Have you ever heard a real estate term that makes you go, huh? Well, in Crested Butte we have some really unique ones and today I’m going to break down the top six. Term number one: in-floor heat. This might seem like a pretty common thing, but it really isn’t and it’s very unique to mountain homes. The heating system is actually in the floor. Most people are used to forced air systems and we really just don’t have that here. There are a few properties but the majority of our homes have in-floor heat because it’s more efficient, it’s more effective and having warm feet in the winter is the way to live. Term 1A is no air conditioning. What?! That’s right, we don’t need air conditioning here. We have the luxury of opening our windows and getting that fresh mountain air and because you cool down at night, it is the perfect way to sleep. Number two is the FAR calculation. We’re going to see that in homes in downtown Crested Butte and that stands for floor area ratio, which is what the town of Crested Butte uses to determine how much house can be built on a lot. Number three ILC and that stands for improvement location certificate. I think a lot of people are used to hearing the word survey and an ILC is a shortened version of a survey. It is actually just going to show the corners of the property and also show where the house sits if there are any encroachments or easements on the property, which are really important to know and understand when you’re buying real estate. Number four is an ADU, which is an accessory dwelling unit and that is a freestanding secondary residence on a property. Number five is seasonal access. We actually have a lot of properties in our area that you can only access in the winter via snowmobile, so those are often advertised as seasonal access properties. Number six is horizontal zoning. That sounds kind of funny, I know, but it was created by the town of Crested Butte and applies only to Elk Avenue. The town of Crested Butte had decided in 2007 that they needed to limit the amount of office spaces, they were on the street level of Elk Avenue. The purpose of this ordinance was to keep the sales tax-generating businesses easily accessible to the tourists. Real Estate can be super confusing no matter where you are, but it’s especially complicated in small mountain towns. If you’re ever confused or have questions, please give me a call.