Your Colorado Springs Life & Home
Your Colorado Springs Life & Home is your go-to podcast for real estate, relocation, and everyday living in beautiful Colorado Springs. Hosted by Lori Thompson—RE/MAX Properties Realtor®, broker, and trusted top producer with over 40 years of experience—this show delivers real talk and expert insight for military families, first-time buyers, seasoned homeowners, and dreamers alike.
Whether you're PCSing to Fort Carson, upsizing for a growing family, downsizing for a simpler life, or curious about the market, Lori brings clarity, compassion, and a lifetime of local knowledge to every episode. As a Certified Distressed Property Expert (CDPE), Quality Service Certified Platinum agent, and Peak Producers member, she’s handled it all—short sales, market swings, and everything in between.
Tune in for practical tips, neighborhood spotlights, market trends, and stories from the front lines of Colorado Springs real estate. From interest rates to granite countertops, Lori’s got answers—and she’s just a call or text away.
Your next chapter starts here.
To learn more about RE/MAX Properties Inc. visit:
https://www.LoriThompson.REMAX.com
RE/MAX Properties Inc.
Colorado Springs
719-332-1807
Your Colorado Springs Life & Home
PCS to Paradise: Relocating to Colorado's Military-Friendly Community
What Should Military Families Know When PCSing To Fort Carson Or Peterson Air Force Base?
Moving across the country is challenging enough, but military families facing a PCS to Colorado Springs encounter a unique set of hurdles and opportunities. As your lifetime realtor with over 40 years of experience helping service members find their perfect homes, I'm sharing crucial insights that can transform your relocation experience.
Did you know Colorado Springs ranks as the second most requested military assignment behind only Hawaii? It's no wonder, with our breathtaking mountain views, military-friendly community, and abundance of resources designed specifically for service members and their families. Whether you're headed to Fort Carson, Peterson Air Force Base, Schriever Space Force Base, or the Air Force Academy, understanding the local housing landscape before arrival can save you significant stress.
For families buying sight unseen—especially those PCSing from overseas—I provide detailed video tours highlighting both features and potential concerns. My concierge approach includes stocking essentials in your new home upon arrival and even emergency Costco runs when household goods get delayed! I've learned what military families need most: honest information about neighborhoods, school districts with open enrollment options for your children, and homes that meet VA loan requirements. Popular neighborhoods include Fountain and Widefield for Fort Carson families, while Peterson and Space Force personnel often prefer Springs Ranch or Briargate. Your lifestyle matters too—whether you need horse property, want a quick downtown commute, or dream of easy access to outdoor adventures.
Have questions about using your VA loan benefits, finding the right school district, or which neighborhoods best match your family's needs? Reach out directly at 719-332-1807. Together, we'll find not just a house, but a true home for your Colorado Springs chapter of military life.
To learn more about RE/MAX Properties Inc. visit:
https://www.LoriThompson.REMAX.com
RE/MAX Properties Inc.
Colorado Springs
719-332-1807
Welcome to your Colorado Springs life and home, where real estate meets real talk and maybe a little too much coffee. Hosted by REMAX Properties, licensed realtor, broker and top producer Lori Thompson, a local legend who's been helping military families and civilians buy and sell homes for over 40 years. Whether you're PCSing, upsizing, downsizing or just daydreaming, lori's got you covered. Why? Because she's your lifetime realtor and she actually answers her phone. Imagine that.
Speaker 2:Moving is stressful enough, but for military families PCSing to Fort Carson or Peterson Air Force Base, there are unique challenges and opportunities to consider. We're covering what you need to know to make your move as seamless as possible. Welcome back everyone. Millie M, co-host and producer, back in the studio with Rax Properties licensed realtor and broker, lori Thompson. Lori, how are you?
Speaker 3:Oh, I'm doing great. How are you doing?
Speaker 2:Doing well, Lori. With your experience helping military families relocate, I know this episode is going to be packed with great advice. What should military families know when PCSing to Fort Carson or Peterson Air Force Base?
Speaker 3:And Peterson also includes Space Force. So, yes, out at Schrievers we also have the Air Force Academy. We even have members of the Navy who are stationed here as part of Space Command. So it's really, really a great area for military or military connected, because a lot of our military members, should they get out, they end up rolling into civil service positions. So the best thing to know about Colorado Springs is, like I had said before, we are the second most requested military assignment behind Hawaii and we have military discounts all over the place. So there's a lot of veteran geared events, there are a lot of military discounts, but I think the things I run into most often.
Speaker 3:Frequently I have people coming from overseas and sometimes they don't see the house till I give them a key. In other words, they are buying it through the videos I take and they really like them because I don't do some kind of a foo-foo video. I don't do streaming only because we can lose connection. And they really like them because I don't do some kind of a foo-foo video. I don't do streaming only because we can lose connection and they forget which one had the white cabinets and which one had the flooring we liked.
Speaker 3:What I do is I do a series of one, usually around one minute clips, because that's what I can text, and I show them oh, this is good, but look at this. And I show them a street view. I let them know about surrounding areas, what's close by, and I have never had anyone surprised when they showed up. No one has ever said, oh, this doesn't look like I thought it would. We had an interesting one recently coming from Germany where she was coming out there with their little boy before he was coming and their household goods got held up.
Speaker 2:Oh goodness.
Speaker 3:So she had arranged for an air mattress, but she had nothing. And so my assistant and I we went over to Costco and we bought linens and we bought towels. And I was just racking my head is what do I need? Kind of survivalist training here, what do I need with a little boy for just a couple of days until we can make other arrangements? So we bought towels, we bought bath mats, we bought snacks, we bought beverages, we even got a toy for her little boy. And they actually were so tickled they said we hit everything they needed for that short term. Usually what I leave is the essentials snacks, beverages and toilet paper. When they arrive. We've got the essentials covered.
Speaker 3:The other thing is education. They want to know more about schools and luckily I have a lot of knowledge about the surrounding districts. I'm actually the school board president for one of our local school districts and so I know we have what's called open enrollment here. You can actually go to any district as long as there's space available. I know most of the charter schools and what they offer. So a lot of times they reach out to me and they say, hey, I've got a child who needs some special education support. I have gifted and talented, whatever it may be, is to kind of guide them through. Let's say that this area is the schools they really want, but they can't afford that area. I let them know how open enrollment works. Of course you have to transport too, and so, like I said, it's just to give them the information they need and, if they don't know, to make sure that I find out what it is that they need.
Speaker 2:So what neighborhoods near Fort Carson in Peterson Air Force Base are popular among military?
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, the Fountain, Fort Carson School District. It's double funded, so that's really close to one gate of Fort Carson. Widefield is very close to Fort Carson. There's another area, that's School District 2, that's close to Fort Carson, and one of the most expensive areas, which is School District 12, the Broadmoor Skyway area. Those are all adjacent to Fort Carson. Now here's the funny thing Within 30 minutes you can access other areas that are also a reasonable commute to Fort Carson. Now sometimes I have people who actually like to come home for lunch, and if that's the case they're going to want to live in Widefield Security Area or they're going to want to live in the Fountain area. Now, Fountain is a city adjacent to Colorado Springs. It's a separate city but we're connected. There's no real boundary, and so, once again, I always ask them in my initial appointment what kind of commute is good for you? And so we try to find that out and give them something that aligns with what they want.
Speaker 2:So you talked about items being held up in transit. Are there other big challenges that military families face when moving to Colorado Springs?
Speaker 3:You know that's one of the biggest things is household goods and luckily, let's say, there's another option available for them too. Let's say that they're not comfortable buying a home through video, then they get out here and they usually get 10 days of a house hunting trip. But I also know that the military bases you can extend. They usually offer to hold your household goods for 90 days, but you can get an extension. And if they're going to Peterson or Space Force then they're going to want to be further north. But they could also look at the Fountain Security Wide Field area and they could look at other areas like Springs Ranch or the Briargate area. Once again, it depends on their commute.
Speaker 3:Another thing is what their lifestyle is. Do they want a horse? Then they're going to go out east where there's property zoned for horses. So the biggest thing that I think families can encounter education is a big one. If they have kids run into single members of the military and they want to be close to downtown, they want to be where the action's at, and so they have a more of a social lifestyle and that's more important to them. So they might want downtown or lower west side or upper west side. If they are outdoor enthusiasts. They might be more inclined towards the west side for quicker access to open spaces, hiking and a shorter commute to the ski resorts. So that's why we always try to identify what are your needs and what can we do to help you meet them.
Speaker 2:Perfect, and what should service members consider when using VA loans for home purchases?
Speaker 3:Just to know that the house has to be VA eligible. So sometimes they'll see a smoking deal online, but that home may not be accepting VA mortgages and the reason why it's not that VA is as picky as people make them out to be. It could mean there could be something really wrong with that house. But primarily you're looking for peeling paint. It doesn't even matter the year built, because the concerns are lead-based paint. The roof has to have a certain amount of life left on it. Foundation overall has to look pretty good.
Speaker 3:Now I've heard that there's a change and I have to double-check this. Before it had to have a stove. It didn't matter if it had a dishwasher or a refrigerator or anything else. It had to have a stove. Now I've heard that may have changed, but I'll have to double check that so to make sure that the home is eligible for a VA loan, and appraisers can have different conditions on that. So I always try to reach into my experience to let them know we could have a problem here. Or if I see a house that's not offering VA and my clients found it on a different website, I will reach out to the realtor and say why are you not accepting VA loans. Luckily, because we are primarily we have such a good military presence here, it's less likely to occur here than it is in other spaces, and there's a lot of realtors who don't even know what the VA loan requirements are for a house. So there's a lot of misinformation out there and I try to push through it. I understand that.
Speaker 2:And is there a specific place that people can find that information out on their own, or is it just I find a house and I have to ask you is eligible?
Speaker 3:No, they can look up what are the requirements for a home to be eligible for a VA loan. That's something they can do, but once again, it's just overcoming misinformation, and then I like to put eyeballs on it and take a look.
Speaker 2:Perfect. It looks like you provide white glove concierge very customized into an individualized service for these families to make sure that you get them into the home that's perfect for them. You've given us so much great insight today. Thank you for sharing your expertise To our listeners. We'll see you next time for more real estate strategies to help you navigate life and home in Colorado Springs.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you. That's a wrap for this episode of your Colorado Springs Life and Home. Got questions, need advice? Just want to talk about interest rates and granite countertops? Call or text Lori at 719-332-1807. Yes, she'll really respond. Or Lori Thompson dot remax dot com to get started with your lifetime realtor, because when it comes to Colorado real estate, lori doesn't just know the market, she is the market.