Colorado HOUSING problem (Denver, Colorado Springs: 2013, apartment, leasing)

[CuriousMiscer]

Originally Posted by SQL

Not true.

^^ I can personally verify this just from my own apartment complex, my next-door neighbor has a very noticeable smell of weed that can be detected by simply walking by the living room window (usually cracked open). Some recent tenants about 4 units down also seem to have the smell of weed around their front door/porch area.

You can catch a hint of weed smell in the small mailbox building as well.

Lots of people are obviously smoking, so the rules don't seem to be "working".

[alphagifted]

@ nick4242

I just called CORNERSTONE Management as you suggested, they have chnage the rules now they require the following:

You need to make 5 times rent (Their apartments are $1500 and up)
Income tax from the last 3 years
Last 3 pay stub

[guyatwork37]

Originally Posted by CuriousMiscer

Legal weed is mainly behind the lack of vacancy around here. Unfortunately there is not much you can do other than be "quick on the draw" and "pounce" as *soon* as you see an apartment open up.

The logic behind the weed is bringing people here argument is flawed (even besides the fact that no one ever brings actual data to support this, just anecdotes). So let's follow along:

1) Weed is bringing people to Denver and driving up home / rent prices and reducing inventory

2) The pay in Denver is not sufficient to cover the increased COL

3) There are not enough jobs in Denver to support to increased number of people moving in

So if these are are correct (as argued all over this forum), then how are people moving here for weed and paying for more expensive apartment / homes if they both can't find jobs, and if they do, find ones that can support the increase COL (not to mention all that money spent on weed they're smoking by the bushel apparently)?

If those conditions were true, then people would not be able to afford places to live so inventory would be up as the pay can't accommodate their move and weed loving lifestyle.

Playing devil's advocate, the counter-argument is "well people are bringing money from outside sources and can afford to live here". To which I would say, that may work for a bit, but eventually equity in a sold home from the coasts would run out and they would need to actually have jobs.

So then who's moving here? People who either bring jobs with them or can find jobs that can accommodate the higher COL. I would imagine these are people with a tangible skill or management folks, or C-level people to some degree. Not your average person working the registers.

So do these people move here for weed? Unlikely. If you're that advanced in your career where you can either transfer with ease or take your job with you, chances are you're not all about smoking weed all the time since your focus has been on climbing the career ladder. And even if you were successful enough and loved weed, it's not exactly difficult to come by especially since we're under the argument (fallacy) that people are only moving from the coasts were weed laws are lax and drugs prevalent.

So, let's just cut the crap about people moving here for weed. People move here because it's a nice place to live.

[Timmyy]

Originally Posted by guyatwork37

The logic behind the weed is bringing people here argument is flawed (even besides the fact that no one ever brings actual data to support this, just anecdotes). So let's follow along:

1) Weed is bringing people to Denver and driving up home / rent prices and reducing inventory

2) The pay in Denver is not sufficient to cover the increased COL

3) There are not enough jobs in Denver to support to increased number of people moving in

So if these are are correct (as argued all over this forum), then how are people moving here for weed and paying for more expensive apartment / homes if they both can't find jobs, and if they do, find ones that can support the increase COL (not to mention all that money spent on weed they're smoking by the bushel apparently)?

If those conditions were true, then people would not be able to afford places to live so inventory would be up as the pay can't accommodate their move and weed loving lifestyle.

Playing devil's advocate, the counter-argument is "well people are bringing money from outside sources and can afford to live here". To which I would say, that may work for a bit, but eventually equity in a sold home from the coasts would run out and they would need to actually have jobs.

So then who's moving here? People who either bring jobs with them or can find jobs that can accommodate the higher COL. I would imagine these are people with a tangible skill or management folks, or C-level people to some degree. Not your average person working the registers.

So do these people move here for weed? Unlikely. If you're that advanced in your career where you can either transfer with ease or take your job with you, chances are you're not all about smoking weed all the time since your focus has been on climbing the career ladder. And even if you were successful enough and loved weed, it's not exactly difficult to come by especially since we're under the argument (fallacy) that people are only moving from the coasts were weed laws are lax and drugs prevalent.

So, let's just cut the crap about people moving here for weed. People move here because it's a nice place to live.

Thank you!

[MN_Ski]

^ While I mostly agree...that is ignoring the working professionals who also consume. In the tech field, I would say that 2/3 of the people in my office consume. Even the high ups and managers. It's not fair to assume that the people moving here for legalization are only the ones with no skills or money. I live next to a senior engineer, some big wig at a health firm making 180K, and a doctor...all moved here 2 years ago, and always are sitting out back smoking every night.

If anything, legalization put Denver on the map, and it gives people one more thing to consider.

If you have a job offer in Atlanta, SF, Chicago, or Denver, and you are in your 20s looking for something new, legalization (and mountains!) is just that extra selling point. So legalization and COL is not 1:1 in this situation, but you can't say it has no impact whatsoever.

[Dirty-Mill]

Denvers growth is the result of QE1, QE2, and QE3. Same goes for growth in other tech heavy cities.

[macrabbit]

How is it even legal to force applicants to submit private information like incomes etc.? It doesn't seem right. I've always thought a credit and background check were the normal protocol? We are moving to the Golden area next year, and won't have US based income statements or job history, but money isn't an issue. This worries me!

[Yakscsd]

Originally Posted by Timmyy

Wrong!

Please provide proof of this.

How can an opinion be wrong? At best it's different than yours. Why does he need proof? Maybe you should provide proof to say its not true before taking such an entrenched and abrupt position.

People have forgotten how to intellectually debate differing opinions.

[jwiley]

Originally Posted by Yakscsd

How can an opinion be wrong? At best it's different than yours. Why does he need proof? Maybe you should provide proof to say its not true before taking such an entrenched and abrupt position.

People have forgotten how to intellectually debate differing opinions.

An opinion is wrong when the opinion is the opposite of studies that are showing different results. Last I read weed came in a distant 5th in a poll of people's top 3 reasons for moving here. So most people are not even putting weed in their top 3 reasons to move here.

[CuriousMiscer]

Originally Posted by alphagifted

@ nick4242

I just called CORNERSTONE Management as you suggested, they have chnage the rules now they require the following:

You need to make 5 times rent (Their apartments are $1500 and up)
Income tax from the last 3 years
Last 3 pay stub

So minimum of $7500/month income.... to rent a simple/lowly apartment?!? What is this, the Twilight Zone? What have we come to?

This bubble is just getting out of hand, we desperately need a more "popular" state such as California, Texas, or New York to legalize weed and therefore siphon off/divert a lot of these transplants and pothead types - the lack of inventory/lack of vacancy around here is just BAD and not getting better anytime soon. We really need some relief from these unbelievably/artificially high housing costs.

I think given the choice of say, Cali and Denver - assuming both have legal weed - most of these indulgers would opt for the former. Right now, due to the "central" location plus the legal weed thing, Colorado is "edging out" the few other legal states (Washington, etc) and the result is the giant FLOOD of people we've experienced here (.... and resultant higher rents).

I agree with that most recent poster above ^ : the nay-sayers assume we are talking about the usual low-income, shaggy-haired "loser" type potheads, but as we have seen.... pothead types come in all sizes, flavors, and income-levels, and the high-income types figure into the COL equation *just* as much.