Would you buy in Aurora?

[Lafleur]

Originally Posted by rumline

Regarding LPMI, is it correct that if you choose that route, you can't "remove" it (or lower the rate) once you get above 80% LTV?

I believe that's only on a FHA loan. If you do it through a conventional loan, you can re-finance later on.

[mollygee]

Originally Posted by Gorges

I would and I did. Happily. But I would never buy a house in a location where I didn't want to live.

Aurora is a huge city, east of Denver. (suburb) There are great parts of Aurora and not so great parts. Just look at the place you are interested in and like someone said in another forum; get out and walk around a few blocks, if you feel safe that would be a real indicator.

We lived in North Aurora, near Chambers and East Colfax, years ago. There have been many changes.......just look before you leap. South Aurora is a better choice; still some iffy places. I would rent, before you buy, learning from my past little old mistakes............oh yeah!!!!

Still, there are some beautiful areas and homes in Aurora, just like any large city, be smart!!

[vegaspilgrim]

Do not buy any property, anywhere, period, if the location doesn't appeal to you in at least some significant ways. Screw what your realtor thinks, what your friends think, what people on this forum think. Ask yourself, do you like the location (both the geographic part of the metro area as well as the specific locale/neighborhood that the building is in)? Even if not your dream house, is the location at least good enough where you'll be happy living there day in, day out? If not, do not buy, or you will be making a huge financial mistake.

If you do decide to go with Aurora (and given your stated preferences on this post and previous posts, I don't think Aurora is for you), consider Iliff & 225, next to the future light rail station under construction. It's an ok area right now, not the greatest, not the worst, but there might be future appreciation if/when the transit-oriented development next to the station takes off. There is an older but still attractive looking (from the outside, at least, have no idea about condition of units) condo complex called "Le Chateau" on Blackhawk & Dickenson that has units within your budget and would be a <5min walk to the future station with no major streets to cross. There are also a bunch of townhomes and condos on the other (west) side of 225 near the Heather Ridge golf course.

BTW, I agree with the previous posters who said that the CCSD part of Aurora has higher property values (and likely higher continued appreciation) than the APS part, and that affects you whether or not you personally have kids. However, I think there's one big exception to that-- Overland High School and its feeder schools has a bad reputation and IMHO if you're looking at the part of Aurora in its attendance zone (generally, it's the part of Aurora and unincorporated Arapahoe County west of 225), I don't consider that fact that you happen to be in CCSD a selling point. I have never heard anybody say anything good about Overland, from talking to current and former teachers there and former students. It's really the schools in the southeastern part of Aurora as well as in Greenwood Village that give CCSD its well deserved reputation.

Speaking of Greenwood Village, don't rule GV out, especially since you work in DTC. There are a bunch of older condos in the vicinity of Dayton/Peakview that might be in your budget and might be a better long term investment than buying a place in Aurora, since it's more of a "hot" suburban area close to major job centers and amenities. Some of these places (like Appletree) share the same zip code (80111) with million dollar homes so having an address there can make it appear more prestigious than it actually is even though it's the "slums of Greenwood Village."

[SkyDog77]

I think you should fire your realtor. Clearly does not have you best interest in mind.

[ColoGuy]

People have always loved to hate Aurora for some reason. I suspect jealousy since Aurora will someday be more populated than Denver.

[Lafleur]

Originally Posted by ColoGuy

People have always loved to hate Aurora for some reason. I suspect jealousy since Aurora will someday be more populated than Denver.

I don't particularly hate Aurora. It's just that I grew up in the suburbs of Detroit. The suburb I grew up in reminds me a great deal of Aurora. Chain stores/restaurants and strip malls everywhere. I don't really consider it a walkable/bikeable city like I would Lakewood, Wheat Ride, Littleton and some of the other western suburbs of Denver. Also, as a 29 y/o, I feel like my social life would be pretty dead. It's rough enough living on the SE corner of Denver. Nobody visits me down there, I'm always having to travel towards the city. Living in Aurora, I feel, would just push me further into irrelevancy. If I ever have a family in 10 years, I'll consider it as an option, because it seems perfect for that.

Some of the places were also on the east side of Aurora, so my commute to work would have been a nightmare.

Anywho, she showed me a couple houses in Denver and in Englewood, and I liked them. Smaller, some work needed, but a good price overall and location wasn't bad either. I'm putting offers on them today.

[Lafleur]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

I think you should fire your realtor. Clearly does not have you best interest in mind.

I don't think I'd go that far. I think she just found some homes in my price range and opted to send them to me in case I was interested. I never specifically said to her that we need to avoid Aurora. I just pointed out the areas that I was interested in (which was Lakewood, SW Denver, and Littleton).

[mic111]

Originally Posted by Lafleur

...

Anywho, she showed me a couple houses in Denver and in Englewood, and I liked them. Smaller, some work needed, but a good price overall and location wasn't bad either. I'm putting offers on them today.

Good for you! I don't think there is anything wrong with Aurora. It has a diversity of neighborhoods just like Denver and most other older cities in the metro area. But you know what you are looking for in terms of location and that is important as you can always improve the house over time if you like the location.