Are there any Denver burbs with older homes and tree lined streets? (Littleton: real estate, 2014)

[TigerLily24]

There are many areas in SE Aurora with tree-lined streets and not-so-new homes. I live on a lovely street with huge pine trees and other mature landscaping. The houses are not vintage, being just past the 30-year mark, but we definitely don't have that "bare" look one sees in newer neighborhoods.

For something really classic though, definitely want to look in Denver proper. Lots of great looking older houses on tree-lined streets near the capital, though of course the prices are astronomical.

[Mike from back east]

Originally Posted by BarryK123

Having lived half my life in a "Geo Washington slept here" town, and having looked at some old homes (circa 1700s and 1800s) before building a new house in the late 80s, I can tell you they may sound romantic, but unless MAJOR renovations have been done, they're not very practical or comfy. Think poor insulation, drafty, small closets, no central A/C, various states of disrepair, etc. I realize "old" in Denver is pre-1960, but similar issues apply.

Amen to that. Things like lead pipe plumbing, asbestos, lead paint, knob and tube wiring, fuse boxes, ancient heating plants, lack of closets, poor foundations, termites, few lighting fixtures, rot, mildew, rodents and many other issues can be found in some of those old charmers. IIRC there was a movie called The Money Pit about such old homes.

[KaaBoom]

Originally Posted by marpot

My husband and I are going to be relocating to Denver in the next year or so from Chicago. We currently live in an old building (1890s) in an old city neighborhood with lots of trees and character.

For tree lined streets with character, I suggest sticking with East Denver. From Broadway on the west to Quebec St. on the east and from 38th Ave. (or Colfax Ave. for safety reasons) on the north to Hampden Ave. on the south.

Yes, you can find trees in many of the suburbs. But I think you will find the right combination of old city neighborhood and lots of trees, only on the east side of Denver. I'm a fan of old neighborhoods with trees.

[Claire S.]

Originally Posted by BarryK123

Having lived half my life in a "Geo Washington slept here" town, and having looked at some old homes (circa 1700s and 1800s) before building a new house in the late 80s, I can tell you they may sound romantic, but unless MAJOR renovations have been done, they're not very practical or comfy. Think poor insulation, drafty, small closets, no central A/C, various states of disrepair, etc. I realize "old" in Denver is pre-1960, but similar issues apply.

Word...we love old homes but we ended up moving in new build with architecture inspired by the classic bungalow. I've got old-school charm with a true master bath and walk-in closets! Just wish I had bigger trees , but I don't miss the foundations issues and the drafty, leaky basement of our previous home---a 1941 brick ranch.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by Claire S.

Word...we love old homes but we ended up moving in new build with architecture inspired by the classic bungalow. I've got old-school charm with a true master bath and walk-in closets! Just wish I had bigger trees , but I don't miss the foundations issues and the drafty, leaky basement of our previous home---a 1941 brick ranch.

I agree. I used to want a 100 year old house, but glad we have a new (well, 9 years old now) house that has a good amount of the old-time charm. Things like hardwoods throughout the entire house, thick baseboards/trim, solid panel doors, wrap around front porch. You kind of get the best of both worlds.

[marpot]

Hey thanks for all the replies!
Good to get info and opinions from people in the area. My inlaws are pretty biased and just want us in Castle Rock no matter what, so asking them is kinda pointless. I also would prefer a bit of a distance between us and to not be in the same town, so I had to look elsewhere for opinions!

We actually happened to buy an old building here that was partially rehabbed and then we did the rest of the work ourselves. And ironically my husband is a builder so he's in the business of building new homes in new subdivisions! So I guess it might be weird that I'd want a fixer upper, but we are trying to compromise somewhat on this living situation, seeing as I am not really a fan of moving away in the first place. The only reason we are relocating is due to the fact that the real estate market in Chicago is taking an awfully long time to repair itself and his family in CR (also in construction) has been pretty busy with jobs for quite a while. Unfortunately for me, right? Meh.

So essentially, some work is to be expected IF we went with an older home, but I am not necessarily married to the idea of an old house. I guess I was just wondering if a majority of the suburbs are newer areas since I really only have experience in Castle Rock, Parker and Lone Tree and those areas seem pretty new to me. Again, not that there is anything wrong with a new subdivision, I just was looking around at options. So thanks for answering my questions about other burbs. Very helpful and I've got a lot to research now.

I do like Denver a lot, but over all it is going to be a tough transition since it does seem pretty different than my hometown here. Heh. Anyways, thanks for the infos, people!

[marpot]

Originally Posted by Claire S.

Word...we love old homes but we ended up moving in new build with architecture inspired by the classic bungalow. I've got old-school charm with a true master bath and walk-in closets! Just wish I had bigger trees , but I don't miss the foundations issues and the drafty, leaky basement of our previous home---a 1941 brick ranch.

I hear ya on this! I think this is what I will probably end up going for too but I just wanted to see what else there was. I totally don't jive on my tiny closets and narrow bedrooms despite the tall ceilings, original wood work and otherwise "vintage" feel of our current place. Heh.

[headingtoDenver]

My wife and I just purchased a home in Castle Rock. We originally wanted an older home with the same characteristics you are mentioning. As others have stated, the houses we found had tiny everything. Also, most didn't have a garage and if they did, it was a single car garage. The worst thing we noticed was the size of the kitchens. Something to keep in mind is that refrigerators were a lot smaller back when the house was built. Also, there were no microwaves so unless the kitchen has been gutted, chances are you are looking at a complete kitchen remodel. This could be fine if you eat out a lot.

When we did find an older home with everything updated, they wanted a small fortune for it.

Factor this stuff along with wiring, heating, insulation, and such, we opted for a newer home with no issues. I also look at it this way. There are plenty of trees planted on our street right now, but they are all juvenile trees. Eventually, we will have a really nice tree lined street. It will just take 10 years. lol

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by BarryK123

Having lived half my life in a "Geo Washington slept here" town, and having looked at some old homes (circa 1700s and 1800s) before building a new house in the late 80s, I can tell you they may sound romantic, but unless MAJOR renovations have been done, they're not very practical or comfy. Think poor insulation, drafty, small closets, no central A/C, various states of disrepair, etc. I realize "old" in Denver is pre-1960, but similar issues apply.

I grew up in what I like to call "This Old House", built 1918. In fact, one time I saw a picture of a house just like my parents' in TOH magazine. I read the article to see what they did to make the house a little more "user-friendly". Well, for one thing, they built an addition almost as big as the house!

My father was skilled at carpentry, etc, and he loved doing home improvement projects. However, there were some problems he couldn't overcome. When the energy crisis of the 70s hit, he wanted to make the house more energy efficient, and nothing he did really improved the efficiency much. The funny (ironic) thing is, my parents bought this house in 1956. It was only 38 years old, but it seemed "old" at the time b/c home building changed a lot after WW II. It didn't have a place in the kitchen for a refrigerator, b/c in 1918, most people didn't HAVE refrigerators. My dad was an engineer, and figured out how to get a fridge in the kitchen, but the previous owners had theirs in a hallway. The first Christmas we were in the house, someone made a piece of toast while the Christmas tree lights were on, and the lights dimmed. We had an electrician take a look, and surprise! It needed to be rewired. The wiring of 1918 wasn't adequate 38 years later. And so on.

As BarryK123 says, similar issues apply in Denver's older homes, and there are a lot of 1920s bungalows in the city. Also, when we moved to Denver in 1980, DH and I were surprised to find that until quite recently, say maybe 1975, a lot of homes in Denver were built with single pane windows. A lot of people we knew were slowly installing storm windows. Now with "This Old House" and even the house my folks owned before that, down by a steel mill, there were storm windows. They were the type that you put on in the fall and took off and replaced with screens in the spring. DH's house in Omaha, built about 1920, had the same.

[marpot]

Originally Posted by headingtoDenver

My wife and I just purchased a home in Castle Rock. We originally wanted an older home with the same characteristics you are mentioning. As others have stated, the houses we found had tiny everything. Also, most didn't have a garage and if they did, it was a single car garage. The worst thing we noticed was the size of the kitchens. Something to keep in mind is that refrigerators were a lot smaller back when the house was built. Also, there were no microwaves so unless the kitchen has been gutted, chances are you are looking at a complete kitchen remodel. This could be fine if you eat out a lot.

When we did find an older home with everything updated, they wanted a small fortune for it.

Factor this stuff along with wiring, heating, insulation, and such, we opted for a newer home with no issues. I also look at it this way. There are plenty of trees planted on our street right now, but they are all juvenile trees. Eventually, we will have a really nice tree lined street. It will just take 10 years. lol

I suppose in my original post i should have mentioned that we are in real estate/construction, so we know that living in an older home takes money and work. For this reason, gutting a place, remodleling a kitchen, it can be done without a contractor sticking it to my budget with labor fees. I don't even want to leave Chicago, so I was trying to compromise with not living in a cookie cutter home, which I wouldn't be a fan of picking if I was staying home, either.

As far as the trees go, they are really the least of my concerns I guess, but I am also hoping not to have to be gone for 10 years. Who knows. And Castle Rock is ok, but as I said in a more recent post, I don't really want to be that close to my inlaws. I'd like to have them have to drive a few miles before dropping in on us unexpectedly. UGH. But that is another thread for another forum, though.