Quality Home Builders in Denver area (Highlands Ranch, Littleton: to rent, condo, employment)

[Cowgirly]

Hello All,

My fiance and I are making a trip to Colorodo in a couple of weeks to check out the Denver area and new homes. There are alot of new developments in Denver and just looking at the list is making me dizzy. Do any of ya'll have recommendations of solid, quality home builders in Colorado? Good, bad experiences? I have heard good things about Toll Brothers but according to the new JD Powers & Associates homebuilder list, they aren't anywhere close to the top 3. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

About me: Currently living in Silicon Valley and fiance wants to make a big move to Colorado. Just looking at housing here in Cali is making me depressed. We are in our upper 20s/early 30s and looking for a place to live that is relatively close to the tech area (<30 minutes of commute). So far, we have heard great things about Littleton, Centennial, and Highlands Ranch. Any advice?

Michelle

[2bindenver]

Michelle, what you are looking for depends on your lifestyle wants & needs and your price range. There are more new communities in Centennial, Parker & Highlands Ranch, than Littleton.

I moved to Denver from Sunnyvale in 1989.

Do not go into a new subdivision without your buyer's agent. Builders are happy to pay your agent, and being three states away can send you photos, attend inspections and beat up on the builder if/when needed.

(Look for a member of the Builder Realty Council or a New Homes Specialist along with a ABR designation)

[Cowgirly]

2beindenver: Thanks for the advice. Really? Buyers will be happy to pay the agent? It's a little different here. When we bought our townhouse here, they made sure we didn't have a Realtor with us.

We are looking for a younger neighborhood (no kids yet) that we can commute to work in < 30 minutes. Currently, it takes me about at least 1 hour to drive to Mountain View, CA from San Jose, CA.

Our price range is probably around 300-400k. We are also looking into buying another condo/house to rent out (200-300k).

There are so many local builders in Denver..I just don't know which ones are reliable. I have heard horror stories of cracks in the walls...roofs falling off..just don't know with new developments...

[2bindenver]

when are you expecting to move in? And yes, this being a buyers market they are willing to pay your agent 4-8% commission! There are ranches, two stories, patio homes, golf course property, cul de sacs & open spaces, views of the city (denver) or views of the mountains...your choice.

They are paying higher interest rates once they have a CO (certifacate of Occupancy) then when it was in the construction phase...and are willing to cut deals...They do make plenty of money.

If you buy a dirt start, plan on getting several inspections (foundation, electrical, roof, finish) then one that is already underway...but you need to have a structual engineer inspect it if a dirt start, general home inpectors for the rest or industry specific inspections...do not rely on the county building inspectors!

[zbi]

Originally Posted by Cowgirly

Hello All,

My fiance and I are making a trip to Colorodo in a couple of weeks to check out the Denver area and new homes. There are alot of new developments in Denver and just looking at the list is making me dizzy. Do any of ya'll have recommendations of solid, quality home builders in Colorado? Good, bad experiences? I have heard good things about Toll Brothers but according to the new JD Powers & Associates homebuilder list, they aren't anywhere close to the top 3. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

About me: Currently living in Silicon Valley and fiance wants to make a big move to Colorado. Just looking at housing here in Cali is making me depressed. We are in our upper 20s/early 30s and looking for a place to live that is relatively close to the tech area (<30 minutes of commute). So far, we have heard great things about Littleton, Centennial, and Highlands Ranch. Any advice?

Michelle

We are a custom home contractor in the areas you are interested in (which are great area). We also have a home available in Sedalia (within 20 minutes to light rail in littleton and within 30 min. to tech area) on 15 acres. Visit our website at zookbros. com. Good Luck and please contact us through our web site if we can be of assitance. Tom

[steveindenver]

So far, we have heard great things about Littleton, Centennial, and Highlands Ranch. Any advice?

Those are really only good areas if you happen to work down south, otherwise they are little more than suburban sprawl, clapped together houses on tiny lots in an environment that ties you to your vehicle.

Don't limit your choices until you know where you will be working. Your price range is doable anywhere in the metro area.

Generally if you want new you are going to be looking outside of the city proper for 400k or less. Be aware that as of today the light rail is only in the souther corridor. Water issues outside of Denver proper are increasingly becoming an issue with the south and southeast areas set to suffer the most.

There are centers of employment to the North around Broomfield, so the south in the Tech Center and the West in Golden, and of course in downtown Denver itself.

Traffic on I-25 can get rough, the same with 225 and 270 between I-70 and I-25. Nothing like the 101 was at the peak of the first boom in your area but throw weather into the equation and it can be a slog.

I was reading the SF Examiner last week (I'm currently spending a good bit of time in your neck of the woods -- Denver has **** for jobs and they generally pay ****, at least in tech) about the average home price falling 40+ percent in many SF areas, it might not be that much longer before San Jose is affordable again.

[denverian]

I thought John Laing was a good builder, but it sounds like they're going out of business, or at least pulling out of Denver.

[Noahma]

Originally Posted by denverian

I thought John Laing was a good builder, but it sounds like they're going out of business, or at least pulling out of Denver.

unfortunately they got tied up with some bad deals in Cali. They were one of the very good builders in Colorado. As for production builders, I am really not sure who is still around. I have been focusing so much lately on getting things for our custom clients that I have not had time to see which production builders are still in Colorado. I would recommend staying away from KB homes though. there are several lawsuits going against them for defective construction.

I believe DR Horton is still building, Meritage is still going a little bit here I think, New Town last I heard are still building at least in Bradburn and Stapleton. Other than that, I just don't remember.

[jkanderson521]

Originally Posted by Cowgirly

Hello All,

My fiance and I are making a trip to Colorodo in a couple of weeks to check out the Denver area and new homes. There are alot of new developments in Denver and just looking at the list is making me dizzy. Do any of ya'll have recommendations of solid, quality home builders in Colorado? Good, bad experiences? I have heard good things about Toll Brothers but according to the new JD Powers & Associates homebuilder list, they aren't anywhere close to the top 3. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

About me: Currently living in Silicon Valley and fiance wants to make a big move to Colorado. Just looking at housing here in Cali is making me depressed. We are in our upper 20s/early 30s and looking for a place to live that is relatively close to the tech area (<30 minutes of commute). So far, we have heard great things about Littleton, Centennial, and Highlands Ranch. Any advice?

Michelle

Shea is a reasonably good builder and has some developments in Highlands Ranch and surrounding areas. On the more affordable end, Meritage is decent. Richmond American is also building. John Laing was one of the best hands down, didn't know they were leaving the Denver area, what a loss, excellent thought and planning in their designs.

Regarding jobs, the economy is slower nationwide, but CA is faring worse the CO. While I love CA, even if the price of homes were the same, there are some major structural problems within CA that are not going to be fixed in the next 5-10 years, it will take a generation to repair the damage that gross mismanagement by the State gov't has wrought. CA has so many advantages, but bad management can turn any place, no matter how nice the climate or topography into a cesspool, exhibit A-Tijuana. Same climate and location as San Diego, should be a world city, but instead a high example of bad gov't. CA isn't that bad, but the example is stark and dispels the notion that "perfect weather" trumps everything else. Our company just moved its HQ here from CA and we have brought a number of high paying jobs in SW development and engineering. Denver isn't perfect, but the horizon is far brighter than many other parts of the country. A nationwide poll released yesterday showed that Americans find that Denver is the area they would most like to be. To me, that is a hopeful indicator about the general mood and potential of those that are coming here.

Good luck to you!

[NickMan7]

We own an Engle home and are exrtaordinarily pleased. Several new contracts were signed recently in our community and they are still building (albeit at a MUCH slower pace than when we bought in '05). We've had 0 defects in almost 4 years.

I'll echo Noahma and not recommend KB, although you would likely get a hell of a deal. I also wouldn't recommend DR Horton, primarily based on a personal experience and that of a coworker. Several of the "ready-to-move-in" homes we looked at were awful and very unappealing structurally.