A Colorado native's view of living in Denver (2014, houses)

[sammy87]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

Largely true, but, tax policies tend to skew the market place and impact the dynamics of supply and demand.

The itemized deduction for mortgage interest is intent to increase home ownership with the aim of stabilizing families and communities. But IMO it prods people to buy and finance homes which creates nice profits for mortgage bankers. One of the larger lobbies in Washington is the banking lobby.

Other tax deductions for buying SFHs and putting them in the rental market ratchets up demand for tax shelters and income with parallel increases in home prices which inflates the cost of housing beyond the levels that many can afford. This is where supply and demand really play hell with us as excess dollars looking for investments chase a finite supply of housing, thus demand-based inflation in home prices. Our tax policies are messing with what should be a free market devoid of tax gimmicks.

If we took all tax considerations out of SFHs then "investors" would sell off millions of homes and prices would plummet back to more affordable levels. I might extend this to THs as well and only leave tax considerations available to true rental communities like large complexes of garden apartments. Not gonna happen, the housing rackets will continue to make home ownership ever more impossible for millions of Americans.

Yeah you can split it down to that, however CO has a higher demand than Detroit no matter what policy is in place. Its not like materials are more $$$ in CO vs GA. Whenever they talk of tax reform the interest rate write off is the 1st to go. Nobody wants to mess with that so tax policy most likely will never change.

[TCHP]

Originally Posted by DoodlemomCoS

Being a transplant myself I do have to ask what is up with the split rail fencing?! I also agree it's very annoying and it's all over North CoS and Monument as well.

Its cheap, its easy to put up, it creates a somewhat finished look, and the homeowner has to pay out of pocket for anything taller, denser, or more secure. Four wins for the developer, zero for the owner.

[MZMpac]

As opposed to what? Chain-link fencing? No fencing? I thought it was standard...

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by MZMpac

As opposed to what? Chain-link fencing? No fencing? I thought it was standard...

Generally, as opposed to no fencing. It seems to be from here west that people want these "privacy" fences. You go to Omaha, and you don't see that. Nor do you see it in the suburbs of eastern cities. My dad from Pittsburgh used to say it looked like a cattle feed lot out here with those privacy fences.

[Hschlick84]

Originally Posted by MZMpac

As opposed to what? Chain-link fencing? No fencing? I thought it was standard...

Arizona does the stone fencing. Lasts much longer than split fence wood and chain link fence. When I lived in Northglenn/Thornton, had to change out the wood fencing every so often due to warping, or wood rot. Some areas with HOAs wouldn't allow any type of wood preserver, which is annoying.

[crillon]

The growth in the Denver Metro area has negatively impacted the quality of life and is quickly becoming California, without the benefit of the ocean. Traffic congestion, rising crime, rising rents, expensive real estate & taxes, rising unemployment, homelessness epidemic, increasing car accidents and traffic deaths, rising drug epidemic. Yeah, it's all just swell. Check the statistics and it's clear the state is headed in the wrong direction in what was once a beautiful place to live. The Rocky Mountain News used to have on its front page a tagline that read "Tis a privilege to live in Colorado" and, sadly, those days are over. All the people who have moved here for marijuana have changed all that and many of the natives wish they would leave. Pronto!

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by Katarina Witt

Generally, as opposed to no fencing. It seems to be from here west that people want these "privacy" fences. You go to Omaha, and you don't see that. Nor do you see it in the suburbs of eastern cities. My dad from Pittsburgh used to say it looked like a cattle feed lot out here with those privacy fences.

The wooden stockade style of privacy fence reminds me of the office cubicles we had at work, aka cubicle farms.

[Hschlick84]

I'll be making a road trip back up to Denver late June for Comic Con and visit some friends, don't remind me of the traffic on I-25 and I-70. Don't miss any of it.

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by crillon

The growth in the Denver Metro area has negatively impacted the quality of life and is quickly becoming California, without the benefit of the ocean. Traffic congestion, rising crime, rising rents, expensive real estate & taxes, rising unemployment, homelessness epidemic, increasing car accidents and traffic deaths, rising drug epidemic. Yeah, it's all just swell. Check the statistics and it's clear the state is headed in the wrong direction in what was once a beautiful place to live. The Rocky Mountain News used to have on its front page a tagline that read "Tis a privilege to live in Colorado" and, sadly, those days are over. All the people who have moved here for marijuana have changed all that and many of the natives wish they would leave. Pronto!

California is not the only place that has all those problems you just listed.

Also, not nearly as many people moved here for pot as you may think. That is a myth.

Thanks for contributing.

[crillon]

Originally Posted by Timmyy

California is not the only place that has all those problems you just listed.

Also, not nearly as many people moved here for pot as you may think. That is a myth.

Thanks for contributing.

I agree--there are plenty of places in the country that have the same problems, which is why Colorado was so very special. Seeing it deteriorate, especially in the Denver Metro area, is very sad. Those of us who love this state are heartbroken. The influx of new people has changed the state in ways that are irreversible.

It is not a myth that the population has exploded in Colorado--over 100,000 people in one year.

Here you go:
Colorado’s population jumped by 101,000 in 12 months – The Denver Post

That the legalization of recreational marijuana--the first state to do so--has no impact on the influx of new residents is naive. That's no myth. 4 out of 5 people move to Colorado for marijuana.
Here you go:

According to a new survey, 4 out of every 5 people move to Colorado for Marijuana | The Denver City Page

And, I'm very happy to contribute facts into the discussion here.