Trying not to make the same mistakes

[goldenmom]

One thing that I didn't know to look for is that some of the homes don't have air conditioning. I just assumed that all homes had it as I came from a really hot and humid state. I know people who moved in to their homes and when the warm weather hit, they went to turn their air on and realized that they didn't have it. We installed it in the house that we live in now when we purchased it.

We tend to move a lot too, so I can relate to your anxiety about it. We had three days to find a house when we first moved here. Our company relo package only gave us a short time to buy and get the financial benefits, so renting really wasn't an option for us. Plus, a big incentive for buying was to not have to move our kids to a new school later.

The only other issue that I can think of is that some of the homes that we attempted to buy turned out to have structural damage. Definitely check out the soil and have a good inspector. Or possibly a structural engineer if you have major concerns.

[bhcompy]

Insurance is based off of your credit rather than your ability to drive, pay, etc.

So if you have poor credit, be prepared for higher homeowners and car insurance, even if you don't have a history of poor driving or insurance claims.

Areas of Parker do have expansive soils. One of the developments I have looked at, Pinery Glen, had lots of porches that needed work because of soil expansion(concrete tearing away, wood coming apart at the nail, etc), and those houses are less than 10 years old.

In regards to downtownnola's comments about housing prices, I disagree and feel they are very reasonable compared to the wages we've seen and the housing. My wife would make a comparable wage moving from southern california and real estate is 1/2 to 1/4 less for a similar size home.

[HighlandsGal]

The car registration was a surprise to me too -- it is a flat fee in Michigan (and MUCH cheaper there as well)

The weather changes a lot faster here than in Michigan, and it is a lot sunnier. However, the 80 degrees and sunny one day, 3 inches of snow the next, is a little much!!

I would definitely rent at first if possible -- first impressions will change over time. Lots of people might initially be attracted to new areas -- then day to day living sets in and you may want a more established area....

[2bindenver]

I have worked with gobs of relos over the year - hire a good buyers agent, one who will help you narrow down the selection based on wants and needs, likes and dislikes. Show them pictures of houses that you find appealing and tell them why. A good broker with expereince will be able to discuss available housing options.

I have raced around like a madwoman for three days with buyers who wouldn't stop looking at area/properties long enough to eat until well after dark.

I have also had #1 house fail inspection, and had to get house #2 under contract from a distance...no big deal. They still live in house #2 12 years later.

As far as what to look for - no matter what the house new or resale, get it inspected!

[Mikieo415]

Here is an idea... Rent an apartment for 6 months. That is plenty of time to make an informed decision about what areas are nice and what problems are out there. In 6 months you will meet a lot of people. I don't understand how you can be willing to shell out a quarter of a million dollars (or more) on something you just glance at in a few days a few times. I would rather move twice in a year than buy a money pit or buy is a loosing neighborhood.

[Swampy101]

As others have said. DRY AIR. Forget the bottle of lotion, buy stock in it.

One house might be different from the next, even right next door. If you have a basement, ask about Radon/Radon mitigation, especially if this may be your last move.

Buying a car here, registration costs? Well, I haven't done that yet. We brought our own cars. Registration for my 2005 Jeep first time here was 700 and something bucks!

If you can handle it, I'd rent something for 6 months as has been mentioned before. We thought we loved the Boulder area and almost bought a house in Longmont. I didn't personally feel the house was "it" when we saw it. My wife was pretty certain she loved it. Then we looked down south by Castle Rock and we both saw the house we're in now and that was it. We had to have it. We're totally happy with the place.

We got lucky though. We were looking around for months online and had 3 one week trips out here to explore. We sold our house and was still in the middle of negotiating on the house we're in now. We had to hotel it for a week after we got here.

Renting will give you the chance to explore, if you don't have time to really explore before hand like we did. It will also put less pressure on you when you do find that perfect place to buy. For instance, the owners knew we needed a place to go quickly, so they wouldn't budge on a few things. Sorta like going to car dealer. You're not going there to buy a car right then and there that day and you make sure you let that salesman know that or you're walking. For instance, our current Jeep. I just called to 3 dealers, told them what I wanted, the options I wanted and the price I was willing to pay, told them to call me when they've got it ready. 2 1/2 weeks later, one of them called me back and I got the deal I was looking for.

Bugs? Depends on where you are and the particular season. Last summer, the flies were realllllllly bad where I'm at and in Castle Rock, don't recall about Denver areas and north though. Mosquitoes aren't too bad, but if you're near a water source, pond, river, lake, etc., expect them (but no where near as bad as Michigan!)

Unless you're in a serious concrete jungle, you could experience bear, mountain lion and coyotes, so as recommended above, if you have pets, you'll need to think whether or not you'll need to bring them in at night depending on where you go.

Snow. Boulder down to Colorado Springs should expect one decent dump of snow per season. We're talking snow that will be on the ground for a month or more. I think Christmas Day was the big dump this season. Most other snows, generally fall and melt in a day or two and consist of 2-6 inches depending on your area.

Another thing to consider after you move here is lightning protection. The area I'm in gets hit pretty hard, at least we did last season. I have a pro-am lightning detector system here and I was recording 800+ strikes per minute in a 300 mile radius around me. I thought I had everything set up right around the house, but one stray phone line got away from me somehow and we lost 2 polycom speakerphones because of that. I know a guy on the plains that has had his house hit twice doing a few grand in damage each time. To give you an example, I have around 250 "keeper" pictures of lightning from last years thunderstorm season. I took around 8,000 pictures with lightning in them. I've never had someone stop at my house to ask if they could come in for shelter (life long CO native - 50ish, UPS Driver who lives on the plains!).

Rocks on the freeway. I don't think I've seen so many broken windshields outside of this state. When you get car insurance, make sure you get the no questions asked, no deductible windshield replacement part.

Traffic. It's usually not bad, I come from Southern California though. However, I've watched people in a mild snow storm just stop in the fast lane of the freeway without pulling over. I've also seen people do this in rain. Don't understand it. A friend of mine who used to live in Pueblo warned me about it. I didn't believe it until I saw it.

That's about all I can think of at the moment....

Edit: Just thought about something else that someone mentioned.

Housing prices. I think they're a little high for the market at the moment, however, my wife makes the same amount of money as she did in CA and we did an even trade for our old house there and new house here. Difference? Old house: 2450 sq ft, tri level on an 8,000 sq ft lot and neighbors I could spit on from any window in the house. New House: 9,000 sq ft, 2 story with large walkout finished basement on 31 acres and I can now do target practice on my own property. Electric bill was 450 a month in CA, here, it's 200 bucks. Gas was around 60 bucks a month in CA, here it averages out to be about 120 month (like 180 in the winter and 80 in the summer). Water is free for me, other than the power to run the well pump.