TAR First Time Hombuyers program awards more grants

The Telluride Association of Realtors First Time Homebuyers program has been helping Telluride residents purchase their first homes in town since its inception in 2002. Continuing that effort, First Time Homebuyers’ program recently awarded 10 more grants to Telluride locals to help them make their homeownership ambitions come true.

“The Telluride Asociation of Realtors is committed to helping locals buy their first home,” realtor Rube Felicelli said. “It is important that we, as a community, do what we can to make our local population able to purchase and live within the area they work.”
The list of new buyers includes a range of local residents purchasing their first homes in Telluride, Mountain Village , and Lawson Hill.

Jeremy Katz and Dawn Riske have a two-year-old son and were recently able to purchase their first home in the Mountain Village thanks to the Homebuyers program.

Jean Vatter, a local realtor, was also able to purchase her first home for herself and her two-year-old son.  Ryan Deppen, who works for Overly Construction, bought his first home in the town of Telluride .  Ross Martin, a chef, and Amanda Owen, an office manager, purchased a home in the town of Telluride .  John Lombino, who works at Blue Point Grille, recently bought his first home thanks to TAR’s program.  Kathleen and Eric Larson, who work for The Peaks and Telski, respectively, recently purchased their first home in the Mountain Village .  Michael and Joan Doherty purchased a Lawson Hill home, and work for Telski and Iron Mountain Landworks, respectively.  Brian Werner works seasonally for TelSki and the Telluride Academy and recently bought his first home in LuLu City with the assistance of the TAR program.  Jennifer Gagen owns her own business called JAGraphics and purchased a home in Rico.  Erika Burwell and Jeffrey Jurecki also purchased in the Mountain Village , and work for Excelsior and Crunchy Porcuipine, respectively.  The program works through participating brokers and their firms giving back to the community by donating a portion of each closing to the fund.

The TAR Board of Directors recently amended the purchase price guideline to $450,000, up from the original guideline of $350,000 due to market adjustments. Some of the other guidelines include, but are not limited to, the following: an applicant’s maximum household income shall not exceed $100,000 and priority goes to the first-time homebuyer, meaning that they have had no ownership interest in last three years. The unit must be a single-family residence (condominium, town home, mobile or manufactured), must be owner-occupied and within the local region served by the Telluride Association of Realtors

TAR has distributed nearly $13,000 to first time homebuyers this year alone and over $56,000 since its inception in 2002.

“The amount of applicants seems to be increasing, said Jill Burchmore, TAR Executive Vice President. “However, with broker participation and contributions, this organization has been able to help all qualified applicants.”