Another "Retire in CO" thread... (Grand Junction, Salida: neighborhood, buy)

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by hikenbike

I hate to say it but I wonder if you aren't priced out of a lot of these places, especially Salida, Ridgway and Estes Park, for what you want. You can certainly find a shack in town or something way far out but I wonder about finding a house that size on rural property in that sweet spot of not too far from town for $500k. I think the Montrose/Grand Junction area and places around there are your best bet. Maybe somewhere up in Howard outside of Salida. Not sure if that's within your 30 min. time limit to town though. Just basing this on my own property search several years ago and the incredible increase in prices and lack of inventory we've seen in the past few years, especially for that type of rural property right now. Hard to say what the market will be next year but if I had to put money on it I'd guess it's only going to get worse for buyers.

Thanks for the insights. That is a little disheartening to hear. I've looked around a little at some real estate sites (Estes Park, Salida, Ridgway, Ouray, just as examples), just to get a general sense of what's available in the $500K price range. You're right - smaller (1,100-1,400sf), or older seems to be what we're looking at for the most part. I did find some homes in a number of areas that are closer to what we're looking for, so I have "some" hope! I'm keeping the faith that once we nail down a general location and start talking to a real estate agent, we can find something. We may have to give up some "wants" (e.g. acreage - maybe we get 1 acre vs 20, or maybe we get 2 bedrooms at 1,200sf with an unfinished basement that we can build out at a later date, or maybe we have to increase our budget...). I dunno - we'll have to see once we start looking at actual product.

Maybe I have to WIN in the stock market over the next year, so we can increase our budget another $100K or $200K! Hmm, anyone got any good stock tips?!?!!!

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by brightdoglover

Not priced out of Ridgway, and certainly not if willing to buy a lot and build what you actually want. Smaller houses are rare and go very quickly but there are places under $500k.

So, if we bought a piece of land, say for $150K - $200K, could we reasonably expect to build a home (1,500-2,000sf) for $300K in the Ridgway area?

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by hikenbike

Rural places, 1400 sf min., with acreage 30 mins. to town? I'm genuinely curious. Or am I misunderstanding what the OP wants?

You didn't misunderstand. That's part of our wish list. Something might have to give. Lots of acreage might be the first to go, in order to get a home we want.

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by StealthRabbit

Research via local papers / editorials, voter initiatives, community events and groups. Find an advocate on a forum and PM them with your list of musts / wants / dreams and aspirations and reasons for researching their city/ (This has been very useful).

Visit as if you are living there (not a tourist), We stay with local people and they offer a lot of help and perspective. Visit the groups you would normally attend.

Visit county planning and tax assessor and library and ask a LOT of questions (Can do by phone too)

Review local and county budget to determine priorities and focus.
Read the regional Economic Develoment Strategy (Usually required to be submitted to Feds every 2 yrs) https://www.eda.gov/ceds/

Hang out at the local feed store / Hardware and talk to people.

Attend and volunteer at community events to get to know more people (before you finally choose the place)

Make a weighted spreadsheet and inquire of items that get low scores (You may have dated or wrong information)

Never stop asking questions and keep a list of them handy (On your phone)

Be a friend and helper as you search, and most importantly be yourself!

(LauraC has an exhaustive "How to search for a retirement place" post). She ended up in Oak Ridge, TN (from metro DC area IIRC)

Awesome advice! Thank you so much!

I will search for LauraC's post later tonight.

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by hikernut

500k is certainly a very comfortable budget in Montrose. Of course it's not a "mountain town" in the same sense that some of the other mentioned areas are. But one can get a distant mountain view, and it's not a long drive to activities such as hiking or boating.

Good to know that there is at least something out there in our budget!

When we go back to CO, Montrose will be on our list to visit. Then, we'll get a better idea of what the mountain views look like in person, and whether that's something we will live with. Online pictures and videos can be deceiving, depending on what the photographer/videographer wants to show you, and can't replace seeing it in person.

[EricBabula]

Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii

With all the new people moving into the mountain towns, the "vibe" of five years ago has changed. Normally the small rural areas are heavily conservative, but you can look at recent voting data to see how that is changing. Our neighborhood in Buena Vista has grown from six houses when we bought in 2007 to 40 houses; a lot of that new growth has been in the last five years. Some people moving from the Front Range, and some moving from out of state. So with all that influx of out-of-towners, the whole demographic scene is changing.

Of course, all small towns are similar in that it takes time to get accepted. That's where joining a church makes a big difference, as well as finding volunteer opportunities. I think in any town you'll probably find like-minded people.

As far as artsy or music scene, that's going to be near impossible to research until COVID is under control. Normally, you could go to the Salida town website, for example, and look at the cultural stuff, festivals, etc. scheduled. Not this year; maybe in 2022.

Thanks for the input!

Yes, it does seem that CO in general has been changing, politically, over the past number of years. But, politics is pretty low on our priority list.

Church may become more important to us, as a means to meet people. And, we do anticipate volunteering in our retirement.

Yeah, checking out the art/music scene (as far as current activities) will be difficult. But, in the general sense, I'll probably have to ask people specifics about their town/area, once we get a shorter short-list.

So, do you feel a $500K budget would be too low for BV, or the areas around the town, given our wants?

[brightdoglover]

Originally Posted by EricBabula

So, if we bought a piece of land, say for $150K - $200K, could we reasonably expect to build a home (1,500-2,000sf) for $300K in the Ridgway area?

Yes. If you bought a lot and not acreage, yes for sure. There's are very good prefab kits, also. In the area known as Elk Meadows outside Ridgway (and up) there are incredible views and houses and lots well in that price range. One trick is to own by green belt or preservation land or such, and you can have the views without having to own the whole shebang. Consider looking up Elk Meadows, Ridgway, on zillow, for an idea.

I have built twice, once back East, and now here. I am all in on building especially if you can't find what you want to buy. Since I've been here, I'd say there's been two properties for sale in the three years that I would have wanted and could have bought. That's not a lot, plus, I always had multiple dogs so couldn't hang around or rent or wait. It was complicated and not cheap but it worked for me.

Strongly suggest you PM me and get the phone number for my broker from before.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Originally Posted by EricBabula

Thanks for the input!

Yes, it does seem that CO in general has been changing, politically, over the past number of years. But, politics is pretty low on our priority list.

Church may become more important to us, as a means to meet people. And, we do anticipate volunteering in our retirement.

Yeah, checking out the art/music scene (as far as current activities) will be difficult. But, in the general sense, I'll probably have to ask people specifics about their town/area, once we get a shorter short-list.

So, do you feel a $500K budget would be too low for BV, or the areas around the town, given our wants?

Go back and look at my post #2. The Buena Vista/Salida area does not have some of the things you originally said you wanted. Kind of lacking in the green green, especially if you want some acreage. And further than two hours to an airport.

If you still want acreage, then you might find a sad fixer upper for $500K. Houses where I live are selling in the mid to upper $400K on 1/2 acre lot.

[COcheesehead]

Originally Posted by EricBabula

So, if we bought a piece of land, say for $150K - $200K, could we reasonably expect to build a home (1,500-2,000sf) for $300K in the Ridgway area?

Maybe, but.... We were told $250/sq ft and it really turned into $340/sq ft and that was with lumber costs at a lower rate.
Real estate is flying off the shelf here.

We had our house appraised in March 2020. It was just reappraised today for almost 10% more. That’s in a 10-11 month span. Crazy.

[brightdoglover]

The 800 sq.ft. house I built turned out more like $325/sq.ft. but I added a metal roof, ordered a kit for external frame up to lock in, and the truth is, below a certain number of square feet, small built is more expensive than somewhat bigger, since basics are the same (grading, external materials, pipes, etc.) Small is certainly not the cheaper way to go but I'm happy with what I have.