Young professionals buying a house but not quite ready for family (Denver: credit, first time home buyer)

[alphaj]

Please don't take it the wrong way at all. We are just trying to learn different parts of the city.

[alphaj]

I was looking at some of the houses for sale in the Mayfair area and they do look adorable. I think we are moving that high on the list to check out. He just mention Colfax not being a nice street.

[denver_hacker]

Originally Posted by alphaj

Platt Park he still feels is a bad part of town. Do you have neighborhood/street suggestions that might open his mind?

Park near S. Pearl & E. Florida. Get coffee at Stellas. Eat at Sushi Den or Pearl Street Grill. Walk to the Decker Library and Platt Park itself. Walk up and down both sides of S. Pearl around there. Walk up to Whole Foods, noticing the Light Rail stop on the way.

Sadly, you will have an issue finding something for $250K in Platt Park that's not fairly small or in need of a lot of updating. It's a notch or two below Wash Park in terms of price/sqft, but has gentrified quite a bit in the last few years.

You could try University Hills (east of Colorado around Yale), Eisenhower Park (east of Colorado around Dartmouth), or Southern Hills Gardens (in Denver west of University and south of Yale). They're close to the older neighborhoods, but tend to be 50s & 60s ranches on reasonable lots. If the $/sqft is too high in those areas, then you need to start looking on the east side of I25 - Holly Hills, Southmoor (although that's gone up since the school get good), Virginia Vale, etc.

If you like mid-century/Eichler styles, check out Arapahoe Acres. It's in Englewood, right on the border with Denver and very cool (if you like that sort of thing):

Arapahoe Acres Historic District

There are also a lot of nice homes immediately around Arapahoe Acres as well. Someone else mentioned Rosedale, which is just north and has a decent $/sqft.

Use REcolorado.com - brought to you by Metrolist Inc. to look at the Denver MLS. The zip for south Denver is 80210. You can also put in the above neighborhoods in the subdivision field to search on them.

[Brian_M]

Well, for perspective, my wife and I 'online' shopped neighborhoods, drove through them on vacations and Thought we knew where we wanted to be. 2 days with a Realtor, and we realized that there were MUCH better homes in areas we had never considered. That's the reason why I'd asked about working with a Realtor. They can open your eyes to other areas you had never considered.

The home I now have under contract could not (realistically) be any more perfect for the $$$ we had to spend. It's in an area we had never considered, has a great looking neighborhood, near local stores/diners/etc..., walking distance to a large park, grocery store, a few different schools (not that we're ever having children, but good for resale), is a one owner home, etc...

So, I'll again make a plug for Realtors. Shopping before you're ready to buy gets REALLY frustrating (I know, we did it for 2 years!). If you let your choosen Realtor know that you're not yet in the market but would like their opinion on what would fit best for your criteria, they may just go ahead and help. You sure can NOT judge a home based on its broad area without also considering the immediate neighborhood.

Good luck.

Brian

[Dorthy]

Originally Posted by alphaj

Please don't take it the wrong way at all. We are just trying to learn different parts of the city.

I'm definitely not offended, just confused on what would make him think that those are bad parts of town. I consider Platt Park in particular to be on the best neighborhoods in Denver.

Since you are working in Golden and he is working in Broomfield, I'd definitely check out Olde Town Arvada. They have a cute downtown and it would be a good middle point for your jobs without living too far from city life.

[Count David]

Originally Posted by alphaj

So I was looking online at the Mayfair area and in bringing that up I saw his temperature rise. We are going to go and check it out but he has a opinion already before we see it. His impression is that it is a bad part of town. I saw lots of homes in that area that were in our budget. Most of them look to be old victorians which have lots of character but also can have difficult floor plans and frustrating problems. Anyone had experience with this? Having lived in Silverlake california for years which is dominated by turn of the century bugalow homes I know the little nitnoid problems they come with and usually the most frustraing is the vast number of walls that divide the place in to a puzzle. I like character but I think he wants more ease.

Platt Park he still feels is a bad part of town. Do you have neighborhood/street suggestions that might open his mind?

Originally Posted by alphaj

I was looking at some of the houses for sale in the Mayfair area and they do look adorable. I think we are moving that high on the list to check out. He just mention Colfax not being a nice street.

Mayfair and Platt Park aren't bad parts of town. Not even close. I wonder if he thinks they are bad simply because they aren't brand spanking new, fresh and clean.

Colfax is fine over there, and you most likely wouldn't be living on Colfax anyway. It's a main thoroughfare -- is it supposed to be lined with fine boutiques and high-end restaurants?

Originally Posted by alphaj

And let me stop right here and say.... see how much fun this compromise is? He is a suburban guy and I have spend the last ten years in the heart of Los Angeles so we are trying to find a middle ground. But... he doesn't want to be in Highland Ranch or Parker just as I don't want to be raising a family in the "bohemian" neighborhoods I have been living in.. So what is important to us? A good value for our money (the garage as I had mentioned), a feeling of community, and open minded liberal people. I like neighborhood resturants and can't stand the idea of eating weekly at Chili's or Outback and he doesn't want to spend a great deal of money on a hundred year old house.

Why is living near "open-minded, liberal people" so important? Are they going to add that much to your quality-of-life? Would conservative and/or moderate people do that much to detract from your quality-of-life? I'm just curious.

IMO, one of the ideals/values of liberalism is being accepting of all people. Sadly, wanting to be around nothing but other liberals doesn't respect this value.

In my experience, expecting "something" from "people", (whether it be a class, group, demographic or political persuasion) will ultimately result in a letdown.

Originally Posted by alphaj

Oh and we have decided to add Boulder (though I think it will to expensive), Golden, Arvada, and Westminster to the mix just to make sure we give everything a shot. And one more piece of the puzzle is that it looks like I will be working in Golden and he works in Broomfield though he can get a job most anywhere. So freeway access would be a huge plus.

Honestly, if work is going to be in Golden and Broomfield, you guys really don't have much business living in Denver, unless you both want long, unnecessary commutes.

IMO, the best compromise between want you both want and don't want, lies smack between Golden and Broomfield -- good 'ol Arvada. Not too urban, not too suburban, remarkably normal. Not too old, not too new, not too soccer-mom, not too bohemian, just a place to live.

Give it a look-see.

[alphaj]

Open minded is all we are looking for and it gives us a place to start looking. We are still trying to learn what we want out of our home. And we will definitely check out old town avarda!

[steveindenver]

I was looking at some of the houses for sale in the Mayfair area and they do look adorable. I think we are moving that high on the list to check out. He just mention Colfax not being a nice street.

After living here for a while you are going to understand that Colfax is the heart of the city. It is long, it is diverse and anything you may want can be found along it.

In terms of Colfax in the Mayfair area there are some really great Ethiopian restaurants along that stretch.

[alphaj]

So we are going out to check out houses again next weekend. I think we are going to check out Mayfair and Arvada. I found some listings on Glenco St. in Mayfair and it seems to be a cute street to start with. Are there concentrations of restaurants and shops where we could get out and walk to see the feel of the neighborhood/neighbors?

Also with Arvada I didn't see listings that I really loved. Any neighborhoods you guys suggest and same as above with restaurants?

[maximusmgm]

I don't think Arvada is what you are looking for. The highlands might work. Its going through gentrification, but has some local restaurants, coffee places, bars and is close to DT, and some freeways.