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“Fell in love with Manitou? So did we!”
That’s the tagline of Manitou Springs Real Estate. You’ll see it on the business sign as you drive into Downtown Manitou Springs.
Rachel Buller, the managing broker of Manitou Springs Real Estate, fell in love with the town back in the 1980s. Her husband, Clint Lewis, is from Manitou, and they moved there while expecting their son, Skye Lewis – who is now one of five broker associates at the company and poised to take over when Rachel eventually retires.
Manitou Springs Real Estate serves not only Manitou, but the Pikes Peak Region as a whole.
Rachel and Skye spoke with the Pikes Peak Bulletin on a recent fall day at the Manitou Springs Real Estate office.
Rachel reminisced how she had enjoyed Manitou from the start. But it was shortly after they moved there that a young local couple experienced a tragedy, and she saw the true strength of Manitou’s community spirit in a potluck and fundraiser for the couple at city hall.
“That was the moment I fell in love with Manitou,” she said.
She and her husband were raising their kids in Manitou in the 90s as website domains were becoming a hot commodity.
“My husband and I on our dial-up modem…we were just goofing around one night, ‘let’s find some good website domains,'” she recalled.
They looked at ManitouSprings.com and realized it was available – and promptly bought it. At first, the website just had some Manitou-related photos and the like. But after Rachel decided to make a career switch into real estate, and then eventually decided to open her own company in 2001, it became her business site.
“I named the business after the domain name, instead of the other way around,” she said. In the beginning, Manitou Springs Real Estate was just Rachel, but after a few years she started bringing others on board, including a client who wanted to be a realtor.
Skye started working in the office when he was 13, answering phones and scheduling showings. But there was still plenty of time for him to run around the hills of Manitou with other kids and frequent the local arcade.
“I was born into loving Manitou,” Skye said, adding, “I have memories in every neighborhood in town.”
Skye said he grew up surrounded by family, including frequent camping trips with his cousins, one of whom also became a real estate agent in Manitou. And, although he has traveled extensively, nowhere else has ever felt like a true home – though there was a period in his youth when he thought he wanted to move to California for the skateboarding and music scene.
“I got over that and kept my roots planted here,” he said.
Instead of taking his talents to California, Skye is heavily involved in the Manitou music scene, including as the drummer for the pop/psychedelic rock group Moon Veil and previously for Woodshed Red. Real estate and music go well together, Skye said, because “real estate lets you set your own schedule” and music gigs are mainly at night, while real estate is a daytime enterprise.
Skye got his real estate license about a decade ago in his late 20s and about five years ago, he and Rachel decided to become a team. Skye is now a part-owner, and Rachel is glad he wants to carry on the business and not sell it to a large real estate agency.
“We like being independent, not being a franchise,” she said. “We like to make our own decisions and not have somebody tell us what to do.”
The Manitou Avenue building in which Manitou Springs Real Estate is housed also has a family connection. Before Rachel and Clint purchased the building, it belonged to Clint’s parents, Russ and Autumn Lewis, both longtime active members of the Manitou community – Russ was Manitou’s mayor for a time in the 1980s, and Autumn started an artist co-op called Meadow Found and purchased the Manitou Avenue building to house it. It billed itself as having one thousand pots to choose from, and visitors could watch the potters work. After that, the building was home to the community hub Spice of Life. When the space opened up in 2015, Rachel moved Manitou Springs Real Estate there.
“We wanted to be more in the downtown corridor,” Skye explained. “It’s nice to be in the mix.”
During our interview, many passersby stopped to read the listings posted in the office window – including, in true Manitou fashion, Dennis the emu.
“[Manitou Springs] has changed so much in so many ways, and also not at all,” Skye noted, describing how community members – including business owners, musicians and artists – collaborate and lift one another up rather than trying to just compete and win. He also noted how many in Manitou are music and art makers and/or appreciators.
The community spirit that made her fall in love with Manitou “is still as strong or stronger as when I came in,” Rachel said. “It’s a tight but welcoming community that supports each other, plays together, works together.”
“We have our squabbles” Skye said, “but at the end of the day, when it matters, everyone shows up and comes together.” He cited the community response to various natural disasters, including several catastrophic floods, as examples.
Speaking of community spirit: Manitou Springs Real Estate sets aside 1% of sales and then votes on where to donate it – not necessarily to a nonprofit. They also sponsor the Different Drummer Scholarship, typically a one-time $1,000 gift to two graduating Manito seniors with special passion who may not fit other scholarship profiles.
They also hold a yearly warm clothing drive that is happening now through Dec. 13. They are collecting clean, gently used winter clothing such as coats, sweaters, hats, mittens, scarves and boots – men’s and children’s sizes and styles are especially needed. If you wish to donate warm clothing, you may drop it off at the Manitou Springs Real Estate office (727 Manitou Avenue) between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. Monday through Friday or call 719-685-0220 to have someone pick it up.
The giveaway will be on Saturday, Dec. 14, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in front of the Manitou Springs Real Estate office (727 Manitou Ave.). Hot chocolate and popcorn will be served, and rumor has it that Santa might make an appearance. All items will be given away for free to anyone, no questions asked.
