Advice on picking a quiet condo (Denver, Lakewood: for sale, real estate, rental)

[foggnm]

I'm relocating to Denver and working in Golden. I will probably be looking for places to live in Lakewood, Arvada, and maybe as far south as Littleton. My question isn't so much about location, but how to find a condo/townhome that has more 'quiet' residents. Denver metro fortunately has lots of condo-type housing (which is what I'm looking forward to after 15 years of owning a house). How do I screen a potential option for overall tranquility? I'm 40 and am active, but when I'm home don't want to hear too much noise. I was going to try to find a condo that was no more than 2 levels and had multiple buildings, rather than one huge building. I do plan on seeing the place at day and night to see the noise level. Thanks!

[JohnnyDenver]

Northwest Arvada has several complexes; if there are any units for sale.

If you haven`t been reading this foum, the Denver metro has very few homes for sale.

[foggnm]

Originally Posted by JohnnyDenver

Northwest Arvada has several complexes; if there are any units for sale.

If you haven`t been reading this foum, the Denver metro has very few homes for sale.

Yes, I understand the housing inventory is low in Denver. I was seeking advice from other condo-buyers on how they screened for the noise level of their residence. My question isn't about Denver real estate, prices, availability, neighborhoods, etc. Specifically I wanted to hear from someone that bought a condo and how they checked it out beforehand in terms of having quiet neighbors/quiet complex. Thanks!

[emm74]

Look for a place that was build specifically as condos, and isn't converted from rental units. They will usually have better sound proofing and nicer finishes.

[davebarnes]

Price is a great screening tool.
In my neighborhood, townhomes (1500 sqft) start at $500K.
You don't get noisy neighbors in that price range as they are older.

[BarryK123]

I agree with Dave. The higher the price, the less likely you will be dealing with a rowdy crowd. However, wealthy people still have dogs, so there are no guarantees.

[himain]

Usually the higher the rent/mtg the less bs you'll encounter because they can't afford it. That's why the bf and I are moving to a better place to weed them out

[SandyJet]

Avoid Condos that allows dogs is a good start.

Also avoid condos that have lets folks rent

[Mike from back east]

I may move this to the Real Estate Forum later on as the "weeding out" process applies to any location and is not specific to Denver metro area.

I sympathize with the OP for wanting to avoid barking dogs, loud music, various smells, etc. Wife and I stay in a SFH to avoid the possible noise and smells (smoking/cooking) of neighbors.

Because of so many lawsuits in Denver against condo builders for alleged shoddy construction there are fewer condos available in the area and that may make it harder to find a good one.

[himain]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

I may move this to the Real Estate Forum later on as the "weeding out" process applies to any location and is not specific to Denver metro area.

I sympathize with the OP for wanting to avoid barking dogs, loud music, various smells, etc. Wife and I stay in a SFH to avoid the possible noise and smells (smoking/cooking) of neighbors.

Because of so many lawsuits in Denver against condo builders for alleged shoddy construction there are fewer condos available in the area and that may make it harder to find a good one.

Yes the bf and I are looking for a SFH to avoid all these things but with the housing market it's hard to find something that's decent for the price.