Townhome in Highlands Ranch - worth it? (Denver, Lone Tree: maintenance, landscaping)

[mrinc]

We are considering buying a new townhome in Highlands Ranch. It's just my wife and I (no kids) and we like the townhome alot. However, all we hear about HR and Lone Tree area is that they are "family friendly". That concerns me if I ever decide to sell the Townhome. Don't you think will people prefer a regular house over a townhome in that area?

Do you think it's worth paying in the low $300's for a brand new 2000sf townhome (3br/2.5ba) in the heart of such a family oriented area?

[bhcompy]

considering that nice family homes of smaller and equal size(with finished basement) can be bought for less than that in HR i would say no

[livecontent]

Buying a townhome is more about your lifestyle than anticipated appreciation. If you do not enjoy yardwork then maybe it is better. If you like a community type living then is better. If your job keeps you away from your home for long period then it is better. I think it could be a better arrangement for the elderly and handicapped. You may get more developed living space than a home for the same cost, upfront.

Buying a single owned home requires more outdoor maintenance but you can hire out the maintenance and have full control of the costs. Homeowners fees are more in most shared living arrangements and are not tax deductible. Their is the legal and responsibility issue that you are in shared ownership of the common development and you are responsble for more cost shares when some owners defaults on monthly fees.

One idea that is rarely mentioned is that with shared walls, you will save on energy to heat and cool in a townhome.

Some townhomes can appreciate more than owned homes. For example, if this townhome is next to the anticipated rail station for the extension of the southwest line into HR then it is a possibility.

Pluses and Negatives--it is all there.

Livecontent

[2bindenver]

In general, the housing market in the Highlands Ranch subdivision is going well. Better than the area as a whole. This has to do with location, amenities, and schools.

Mountain Vista just graduated the highest academic 12th grade in the district. It's their 4th graduating class.

~proud mom.

[RonAriba]

Single detached single family homes appreciate faster than townhouses or condominiums in the Denver market. There are exceptions but not in HR

[masalamomma]

I think by your post you already know the answer to that question. The TH lifestyle does not necessarily match the surroundings in HR. The audience you would find, when you are ready to sell, for a TH in a largely "family only" area would be relatively small. Why go against the odds?

I would look farther north for a TH if I were you. I would not go below Belleview.

[preppyglam]

i cant give you input on the market there- but i can tell you that i think some young families would like the TH option. we are moving to CO in 11 months and we are considering TH and single family homes. as one poster said before, the maintenance/yard work, etc. is lower in a TH, as well the cost of heating/cooling.

we are coming from apartment living in CA- and i would love to not worry about landscaping costs and gardening bills when just moving in. we are looking for a "family" area, and thats why HR appeals to us. we have looked at a new TH community in HR and we really liked it. we do feel its a bit overpriced for what it is (while not out of our price range, $300,000 is a lot for a TH), and its a bummer there is no basement- but those are the only two drawbacks for us. we are for sure considering it. from what we can gather, new homes in HR go for at least $500,000 (which is out of our price range for the time being) so the lower price point for a TH is a plus.

now, if the price of new homes were that of a TH in HR, then we would really have to sit down and pro/con it to decide.

what are slightly used new homes going for in HR? all of our internet searches pull up new homes and they start at 500K. If the price of a two year old slightly used home goes for far less than 500K (say, 350K), then I would possibly think twice about the TH.

[bhcompy]

why brand new? there are some nice 10-20 year old homes under 300k and fixeruppers from under 200k

[masalamomma]

Originally Posted by preppyglam

i cant give you input on the market there- but i can tell you that i think some young families would like the TH option. we are moving to CO in 11 months and we are considering TH and single family homes. as one poster said before, the maintenance/yard work, etc. is lower in a TH, as well the cost of heating/cooling.

we are coming from apartment living in CA- and i would love to not worry about landscaping costs and gardening bills when just moving in. we are looking for a "family" area, and thats why HR appeals to us. we have looked at a new TH community in HR and we really liked it. we do feel its a bit overpriced for what it is (while not out of our price range, $300,000 is a lot for a TH), and its a bummer there is no basement- but those are the only two drawbacks for us. we are for sure considering it. from what we can gather, new homes in HR go for at least $500,000 (which is out of our price range for the time being) so the lower price point for a TH is a plus.

now, if the price of new homes were that of a TH in HR, then we would really have to sit down and pro/con it to decide.

what are slightly used new homes going for in HR? all of our internet searches pull up new homes and they start at 500K. If the price of a two year old slightly used home goes for far less than 500K (say, 350K), then I would possibly think twice about the TH.

This is exactly why the OP should NOT buy a TH in HR. Because most families moving into the area are going to choose the bigger home with storage in the basement, and not go for the TH. So if and when he needs to sell the TH, the potential buying pool in that part of town will be relatively small verses if he had bought a TH in a part of town geared more toward DINKs and those kind of people. It about the numbers, bottomline. You cannot make such a huge investment purely on emotion.

[2bindenver]

Most of the housing stock in HR is SFR. There are a few attached SFR, a few more townhome communities...The townhomes at Town Center sold well, so did the ones at Highlands Walk.

Some folks like to live in HR because of the location, amenities & schools. But their chosen lifestyle doesn't include yard/exterior maintenance.

It's good to have a choice of styles/types of housing in a community. Most people move within 7 miles of where they live, up from 5.

The difference in CO on whether the property is condo or townhome is land ownership. Condo owners have an undivided interest in all the community's property.