Moving from NC to denver this fall help with expectations and recent mover surprises?good places to live? (Thornton: real estate, apartments)

[misssbrittanyyy]

I have no idea what to expect
we are hoping to move in the fall somewhere near denver hopefull in a 500-600 rent range
I need to be in an area where transit runs well and neither of us are moving with jobs lined up so hopefully somewhere near a lot of businesses.
what should I expect to see a rise or drop in cost in?
electricity /water? will their be a deposit my credit score is like 718.
Internet?
food?

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by misssbrittanyyy

,,,somewhere near denver hopefull in a 500-600 rent range

You need to up your rent amount.
By a lot.
Spend a few hours on this forum reading about rent in Denver.
Spend some time on PadMapper.com

I was looking at a house today in my neighborhood (Berkeley) that was built in 1914, the owners have lived there for 50 years AND it has a dark basement apartment. The real estate agent said: "$850"

[misssbrittanyyy]

I have actually found quite a few in that range listed in several places I only need a one bedroom though

[craig1970]

I recently moved to Denver from East Tennessee so hopefully I can help on what I experienced. I don't know what area you will be working. I work in Commerce City (3 or so miles from downtown). The rent is higher but for me it was not astronomical. In Tennessee I had a 2 bd/2ba Apartment and paid $975. Here in Thornton I have the same setup and with in 100 sq ft and pay $1100. I would imagine that finding something equal in size and money of what you pay in NC will be difficult or you will have to get Creative. Other costs that will be higher are vehicle tag fees. Denver has property tax on vehicle so depending on the age of your vehicle expect a few hundred each year. I would stay away from Craigs list. When I came here and a month before I was to move I found that most any if not all of what I found on there was a scam. I would stick with some sort of apartment guide. Im assuming that initially you would be looking at an apartment. Now on the actual move. If you're looking into having movers be careful as with fuel and economy there are a lot of bait and switch companies out there. And, the ones that are legit are very expensive. I had a quote for movers at $2000. On the morning of the move they voided the quote and told me it would be $8000. I ended up renting a truck due to the fact that I was packed and needed to move right away. With a rental and trailer to move my care I ended up doing my move for under $2000 with fuel and about 1400 miles.

Feel free to ask me anything.

Thanks

[misssbrittanyyy]

what size trailer did you use? We are hoping to get a small uhaul to take. thank you for the info and we aren't needing to be downtown denver or anything like that any suburb with a small one bedroom is okay with us I have looked at a lot online that seemed to be good the prices here actually seem to be slightly cheaper than they were when we rented in raleigh. What were the hardest things to get used too once you moved and most surprising things?

[Mike from back east]

The U-Haul dealer can assist in getting the correct size of truck.

Anyone who hires a commercial mover can protect themselves by getting a BINDING estimate, which means that they have to abide by their estimate, which would avoid Craig's issue. If people don't get a binding estimate they are almost certain to get fleeced.

Craig, thanks for being so helpful.

[craig1970]

Originally Posted by misssbrittanyyy

what size trailer did you use? We are hoping to get a small uhaul to take. thank you for the info and we aren't needing to be downtown denver or anything like that any suburb with a small one bedroom is okay with us I have looked at a lot online that seemed to be good the prices here actually seem to be slightly cheaper than they were when we rented in raleigh. What were the hardest things to get used too once you moved and most surprising things?

We ended up renting a 24' Penske truck with car carrier. We got a larger truck than we needed since we were also taking a motorcycle and with my Fiance having 4 back surgeries in recent years I wanted it to be as comfortable as a rental truck can be. Once thing to watch with the UHaull if you go that route is the millage allowed. I had heard but not really sure if its true that they charge a lower rate for the truck but the millage is where they get you. Being you would be driving about the same if not more than we did it is something to watch. I grew up in a big city (Atlanta) so the traffic and more people was not a hard for me but my Fiance has always been in smaller towns so a lot of things she has noticed are here. By that I mean certain shopping and long lines in getting drivers license and such. For me the one thing that was different is that the business day begins earlier . The company I work for starts at 6:30am, but we get off at 3:30 so it all works out. The best thing we did was to fly out for 5 days about a month before we were to move to find a place to live and do a little sight seeing. One thing that some apartments have is Valet Trash. The fee is around $25/month and they pickup your trash at your door. At first I thought it was a rip but I admit it is so nice not to have to worry about it. If a complex has it , it is mandatory so it's not something you can op out of. One thing that depending on your budget that I would try to get at where ever you end up living is either a garage or covered parking. As in the south winter weather is almost laughable other than the ICE here there actually is a winter and the work day does go on and the city doesn't shut down like on the east coast. My feeling is that a garage/covered parking would make things a little easier.

[Katarina Witt]

$500-$600 is quite low, even for a very basic one bedroom. You need to increase that amount by at least $200/mo.

There are COL guides on the internet where you can compare. Most of us aren't familiar with prices in NC to answer your other questions.

[davebarnes]

Denver-area rents rising
Vacancies lowest since dot.com boom days | Inside Real Estate News

"The average rent for apartments in metro Denver rose 7.1 percent from the second quarter of last year to the same period this year"

"The average rent in efficiency apartments in metro Denver increased from $674 during the second quarter of last year to $773 during the same period this year."

[misssbrittanyyy]

for the third time apartment price not looking like an issue I don't need three more people to tell me to pluck imaginary money from a tree for rent. I have found at least 10 under 630 that are doable and acceptable for me, please look to answer actual questions I have asked. thank you. I appreciate all actual help. Craig I appreciate your information very helpful!