Company might be moving to Denver (Montrose, Evans: real estate, 2014, loft)

[Schumacher713]

I am pretty sure we will be moving to Denver next year. So, I want to start house hunting where to live. I am pretty active in the Houston city-data area. I am used to people asking the exact question I am about to ask. Hopefully, I provided enough info for you all to help. I used to people asking where they can live for 700 a month that has really good schools in a safe area.

I am a 40 year old single male. I have two dogs. I don't care about the school district. I do want to be close to the center of the city as that is where I live in Houston. I would prefer a house or some place my dogs can play and poop. My budget is 900K-1.5mil. Our offices will be downtown or near there. It would be nice to be walking distance to bars and restaurants. I looked through zillow and the neighborhoods I saw that looked nice were Washington Park and Cherry Creek. I wish I could do something near Lodo, but dogs are a pain in a highrise or loft. A view of the mountains everyday sounds really nice. I like the idea to be able to run home to let the dogs out at lunch sometimes. Last quick question. I daily drive a BMW M3. Is that impractical in Denver? Do I need to move to an awd sedan or suv? And, one more question I just thought of. How hot is your market there? Here things last 1-2 days on the market and we have almost no inventory.

[Count David]

City Park, City Park West, Congress Park, Cheesman Park, Park Hill, Speer, Country Club.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by Schumacher713

I am pretty sure we will be moving to Denver next year. So, I want to start house hunting where to live. I am pretty active in the Houston city-data area. I am used to people asking the exact question I am about to ask. Hopefully, I provided enough info for you all to help. I used to people asking where they can live for 700 a month that has really good schools in a safe area.

I am a 40 year old single male. I have two dogs. I don't care about the school district. I do want to be close to the center of the city as that is where I live in Houston. I would prefer a house or some place my dogs can play and poop. My budget is 900K-1.5mil. Our offices will be downtown or near there. It would be nice to be walking distance to bars and restaurants. I looked through zillow and the neighborhoods I saw that looked nice were Washington Park and Cherry Creek. I wish I could do something near Lodo, but dogs are a pain in a highrise or loft. A view of the mountains everyday sounds really nice. I like the idea to be able to run home to let the dogs out at lunch sometimes. Last quick question. I daily drive a BMW M3. Is that impractical in Denver? Do I need to move to an awd sedan or suv? And, one more question I just thought of. How hot is your market there? Here things last 1-2 days on the market and we have almost no inventory.

I'll start. I can answer some of your questions.

You should have no problem at your price point finding what you want within walking distance of downtown. You do not need to buy a new car; however, when you do replace your car, you'll probably want an AWD. I was a visiting nurse for years with a regular FWD, and even occasionally drove my spouse's RWD. I'm not sure about the housing market, but when my daughter was looking last year, it was as you describe.

[Count David]

BTW, getting mountain views in Denver isn't as easy as you'd think (it's easier in the suburbs, but only marginally so). The neighborhoods I listed for you are pretty much all within old growth tree canopies.

[Schumacher713]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

BTW, getting mountain views in Denver isn't as easy as you'd think (it's easier in the suburbs, but only marginally so). The neighborhoods I listed for you are pretty much all within old growth tree canopies.

I was referring to a highrise or loft for mountain views. I don't want to live in either. I have been to Denver and know I won't get mountain views. I just want a nice neighborhood that is close to the center. I fully admit I am a partier. A townhouse would also work if there was a small backyard.

Odd question, but how hipster is Denver? I hope not as bad as Austin. I had a friend that lived in Lodo before he bought his house in Cherry Hills and loved it there. I don't want to live far out in Cherry Hills though. He has just lived there for a little over a year. I guess I should call him and ask him what he thinks too, but I doubt he has much experience with the neighborhoods you listed. He is wifed up. Thanks for your help. I will look into those neighborhoods.

[Count David]

Yes, housing market is incredibly tight/low inventory.

[Count David]

Denver is quite hipster. I've never been to Austin, so I can't compare. Denver is only slightly less hipster than Portland IMO.

[Texas Ag 93]

Hey Schumacher,

I have seen some of your posts on the Houston forum, which I frequent because that's where I'm from. I will try and answer some questions, and you will get better/additional info from others.

First off, as you can probably guess, your budget gives you possibilities almost anywhere. $950-1.5M will get you into any neighborhood in Denver, though in some really hot areas like Wash Park and Cherry Creek, there seems to be a tipping point at right around $1-1.25M where below that means a place might actually need some work and get snapped up within days. When we were looking 2 years ago, it seemed like that was the case anyway. $850-900K got so-so, but if you could go up to $1M or above, there were lots of great options. So, consider how much time and effort you want to spend on those houses below $1M. Of those 2 neighborhoods you mentioned, Wash Park is the more hip and trendy. Cherry Creek skews a little older/retirees. Think of it like the Galleria area. Other areas you might want to look might include Observatory Park, the University area, Capital Hill and the Highlands, although I am not really sure about the overall size and quality of single family/detached homes in the Cap Hill and Highlands area. I think those 2 areas might remind you more of Montrose though. Also, I am not so sure LoDo does not offer single family homes, but someone else will hopefully chime in on that.

I am sure other posters will offer suggestions I cannot think of right now. Ultimately, we ended up in Stapleton because we did need to consider schools, it offered a better commute for us, and my husband could just not stomach buying a 900K house that needed work and might or might not even have a garage.

EDIT: I like all the areas David recommended. Completely forgot to mention those. We did look in those areas as well.

Good luck!

[davebarnes]

want to be close to the center of the city
West Highland, Sloan's Lake, Berkeley, Platt Park (all have more retail than Wash Park)

prefer a house or some place my dogs can play and poop
See above. All have single family houses and duplexes with yards.

budget is $900K-1.5mil
Plenty of money for almost any neighborhood.
Here is a house for you - http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/39...05887549_zpid/

walking distance to bars and restaurants
I live in Berkeley. For me, see Berkeley Neighborhood and slightly beyond - Denver . 160 places I have walked to. Also, for me, Ammenities Close to 3968 Vrain Street, Denver, CO
Most of the restaurants are WEST of Colorado Blvd and NORTH of Evans.

neighborhoods I saw that looked nice were Washington Park and Cherry Creek.
They are. I lived in Bonnie Brae for 24 years.

drive a BMW M3.
You will be OK if you buy winter tires. Super OK if you buy studded tires.

How hot is your market there?
Today. Very warm (due to seasonality). Next Spring will be HOT as it was last year. See CAR: Condos out-performing s-f homes | Inside Real Estate News and

[Schumacher713]

Originally Posted by Texas Ag 93

Hey Schumacher,

I have seen some of your posts on the Houston forum, which I frequent because that's where I'm from. I will try and answer some questions, and you will get better/additional info from others.

First off, as you can probably guess, your budget gives you possibilities almost anywhere. $950-1.5M will get you into any neighborhood in Denver, though in some really hot areas like Wash Park and Cherry Creek, there seems to be a tipping point at right around $1-1.25M where below that means a place might actually need some work and get snapped up within days. When we were looking 2 years ago, it seemed like that was the case anyway. $850-900K got so-so, but if you could go up to $1M or above, there were lots of great options. So, consider how much time and effort you want to spend on those houses below $1M. Of those 2 neighborhoods you mentioned, Wash Park is the more hip and trendy. Cherry Creek skews a little older/retirees. Think of it like the Galleria area. Other areas you might want to look might include Observatory Park, the University area, Capital Hill and the Highlands, although I am not really sure about the overall size and quality of single family/detached homes in the Cap Hill and Highlands area. I think those 2 areas might remind you more of Montrose though. Also, I am not so sure LoDo does not offer single family homes, but someone else will hopefully chime in on that.

I am sure other posters will offer suggestions I cannot think of right now. Ultimately, we ended up in Stapleton because we did need to consider schools, it offered a better commute for us, and my husband could just not stomach buying a 900K house that needed work and might or might not even have a garage.

EDIT: I like all the areas David recommended. Completely forgot to mention those. We did look in those areas as well.

Good luck!

Thanks for the help. I actually don't want to live in another Montrose area which is the hipster area. I just love the central location. I used to live in West U. I was going to move to River Oaks in two years, but this Denver thing changes my plans. Lowers my budget a lot too which is nice actually. I want a nice neighborhood with lots of trees. I doubt there is something similar to River Oaks there. I would like to find a lot size 6000-9000sqft. I also know there are no single family homes in Lodo, but there are townhouses. Who knows... maybe I will look into a loft and deal with the pains of walking dogs to poop. I hope we end up moving. I hate Texas. It is time for a change.

My last option is to buy a tear down and build new. I used to spec build homes, so it would not be too hard to handle. I must not admit I was not wild about the architecture I saw. I don't mind some remodeling though no garage and dealing with snow? That is not going to happen.

I don't mind selling my M3. I wish the Tesla Model D was already out. I bet there will be a serious back order for them.