Document:

Exhibit 10.1

                            Gilbert Goldstein, P.C.
                         Attorney and Counselor at Law
                    3600 South Yosemite Street, Suite 870
                            Denver, Colorado 80237
                              FAX (303) 220-8272
Gilbert Goldstein                                                 (303) 220-8200

October 23, 2000

Mr. Larry A. Mizel, President
M.D.C. Holdings, Inc.
3600 S. Yosemite Street
Suite 900
Denver, Colorado 80237

Dear Larry:

This letter amends the agreement between Gilbert Goldstein, P.C. ("GGPC" and
M.D.C. Holdings, Inc. ("MDC") dated September 25, 1998 (the "Agreement").

Paragraph  4 of the  Agreement  is  hereby  amended  to  extend  the term of the
Agreement  to  September  30,  2002.  Except as amended  hereby all other terms,
conditions,  and other  provisions  of the  Agreement as  previously  amended on
October 25, 1999 are ratified, approved and confirmed.

This  amendment  was  approved by the Board of  Directors  of MDC on October 23,
2000.  Please  indicate  MDC's  approval  of this  Amendment  by  executing  the
acknowledgment below.

If you have any questions, please call me.

Yours truly,

GILBERT GOLDSTEIN, P.C.

By: /s/ Gilbert Goldstein
    -----------------------------
        Gilbert Goldstein

Approved and agreed to this 23rd day of October, 2000

M.D.C. HOLDINGS, INC.

By: /s/ Larry A. Mizel
   ------------------------------
        Larry A. Mizel
        Chairman of the Board and
        Chief Executive Officer

GG/slh<PAGE>   1

                                                                    EXHIBIT 10.1

                               SAFECO CORPORATION
                    DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR DIRECTORS
                   AS AMENDED AND RESTATED ON NOVEMBER 4, 1998
                        (AS LAST AMENDED AUGUST 2, 2000)

1.     PURPOSE

The purpose of this Deferred Compensation Plan ("Plan") is to provide for
deferral of payment of all or any portion of the annual retainer, meeting fees,
and any other fees or retainers payable to non-employee directors of SAFECO
Corporation ("Company") and all or any part of certain gains realized by such
directors on stock-for-stock exercises of options to purchase the Company's
common stock ("Common Stock").

2.     ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE

The Board shall from time to time appoint a committee to administer this Plan
(the "Administrative Committee"). The Administrative Committee shall have full
power and authority to construe and interpret the Plan. Members of the
Administrative Committee who are otherwise eligible to participate in this Plan
may do so while serving as members of that Committee, provided that no member
shall be entitled to vote or take any other action as part of the Committee with
respect to his or her benefits under the Plan. Decisions of the Administrative
Committee shall be final and binding upon the directors, their legal
representatives and beneficiaries. Approval by the Administrative Committee of
any election or request made by a director or the legal representative or
beneficiary of a director shall be subject to the sole discretion of the
Administrative Committee.

3.     ELIGIBILITY

Any non-employee director of the Company is eligible to participate in the Plan.

4.     ELECTION TO DEFER FEES

       (a)    Deferral Election. A non-employee director may elect to defer all
              or a specified percentage of the annual retainer, meeting fees,
              and any other fees or retainers (all of the foregoing are
              collectively referred to as "Fees") that may thereafter become
              payable by executing and delivering to the Administrative
              Committee an election ("Deferral Election") stating the dollar
              amount or percentage of the Fees to be deferred.

       (b)    Timing. To be effective, a Deferral Election must be filed with
              the Administrative Committee by December 31 of the year prior to
              the year in which the Fees are payable, except that any director
              newly elected to the Company's Board of Directors shall have 30
              days following the date of such director's election in which to
              file an irrevocable Deferral Election covering Fees payable during
              the remainder of the current year. A Deferral Election filed by
              December 31 shall be irrevocable

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              for the next year and will thereafter remain in effect
              indefinitely on a year-by-year basis until participation in the
              Plan terminates, or until the Deferral Election is amended or
              revoked by a new Deferral Election, which shall take effect the
              following year.

       (c)    Special Rule for New Fees. If, during the course of a year, a
              non-employee director becomes eligible to receive a type of Fee
              for which the director was not eligible on December 31 of the
              prior year, the director may file a Deferral Election with respect
              to any payments of such Fee payable during the remainder of the
              current year, provided the Deferral Election is made before the
              earlier of (i) 30 days following the date the director becomes
              eligible for the Fee, and (ii) the date the Fee or any portion
              thereof is payable.

5.     ELECTION TO DEFER GAINS ON STOCK-FOR-STOCK OPTION EXERCISES

       (a)    Deferral of Qualifying Gains. A non-employee director may elect to
              defer Qualifying Gain (as defined below) realized on the exercise
              of one or more non-qualified stock options to purchase Common
              Stock, provided the option exercised was granted under a plan or
              program that permits deferral of gain with respect to such option.

              (i)    Qualifying Gain. "Qualifying Gain" means the net value
                     accrued upon exercise of an option using a stock-for-stock
                     payment method (i.e., the amount by which the total value
                     of the shares exercised exceeds the total value of the
                     shares used to pay the exercise price). For example, a
                     director elects to defer the Qualifying Gain accrued upon
                     exercise of an option to purchase 1,000 shares of Common
                     Stock at an exercise price of $20 per share when the Common
                     Stock has a current fair market value of $25 per share. The
                     director delivers 800 shares of Common Stock (worth
                     $20,000) to pay the exercise price. In return, the director
                     receives 800 shares of Common Stock worth $20,000 and the
                     director's Account (as defined below) is credited with a
                     Qualifying Gain of $5,000.

              (ii)   Valuation of shares. For purposes of calculating the
                     Qualifying Gain, shares shall be valued at the price at
                     which the last sale of the Common Stock was made prior to
                     1:00 p.m. Pacific Time on the NASDAQ Stock Market on the
                     date the option is exercised.

       (b)    Stock Option Election. An election to defer Qualifying Gain on a
              stock option exercise shall be valid only if: (i) a separate
              irrevocable election ("Stock Option Election") is completed and
              signed by the director with respect to the stock option; (ii) the
              Stock Option Election is delivered to and accepted by the
              Administrative Committee at least six months before the director
              elects to exercise the stock option; (iii) the exercise price is
              paid in Common Stock (either through physical delivery or
              attestation); and (iv) the director complies with such other rules
              as the Administrative Committee may establish from time to time.

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6.     DEFERRAL ACCOUNTS

       (a)    Establishment of Accounts. The Company shall establish an account
              ("Account") in the name of each participating non-employee
              director, to which all deferred Fees and Qualifying Gains
              attributable to the director and the earnings thereon shall be
              credited. A director's Account shall at all times be a bookkeeping
              entry only and shall not represent any investment made by the
              Company on the director's behalf. A director shall be fully vested
              at all times in the deferred Fees and Qualifying Gains credited to
              his or her Account.

       (b)    Crediting of Accounts. Deferrals of Fees shall be credited to the
              director's Account on the date the Fees would have been paid but
              for the Deferral Election. Each Qualifying Gain shall be credited
              to the director's Account on the date that the option to which the
              gain relates is exercised.

7.     MEASUREMENT FUNDS

       (a)    Allocation Among Measurement Funds. A director's Account shall be
              allocated among phantom investments (each a "Measurement Fund")
              designated by the Administrative Committee for use as an index to
              value the portion, if any, of the director's Account allocated to
              that phantom investment. The allocation of a director's deferred
              Fees and Qualifying Gains shall be governed by the director's most
              recent Allocation Election (described below) and such rules as the
              Administrative Committee may establish from time to time. The
              Account of each director shall be credited (or debited) on a daily
              basis according to the performance of each Measurement Fund
              selected by the director.

       (b)    Available Funds. The Measurement Funds available under this Plan
              at any given time shall be set forth on Appendix A. The Company is
              under no obligation to offer any particular investment as a
              Measurement Fund and reserves the right to eliminate, change and
              add Measurement Funds at any time by action of the Administrative
              Committee.

       (c)    Allocation Election. Each non-employee director shall file a
              written election ("Allocation Election") with the Administrative
              Committee indicating the manner in which the director's future
              Qualifying Gains and deferred Fees are to be allocated among the
              available Measurement Funds. A director may file a new Allocation
              Election at any time. An Allocation Election will be given effect
              no later than the next business day after it is received and
              accepted by the Administrative Committee.

       (d)    Reallocation Election. Once each year, in accordance with such
              rules as the Administrative Committee may establish from time to
              time, a director may file a written election with the
              Administrative Committee reallocating the director's Account among
              the available Measurement Funds (a "Reallocation Election"). A

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<PAGE>   4

              Reallocation Election shall be effective as of the next
              regularly-scheduled quarterly meeting of the Company's Board of
              Directors held after the Administrative Committee's receipt and
              acceptance of the director's Reallocation Election, except that a
              Reallocation Election will not be given effect if it would
              generate a "non-exempt" transaction for purposes of the rules
              promulgated under Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of
              1934, as amended. (A "non-exempt" transaction would result if a
              director's Reallocation Election would cause a transfer of all or
              part of the director's Account into (or out of) the Phantom Stock
              Fund less than six months after the director filed a Reallocation
              Election electing an opposite-way transfer into or out of that
              Fund.)

       (e)    No Actual Investment. Notwithstanding any other Plan provision
              that may be interpreted to the contrary, the Measurement Funds are
              to be used for measurement purposes only. Neither a director's
              election of any Measurement Fund nor the crediting or debiting of
              amounts to the director's Account in accordance with that election
              shall be construed as an actual investment of the director's
              Account in any Measurement Fund.

8.     PHANTOM STOCK FUND

       (a)    Phantom Stock Fund. Amounts allocated to the Phantom Stock Fund
              shall be credited in units ("Units" or "Phantom Stock Units")
              based on the price at which the last sale of Common Stock was made
              prior to 1:00 p.m. Pacific Time on the NASDAQ Stock Market on the
              date of crediting (the "Closing Price"). Fractional Units shall be
              credited to three decimal points.

       (b)    Dividends. To the extent cash dividends are paid by the Company on
              the Common Stock, a director's Account shall be credited with
              phantom dividends on Phantom Stock Units. Phantom dividends shall
              equal the product of the dividend paid on a share of Common Stock
              multiplied by the number of Units in a director's Account on the
              record date for the cash dividend. Phantom dividends shall be
              credited to a director's Account in the form of additional Phantom
              Stock Units. The number of additional Units credited shall be
              determined based on the Closing Price of the Common Stock on the
              dividend payment date.

       (c)    No Actual Shares. No actual shares of Common Stock will be issued
              directly or indirectly under the Plan in respect of Phantom Stock
              Units.

       (d)    Reorganizations. In the event of any change in the Common Stock by
              reason of an issuance of additional shares, recapitalization,
              reclassification, merger, reorganization, stock split, reverse
              stock split, combination of shares, stock dividend or similar
              transaction, the number of Phantom Stock Units held by directors
              under the Plan shall be proportionately adjusted by the
              Administrative Committee.

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       (e)    No Voting Rights. No voting or other rights of any kind associated
              with the ownership of Common Stock shall inure to a director by
              virtue of the director's allocation of all or any part of the
              director's Account to the Phantom Stock Fund.

9.     DISTRIBUTION OF DEFERRED COMPENSATION ACCOUNT

       (a)    General. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this Plan, no
              withdrawal or payment shall be made from a director's Account
              except following the first to occur of the director's death,
              permanent disability, retirement as a director or other
              termination of service as a director of the Company. Payments
              shall be made in accordance with paragraphs (b) and (c) of this
              Section 9 unless the director has filed an election under
              paragraph (d) of this Section requesting an alternative
              distribution type and/or time period. All payments shall be made
              in cash, regardless of the Measurement Funds selected by the
              director.

       (b)    Retirement and Disability Distributions. If a director terminates
              service as a director on account of a permanent disability, as
              determined by the Administrative Committee, or retires as a
              director of the Company under the Company's retirement policy for
              directors as then in effect, the balance in the director's Account
              shall be paid to the director in 10 annual installments, with each
              installment payable in January as soon as practicable after
              year-end, commencing the January next following the director's
              retirement or termination of service. The amount of the
              installment payable following any given year-end shall be
              determined by valuing the director's Account as of the close of
              business on the last business day of the year and then multiplying
              that value by a fraction, the numerator of which is one and the
              denominator of which is the remaining number of installment
              payments.

       (c)    Distributions Following Death and Other Non-Retirement
              Terminations. If a director dies prior to retirement as a director
              or terminates service as a director of the Company for any reason
              besides retirement or a permanent disability, the entire balance
              of the director's Account shall be paid out in a single lump sum
              within 30 days after the termination of service or the date the
              Company is notified, in a form acceptable to the Administrative
              Committee, of the director's death, as applicable. The value of
              the director's Account shall be determined as of the date of the
              director's death or termination of service.

       (d)    Distribution Election.

              (i)    Election permitted. A director shall be permitted, in
                     accordance with rules established by the Administrative
                     Committee from time to time, to elect a distribution type
                     and/or period (up to ten years) different from those set
                     forth in paragraphs (b) and (c) above (a "Distribution
                     Election"), provided that distributions must commence no
                     later than the year after the director retires from the
                     Board of Directors or otherwise terminates service as a
                     director.

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              (ii)   Procedure. To be effective, a Distribution Election must be
                     made in writing and be received by the Administrative
                     Committee at least 12 months prior to the director's
                     retirement or termination of service as a director of the
                     Company, except that the 12-month waiting period shall not
                     apply if the termination of service was due to the
                     director's death or permanent disability. Except as
                     provided in paragraph (iv) below, a director may revoke a
                     Distribution Election by written notice or file a new
                     Distribution Election with the Administrative Committee at
                     any time, subject to the above 12-month waiting period,
                     except that a Distribution Election shall become
                     irrevocable once the director is within 12 months of normal
                     retirement under the Company's retirement policy for
                     directors as then in effect.

              (iii)  Entire Account. Any Distribution Election filed by a
                     director shall apply to his or her entire Account,
                     including both the amounts credited to the Account prior to
                     the date of the Distribution Election and those credited
                     thereafter, without regard to how the Account may be
                     allocated among investment options.

              (iv)   Elections by first-time directors. In the case of a
                     director making his or her first Deferral Election under
                     this Plan, a Distribution Election filed with the
                     Administrative Committee at the same time as the director's
                     initial Deferral Election shall be given effect even if the
                     director terminates service as a director less than 12
                     months later. A Distribution Election filed at the same
                     time as the director's initial Deferral Election shall be
                     irrevocable for 12 months.

              (v)    Prior Distribution Elections. In the case of any director
                     already participating in the Plan who files a new
                     distribution election at the Administrative Committee's
                     request by December 31, 1998, the new distribution election
                     shall be given effect even if the director terminates
                     service as a director less than 12 months later.

       (e)    Tax Distributions. If, for any reason, all or any portion of a
              director's Account becomes taxable to the director prior to
              distribution in accordance with the Plan, a director may petition
              the Administrative Committee for a special distribution of the
              taxable portion. Upon the grant of such a petition, which shall
              not be unreasonably withheld, the Company shall promptly
              distribute to the director the portion of his or her Account that
              has become taxable.

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10.    BENEFICIARIES

A director may designate one or more beneficiaries to receive amounts payable
under the Plan in the event of the director's death. To designate beneficiaries,
the director shall complete a beneficiary designation form in accordance with
the Administrative Committee's rules and procedures as in effect from time to
time. A director may change a beneficiary designation at any time by filing a
new beneficiary designation form with the Administrative Committee. Upon the
Administrative Committee's acceptance of the new form, all beneficiary
designations previously filed shall be canceled. If the director names someone
other than his or her spouse as primary beneficiary, a spousal consent, in the
form designated by the Administrative Committee, must be signed by the
director's spouse and returned to the Administrative Committee. If the director
fails to designate a beneficiary or if the designated beneficiary predeceases
the director, then the unpaid amounts in the Account of a deceased director
shall be paid to the director's surviving spouse, or, if the director has no
surviving spouse, to the personal representative of the director's probate
estate.

11.    ANNUAL STATEMENTS

At least annually, the Company will provide each non-employee director with a
statement showing the deferred Fees and Qualifying Gains credited to the
director's Account and any additional amounts credited (or debited) thereto in
accordance with the director's Allocation Election(s) and the provisions of this
Plan.

12.    TERMINATION OR AMENDMENT OF THE PLAN

The Plan may be terminated, modified, or amended from time to time by resolution
of the Board of Directors. If the Plan is terminated, all amounts accrued in
directors' Accounts before termination will remain subject to the provisions of
the Plan as though the Plan had not been terminated.

13.    DIRECTORS' RIGHTS

       (a)    No Funding or Interest in Company Assets. Amounts deferred and
              accrued under the Plan remain the property of the Company, and no
              director or other person shall acquire any property interest in
              any assets of the Company on account of participation in the Plan.
              A director's rights are limited to receiving from the Company the
              payments provided for in the Plan. The Plan is unfunded, and to
              the extent that any director acquires a right to receive payments
              from the Plan, such right shall be no greater than the right of an
              unsecured creditor of the Company.

       (b)    Transferability. Interests in the Plan may not be transferred,
              assigned, pledged or encumbered. Prior to the time payment of an
              Account is actually made to a director, the director shall have no
              rights by way of anticipation or otherwise to assign or dispose of
              any interest under the Plan.

14.    GOVERNING LAW

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This Plan shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the internal
laws of the state of Washington without regard to conflict of law principles.

15.    EFFECTIVE DATE

The effective date of this Plan is November 2, 1994.

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                                   Appendix A

                             MEASUREMENT FUNDS UNDER
         THE SAFECO CORPORATION DEFERRED COMPENSATION PLAN FOR DIRECTORS

The following Measurement Funds shall be available under the Plan:

       a.     Phantom Stock Fund (described in Section 8 of the Plan);

       b.     Interest-Accruing Fund (interest credited at an annual rate equal
              to the applicable federal long-term rate for purposes of Section
              1274 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, in effect
              at January 1 of each year);

       c.     SAFECO 401(k) Savings Plan Investment Options:

              -      Diversified Common Stock Portfolio
              -      Intermediate Term Bond Portfolio
              -      Money Market Portfolio
              -      SAFECO Equity Fund
              -      SAFECO Growth Fund
              -      SAFECO Income Fund
              -      SAFECO International Stock Fund
              -      SAFECO Small Company Stock Fund
              -      Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund
              -      Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund
              -      Vanguard Growth Index Fund
              -      Vanguard Balanced Index Fund
              -      RS Emerging Growth Fund
              -      SAFECO High-Yield Bond Fund
              -      Fidelity Growth Company Fund

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