jobs.

When ACE locates in Loveland, it likely will draw scores of manufacturing companies, large and small, employing as many as 7,000 people in turning NASA-controlled patents into technology products on a high-speed schedule.

See The Fort Collins Coloradoan for more information.

Real estate agents in Colorado are licensed to serve, not just sell.  A new ruling by the Colorado Real Estate Commission declared that licensees in the state must provide licensed services – such as property presentation, negotiation of offers, and communications through the transaction process – if they intend to list their properties on the Multiple Listing Service.  This ruling is intended to stop the practice of agents who might sell access to the MLS to other sellers – such as “For Sale by Owner” – then not take part in any service that supports the transacation.

By working with a Group Realtor, you can be confident you are working with a true real estate professional who adheres to the Real Estate Commission’s principles.