$350,000 house budget? Trees? Privacy? (Denver, Arvada: rental, houses, landscaping)

[JJMAC]

Hello,

I am moving the famiy west to S. Denver Area (Englewood, Highlands ranch etc) from the North East.

Can someone please recomend a nice neighborhoos that might resemble New England?? Trees, Privacy, Character.. etc?
I think our biggest hurdle is the Privacy issue in Denver. It seems that houses are right on top of each other with nothing inbetween them as a buffer. I see small backyards that have the neighbors 2nd floor window peering down on you.... Here in Boston, the neighborhoods have mature trees that provide alot of natural buffers and "fences" for privacy.

Is this the norm, or are them some older communities that are more natural??etc... Schools, Safety, are our primary concern as well. I will be working in Englewood and do not mind 20-30 for cummute.

Thanks a ton!

[2bindenver]

Parts of Parker might fit the bill. But in general, houses are newer (smaller trees) and on smaller lots (less than a quarter acre) to maximize builder profit and minimize water bills.

If you are looking for trees and privacy, I'd look to older neighborhoods like Southmoor, U Hills...

$350,000 buys a nice, better than average property.

I saw a house in HR yesterday for $319 on a cul de sac that backed to a greenbelt. A little dated, and in need of new carpeting, but overall a private location.

[Katiana]

Originally Posted by JJMAC

Hello,

I am moving the famiy west to S. Denver Area (Englewood, Highlands ranch etc) from the North East.

Is this the norm, or are them some older communities that are more natural??etc... Schools, Safety, are our primary concern as well. I will be working in Englewood and do not mind 20-30 for cummute.

Thanks a ton!

Yes, sadly, this is the norm. When we lived in Albany, NY, the community where we lived had a 20,000 sq. foot minimum lot size (~1/2 acre). That would be considered a HUGE lot here. I do not know anywhere within a 20-30min drive of Denver or Boulder where you would find such large lots as a matter of course. There may be a few, but they must be hard to find because nobody I know lives in such a home.

Good Luck!

[BenWolfe]

Originally Posted by JJMAC

Hello,
I think our biggest hurdle is the Privacy issue in Denver. It seems that houses are right on top of each other with nothing inbetween them as a buffer. I see small backyards that have the neighbors 2nd floor window peering down on you....

You will probably want to focus on homes that back to open space or green belt. This is a searchable field in the Denver MLS so your Realtor will be able to restrict the search.

If you can stretch your budget into the $400's you will have better luck finding homes on about 1 acre with pine trees in Parker and Larkspur.

[tfox]

Originally Posted by JJMAC

Is this the norm, or are them some older communities that are more natural??etc... Schools, Safety, are our primary concern as well. I will be working in Englewood and do not mind 20-30 for cummute.

You have to remember that we have a semi-arid climate on the front range -- it's the next thing to being a desert. With the exception of the foothills communities, any large trees that you do find in neighborhoods are only there due to lots of love, care, and watering over many years. So, what that means is that you can't find these kind of mature tree canopies in the newer subdivision like Highlands Ranch -- check back there in 30 years or so, if you're lucky. Many new neighborhoods leave landscaping as a DIY project to the new buyer, so a lot of new neighborhoods will never have a tree canopy.

The older Denver neighborhoods often do have mature tree canopies, as do some of the older suburban neighborhoods. There's lots of threads here on historic Denver neighborhoods, but it sounds like you're not really looking in Denver anyway.

One option for you is to live in an area in a natural forest, either in the foothills or to the south which has a natural ponderosa pine forest -- parts of Castle Rock, Parker, Larkspur etc fit this category to the south, as well as Evergreen, Genesee, Conifer, etc to the west. Be warned: to get this you will likely have to pay a premium for your lot, live very far out, or both.

As for the predominance of smaller lots in our area, I'm afraid you'll have to come to accept that that's part of the culture here on the front range -- large lots seem to me to be great for the owner but bad for everyone else -- especially if EVERYONE has a large lot *shudder*.

[doggymom]

Okay - yes most everyone is right about having to go far out of town for a large lot or pay a fortune. But I'm closing tomorrow on a 2/3ac lot with a newer 3/2 ranch on it in Thornton. It's not fancy, but its perfect for us w/ a good/safe neighborhood. (mostly retirees, 50/50 rental v homeowners) Price was just over 250. So don't give up hope!!!

I considered other properties ranging from Golden, Arvada, Westminister & Lousiville before deciding on this one due to its proximity to an elder family member. (Admittedly I wasn't in a hurry and I've been watching the market & specific properties (1/2ac +) since October, so when the right one came along I was ready.) Your circumstances may be different, but I would advise you not to compromise on what you know you want/need - life's too short. I too can't stand the rabbit hutches they call houses and here in Vegas houses are 9ft apart!!

I can't stress to you enough the importance of finding an agent that understands exactly what you want & is willing to find it for you. I was *very* insistant on a large lot for a couple of reasons: 1) I have big working dogs that need the room - having grown up on a farm, 2) Las Vegas has made them fat, 3) I like/need the privacy for my own sanity. I can't thank my agent enough for helping find us a HOME!

Best of luck on your search.

[dj32]

Yeah.. I think the "feel" you are looking for only exists in Cherry Hills, and the kind of lot will set you back 1 million alone... for the land. I long to live there when I drive by and it reminds me of my native east coast. Fun to dream.

That said, you find plenty of "canopied" treed neighborhoods in Central and NE Denver. May want to look at Park Hill, University Hills, Observatory Park. Would probably fit your range, especially Park Hill.