Aurora or ? (Denver, Center: cul-de-sac, real estate, foreclosure)

[hazelnut7]

Hoping for some advice I am looking to buy a house/townhouse under $220,000. I would prefer it to be fairly new (within last 10-15 yrs) and to be in a somewhat urban area (close to stores, etc, not in a suburban cul-de-sac type neighborhood). I need to be close to the new CU Health Sciences Center at Fitzsimons and have thus been looking in Aurora. I may stay here in the Denver area for the next 6-7 years, but it is a possibility that I would need to move in as little as 4 years and would need to sell. I have been advised that buying in Aurora would not be the best idea, as home prices appreciate much slower than other areas of metro Denver. I am concerned about not being able to resell if I buy in Aurora. I also like the Stapleton and Lowry areas and they would be close, but the prices are much higher. I am wondering if anyone could suggest any other nice areas that I may be missing. Thank you

[yodi]

Look into Hale, Mayfair and Montclair. 80220. It's the area surrounding the old University Hospital, near Rose and VA hospitals. There are plans to redevelop the area so it could be a better bet as far as resale down the road. There are definitely places in your price range over there but they may not be as new as you'd like.

[2bindenver]

There are 40 from $175 to $225 houses on the market with at least 2 bed, 3 baths, 2 car garage and built since 1995 in Aurora.

[Jerry Bckr]

Well, Aurora may appreciate more slowly, but it's coming from a lower point. The area around where you'll be working is appreciating above average, but there isn't much stuff there that's newer. Your time frame for selling will allow time for appreciation. Just remember, newer stuff sells at a premium and then when 6-7 more years pass, it's not as new anymore and then falls more into the mix of the older homes, unless the HOA does a bang up job of keeping it up. Can't say they all do that. That's because it takes money and residents resist increases or special assessments.

[the3Ds]

Originally Posted by hazelnut7

I may stay here in the Denver area for the next 6-7 years, but it is a possibility that I would need to move in as little as 4 years and would need to sell.

We rented for a few years when we were in the Air Force because we knew we'd be moving around every 3 years. It seemed like too much of a hassle to put a house on the market and try to sell it just because we got orders to move to another part of the country. Renting for us could not have worked out better and we got to live in some fantastic homes that we would have never been able to afford to buy.

What I also learned from more than 9 years of renting and saving up all of our money for the blessed day when we finally could settle down and buy a house of our own was that it's not a wise investment to buy ANYTHING resembling a house/condo if you are not FOR SURE going to be there for at least 3 years. It takes almost 3 years for your mortgage payment to actually be applied to anything other than the interest. We bought a home exactly a year ago for $265,000, and after paying more than $16,000 for a year of mortgage payments (not including homeowner's insurance and property taxes), our mortgage balance is a whopping $2,500 less. That means that $13,500 has seemingly disappeared. Imagine if we were trying to sell our house right now!

I also took a lot of time to research mortgages, pros and cons of buying vs renting, what to look for in a house, etc. The mortgage mess at least helped to calm things down. Homes should not rise in value more than $100,000 per year (as they were doing in Arizona) and I think perhaps you need to look at why you are actually buying a home that you aren't for sure going to be in long enough to make any money after paying your closing costs and realtor fees. On a $200,000 house, your closing costs would likely be more than what the normal appreciation would be on your house after 3 years. Most of real estate is luck, especially to those of us who don't make our living in the housing market. Even in a so-called "great" area of Denver, there is no guarantee that your home will sell for a lot more when it's time for you to put it on the market.

I would rent if I were you. There are a lot of homes/townhomes/condos for rent right now since people are trying to not lose their homes to foreclosure and finding a renter is a good option for many. Renting also allows you the freedom to move, if necessary, instead of going through the hassle of putting your house on the market and trying to coordinate closing dates with your moving dates (and all the other hassle of selling a home).