RIDGWAY – Angie Timm, the newest addition to San Juan Realty, isn’t worried about the economy affecting home sales because the market is getting better, she says.

“We’ve had more and more phone calls and walk-ins,” she said. “It seems like last year people were really scared, but this year they’re starting to look for some bargains.”

Home prices are holding firm and don’t appear to be going down, she said.

“Valuations are holding steady, which is good news for buyers and sellers with the safety of knowing prices have not gone down,” she said.

Some good deals are because of others’ misfortune, she said, producing a few really good deals on residential foreclosures. In Ridgway, at least two homes originally priced much higher are selling in the low $200,000 range she said, some with more than one lot.

“When there is an advantage, I try to stay on top of it,” she said of foreclosures. “It’s sad, but it happens.”

There aren’t a lot of foreclosures in Ouray County, and the price of a foreclosed home depends on the deal, she said.

“That’s the mystery of real estate,” she said. “Some people are willing to deal and some are not.”

She mentioned one home in Ridgway on South Charlotte Street on two-and-a-half lots listed at $232,650, a rock bottom price, she said.

“That’s awesome. It needs a lot of work but that’s still a pretty good deal,” she said. “If you’re looking for short sales or getting into something you couldn’t afford before, there are some good things out there.”

The catch is that most foreclosures require 20 percent down, but if you have the cash, bargains can be found, she said, like a small foreclosed house in Montrose that recently went on the market for the astoundingly low price of $49,000.

Timm tries to stay on top of those “deals,” she said, and she’s also knowledgeable about residential properties around Hotchkiss and Paonia in the North Fork Valley, where she has several clients and where prices are cheaper, she said.

Formerly with Ponderosa Realty, Timm’s title is associate broker and she works under broker Karen Brooks, who oversees her contracts.

Timm moved here from Texas, she said, for the obvious reasons: “Because of the beauty and no humidity,” she said. “I spend way more time outdoors here than in Texas – it’s way too hot.”

Timm lives halfway between Ridgway and Ouray with husband Kevin, their three children and several chickens. An avid gardener, this year she said she’s putting in blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, and asparagus and hopes to have rhubarb next year.

“I’m trying to do it all,” she said.