PCS to CS (Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins: real estate market, rental, crime)

[BlitzyBug]

My husband and I are PCSing to Colorado Springs in December (Schriever AFB) and wonder if anyone had any suggestions on places to start looking to live. If there are some places over others we should consider. We were thinking Merdian Ranch, or out in Falcon. It is just the two of us with two cats so we don't have schools or day cares to consider. I realize it's a while away, but July is almost over so the time is going fast. Also, this is "only" our third PCS move so any other tips would be helpful as well. Thanks!

[Jcelmer]

We just PCSed to Schriever last month. We're very happy with the area in general.

We are E5 and were told that our wait for on base housing would be 4 months. Apparently people just aren't leaving. I have heard nothing but good things about Falcon. Everyone who lives there LOVES it. I will give you the link to a facebook group that I have found very helpful and welcoming. Many of the members live in Falcon and will not hesitate to extol its virtues.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/colo...airforcewives/

We opted for closer to the city, as I will attend UCCS, and I prefer to remain closer to amenities. We put in an offer in a little subdivision called Claremont ranch. It is full of Schriever and Peterson families and the homes are very new. We also looked along the powers corridor, and would have been very happy there. The caveat being commute time is of UPMOST importance for my hubby. From Schriever to Claremont is 22 minutes, and that is the SHORTEST commute time we could find. The further north we went up Marksheffel, the longer the commute...and even those extra 10 minutes bothered him. If you don't mind driving longer, you are in a good spot.

The rental market is cut throat here. We wanted to save money while house hunting, and so opted for a 2bed/bath for 809 outside the peterson gate. It's important to us to be close to Peterson, as commissary, medical, dental, fitness center, etc are ALL on Peterson for Schriever personnel. To rent a single family home with 3bed/3bath was outside of our BAH (1249) as we like to make sure we can pay rent and utilities with that amount. For a property that would cost $1300 in rent, we will be paying $1050 to mortgage - so that's something to think about in this area. There are lots of properties to rent, but they come at a price, and if you want someplace, put in an application quick! Many military will put in an application sight unsee before they even move to the area. I would still advise looking at a property in person. Photos are deceiving.
Each application will run you approx. $30, which annoyed me.

If you are renting, the market changes so rapidly that you really only need to look at listings online...3 weeks or so before you get here. I started looking 3 months before because i couldn't help it, but many of the properties i was interested in were no longer relevant by the time we got here. Same with real estate.

My husband really likes Schriever. A lot of money goes into the Air Force bases as they are Space command, so facilities are good. If you have any questions, feel free to message me.

Oh, and reserve TLF NOW!!!! for at least 14 days.

[Sonic_Spork]

I rented sight unseen, and I did regret it very much at first but have gotten used to my house now...still planning to move when my lease is up though. Mike says this a lot and it's really important...if you are thinking about buying, don't. Rent for a year first. You need time to get the feel of things.

My neighborhood is about as close as you can get to Schriever, off of Horizonview 80925 if you want an idea on Google maps, but the houses might be too big and/or out of your preferred price range. Downsides of my locale are hard water and not super close to stores (5-10 min. drive), up-sides I like the architecture and size of my home and my neighbors are great. It's a quiet spot among the antelopes. I'm moving because I need more stuff my kids can ride bikes or walk to (like a community center.)

Anyhow, people will harp on about how the north parts of town are just the best, but Security-Widefield shouldn't be written off at all, it's closer to Schriever, many parts of it are very nice, and IMO you get more bang for your buck for rental housing. GOOD LUCK!

[Jcelmer]

^ I found 80925 to have extremely reasonable home prices.
I did think it was too 'out there' for me. Would have gone the falcon route if I wanted to be further from town.

You did bring up a good point about Security. There are two routes to Schriever: the 94, and Bradley (which leads to Fountain/security). Both are comparable regarding commute time. Again, I personally wanted to be closer to my school, and thus opted for the northern route, up in the Springs, but if you have no ties to the Northern areas, there's no reason not to consider the South.

[MattCA]

Northwest

[jaylind]

We have lived in Falcon 80831 (Mailing address will show Peyton) now since March 2011. I have no real complaints, School has been great (even though you will hear many talk down about D49) We bought a HUD home in Meridian Ranch and could not be happier, the value has gone up quite a bit in just over a year. https://www.hudhomestore.com/Listing...nguage=ENGLISH

I have less than a year left in the Air Force (Retiring) and tried the live in the area for a year then buy thing. What really happens is you move into base housing get comfortable and then don't move. I had two assignments that were 6 1/2 yrs and 7 yrs and I regret not buying both times. If your not thinking about buying did you look into housing on Peterson as well? Tierra Vista Communities Provides Family Housing For Rent To Air Force Families - Tierra Vista Communities

Check out IHeartRadio.com go to Colorado Springs local stations. This might help you get to know the place a little better from listen to the day to day news and traffic reports. We lived in Denver 2006-2011 and 9News.com was a great source for new in Denver. Here in the Springs most of the News (imo) has less to do with the Springs and more about Pueblo. KKTV - HomePage KRDO.com | KRDO NewsChannel 13 | Colorado Springs, Pueblo | News | Weather | Sports www.koaa.com

Do you have a sponsor? Have they been helpful? Are you Driving in or Flying? If you are driving and have never driven in the Snow/Ice take your time when traveling here. You might even want to check out this site once you enter into Colorado for the current road conditions. Road Conditions, Speeds, Travel Times, Traffic Cameras, Live Streaming Traffic Cameras, Road Closures and Road Work Information provided by Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) a branch of Colorado Department of Transportation

If you fly in dress warm until you are acclimated, and you will here everyone tell you to hydrate which you should no matter where you are. It took us a few months (not weeks) to get used to the altitude change then you forget about it. We had a cat and dog coming from Charleston AFB and the altitude did not seem to affect them at all.


If you have anymore questions post them and I am sure we can help.

Jay

[kjbcre]

Jay, that's a great idea to check radio stations that stream over the Internet/apps etc...would'nt have ever thought of that...

[Coloradobound2012]

Hi, my husband and I just got here, he works on Schriever- and really like Colorado Springs so far. I had done A LOT of research on the real estate market before the actually move date. We have lived overseas for a long time and wanted to buy a house to settle down for the time being.

Here is what I found out after acctualy being here: There are good ways to get from North to South but not East to West and vice versa, so looking at neighborhoods on the west side means a longer communte because you have to stop at every light.

It looks further on the map but being close to the Powers corridor is pretty fast. The newer neighborhoods on the north end are pretty awesome but you may not be interested in buying.

Check out the website for Colorado Springs Police department for crime statistics and such.

Renting seems to be very difficult right now- espacially after the fires...and more expensive then I expected. Maybe that will have relaxed a before you arrive. Don't commit to a long lease- drive around so you can see where you want to live. There are some great new areas if you don't mind being out there a bit.

Mike has putt together a awesome thread which will answer a lot of questions before moving here- and you are pro active, so good for you! Good luck, just got here but if there is anything else I can tell you I'll be happy to!

[jaylind]

Here is a link to the Colorado Springs Police Blotter

Colorado Springs Police Department Blotter

[BlitzyBug]

Thank you all for the comments, they have been so VERY helpful! We have a lot more to think about than I ever expected. We are lucky to only be 2 hours away in Fort Collins right now so traveling back and forth is an option for us. My next question is about buying a house. My husband and I are considering the possibility of buying our first house. We have some areas in mind but our biggest concern is when (if you're in the military) did you realize it was the time to buy a house instead of rent? What are some of the pros and cons *you* considered? We are concerned about being able to sell our house when we PCS next. Is that something that is a big enough concern that would make you rent over buy. I would love to own our first home, but it's all very overwhelming! Yikes, help!