Moving to Denver - Renting First, Need Advice (Colorado Springs, Aurora: real estate, apartments)

[klag]

My husband and I are relocating to Denver, hoping for a June 1 move-in. We're planning on renting for a year or so to explore Denver and it's neighborhoods further to try and find the perfect place to buy a house. We visited Denver last June for about a month and fell in love with it, but didn't explore much of the area aside from Golden and Wheat Ridge.

The biggest head scratcher for us is which neighborhood we should be renting in? Since we don't know so much about the neighborhoods and regions, we're at a loss.

About us:
- We're in our late 20s/early 30s
- No kids, no plans for any
- We work from home, so commuting isn't an issue
- We have a dog (med-large 45 lb cattledog/schnauzer mix) and a cat
- Husband is an outdoors enthusiast (mtn biking in particular), I'm more of a homebody
- We're not crazy into nightlife/going out, but we do appreciate having good restaurants/shops nearby


Because of the pets, we need to have a house with a backyard - the dog is a year old and a pure basket of energy most of the day so he needs outdoor space, plus I'd prefer to just let him out in the yard instead of having to get dressed to walk him. This rules out townhouses and apartments. Dog parks in the area would be a HUGE plus.

We want a neighborhood that has a great walking component to it. We're from New York City, and I'm so used to being able to just walk everywhere. We haven't lived there in 2 years, so I'm more accustomed to the car thing now, but the ability to be within walking distance of some basic shops and restaurants would be a massive asset for us. I can't drive yet as well, so being able to walk to a supermarket or corner shop (within 3/4 mile) would be amazing. Light rail access is also a major, major plus.

Safety and a nice neighborhood is important to us. We're used to gritty city living, and I'm sure Denver's worst is nothing compared to NYC, but we want to stay away from dicey and dangerous areas. We did it in NY and don't want to repeat the experience.

Neighborhoods that I have looked at and like include Berkeley, Englewood, Littleton, Wheat Ridge, and Highlands/West Highlands. I also really like Wash Park, Golden, City Park, and University Hills, but I know those areas can get pricey. I'm still up in the air about areas such as Aurora (I know to avoid the NE area), Green Valley Ranch, Sunnyside, Arvada, etc.

We want to be spending under $2000 for a 2BR/1BA. We'd be flexible on the neighborhood being more suburban/cookie cutter if it meant we could score a cheaper place, as long as it was still safe.

When we get to Denver (we'll be staying in Colorado Springs for a month as we begin the search) we will definitely be driving EVERYWHERE and walking around to see whats going on in these neighborhoods, but I don't want to waste time and would like to know what places I should be avoiding altogether.

As an aside, how do most people find rental houses in Denver? NY has an amazingly thorough network of brokers for rentals, but all the brokers here seem to deal in real estate. Everything I know about realtors/brokers for rentals is stuff Ive pieced together via craigslist and they all seem to suck. Seems like the best way to get a rental is directly through the home owner/landlord (total 180 from NY). Also, seems like the cat and dog thing will be an issue. I'm more than willing to put down a hefty refundable deposit (ie as much as the monthly rent). Will I have any luck with this approach?

We'd love and appreciate all advice we can get regarding this. Thank you all!

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by klag

how do most people find rental houses in Denver?

It is not easy.
Padmapper.com is one option.

Wheat Ridge is closer to the mountains and cheaper.

I live in The Berk and love it. https://www.yelp.com/list/berkeley-n...-beyond-denver

[klag]

I tried looking at padmapper and found that it was all apartments and condos ie no single family houses. Is CraigsList often seen as bad?

Is Wheat Ridge safe? We visited a few times to go to Wheat Ridge Cyclery and I got a decent vibe from what I saw on 38th - nothing shifty but nothing overly endearing.

Also holy cats, what a great compilation of reviews! I found Berkeley while house searching, found a place I fell in love with and looked more into the neighborhood. Had to (sadly) table the idea of buying for now, but the neighborhood stuck with me. Thanks for the confirmation!

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by klag

Is Wheat Ridge safe?

Everywhere that you will looking is safe.
It is a non-issue.

This is a very tight rental market with the sf house vacancy rate around 2%.

In my neighborhood, the rentals appear to be done by sticking a sign in the front yard.
On my block (3900 Vrain), a 2/1 just end rented in a week for $2100.

[klag]

Thank you so much! It's good to know about the signs being posted outside available houses being a reputable way to rent. Also good to know my neighborhood choices were a-ok. Thanks again!

[Jeffrey P]

Hi,

A lot of your pre requisites are similar to ours. My wife and I will be moving in a year so we're always trolling the forum as well as browsing on Craiglist and pad mapper to get a "feel" of the rental market. Renting a house $2000 or below in a desirable neighborhood seems to be out of the question. At this point we're leaning more towards a nice 1 or 2 bed apartment in a few areas we're very interested in. Prices for these seem to be in the range of $1500 - $2600 obviously depending on location and amenities. We're not complaining, coming from NY this is cheap in comparison. However, we were not expecting prices to be that high. Also, we definitely like pad mapper over Craigslist! Please update on your selection and thoughts of your new neighborhood. Good luck!

[soulrider]

Hi klag,

I will me moving to Denver in a few months and was curious as to where you ended up renting. We are looking for something similar as well (2-3 bedroom house with a yard - we have one dog and two cats!) .
What has been your experience so far?