Needed: Horse property to rent (Denver, Colorado Springs: for sale, real estate, foreclose)

[JoyceN]

I was laid off from my job this past Monday (2/15/2010) after 7 years as a office/accounting manager with a local civil engineering firm. I was planning a trip to Colorado Springs in April to check out the area, but I guess this has ramped that up a bit. A girlfriend of mine has been there and just loved it.

Anyway, I will need to rent horse/ag property somewhere in the Colorado Springs area or somewhere between CO Spr and Denver just in case I have to go to Denver for work.

I have a mini farm---horses, cats, dogs, miniature donkeys, chickens and a few pygmy goats. I want to bring everyone with me. I need to find a property to either lease with a purchase option or rent for at least one year. I've been talking to a real estate agent there and she said that finding a place to lease for purchase will be slim to none. She also said that some properties are limited to having ONLY horses - no other kind of livestock. That won't work for me.

Can anyone help me with this? I'm putting my house on the market next week. The area I live in (Chino Valley, Arizona) is just too small and too depressed in this economy to find another full-time job that pays what I was making or even anything close. I am a VERY clean, responsible person. My house and the surrounding outside is kept immaculate.

I thought maybe if I got the word out in the CO Springs area, I might find something before I move. If I don't, I'll have to find a place to board my animals and I really don't want to do that, but I will if it means I can still keep them. If anyone knows anyone that might board 4 horses, 3 mini-donks & 3 pygmy goats if I can't have them with me, please let me know. Even if someone can suggest a better area that I might find something in, PLEASE DO!!! I'm open to any information. Sometimes word of mouth is the best way to go.

I've worked hard since I was 15. I'm 51 now and this is a scary place to be, but I'm going to take the opportunity to do something I've always wanted to do - move to Colorado. My animals are my family, so please don't write me and suggest I get rid of them. The market is so bad right now for placing animals that I won't even consider it. I wouldn't part with them anyway.

So......I want to thank anyone and everyone in advance for any help with this situation.

Sincerely,
Joyce

[springsbiker]

Joyce, are you still looking or have you found a place?

-Matt-

[JoyceN]

Hi Matt,

We are still looking. Do you know of something?

[JoyceN]

We're going to be up in Colorado for a week starting May 29th to look around and see what we can find.

[treedonkey]

What's your budget? Ag property is far from cheap in the area you're talking about.

[jnesselhauf]

I was hoping to stay in the $1,200 - 1,500 range as far as rent. With regard to purchasing, no higher than $250K. This is why we need to make the trip....to see what the areas look like and what we can expect for what we can afford. I'm open to other areas as long as it's not flat, dry and dusty. I want to see some trees and green grass. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them---as long as it's not "stay where you are!" LOL

[treedonkey]

Originally Posted by jnesselhauf

With regard to purchasing, no higher than $250K. This is why we need to make the trip....to see what the areas look like and what we can expect for what we can afford. I'm open to other areas as long as it's not flat, dry and dusty. I want to see some trees and green grass. If you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them---as long as it's not "stay where you are!"

For that price, you have two choices:
1) Relocate to the east of Denver, at least one hour's drive out into the prairie, well off the freeway, and learn to love the flatness, dryness and dustiness of it. (the good news is it may be green for a few months of the year at least

2) Stay where you are.

Actually, there's a third option but I know that I'm not even supposed to think it...

Colorado is not a cheap state, at least not the parts of it that most people want to live in and definitely not near the city or resort towns.

Picture a 3-tier graph... on one tier you have housing/land costs, on the next tier you have location and on the final tier you have the size/quality of your home or lot. Increase the size of the land, cost goes up, lower the desirability of the location and it comes back down. It's up to you how you want to balance things out, but those three factors will always be related no matter how you slice it and no matter what state you're in.

[springsbiker]

Joyce,

My wife and I have a place available, but the price is fairly North of your range. I would have to agree with the previous poster; to find anything in your price range, you most likely will be fairly far out. Places that will allow horses, are close to the I-25 corridor, and between Denver and Colorado Springs (which is exactly what our property is) will typically start at $2000/month and climb very quickly. Houses for sale meeting that same criteria are going to start around $450K and again rise very quickly. With the mountains dividing the state and most of the populated areas (where the jobs are) sitting right next to the mountains, convenience is expensive.

You will have a bit more choice in your price range if you pick either Denver or Colorado Springs and look East of them. The problem with the stretch between COS and Denver is that there is very little undeveloped land left. The area North of Colorado Springs is rapidly becoming very pricey as most folks with money seem to be migrating North of the Springs. At a certain point, you start getting into the bedroom communities of Denver and the prices go even higher. Near Colorado Springs, you might look East toward Peyton. I am not familiar enough with Denver prices to offer advice, but it is significantly more expensive than COS and serves a lot more people, so you probably have to get even further away to find something suitable. You could always move into the mountains, but then jobs are hard to come by.

I don't mean to be discouraging, but I want to reflect the reality of living in Colorado.

-Matt-

[froggin4colorado]

Go east on the plains....definitely east. Falcon/Peyton might not be able to help you either. My other thought would be Hanover, CO, south of COS and down by Pueblo.

[MagicalMindz]

Hello Joyce. It's already Thanksgiving so I'm not sure if you're still looking so maybe this would interest someone else. Colorado is indeed a great place to live. Can't argue with that but it is pretty expensive.

Most of the advice here about renting or buying ag property in Colorado (Denver / Springs area anyway) is right on the money despite the economic downturn; although I have personally seen some pretty interesting deals this year if you're persistent. As someone mentioned, do be careful as not all horse property permits other livestock like Alpacas and chickens. The rules vary from county to county and even different neighborhoods. Make sure that the horse property is legal as well. Check FIRST before you become too excited about a place. Get it in writing from a reliable source.

Also, get all the information you can about wells and water, EASEMENTS and shared driveways, neighbors and current political issues. There's a surprising amount of madness here when it comes to those things and you don't want a cheaper property near a Super Fund clean up. Go on the internet and read the local news of the area where you think you want to live. Colorado Springs, for example, is undergoing some changes which might make you want to think twice. ASK, ASK, ASK anyone and everyone you can about the areas that interest you when you visit.

I have a very attractive property with views in Fremont County (Penrose) which is south of Colorado Springs ~ not where you said you want to be. We built our home there in 2005 ~ moved in Jan. 2006 but had to move to the Denver area for business reasons in 2008. We still have the Penrose property (50 acres; partly set up for horses at this time; I had four horses there comfortably for two years but needed to take my pipe corralling with me ~ currently there are two electric fenced pens that need chargers; newer 3br/2ba home ~ property has loads of potential). I might have another renter soon but it's still up for grabs on Renters.com. You can view it there and write to me directly if you're interested or have other questions about the area. I'd be more than happy to help anyone out with answers if I can. I did plenty of research.

Anyway, I wanted to make a few comments about what I've read here. We were new to Colorado a few years ago and despite the economic downturn it seems people are trying to keep the prices high on prime real estate. However, I HAVE seen some absolutely terrific bargains in that Springs / Denver corridor as well as in the outlying areas so don't give up! There are people who would rather sell at a loss than foreclose so find an aggressive realtor and check out all the websites yourself. Too many businesses have been downsizing in the Denver / Springs area and the fallout leaves a lot of people desperate to unload properties they can no longer afford. There are also lots of people who are selling and renting directly so hunt them down on the internet. Just make certain to do your research.

My advice to you is DON'T move east to the plains whatever you do! What no one mentions is that there are REGULAR violent storms on the plains and the threat of tornadoes is frequent during the long tornado season. Once you've seen those thick black storm clouds covering the sky and heading towards your home you'll NEVER move out there! Back in 2005 when we were looking, NONE of the 7 realtors mentioned the horrific weather you could expect out east. We figured it out for ourselves when we saw all the pockmarked vehicles (from hail the size of golf balls) and abandoned (literally) homes! BE CAREFUL! Peyton, Falcon, Deer Park and all of the plains are only for the strongest stomachs. It IS very pretty out there and would be a great place to live BUT...we have witnessed phenomenal weather patterns out east that make it too uncomfortable and dangerous for us. We've had too many people look us in the eye and simply lie about the facts so be skeptical.

Even Black Forest, Parker and some of those areas that everyone around here thinks are so fabulous are prone to violent weather and your little farm could be in for some unpleasant surprises there too. I spent months and months talking to people, driving around, studying everything I could and learning about these areas. Just remember, in principle, just about ANYTHING east of I-25 is potentially dangerous.

Our business was in Aurora and Commerce City and we've experienced breathtakingly severe storms these past few years. With global climate change not going away the storms will only GET WORSE and more frequent. THAT's WHY it's cheaper out east. Anything that is "cheaper" has a reason to be. Don't go there unless you can take it. Rent FIRST if you must and see for yourself. There will surely be tons and tons of available properties out east as there were in 2005. They were giving them away at that time and probably still are. There are plenty of interesting properties available in surrounding communities but you do need to take the time to do your homework and seek them out.

If you can wait to make a decision then do so. ALWAYS visit an area FIRST before you make a decision (never buy sight unseen) and talk to anyone and everyone about your concerns while you're there.

I'm from New York and our family eventually moved to New Hampshire for 30 years. I've lived all over the world and it's easy to see how important it is to learn as much as possible about the location BEFORE moving there. After five years in this state and 20 years out west I learned that there's much that's hidden and no one tells you about until you get there and you're sorry. Therefore, remember that the expression caveat emptor also has a very good reason. Best of luck.