Tallyns Reach vs. Castle Rock's Sapphire Pointe (Denver, Mead: wood floors, for sale)

[Mrs. Mom]

Given two pretty comparable homes and prices, which area do you think a) has better resale value in 5 years and b)YOU would rather live in.

One thing to note, Sapphire Point lot is .5 acres, Tallyn's Reach is .2

[Mikieo415]

Ultimately, at the end of the day, you are the one who has to be happy where you decide to live. No one can say what areas will have good resale possibilities 5 years from now in these uncertain times. Pick the house you like in the area that suits your needs. No matter where you buy you are taking a gamble. Over are the days of massive house appreciation. A more gradual appreciation, if any at all is to be expected. A house was never meant to be a short term high yield investment. That's one of the reasons we are in the pickle we are in today.

[Mrs. Mom]

I agree. We are not looking at it as a high yield investment. It is more that we tend to relocate with dh's job and the past two moves we have lost immensely. We can't sell our house now for what we owe so we are going to have to hold onto it and rent it until the market here in Vegas rebounds a bit--just to break even.

Buying high and selling low seems to be our motto.

[RedSoxFanGoingWest]

I don't know much about Tallyn's Rieach but my wife and I moved to Sapphire Pointe in September. We really like it. We are in a smaller lot (.35) acres but we've got some nice views. Our neighbors are very nice. There are a lot of homes for sale as well; unfortunately a good amount of foreclosures and pre-foreclosures.

As far as resale in 5 years, I think that is anyone's guess with the market we are in.

Please let me know if you'd like some more info on Sapphire Pointe. I'd be happy to help if I can.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by Mrs. Mom

I agree. We are not looking at it as a high yield investment. It is more that we tend to relocate with dh's job and the past two moves we have lost immensely. We can't sell our house now for what we owe so we are going to have to hold onto it and rent it until the market here in Vegas rebounds a bit--just to break even.

Buying high and selling low seems to be our motto.

Why not just rent for a couple years after coming? The housing market in Denver is VERY different from place to place, but the overall market is trending down with no real sign of an imminent turnaround. Frankly, I think you're almost guaranteed to lose money over a 5 year period if you buy now, particularly in either of the areas you mentioned.

Rent, however, is still a pretty good deal in our area, and rents in the further-out areas are especially low, with a number of new landlords who are a lot like you were with your vegas home.

[Mrs. Mom]

With the way my husbands company structures our relo deals, it is better in the long run to buy. We actually finally have a purchase agreement on the house in Tallyn's Reach. Keeping our fingers crossed that everything will work out. This is the third house we have done serious negotiations on. The house we loved and had a purchase agreement on in the Meadows in Castle Rock literally fell apart at inspection. Then we could not come to an agreement on price on the Sapphire Pointe house. They called us back yesterday while we were about to put an offer on the Tallyn's Reach house. I went with the advise to just do what feels right and not worry about the resale. I really like the house in Tallyn's and think we will be very happy there.

Thanks for all the help!

[formercalifornian]

A house in the Meadows fell apart at inspection? Most of those houses are nearly new, so I'd have thought the most you'd have to worry about is the paint colors!

Good luck in Tallyn's Reach. I'm not familiar with the area, so I have no opinion about it, but Castle Rock is all over the place market-wise. Values are hard to determine. Some areas are down 20% since 2005, while others have held firm. It's mind-boggling for buyers.

[Mrs. Mom]

Yeah, it was a custom. It was made with recalled roofing materials, had two additions without permits, had radon, a pretty bad rodent problem, water leak had ruined the wood floors and put mold in the drywall plus rotted gutters, drainage problems and a soddered shut sump pump. The seller lied on the discloser and would not concede to fix anything. It was just like the movie The Money Pit

[formercalifornian]

Gotta love those inspectors. Glad you got the scoop before it was too late. We just entered escrow on a house in Centennial after looking at a ton of houses over the past two years. It was amazing how many properties had finished basements without permits, and the sellers didn't think it was a problem. It's a huge problem! It got to be a running joke with our Realtor, who would call the city to verify any required permits had been filed before he even suggested a showing. In the end, we bought a house with an unfinished basement and avoided the issue completely.

I talked with our appraiser the other day, and he related that he cannot count unpermitted, finished spaces in calculating values. I suspect this is causing some unpleasant surprises for sellers when appraisals come in low and buyers' banks won't go forward with loans.

BTW, radon is pretty common out here, and levels can vary widely even between houses right next door to one another. Mitigation systems are fairly affordable and very effective. Don't let it scare you away from a property you love. When radon is present, new houses may have higher levels than older homes because modern weather-tight construction materials prevent the gas from escaping. Heating bills aside, those single-pane, leaky windows in older homes may actually be a good thing!

[Mrs. Mom]

Thanks so much for your reply. I had read that radon was fairly common so that was not as big as a worry as the leaking roof and mold and mice and rust and so on and on. I believe everything happens for a reason so hopefully this new house will be a better home for us than the other would have been