Flying Horse (Colorado Springs: foreclosures, HOA fees, how much)

[StaceyKusterbeck]

It looks 90% likely we will be moving to Flying Horse development this fall. Would like to hear from anyone who lives there or has anything to say about living there! The big draw for us is the school. I am hoping there will plenty of young kids for our 2 sons to play with. Is there any down side or anything I should look into more closely?

[froggin4colorado]

Flying horse? Are you kidding?! Drawbacks will be the cost, that's it. It is highly desired, excellent schools, great neighborhood and amenities, near to everything...wish we could afford Flying Horse! Way out of my league though...I teach and DH is a fire fighter. We dream of neighborhoods like Flying Horse.

[baldeagle]

We live in the Saratoga part of Flying Horse and there are plenty of kids here. My kids (8-10) love Discovery Canyon, the club, and all their friends. The only downside that I can think of is the delay in completing Frog's Leap Park in our specific neighborhood. Without a park, some of the kids are playing in the street etc... I don't know the rate off the top of my head, but I think we pay a slightly higher mill levy (property taxes) here as well...

[BrandiB]

Hi baldeagle! The lack of park, and the way the developer is handling it, is definitely the only real drawback to Saratoga. My family was one of the first in, so we were told the park would be completed the following year. That was last year. Now, they say there's not enough in the budget for the park because they haven't sold as many lots as they'd hoped.

Brandi

[debsev]

about lifetime fitness:

we are getting ready to purchase in flying horse - and chose colorado springs over other areas b/c of flying horse and b/c of lifetime fitness. it is an AMAZING fitness center folks. there is NOTHING else like it. i've lived in many states and have worked out at all kinds of places...nothing compares. grab your kids - all ages will love this place and get to working out. you'll love parents night out and the kids will love the rock climbing walls, pools, activities, etc... you will be amazed!

[Bob from down south]

Oh yeah, that Lifetime Fitness center is "really amazing." YGTBSM It's an eyesore of an incomplete concrete shell that's been sitting abandoned for two years.

It's also located about a mile and a half up the street from Villa Sport, a high-end fitness club that has been open for ~3 years now. So if Lifetime Fitness does ever get completed and open its doors, the competition between those two in an area where development has slowed to a crawl is likely to put them both over the edge.

Whoopee, chalk up another win for the brain-dead developers and their bought-and-paid-for mayor and city council.

[Mike from back east]

Work has resumed on the Lifetime Fitness (LTF) building. Scaffolding is up and brickwork on the outside is proceeding. That's a good sign that they are now moving on towards finishing the job.

Last week, I drove by Villa Fitness about 6:30PM on a weekday and the lot was full; business seems good there. If LTF opens later this year, it might make it, they do have very nice places.

Myself, I find LTF, Villa and even the YMCA a bit pricey since I only pay $12 per year for my 38-year old Bally membership.

Flying Horse has a fine fitness center too, which saves driving to either Villa or FTF. Anyone care to talk about that facility?

[vfrpilot]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Flying Horse has a fine fitness center too, which saves driving to either Villa or FTF. Anyone care to talk about that facility?

I'll bet it's more than $12 a year

[tellmeaboutit2]

Hi : I'm considering buying in the Flying Horse development. If you live there can you tell me what you like and don't like about it? We're heading toward retirement and are very active. We're interested in a friendly and neighborly community. thaks.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by tellmeaboutit2

Hi : I'm considering buying in the Flying Horse development. If you live there can you tell me what you like and don't like about it? We're heading toward retirement and are very active. We're interested in a friendly and neighborly community. thaks.

Merged your posting into an existing thread that will answer a lot of questions about FH, which is a beautiful area and a bit on the pricey side. Their club house is awesome.

If you wanted something just as nice but closer in, try Pine Creek (PC), you really need to see that before choosing FH. There is a new LifeTime Fitness adjacent to PC that is amazing, there's also a YMCA very close by, and lots of shopping. It can be very quiet in PC and it's a lot closer to just about everything you'd want to see or do. Zip for PC is 80920 for searching in realtor.com or the local mls site of ppar.com The PC area is finished, there's almost no construction work left to do in there. Some magnificent homes back up to the golf course and are IMO stunning.

I like FH for it being upscale with lots of great home designs. It's very close to the north gate of the USAF Academy for USAF folks and retirees; you can buy tix to their sporting events, with football being a big favorite here, as well as basketball and hockey; ticket prices are very affordable too.

I don't like FH because I'm not sure if the main developer, Classic Companies, has deep enough pockets and bank support to make it all the way through this tough housing market until we come out the other side, which may not be until the early 2020's according to the crystal ball that some analysts use. You have to drive a distance to any shopping, at this time, as the 'planned' commercial development up there has yet to occur. It will be years before FH is fully built out, until then you have a lot of raw land to look at as opposed to a finished area, plus construction noise and dust.

I don't like there, but our realtor showed us that area in 2005 when we were looking. The same exact house design up there was at least $50k more than the house we bought down near Pine Creek HS, from the same builder. We decided it wasn't worth the extra money to live up there.

No, I'm not a realtor, though I often sound like one.

s/Mike