Considering move to Indian Hills???? (Commerce City, Golden: real estate, insurance, daycare)

[phreespirit]

I am considering buying a house in Indian Hills, but have reservations because I am naive on "mountain living". I work in Golden and looking at a house on Sioux Road. Would appreciate any input on a few questions?

Are the roads plowed? Sioux Road is narrow with drop offs. Wondering about winter driving along parmalee and road up to house. I have a volvo AWD.

What are the added expenses I should anticipate? Insurance, propane tank refills, etc???
What do people do for daycare?

If you live there, what do you like or dislike about it?

Any info would be so helpful!

Kerry

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

When I lived in Conifer, our house was on a school bus route. So it was always plowed before I left for work.

I suggest talking with some of the people in the neighborhood. They would be able to give you first hand tips. Maybe cellphone service is spotty, for example.

[alliern]

Parmalee Gulch Road is well maintained for winter driving since Parmalee Elementary is just off that road. Of course, there are some shady parts that the snow doesn't melt very well and icy areas that you have to watch out for. You'll most likely be accessing your job via Bear Creek Canyon Road or Hwy 285 both of which, in the areas you'd be driving on it, can be sketchy in bad weather. Good news is that those days don't happen that frequently. Not sure how long you are going to be living there but West Jefferson Middle School and Conifer High School are a bit of a trek from that house.

Sioux Road should be county maintained and plowed. If you're looking into daycare options, your choices would probably be either heading back up Hwy 74 into Evergreen or heading down the hill towards your work for actual daycare centers. Otherwise, you might look into private daycare either in your home or someone else's. If you have little ones, they will get bigger sooner than you think. I see only one property listed currently on Sioux Road and the property is not very ideal for kids...think soccer balls constantly being kicked down hill...

If you are seriously considering purchasing that home, I would suggest you spend some time calling a few independent insurance brokers who represent many different insurance companies for a quote. They can usually provide a quote within hours to 1-2 days of you placing the call. Don't waste your time calling agents that only represent one company. Rates are dependent on how well fire mitigated the property is (and often neighbor's properties as well), the ease of emergency vehicle access, fire cistern/hydrant locations and how far it is located from a fire station in addition to other things. Some companies are sending brokers to actually view the property and take pictures before deciding if they can issue a policy.

Propane costs can be a concern. I have had clients saying they were paying up to $4.00/gallon this past winter because of the shortage. Just ask what it costs to fill up the propane tank and how often it is being filled. Also, make sure you investigate the community water for that property. You might view not having to maintain your own well as a bonus, but look into where the water for that property comes from...is it from multiple wells? Trucked in and placed in cisterns? How much does it cost per month? Who maintains it? Has there been any issues with the community water in the past?

As far as cellphone service...I get none on Parmalee Gulch Road between Hwy 74 and Hwy 285 and I have Verizon. You should be able to get a cell phone booster from your service provider if you find you need one at the house.

Hope this helps!

[phreespirit]

Thanks so much for your time looking at the specific house. Turns out this house needs more work than we want to tackle.

[alliern]

No problem. If you want to move to the foothills you should make sure that you use a foothills real estate broker. It's a bit of a different world up here with regard to real estate transactions and it would benefit you to work with someone that is very familiar with the area. Things to consider are surveys, fire mitigation, wells and septic systems, easements, pine beetle, county vs. non-county maintained roads, schools, and the local community. Good luck in your house search!

[kuhnmom]

We live in Indian Hills and are currently selling our home on Tesuque Road, right off of Parmalee Gulch. We have lived here for 20 years and my husband who works in Commerce City has never missed a day of work.

Parmalee and most of the county maintained roads (school bus route) are very well maintained. We have our own county shops, that maintain the roads. 285 is also very well maintained. Our road is a dirt road, and built by the homeowners, it is not county maintained, but of the seven homeowners who live here, we get together and have a fellow come and plow when we need it. The cost is minimal.

We have a great well and good septic system. You can have city water if you need to. You have to pay for it.

People who built these homes years ago, planned very well. We have a 4 bedroom, 2-bath split ranch. It is a solid home. We have all electric, but can have gas brought in if needs be, the "adobe" across the way has it. We got rid of the propane several years ago because of the cost.

We are one of the few homeowners who have legal horse property and a domestic well. We are limited to three large animals, but we can have horses, cattle, sheep, chickens, etc. We have an old barn(brought up from the church down the street) and a lean-to than can protect 3 horses from the elements.

You cannot beat the type of living we have here, mountain views, elk, deer (sometimes a mountain lion or fox) it's pure small town country living, you have to really want it. You can actually hear the birds sing, and the donkey 1/2 mile down the road, or the rooster across the road. We have a land line but Verizon works up here...Cricket will work on Parmalee. Good Luck!

Parmalee Elementary is rated among the top Jefferson County Schools. There is a new daycare center here, and they have after school care at Parmalee.