Want to relocate (Denver, Colorado Springs, Grand Junction: ski resort, sales, real estate)

[randtbrown]

My hubby and I really want to relocate to Colorado. We are Texans- recently moved back here after living in NC and HI with the military and just can't take the heat- and miss the mountains.

My husband is a homebuilder- works for David Weekly homes. How is the new home industry there? Wondering if finding a job will be hard and if living expenses are just insane. I'd prefer to live outside a city in a smaller town.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[almost heaven]

I work for a home builder as well and the market is ok. It has been better and worse but I as well want to relocate to colorado and every time I interviewed or talked with a head hunter to options were good for me. I am not sure what kind of pay you are expecting? all the wages VRS the cost of living were in line but for me comming from California it would be cutting my pay in half. I think for most of the US it would be the same or a raise. Good luck, I hope to follow your footsteps soon.

[randtbrown]

What builders have you looked at in the area? David Weekly actually builds there (company he is currently with) but we've been told they are not growing very fast in the market.

[almost heaven]

I build high density mid rise stuff but I have built a few hundred homes for Centex, So my viev on the market is a bit different that the traditional home builders, but the theam is the same. Yes it is slow but it looks good for the future. Everybody I have talked with has said that colorado is doing well and poised to continue to grow and get stronger. Trust me I undestand your fears. I will be leaving a position with my company in Ca that pays me very well for the hope of a better life? I feel that there are up and downs with Colorado but the payoff is to big not to keep looking into. There are a ton of home builders there, get a sunday paper at tower records or a book store that sels out of state papers and you will see all the construction going on and where. From that you can call sales offices and get the main office numbers and talk with people in construction and HR. Good luck.

[Mike from back east]

Builder dudes, hello, love the new homes - so much nicer than the boxy things of yesteryear with those tiny closets, thoughtless floor plans with no flow or openness, no pizazz, no amenities, one light in each ceiling as per the NEC, etc.

Here's what I can pass on, after seeing new homes a few years and taking a Parade of Homes in Colorado Springs. My comments are geared to the Springs, where we've been a year, after escaping the traffic and home-price-horror of No Virginia (DC area).

There is much housing work here, off about 30% from last year's record high pace. Also a fair amount of commercial work. The city isn't into high-rise stuff that some cities are, here we're more horizontal than vertical.

The Colorado Springs Home Builders Assoc trade group is at cshba dott kommm.

A major developer in the northeast area is LaPlata Investments, with the Cordera project, at laplatallc dott kommm, thousands of acres, big box stores, entire subdivisions, etc.

Then there is the Banning-Lewis Ranch, 21,000 acres, just getting started…see banninglewisranch dott kommmm.

Fort Carson is bringing 10,000 more troops on-board in the very near future, there is a LOT of work happening on Fort Carson as we speak, to deal with all the inbound soldiers. Banning-Lewis will get a lot of the housing market of Fort Carson.

There are several large ranches, even further east, thousands of acres each. These are to be developed during the next 10+ years.

This city is growing nicely, lots of work. Fairly low taxes, retirees get $20k per person exempted on income taxes, great climate. Tons of people are coming here for the climate, affordability, scenery, quality of life, etc.

Major builders here in the Springs, are Acuff, Allenttown, Anthony, Art Klein, AB Homes, Beazer, Bertel, Campbell, Canaan, Classic, Engle, Equity, Gendron, Hallmark, Harmony, Heartwood, John Laing, Keller, Legendary, Lennar, Masterbuilt, Nichols & Comito, Petra, Premier, Pulte, Richmond-American, Saddletree, Symphony, Trends West, Vantage, Waters, and a bunch more. Sites for these firms are at cspringsonline in Real Estate in Home Builders.

Commercial contractors are found at cspringsonline in the Business to Business, Construction and Maint, General Contractors

Around the state you'll see other builders, some of the national chains as well as more localized. North of Denver we saw some of the above and also K.B. Homes, U.S. Homes and others.

Someone in another thread talked about lots of building in Durango and Grand Junction. These are found with the search tool.

Viewers looking for a new home should consult a buyer's broker, one that specializes in new homes. They will advise you on the better builders and the not so better ones. I'm not a realtor or involved with the industry, period.

s/Mike

[Crackerjack]

Builders are needed in Durango. The area is growing at a fast pace and construction people can't keep up. My brother is in construction and he said he has no free time, just too much to do there. Homes are planned in Rockridge, Skyridge, Dalton Ranch, Edgemont Ranch, the suburbs out in Florida Mesa, the suburbs out in Ticolote, out in the Lake Durango area, around Lake Pastorius, out towards Oxford, and on and on plus many more condos and townhomes too.They are planning and building even new towns and suburbs around Durango like Three Springs, Ewing Mesa and are going to build tens of thousands of homes in the area. The reason homes are higher in cost, in the city, is demand for homes are great but there are not enough homes. They also plan to build many hundreds if not thousands of homes up in the Durango Ski resort area and thousands of homes at Wolf Creek. Pagosa is also building many homes, Bayfield is another building homes, Cortez is another. That whole area can't get enough builders right now.

[randtbrown]

Do you have any contacts for major builders in the area? I don't know much about Durango. Thanks.

[randtbrown]

Do you have any contacts in the industry that you could pass my way? I don't know much about Durango. Thanks.

[CAMom]

I just stumbled onto this thread while looking for David Weekley properties in the Denver Area. I'm just speechless to see how many people are relocating. My in-laws just visited Austin with the plans to scope things out for a possible move from California. We've been talking to friends in the mean time about Colorado. We've fallen in love with both and expect our heads to explode with the amount of information we've gathered for both.

Texas Pros:
Cheap Homes
Good People (compared to how things are changing where we are)
No income tax
cost of living reasonable compared to California
Lakes (we own a boat)

Texas Cons:
HUMDITY
High Property Taxes
Well Water issues with home properties
Growing Fast

Colorado Pros:
Cheap Homes
Good People
Cost of Living cheaper than CA and TX
Lakes (waters too cold for swiming in I hear)
Low property taxes


Colorado Cons:
Some snow (but it'll feel like the holiday and four seasons is a refreshing thought)
Can Get windy in Denver

That's about it though. I can't find any "real" cons about Denver. Not on Forums or other websites at least.

The job market for construction still seems to have room to grow in Denver compared to Austin. Its stretching far outside of the city already there where they are just getting started with that in CO. I husband spoke to a contractor this morinng and they plan to meet during or visit there. Says the demand for all trades is booming.

We're hoping to visit CO in the next two months to make our decision on where we want to plan ourselves.

Good small town feel and growing (slowly) community is Parker and Castle Rock. We set for the Douglas County area because of the schools.

Good Luck too all!