Colorado’s tourism industry went from rock bottom to a Rocky Mountain high in 2010, setting multiple records for visitations and visitor spending.

According to media reports on the research firm Longwoods International’s study of the state’s tourism business, a whopping 55.1 million people visited Colorado last year, including 28.9 million overnight visitors who spent $8.8 billion – all record figures. Forty-two percent of last year's overnight visitors live in Colorado.

Colorado tourists spent a total of $10.15 billion – a 4.6 percent increase from 2009. Of the 28.9 million overnight stays, 3.5 million were business related.

Visitors who stayed overnight averaged 4.8 nights in the state, with Denver comprising 12.7 million of the state's overnight

While all major electrical repairs should be done by a professional electrician, understanding your electrical system is an essential part of buying, owning and selling a home—especially because quite often, a faulty electric system can prevent you from obtaining homeowner’s insurance.

Know Your Panels

Your electric panel is the direct connection point between your home’s wiring and your incoming electric current. Knowing how your electric panel functions is an essential safety precaution. Each panel should contain a main shut off (service disconnect), a circuit breaker (overload protection) and wiring. Each part of your panel should be clearly labeled for fast use in any emergency.  Having a service disconnect is one of the biggest safety precautions

This is the day you have been waiting for! Your boxes are packed and you are about to get the keys. Once you have found your dream home, made an offer and had it accepted, you are now ready to enter the final stage toward home ownership…closing.  Closing is when all parties involved sign the required papers and the ownership of the property is transferred from the seller to the buyer. Generally, within 24 hours prior to closing you will be able to take a walk-through of the home you are buying.  This allows you to take a final look at the house and ensure that all your conditions have been met.

The closing can only occur after the lender has processed the loan and is ready to close.  Depending on where you are purchasing a home any number of individuals

If you’re looking to sell your home, or are in the process of remodeling, a fresh coat of exterior paint can go a long way. However, with so many different products available, repainting can be a confusing—and exhausting—task to take on.  Repainting your house can add instant curb appeal, making a home appear upgraded and well cared for. Picking the right type of paint for your home is vital—the wrong choice can be disastrous and end up creating more work for you. However, if you know what to look for, the process can be hassle free.

The first step to repainting your house is preparation. You can be armed with the best paint possible, but if you don’t properly prepare, the outcome can be horrible.  Scraping and sanding the loose paint off your home

Many people have heard the term “home equity loan,” but not everyone understands what it is, or how to use it. If used correctly and responsibly, a home equity loan can consolidate and ease your debt.

As you begin to pay back your mortgage, you own more of your house, and the bank owns less. This is called building equity—equity being the percentage of the house that you own. When taking out a home equity loan, you are using the equity you have built as collateral.

Often people understand the general idea of a home equity loan, but they don’t know the benefits of using one. When taking out a home equity loan is often smarter for paying off debt than other types of borrowing. The interest you pay on a home equity loan is usually tax deductible, and if