The Prodigal Native returns! (Denver, Englewood: rental, insurance, mortgage)

[Prodigal Native]

So after a few false starts and several years I am finally headed back home!

I would love to get into a long, detailed story (and probably will later on), but after all this time it turns out I will be headed back in just three weeks so there is no time for my normal long-winded style… I need help now.

The job will be in the north end of the Tech Center; I will have a place to stay in Castle Rock initially, but I will need to find a rental ASAP so I can bring my wife and kids up here before school starts. Here are a few things to factor in:

4 bedroom single-family house to rent. The wife really wants to be close to $1,500 a month, but I think $1,800 is more realistic. Obviously, I will be checking padmapper, but I need thoughts on where to live. I currently have a 20 minute commute and am spoiled by that. I don’t know that I can get so lucky again, but I would like to keep my drive to 30 minutes or less. This will be a standard 8-5 position so dealing with rush-hour is a given.

I am toying with the idea of buying initially, especially given the crazy market up there, and then selling in a year or so once we know where we want to settle, but that has an element of risk and I am not sure I can convince the wife that this is a good idea. Actually, I am not sure it IS a good idea.

My oldest daughter will be looking for a community college to go to. At this point in time we aren’t too picky as to which one as she is just starting school and will be focused on the general ed classes initially. Driving in a new city with more traffic than she is used to will be stressful for her, so I would like to have a campus fairly close.

My youngest daughter is headed into second grade and putting her in a top-ranked district is VERY important to us. I am a product of Cherry Creek and while I would consider CCSD ideal we may be priced out of it right now. I am not a fan of DPS.

We have another child on the way, due in October, and would like to be somewhat near a good hospital. Any recommendations for an OB would be greatly appreciated as well. We have a great one here and really want a single doctor to do the delivery, not whoever happens to be on-call at the time.

Mrs. Native will probably look for work after the first of the year, but obviously we have no idea where that may be so the closer to major roads/easy commutes the better. She is not a fan of heavy traffic, could never live downtown or any place too urban, but has said that if she had to put up with some traffic to get to the Interstate she could deal with that. How she will deal with the Interstate is anyone’s guess.

For now I am not overly concerned with easy access to the mountains or open spaces or a lot of the other amenities, but parks and a bike path would be nice. I fondly recall riding along the High Line Canal and am sure my daughters would like that as well.

[davebarnes]

Live inside the boundaries of
Slavens
3000 S. Clayton St.
Denver, CO 80210-6704
(720) 424-4150

1. A great school K-8
2. Easy commute to DTC
3. Easy commute to Arapahoe Community College

Buy.
Make absolutely sure (double, triple check) that the house is inside the boundary.

Found this on Zillow
2830 E Yale Ave, Denver, CO 80210 $475K


[ mod cut ]

[lurtsman]

Buying and selling in only one year is an almost guaranteed money loss, not to mention the headache of all the forms. If you were going to stay in the house for 5 years or more, then you should buy. You will lose 10% on the transfer between commissions and fees. Based on the rental prices you're stating, home prices must be at least 250 and probably 300k. A 10% loss on 300k is 30,000 given up in commissions and fees. That's more than you were expecting to spend for rent for the entire year before you even consider property taxes and interest.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by lurtsman

Buying and selling in only one year is an almost guaranteed money loss, not to mention the headache of all the forms. If you were going to stay in the house for 5 years or more, then you should buy. You will lose 10% on the transfer between commissions and fees. Based on the rental prices you're stating, home prices must be at least 250 and probably 300k. A 10% loss on 300k is 30,000 given up in commissions and fees. That's more than you were expecting to spend for rent for the entire year before you even consider property taxes and interest.

I agree. Don't buy if you think you are not staying. One year of appreciation (if there is appreciation) will rarely cover all the fees you incur and interest that you pay. Rent first unless you find a place you love and intend to stay in for a while. I would say 5 years minimum as a good rule of thumb.

[knail]

Centennial may be a good option for you. It is close to Denver Tech Center, more reasonable prices than Cherry Creek if you rent or buy, Arapahoe Community College is close by for your daughter and if you can get your youngest into Lenski Elementary it was a blue ribbon school and both my children went there and loved it.

[2bindenver]

a new loan for $245,000 would have a payment of about $1200 with escrows for taxes and insurance.

recolorado.com can send you property matches every hour.

[denver_hacker]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Live inside the boundaries of
Slavens
3000 S. Clayton St.
Denver, CO 80210-6704
(720) 424-4150

1. A great school K-8
2. Easy commute to DTC
3. Easy commute to Arapahoe Community College

Buy.
Make absolutely sure (double, triple check) that the house is inside the boundary.

Found this on Zillow
2830 E Yale Ave, Denver, CO 80210 $475K


[ mod cut ]

The OP did say that they're not a big fan of DPS, but Slavens is a fantastic school regardless of the district. Observatory Park to the immediate north is also an excellent DPS school, but is only K-5 so they'd have to figure out the middle school situation.

Also, if they're priced out of CCSD, Wellshire/Southern Hills/Cherry Hills Heights might not be the best match. The desirable houses start around $550K and go up to $1M. That stretch of Yale is busy - not great for little ones.

There is a little slice of CCSD in Englewood, right around Hampden and University. It's a sweet deal because you get Englewood prices in CCSD...

[2bindenver]

Most homes under $300,000 nearby are in Douglas County. There are a few in Centennial. You look up 7373 E FREMONT Dr on recolorado.com as an example.

[Prodigal Native]

Originally Posted by knail

Centennial may be a good option for you. It is close to Denver Tech Center, more reasonable prices than Cherry Creek if you rent or buy, Arapahoe Community College is close by for your daughter and if you can get your youngest into Lenski Elementary it was a blue ribbon school and both my children went there and loved it.

I was thinking the same thing, but there was no Centennial when I left 19 years ago! I have always like that part of town or near U-Hills. I think the down side of U-Hills is that you are likely to end up on Colorado Blvd a lot and unless traffic has improved dramatically in the 3 years since I was last in that part of town I don't know that the wife would enjoy that experience.

School districts play a big role as well, but the existence of Slavens and what little I have read about it makes me think I may need to be more open to DPS.

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

a new loan for $245,000 would have a payment of about $1200 with escrows for taxes and insurance.

recolorado.com can send you property matches every hour.

That is the reason I am thinking buying, even if it is short-term, has benefits. From what I am seeing right now it looks like I could rent it out for more than my mortgage payment if nothing else. Getting the wife to agree is another matter.

Originally Posted by denver_hacker

There is a little slice of CCSD in Englewood, right around Hampden and University. It's a sweet deal because you get Englewood prices in CCSD...

I was also considering the little islands of unincorporated Arapahoe County, but it looks like the elementary schools in the area have gone downhill since I went there.

I will look at the Hampden/University area - thanks!

Originally Posted by 2bindenver

Most homes under $300,000 nearby are in Douglas County. There are a few in Centennial. You look up 7373 E FREMONT Dr on recolorado.com as an example.

To me, the location of that house is perfect! Close to the DTC & I-25, Park Meadows mall, parks, great schools (Pre-K through HS), etc...

One other area I have been looking is around Quincy reservoir. It looks like the schools may not be great, but there are some interesting houses South and South-West of there with better schools.

Any thoughts on that area and would the commute be as easy as Google Maps makes it look?

Thanks for the feedback so far everyone, I haven't had much time to reply as I am rushing to get all the little things done around the house before we move so it is in rentable condition, but keep it coming, it really helps a lot!