moving to fort collins advice (Denver, Longmont: days on market, 2014, house)

[sthradis]

I am looking to relocate to fort collins from NJ. I am a nurse and husband a teacher. We have three kids. We are looking for a kid friendly neighborhood with great schools. Would prefer a community with a pool. Any advice would be great. Looking to relocate in Sept 2014.

[StealthRabbit]

Loveland has some excellent School swimming programs and 4 public indoor pools. (that are VERY cheap to use). Thompson R2J is a great district. (What grade level are kids and does DH teach?). 2 very nice hospitals in Loveland for employment.

I think a 'community' with a pool might be a bit snooty (HOA) and have few enjoyable hours / yr to enjoy the pool. (YMMV)

But... look to some of the gated / golf communities near Loveland as well (Marianna Butte is quite nice (and quiet) with excellent views and EZ access to Loveland / Ft Collins / Longmont / Denver / Estes Park). IIRC, there are pools in the HOA's @ each. Namaqua elementary is 2 min via car from the HOA, or a nice, pleasant 'country' walk.

City of Loveland, CO : Mariana Butte Golf Course
City of Loveland, CO : The Olde Course at Loveland

I'm sure there are similar nice areas in FoCo, I am only familiar with the ones on north side. (I would NEVER wish that commute on anyone... (OK if working from home, but many activities in Ft Collins are on south side.) FoCo traffic is not my thing.

[barefootmeg]

I don't know of any neighborhoods north or Prospect that have a community pool. (Maybe in the new neighborhoods to the east?)

We live in Old Town which is incredibly kid friendly. My son is 16 and has a driving permit, but he feels very little need to get his license because he can get almost anywhere he wants to go by bike. Downtown is a short walk away. And there are kids everywhere (of all ages, birth through high school).

Colorado is a school of choice state, which means that you can live anywhere and send your kids anywhere. You don't have to find a house that is specifically located in the school zone that you want. That said, we have sent our kids to our neighborhood schools (Dunn, Lincoln, Poudre) and there are strong advantages. Living in the same neighborhood as all the other kids your kids go to school with is a real plus, in my opinion. I've been able to build friendships with my neighbors through our school interactions.

[sthradis]

Thanks for the advice. I guess I don't really need a community with a pool. My son swims on a swim team, so we would probably have to find a team that swim all year anyway. I would rather be where my kids can walk and bike place when they get older. My kids are 7 & 9 right now. Any advice on specific neighborhoods to look at.

[Yukichon]

We arrive in June and have gone the choice route. Our default district is the Thomson despite us being in south FoCo, but unfortunately there seems to be a real lack of great middle schools in the Loveland area, whereas thee are quite a few in Fort Collins.

[Mike Weber]

Originally Posted by sthradis

I am looking to relocate to fort collins from NJ. I am a nurse and husband a teacher. We have three kids. We are looking for a kid friendly neighborhood with great schools. Would prefer a community with a pool. Any advice would be great. Looking to relocate in Sept 2014.

There are many communities in town with pools, many of which you can join even if you do not live in the neighborhood. There is some info on neighborhoods with pools here:
Fort Collins neighborhoods and subdivisions

The City has two indoor pools at which the school swim teams and the competitive teams practice.
Edora Pool Ice Center (EPIC): City of Fort Collins
Mulberry Pool: City of Fort Collins

In the summer, several of the community pools have swim teams. The two larger, year-round teams are FAST and Vortex:
Fort Collins Area Swim Team :
Team Vortex Swim Club :

Originally Posted by sthradis

Thanks for the advice. I guess I don't really need a community with a pool. My son swims on a swim team, so we would probably have to find a team that swim all year anyway. I would rather be where my kids can walk and bike place when they get older. My kids are 7 & 9 right now. Any advice on specific neighborhoods to look at.

The town is easy to get around by bike or by walking. In elementary school, my brother and I used to walk from South College Heights to Old Town to visit my mom at work. The neighborhood suggestions for you would depend upon what things your kids will want / need to access by bike. Most neighborhoods in town have schools and parks close and biking to friends' homes is pretty easy. Many have convenience stores and sandwich shops just around the corner. In the south-east part of town, access to shopping and dining along Harmony is fairly easily accessible. The spine of town provides good access to mid-town and the new Maxx bus line that will be running this summer. In the north-central part of town, the neighborhoods are close to Old Town.

Good luck with your search!
Mike Weber

[sthradis]

Hi,
I will be relocating this August to the Fort collins area from New jersey. Any advice on areas to look to live. I have 3 kids in elementary school. I am a nurse and my husband is a school teacher. Looking for a kid friendly area. Any advice on why fort collins will be a great move, kind of nervous relocating.

[barefootmeg]

The best advice I think I could give in terms of living in Fort Collins with kids... The Recreator. Recreation: City of Fort Collins It has so many great opportunities for kids. And the ads give you a sense of what else is available outside of city run stuff.

All of the schools are great and if you want a different area of emphasis than what your neighborhood school offers, you can always choice into a different school. (But we've sent our kids to our neighborhood schools and love the community that evolves from walking to school with several other families every day.)

I live in Old Town and there's a bunch of kids here. I biked through the Stuart/Constitution area last weekend and saw tons of young families there. I think the only place that's not really family friendly is just west of campus which is mostly college residences.

[sthradis]

Thank you so much for the advice. Can you reccommend any neighborhoods? We would be looking in the 200-275k range.

[Mike Weber]

Originally Posted by sthradis

Thank you so much for the advice. Can you reccommend any neighborhoods? We would be looking in the 200-275k range.

Keep in mind this is a very competitive price range right now and you will need to act fast if you find a home you like. There have been 105 single family homes sold in Fort Collins in this price range since January 1, and there are only 16 available right now that are not under contract. This means at the current rate of sales, we have only a 2 week inventory of available homes.

Most of the homes in the price range are going under contract in a matter of days, if not hours. Many of these are competitive situations with multiple offers. Homes in the price range are selling for an average of 99% of asking price, after negotiations for things like inspection resolution items. The average days on market for homes in the price range is 52 days. Given the average length of a typical contract is about 42 days, the average time from listing to contract is 10 days.

In the price range you seek, here are some neighborhoods in which homes are currently available:

Waterglen
Brown Farm
South College Heights
Dry Creek (New Construction)
Thunderbird
Whalers Cove
Fossil Creek Meadows
Landings
Eastborough
Harmony Crossing

Depending upon availability when you are ready, there are many other subdivisions that might meet your needs, depending upon what part of town in which you wish to be and what you wish to be near.

This is a really great town with lots of fun things to do, especially if you enjoy being outdoors. Growing up here was fun.

Good luck with your move!
Mike