$475k max for house w/commute to Union Station (Denver: for sale, rent)

[scuba_mama]

Hi! We're relocating in August. My husband will work a short walk from Union Station and I'm a SAHM. We can buy a house that's up to $475k. We have 2 kids and plan to homeschool them. So we need 3 bedrooms and another room/space/office for the bookshelves and a small table. I'm not sure if "bonus rooms" and formal dining rooms are common in the Denver area as they are here.

We want a great school district in case they go to public school and a very low crime rate that's within 20 minutes, if not 40 minutes to Union Station. I noticed the Cherry Creek School District is very good and seems like a good commute. Can you suggest any other areas we should look at? (I should mention that we're not religious homeschoolers and prefer not to be in areas where they're concentrated which I think may be further south.)

I keep reading that houses are sold quickly with low inventory and often sell for over asking. My husband shows me that Zillow looks like a Christmas tree. Are those all houses for sale or do houses under contract look like they're still for sale?? I wish we weren't missing the peak time for the housing market. August move date can easily become September when all is said and done.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and. possibly reply!

[Augie Daugie]

Originally Posted by scuba_mama

Hi! We're relocating in August. My husband will work a short walk from Union Station and I'm a SAHM. We can buy a house that's up to $475k. We have 2 kids and plan to homeschool them. So we need 3 bedrooms and another room/space/office for the bookshelves and a small table. I'm not sure if "bonus rooms" and formal dining rooms are common in the Denver area as they are here.

We want a great school district in case they go to public school and a very low crime rate that's within 20 minutes, if not 40 minutes to Union Station. I noticed the Cherry Creek School District is very good and seems like a good commute. Can you suggest any other areas we should look at? (I should mention that we're not religious homeschoolers and prefer not to be in areas where they're concentrated which I think may be further south.)

I keep reading that houses are sold quickly with low inventory and often sell for over asking. My husband shows me that Zillow looks like a Christmas tree. Are those all houses for sale or do houses under contract look like they're still for sale?? I wish we weren't missing the peak time for the housing market. August move date can easily become September when all is said and done.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and. possibly reply!

Zillow is nice website for reference, but the syndication feeds runs about 48 hours late, which means the best inventory is often under contract by the time it hits the site. In addition, the homes listed require the agent to manually mark it as "under contract" which rarely happens. As a result, a lot of the homes listed have been under contract for weeks and consumers wind up contacting agents about homes that are no longer available. Recolorado.com is the most accurate database of available homes.

Your budget will be pretty tough to get 20 minutes from Union Station, but 40 is definitely doable. First places that come to mind are Centennial (in Cherry Creek SD) near I-25 (won't be much inventory under $50K), and Littleton along Santa Fe Dr --- both options would offer a light rail commute directly to Union Station, which may be more pleasant than driving. If you are looking to be near the mountains, you can look around Green Mountain in Lakewood or possibly even West Arvada.

[mic111]

Try recolorado.com. They are the most accurate up to date web site for the Denver metro area.

[2bindenver]

Prices will be higher in August than they are now. Look to Search homes for sale & rent in Denver and Colorado for the most accurate active listings, or partner with a local broker and get a custom search going for you.

Light rail might be your hubby's best bet. RTD

[SkyDog77]

Agree w Th the above. Look at the rail map and live close to a stop.

[tcbelvis]

RTD commuter rail into Union Station would be a good idea. It goes directly into the train hall (might be closer to walk out/plus breakfast/coffee close by). Look at areas around A Line, B Line (direct non stop from Westminster) and soon to open G Line. Also, commuter rail is nicer, faster than light rail & has fewer stops. Whatever you do stay away from the W light rail line... slooooowwwwwww.

Map:

http://www.rtd-denver.com/FF-CommuterRailVehicle.shtml

[scuba_mama]

Thank you for steering me in the right direction!! Now that I don't have all those old Zillow listings clogging up my view, it's clear to see how crazy it was to think we could live in Greenwood Village. I've been focusing on mapping the towns that were suggested to see how long the commutes would be. We would love to have the option of leaving the car in a Park-n-Ride and taking the rail to go to work or to spend the day in the city.

The shortest commutes are the Westminster commuter rail (12 min on train) and living in Stapleton (14 min on train).
The others are: 22 min on bus from Arvada (Old Towne Arvada Park-n-Ride), 24 minutes on the bus from Broomfield (US 36/Broomfield Station), 26 on rail from Littleton's C line (Littleton Downtown Station), 30 min from Lakewood's W line (Federal Center Station). I've eliminated Centennial and Aurora since they're further out.

Can anyone tell me if parking is a problem at any of those locations? I'm mostly concerned that Westminster may not have enough parking if there are lots of commuters from nearby towns like Broomsfield using that station.

I found a map of the Denver Metropolitan School Districts. I've lived in three other states and I've never seen school districts that are divided this way. I expected either each town or each county to be its own school district. I'm going to focus on schools last. After I narrow down the towns further.

Any recommendations for resources to determine which towns are safer than others? I read through a lot of old threads yesterday and noticed that 10 years ago, Stapleton was not considered to be a great/safe neighborhood for families. I couldn't find anything more recent to see if that has changed. I didn't know that Denver had so many "open spaces." I'm looking forward to enjoying them!

[Texas Ag 93]

Originally Posted by scuba_mama

Any recommendations for resources to determine which towns are safer than others? I read through a lot of old threads yesterday and noticed that 10 years ago, Stapleton was not considered to be a great/safe neighborhood for families. I couldn't find anything more recent to see if that has changed. I didn't know that Denver had so many "open spaces." I'm looking forward to enjoying them!

I'm not sure you're using the search function to its capacity, then, because Stapleton is often mentioned on this forum. It's one of the most family oriented developments in the Denver metro. It has tons of kids, very good schools (DPS), parks, pools, open spaces, a Town Center with lots of retail etc. It's really only existed in its present state over the past 10-15 years since, as you are probably aware, it was the site of the city's old commercial airport prior to that. The info you read about it not being "safe" are probably a reference to the tendency for there to be property crimes (usually crimes of opportunity) because of the less than stellar Aurora neighborhoods directly adjacent to the South and East of Stapleton.

Average prices for fully detached single family homes in Stapleton are around $550-$575K, I believe. You probably can get a very small starter home, or paired home, for $475K.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, however, since because it's a new development, the homes are lacking in character, there aren't many mature trees etc. It was certainly not at the top of our list when we moved to Denver in 2012, but we ended up there, and I was very happy with it.

[SkyDog77]

Originally Posted by Texas Ag 93

I'm not sure you're using the search function to its capacity, then, because Stapleton is often mentioned on this forum. It's one of the most family oriented developments in the Denver metro. It has tons of kids, very good schools (DPS), parks, pools, open spaces, a Town Center with lots of retail etc. It's really only existed in its present state over the past 10-15 years since, as you are probably aware, it was the site of the city's old commercial airport prior to that. The info you read about it not being "safe" are probably a reference to the tendency for there to be property crimes (usually crimes of opportunity) because of the less than stellar Aurora neighborhoods directly adjacent to the South and East of Stapleton.

Average prices for fully detached single family homes in Stapleton are around $550-$575K, I believe. You probably can get a very small starter home, or paired home, for $475K.

It's not everyone's cup of tea, however, since because it's a new development, the homes are lacking in character, there aren't many mature trees etc. It was certainly not at the top of our list when we moved to Denver in 2012, but we ended up there, and I was very happy with it.

This +1.

Stapleton is THE family friendly neighborhood in Denver. Lots of places have kids, but no other hood has the concentration that stapleton does.

[MsBall]

Originally Posted by scuba_mama

The shortest commutes are the Westminster commuter rail (12 min on train) and living in Stapleton (14 min on train).
The others are: 22 min on bus from Arvada (Old Towne Arvada Park-n-Ride), 24 minutes on the bus from Broomfield (US 36/Broomfield Station), 26 on rail from Littleton's C line (Littleton Downtown Station), 30 min from Lakewood's W line (Federal Center Station). I've eliminated Centennial and Aurora since they're further out.

Can anyone tell me if parking is a problem at any of those locations? I'm mostly concerned that Westminster may not have enough parking if there are lots of commuters from nearby towns like Broomsfield using that station.

Arvada, Littleton, and Lakewood are Jefferson County schools. Parking is a problem at the downtown Littleton station. There's a larger lot at Mineral station which is one stop south, that's where the commuters park. There does seem to be ample parking at the Fed Center but I just use it for traveling into the city so I don't know what it's like for commuting. The W line seems to have quite a few more stops than the other lines. FYI, the light rail doesn't drop off right at the Union Station, the drop off point is a couple blocks north.