Looking to purchase home – advice please! (Centennial/SE Aurora vs. Reunion area) (Denver: real estate market, apartment)

[Lolabeans]

Hello – My husband, toddler and I just moved to Denver a few months ago from Central New York. My husband works at the UC Denver Anschutz campus, and I am a stay-at-home mom. We’re currently living in an apartment, but actively house-hunting. We’re working with a $250,000ish budget, and while we’ve read up on the various areas on this forum and GreatSchools.org, we’re having a tough time finding something in a sweet spot that is within our budget and meets the following criteria:
• Good schools for my son; he’s currently 1.5 years old, so it’s still a little ways off. At its most basic, we just want a school where he’ll be happy and engaged (i.e. a well-rounded curriculum where the sole reason for good rankings isn’t their focus on testing, few bullying issues, heavy parental involvement, etc.)
• A max 30-minute commute for my husband
• A single-family, three-bedroom home in a community-oriented, safe neighborhood where there’d be a number of young families.
We’re seriously considering building a new home in a development adjacent to Reunion. We love that we would get so much more for our money, and the neighborhoods seemed nice. However, we have concerns about the quality of the schools there (can anyone speak to Turnberry Elementary in particular?) and future resale. We’ve also looked at neighborhoods around SE Aurora and Centennial. For instance, we drove through the Saddle Rock Ridge area, but it was apparent that we’d get a lot less for our money, and the homes required more updating. That said, I understand the Cherry Creek schools probably have their great reputation for a reason, and it’d be easier to sell a home in that area down the road. Can anyone weigh in on whether we have good reason to hesitate building in the Reunion area vs. taking advantage of the good schools in the Cherry Creek School District? Any other viable areas we may not have considered? Thanks in advance!

[davebarnes]

Increase your budget by $100K

"central New York" where the population is declining and the cities are dying. (I spent 12 very good years of my life living in upstate NY (Saratoga, Lewiston, Troy (hell, I was conceived in Troy), but it is dying a slow death.)
"Denver" where every 20-something wants to move to.

Hire a buyer's agent and give him/her your detailed needs. I have friends who were looking to spend $600K and could not find anything in their desired neighborhood until their agent found a house that was for rent and convinced the landlord to sell. They now live at the edge of the Bromwell district.

[SkyDog77]

Working at Anschutz I think Stapleton would be the ideal location for you, especially with kids, but man that budget is tough.

[mic111]

One thing to think about is that a new home often doesn't come with some very expensive things like landscaping, window coverings and all the little things that add up like hose reels and such.

In terms of the areas my gut says that the homes in good school districts will hold their value in a down market better. Denver is incredibly popular right now but some percentage of people will decide they don't like it after they have been here awhile and move back to the east coast. I'm picking on the east coast because those seem to be the most delusional movers.

If your really tempted by the new shiny homes go talk to parents at the school by hanging out during kid pick-up time and gets some real input on how happy they are.

Also give some thought to how silly it is to 'update' perfectly good and functioning features of a house just because they aren't the current trend. Even if you get the latest and greatest at a new build in a few years it will all be out of date anyways.

Another thing to think about is who will be your neighbors. In the older area with good schools you will be finding families that don't care as much about keeping up with the Jones and do care alot about the education of their children. Which types of parents and their off spring appeal to you more as friends and playmates for your child?

A new build, unless it is a green built home will be out gassing toxic fumes for years. Is this the interior air quality you want your child breathing during the formative young years?

My vote is for the old home in the good school district.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by mic111

One thing to think about is that a new home often doesn't come with some very expensive things like landscaping, window coverings and all the little things that add up like hose reels and such.

We bought a new build in July 2011. 3968 Vrain Street, Berkeley, Denver, CO 80212-2251 USA
Our lot is 3000 sqft and we have spent $10K+ on landscaping in the first 2 years.
Plus curtains and another $2K to come as soon as the house next door is built.
Plus $800 for window tinting. We have a 5-panel window wall and really needed the heat reduction.

[billiken]

Most people I know think of Reunion as being really "out there" in the middle of nowhere. Everyone out there got excited when a grocery store finally opened. The few people I do know that live there (3 total) don't have kids yet, and plan to "move up" by the time they have kids, or send the kids to private school. Also, the most direct way to the hospital involves a tollroad (adds up). Southern Aurora is more developed with the big name school district. Probably more security from a property value standpoint. $250k is a tough budget in Denver (much different from upstate NY).

[monalua]

This is hard. We've lived in Reunion for the last 6 years. We have young kids and love everything about it EXCEPT for the schools. My husband works near the hospital (Alameda and Chambers) and his commute is 30-40 minutes, but he really likes that he doesn't have to get on the interstate (so rarely sits in traffic). We can get to University in 20 minutes if it's not during rush hour (my son was born there).

It's also only 30 minutes or so to downtown depending on time of day (can get there in 20ish minutes not during rush hour). I think we have one of the quickest/easiest drives downtown of all the Denver 'burbs. And only 15 minutes to DIA which is wonderful for travel.

The schools here do leave much to be desired. My kids are not in school yet, so I only have secondhand knowledge of this from neighbors, friends, teachers, etc. Test scores are not high thus the schools are not highly rated. Lots of English as a second language kids. Overcrowding, high student-teacher ratios. We have charter schools here too which are much more highly rated, but I'm told it's because they put high emphasis on standardized testing and teaching to the test. At this point we will either homeschool or carpool with neighbors to a private school (not close, 30 minutes away). We are hoping there will be more options for school here by the time the kids hit high school.

We really do love the Reunion neighborhood though. Awesome parks, playgrounds, lakes, jogging trails, rec center, outdoor pool with slide, fun community events. It feels like it is its own little town. Tons of kids and stay at home moms, super easy to make friends and find playdates. But lots of people without kids too - pilots, retirees, cops, people who work in Aurora, etc. We've lived in Commerce City for 9 years and truly most people we've met here are kind and down to earth. I don't think there is a "keeping up with the Jones" mentality here AT ALL. Oh and it's really quiet out here, which we love. Not much shopping etc. in the immediate vicinity, but we do have one if the biggest and nicest grocery stores (King Soopers) in the state now which is awesome!

Property taxes are astronomical in Reunion, but HOA dues are cheap.

I stay at home and hubby works in Aurora, our budget is tight so this just fits us right now. Southeast Aurora neighborhoods are wonderful too, schools definitely better, but much more expensive, really not much closer to hubby's work and longer to downtown. We have also looked extensively in Centennial/Littleton, great schools but older homes at the top of our price range, we'd have no money left for projects or repairs. We love having a new low-maintenance high-efficiency home. Stapleton would be a good commute to Aurora, some good school options, but not much in our price range and it just feels much more cramped (tiny lots) to me.

There are pros and cons to every neighborhood! Good luck, it is a hard decision. PM me if you have any questions. Sorry so long, apologize for typos, on my phone.

[monalua]

Forgot to add, we sold our home here last month in less than a day. And are now building a new one, still in Reunion. Real estate market in Denver had been hot. Commerce City was plagued with foreclosures a few years ago, things have definitely improved. Hard to tell what the future holds though. No doubt homes in Cherry Creek school district will hold their values better. Everything has a tradeoff. In my experience, no way you'll find something that meets all your criteria for $250K.

[Claire S.]

I'm going to other comments and advise you to consider some of the expenses after the home is built. We just built a new place in Stapleton and have spent about $15K in cash on landscaping, appliances (washer, dryer, refrigerator), window treatments, etc., etc. Also keep in mind that the list price is typically bare bones - upgrades through the builder often come at a premium, so pay attention to the included features and ask if they'll share the costs for typically added upgrades. Most builders will tell you that the average buyer will add another 15% in upgrades, but it really depends on the standard features. I have some neighbors that upgraded over 25% from the base price.

All said and told, I actually like the reunion development. I think it has a lot of good things going for it. I think it would be wise to consider rebuilds in that area, because they will come with the landscaping, and oftentimes the appliances and window treatments. That way, you can use your cash for moving expenses and new furniture (or other things). Your price point can find a house in the Cherry Creek School District - you will just have to consider slightly older homes than what you can find in reunion.

[Claire S.]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

Working at Anschutz I think Stapleton would be the ideal location for you, especially with kids, but man that budget is tough.

Stapleton would be great, but the cheapest single family detached homes (and paired homes) are selling for over $300k.