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Old 08-20-2012, 09:35 AM
 
1,315 posts, read 2,679,239 times
Reputation: 762

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Brother in law relocating is trying to figure out the best option for him and his family.Budget is under $300,000.

Which offers...

- The best schools? This is a top priority.

- Lowest Property Taxes?

- Largest lot sizes?

- Conveniences to must have places for them like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco.

- Lowest crime?

- Nicest scenery?

- Newest construction?


Thanks so much for the input ! Are there any areas besides for Highlands Ranch,Castle Rock and Lone Tree
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Old 08-20-2012, 10:55 AM
 
3,125 posts, read 5,047,057 times
Reputation: 7430
I'm not the best one to answer but I'll try to move things along so maybe someone else will jump in.

Trader Joes is not yet in Colorado. So no access from any place.

Whole Foods is not in Castle Rock. Neither is Costco. You need to be closer to town for that.

One of the web sites for best schools is:
GreatSchools.org Search: denver colorado

Another is:
Top 10 Best Colorado State Elementary Schools - CO School Rankings

Seems Boulder, Louisville, Superior, Greenwood Village, Englewood, Centennial, Denver and Aurora (in that order) top the first list. But of course it all depends on which school in those areas.

On the second list for elementary Aurora, Denver, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, and Centennial (in that order) top the list. All depending on the specific school. If I change the criteria to middle school then the list is lead by Aurora, Denver, Thornton, Boulder, Littleton, Lone Tree, Greenwood Village, and Lakewood (in that order). Changing to High School I get a couple of Denver schools, Arvada, Lafayette, Greenwood Village, Boulder, Centennial, Highlands Ranch and Broomfield (in that order).

I don't know if the property taxes vary appreciably between areas. Perhaps an real estate agent can jump in on that question.

Big and small lot sizes can be found all over.

For conveniences live closer to town. The best option is to live biking/walking distance to work. That will provide the best quality of life.

Crime is area dependent but generally not much of a problem in the suburbs. You can use this to check an area out.
https://www.crimereports.com/

Denver scenery really isn't that pretty. Castle Rock is probably a bit more scenic. But Denver metro is dry and brown most of the year with an inversion brown cloud in the winter.

The biggest thing you need to be concerned with is where your household water is coming from.
Water | Douglas County, Colorado

When we bought our current house there was a big drought and some cities were having a real problem with having enough water for the residents. If you buy on well water then you may end up some day with a dry well. We also looked at one neighborhood that they hadn't adequately planned the water system so all residents were having it trucked in. There was no mention of this at the sales center. We only found out because a colleague bought there and was complaining about it. The houses took a serious dive in value with tons on the market as no one wants to live where they can't drink the water from the tap. Another city was having periodic shut downs of house hold water through the municipal system.

With new construction you need to be concerned about expansive soils.
» Blog Archive Foundation Repair Highlands Ranch, Settling Foundation Problems, Highlands Ranch CO


Where is the job at? With this info. more exact answers can be provided. With a budget under $300K his best bet is probably the older '70s neighborhoods that are close to conveniences, located in well established cities with good water rights and have been around long enough that they were built on the prime land with good soils. Generally in the south Denver metro area these have good schools also.
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Old 08-20-2012, 11:31 AM
 
1,315 posts, read 2,679,239 times
Reputation: 762
Quote:
Originally Posted by mic111 View Post
I'm not the best one to answer but I'll try to move things along so maybe someone else will jump in.

Trader Joes is not yet in Colorado. So no access from any place.

Whole Foods is not in Castle Rock. Neither is Costco. You need to be closer to town for that.

One of the web sites for best schools is:
GreatSchools.org Search: denver colorado

Another is:
Top 10 Best Colorado State Elementary Schools - CO School Rankings

Seems Boulder, Louisville, Superior, Greenwood Village, Englewood, Centennial, Denver and Aurora (in that order) top the first list. But of course it all depends on which school in those areas.

On the second list for elementary Aurora, Denver, Highlands Ranch, Lakewood, and Centennial (in that order) top the list. All depending on the specific school. If I change the criteria to middle school then the list is lead by Aurora, Denver, Thornton, Boulder, Littleton, Lone Tree, Greenwood Village, and Lakewood (in that order). Changing to High School I get a couple of Denver schools, Arvada, Lafayette, Greenwood Village, Boulder, Centennial, Highlands Ranch and Broomfield (in that order).

I don't know if the property taxes vary appreciably between areas. Perhaps an real estate agent can jump in on that question.

Big and small lot sizes can be found all over.

For conveniences live closer to town. The best option is to live biking/walking distance to work. That will provide the best quality of life.

Crime is area dependent but generally not much of a problem in the suburbs. You can use this to check an area out.
https://www.crimereports.com/

Denver scenery really isn't that pretty. Castle Rock is probably a bit more scenic. But Denver metro is dry and brown most of the year with an inversion brown cloud in the winter.

The biggest thing you need to be concerned with is where your household water is coming from.
Water | Douglas County, Colorado

When we bought our current house there was a big drought and some cities were having a real problem with having enough water for the residents. If you buy on well water then you may end up some day with a dry well. We also looked at one neighborhood that they hadn't adequately planned the water system so all residents were having it trucked in. There was no mention of this at the sales center. We only found out because a colleague bought there and was complaining about it. The houses took a serious dive in value with tons on the market as no one wants to live where they can't drink the water from the tap. Another city was having periodic shut downs of house hold water through the municipal system.

With new construction you need to be concerned about expansive soils.
» Blog Archive Foundation Repair Highlands Ranch, Settling Foundation Problems, Highlands Ranch CO


Where is the job at? With this info. more exact answers can be provided. With a budget under $300K his best bet is probably the older '70s neighborhoods that are close to conveniences, located in well established cities with good water rights and have been around long enough that they were built on the prime land with good soils. Generally in the south Denver metro area these have good schools also.
His job location is south west Denver...right now he has a 30 minute commute each way and wants to keep it around that

Thanks for the insight...I looked up info on Trader Joes...it appears that Denver is almost a done deal.Is that correct?
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Old 08-20-2012, 11:49 AM
 
3,125 posts, read 5,047,057 times
Reputation: 7430
Denver has rezoned to allow the possibility of one. People want them for sure. But does Trader Joe's want to be here or is it Denver courting them as hard as they can? If Trader Joe's really wants it then my guess is that it will happen if the city sweetens the pot enough.

Rezoning clears path for possible Trader Joe’s in Denver - Your Hub

Boulder is supposed to get one in 2013 but I don't see them on the Trader Joe's web site yet. However they are supposed to have signed a lease but I think they have to build the building so it may not be early 2013.
Trader Joes

So will Denver get one in 2014 or beyond? We can hope. One news report said there was a letter of intent which drove the rezoning. So maybe.
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Old 08-20-2012, 01:01 PM
 
11 posts, read 21,684 times
Reputation: 35
I would definitely look into the city of Littleton, we just moved there a little over a month ago and got a house under 300 and about a 1/4 acre. It has a great downtown and access to lightrail. The costco is just up the road on Santa Fe in Sheridan. Lots of stuff to do.
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Old 08-20-2012, 02:29 PM
 
Location: Littleton, CO
3,158 posts, read 6,120,696 times
Reputation: 5619
Quote:
Originally Posted by CREW747 View Post
Brother in law relocating is trying to figure out the best option for him and his family.Budget is under $300,000.

Which offers...

- The best schools? This is a top priority.

- Lowest Property Taxes?

- Largest lot sizes?

- Conveniences to must have places for them like Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco.

- Lowest crime?

- Nicest scenery?

- Newest construction?


Thanks so much for the input ! Are there any areas besides for Highlands Ranch,Castle Rock and Lone Tree
There are several areas where he will be able to get most of what he wants without traveling to HR, CR, and Lone Tree. During rush hours it is hard to get to SW Denver (a more exact location would be helpful).

Great schools and low property taxes really don't go hand in hand as schools are largely funded by property taxes. Most of the people I know who live in SW Denver either send/sent their kids to a private school or used school of choice to get into a school in a different district.

Jefferson County is basically east of Sheridan, many kids choice into the Jeffco schools.

If you live in South Lakewood, Bear Creek K-8 school is well regarded. Also D'Evelyn Jr./Sr. High (a magnet school) is one of the top HS in the state.

In South Jeffco, there are several good schools at all levels.

He should also look into zip codes: 80123, 80127, 80128 for houses.

Getting big lot is kind of hard as lots in the metro area tend to run on the small side, especially in the sub $300k market.

South Wadsworth Blvd has all the amenities needed except Trader Joes.
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Old 08-21-2012, 10:44 AM
 
Location: Foot of the Rockies
90,297 posts, read 120,694,120 times
Reputation: 35920
It would probably be helpful for your brother-in-law to become a member of CD and post himself. Things do get lost in translation.
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