Covenant Questions in COS (Denver, Colorado Springs: RV park, HOA, mortgage)

[Alaska2COS]

My wife and I are planning on moving to COS, I'm not too thrilled about this. My wife wants to be near family, even though I would rather stay living in Alaska. Having said this, I want my wife to be happy and to raise our children in a nice/safe area. Fortunately, with my career I can live anywhere I want. I went to college at DU in Denver, and have no desire to live in the Denver Metro area. From the research I've gathered, the home prices are really cheap (esp. in the Peyton area) around COS. On one of the threads I read that a lot of areas have covenants that do not allow you to park overnight in your own driveway, is this true? (foreign concept to an Alaskan). Also, I notice that most of the homes do not have any where to park a boat, RV, ATV (or toys in general) on the side of the house, is this common? Also, we could buy a home up to $500k, but those homes vastly exceed our needs and I have no desire to be "house poor". There seem to be plenty of really nice homes in the $250k - $350k range. Can anyone tell me some common covenants to be aware of when I'm purchasing a house in the area? Vehicle limitations? Thanks! JB

[Mike from back east]

These covenants are specific to each neighborhood, thus there is no blanket answer we can offer.

Peyton is well out east of town, on the prairie. Not much out there, though the Falcon area is growing and getting a few amenities. Generally, you'd be driving a lot to get to the better shopping, eats, movies, etc.

Many SFH's out in Peyton are NOT part of a sub-division and probably have no covenants, same for some of the older parts of town. A realtor can advise you on these, if they can't, IMO that's not a very good realtor.

Up here on the far north end of town (Briargate, Pine Creek) there indeed are covenants that prohibit boat/RV parking unless one has an HOA approved structure in which to house it. Rather than spend six figures for an oversized storage structure matching the house, and approved by the neighbors, most folks just store RVs and boats in a storage yard, which are full of expensive items that seem to rarely leave the confines of such lots.

My area prohibits overnight street parking, allows parking in driveways, requires garage doors be closed unless one is working in there, and does not allow storage sheds in yards. Other areas up here are similar. But there are homes around where there are no restrictions.

There are tons of VERY nice SFH's here in the $200k-300k range, but would most likely require using a storage lot for a boat/RV. Most houses in the newer sub-divs are so close together that you couldn't put a side driveway in there even if you wanted to.

Try searching the national realtor site or the local realtor site for homes that fit your requirements, that will give you a ballpark idea of what's available and at what prices.

Better school districts here are D20, D38, D8 and D12. The D49 district out east of town has had some overcrowding and other issues. The D11 main in-town district has some very fine schools and some that are struggling. There are threads in the index on schools.

I'm not a realtor, but I do recommend their services once you start to get a feel for things.

[ColoSpgsJamie]

One of my instructors in College said, "Colorado's nice, but it aint Alaska". I here it is really beautiful up there. I have some friends here that are from Alaska.

To your question: There are hundreds of neighborhoods all around the Springs area. Each one has its own set of rules. Covenants do not necessarily hold water without the HOA to enforce them (or the disgruntled homeowner), but they do exist on every area. The best solution I would offer is have your Realtor (if you already have one) perform a search for the type of housing you want. They can specify things like "RV Parking area" and so on. After they find the homes that meet your specs they can sort them out based on the neighborhoods (and the restrictions therein). They can then email you links, photos, videos, whatever so you will have a great idea of what to expect when you arrive.

As far as parking in the driveway, most neighborhoods allow that, a lot even allow you to park on the street in front of the house. The more common rule is not to leave your garage open, regardless of where you park.

And you are also right about the price point. There are hundreds of homes on the MLS right now in that range. It'll be a matter of house specifics, area, acreage, new/old, and so on.

Hope that helps.

[Alaska2COS]

Mike and Jamie!
Thank you for the quick replies! Those are exactly the answers I was looking for. My brother-in-law lives in COS and is recommending a good realtor and mortgage guy. I'll make sure to let the realtor know my list of must-haves and whatnot. I'm glad that the "no parking in the driveway overnight" isn't all that common. I understand not parking in the street, but in the driveway is baffling. Alaska is certainly beautiful, but so is Colorado, just different. If only Colorado had a coast! I'll still be in Alaska half the year (or more than half) as I work a two week on/two week off schedule in the oilfields of Prudhoe Bay. I wonder if I'll be able to skirt CO state income tax? Once again, thank you for your information!

[ColoSpgsJamie]

Maybe you can keep the residency up there and get the yearly stipend! ;-). I know military guys take advantage of that.

[Displaced Alaskan]

Originally Posted by ColoSpgsJamie

Maybe you can keep the residency up there and get the yearly stipend! ;-). I know military guys take advantage of that.

Nice... way to suggest to work the "system" and encourage fraud btw. As a life long Alaskan (and military too btw), it blows my mind and pisses me off that so many people have no problem ripping off a state for money with the intentions of never returning. We left Alaska in 2006 and stopped filing for dividends, even while remaining residents, because we had no intention in returning.

[ColoSpgsJamie]

I guess I didn't know I needed to expand on this BUT I will concede this is a forum and some may misunderstand the intention.

The "folks" I'm talking about are moving back in 2012 (and now that they are not active duty do not get the money). As have all the joes I knew from there (if they were residents of the state).

As for the poster he said he'll be there perhaps over half the year...not good enough for you? Im sorry I didn't clarify all this in the original post. I assumed the guy FROM Alaska would understand what I was inferring based on the time he will actually be spending there. I also assumed based on his comment about taxes that he would be maintaining residency up there. Based on those things I think my comment makes sense, in no way encourages fraud, and aligns with his intentions to keep working in THE STATE WHERE THE MONEY COMES FROM.

[WildSkyYonder]

My area prohibits overnight street parking, allows parking in driveways, requires garage doors be closed unless one is working in there, and does not allow storage sheds in yards.

That alone would be enough to deter me from that area..

A lot of HOAs have rules , regs, and covenants that are either unenforceable or aren't worth the paper they are written on.
The CSPD is constantly having to intervene where the HOAs think they are
the law of the land, and esplain to them that they don't have the right to
do so.
Give them an inch and they get power hungry, nosey, allmighty, and just plain jackasses.

I wonder ,...do they have peeps that drive around all day looking for open garages??or cars on the street at night???

pssbbllt

I know that i would much prefer a neighbor build a shed to shove all his crap in than leave it strewn all over.

In Colorado Springs it's city ordinance btw, that you can't park a vehicle of any kind on any street for more than 72 hrs,
also can't work on any vehicle on any street unless it is to immediately restore the flow of impeded traffic, then as soon as you get it out of the way you must tow it.
Also can't wash your car on any street, and parking a vehicle without current tags is a parking violation when it's on the street but when it's in your driveway it becomes and ordinance issue against the property owner..

A lot of HOAs make up their own rules without realizing that they can't supersede City ordinance or laws.

The way I see it is... no matter where you live there will always be someone that feels they must run the roost.... and the less HOA involvement the better.

[WildSkyYonder]

Peyton is well out east of town, on the prairie. Not much out there, though the Falcon area is growing and getting a few amenities. Generally, you'd be driving a lot to get to the better shopping, eats, movies, etc.

Many SFH's out in Peyton are NOT part of a sub-division and probably have no covenants, same for some of the older parts of town. A realtor can advise you on these, if they can't, IMO that's not a very good realtor.

Falcon is a great area!
And only 15 mi from the far side of downtown, you can get to anyplace on Powers Blvd in less than 10-15 minutes...the views are stunning , you get the best of both worlds,. prairie vistas, a mountain view, and peace and quiet, as well as lots of space from neighbors, but generally everyone out there waves and is MUCH friendlier than in the "city".

And i can't think of anything you need out there that you can't find out there..'cept maybe a driver license office or mall, and in that case.. WHO CARES?.. lol

I'd take Falcon over Monument anyday and twice on Sundays.

good choice, Mike

[phetaroi]

Originally Posted by Displaced Alaskan

Nice... way to suggest to work the "system" and encourage fraud btw. As a life long Alaskan (and military too btw), it blows my mind and pisses me off that so many people have no problem ripping off a state for money with the intentions of never returning. We left Alaska in 2006 and stopped filing for dividends, even while remaining residents, because we had no intention in returning.

Well, just for a little balance, it sort of works the other way too. I'm from Virginia and moved overseas for just over a year. I was told officially by the state, and the law was confirmed for me later by my tax accountant and many individuals, that I would have to pay state income tax in Virginia forever UNTIL I would move back into another American state.