Twenty-one years ago, when Jake was 14, he came to Telluride from the north suburbs of Chicago as part of Telluride Academy's winter exchange program. Even at a young age, Jake was immediately enamored with the town's beautiful mountains and the pace of small town living. When the ski season was up, he knew one thing: he didn't want to leave. A year later, his whole family moved to Telluride, and 21 years later he has never left.

Jake returned to Telluride intermittently after college to take advantage of mountain living, skiing and mountain biking. He quickly realized that although Telluride was special, it's a big world out there and it would be important for him to gain business experience in a place that could offer a greater range of opportunities and exposure. He moved to the San Francisco Bay Area and began his career in residential real estate.

In California, Jake built a successful residential real estate business at Prudential California Realty in Berkeley. His detailed nature served him well; he quickly learned the nuances of different neighborhoods and familiarized himself with historical market statistics. Additionally, through building respectful relationships, Jake was able to build effective business relationships.

His work ethic and strong people skills, combined with his persistent nature, patience, excellent listening skills and positive attitude led to a successful career in Berkeley. In his first year at Prudential, Jake earned the honor of 'Rookie of the Year,' an award given to a new agent who achieved high volume of sales. Subsequently, in the next five year period, between 2004-2008, he earned the honor 'Top Producer,' an award acknowledging that he was performing in the top 7% of the company's entire network.

At Peaks Real Estate Sotheby's International Realty, Jake has already begun seamlessly integrating his real estate success from the California market to the Telluride market. His love for the job stems from his desire to give his clients the best service possible, however he also enjoys the intellectual game of holistically understanding and studying real estate and market trends.

As one of his out of town buyers has said: 'Your diligence and expediency for gathering detailed information was paramount. You also dug-up inside information that could only be found through close business and local relationships in the real estate community.'

After spending many of his formative years in Telluride, Jake has returned with his own family to offer his child all that Telluride offered him. Both he and his wife are avid skiers, cyclists and outdoor enthusiasts.

Together with his family, he is working on a remodel for their historic home, a block away from Main Street. Jake has always been drawn to two things about Telluride: the strong community and the amazing outdoor lifestyle the town's geography offers. He is eager to share a Telluride conversation with you.