Glacier View Meadows near Fort Collins? (Durango, Red Feather Lakes: HOA fees, mortgage, how much)

[mrgoodwx]

I recently retired, and my wife and I are looking at a few possible locations for a move from Albuquerque. I've read the posts about Fort Collins, and we plan to visit the area this summer. While cruising around on internet, I came across some information on a development west of Fort Collins called Glacier View Meadows. I'm rather amazed at how cheap the houses are, especially to have a few acres. Since my wife and I bicycle nearly every day and I also like to "run trails," the rural appearance of Glacier View Meadows got my attention. Can anyone offer comments on Glacier View Meadows? Does it sound like a good place to enjoy the great outdoors and not be too far from Fort Collins for shopping, etc? Thanks!

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

I looked it up on the web, and it is near the town of Livermore. It is at least 20 miles from the edge of Ft. Collins, on a road through the mountains that gets snow. I've been on that road lots of times and it is a beautiful area. Be very cautious of "extras" -- check the Glacier View Meadows web site. They have special districts to pay for their own roads, water, and sewer. How much of the roads and utilities are already installed? If you buy property beyond existing utilities, you will probably have to pay a lot to extend those utilities in order to get a building permit.

[mrgoodwx]

Dreaming...good points. I don't mind being "stuck" while the snowstorm does its thing, but the "extras" you mentioned are items I would definitely have to check into carefully. I should probably also reword my statement about how cheap the houses appear to be in Glacier View Meadows. I really should have mentioned this is relative to what we've seen in places such as Durango, and even our own section of Albuquerque, where new homes are selling for $200-$300 per square foot...sometimes even a little more. Thanks for your suggestions.

[MJ Douglas]

Hello, I just found your post - I'm new to this site also, so I'm not sure if this is old or new... however I have lived in Glacier View Meadows for thirteen years. It's a wonderful mountain subdivision - you may have to drill a well and install a septic system on vacant land- many homes here have that. Some are on community systems. The HOA fees for taking care of the private roads are around $300. per year - it's very nice to see the plow come down in the road when we get snow - and there really hasn't been that much snow in past years! The county road leading to Fort Collins is well maintained for school buses, and it an easy and beautiful commute. It's a wonderful place to live - I think you should check it out!

[joker37]

Dear MRGOODWX--10/07/2009

I lived in GVM during the time 1991 to 1997...Purchased a custom log home for 65K in '91....However, had to move because the fees and utilities kept going up! Let me explain...Today the average fees will run as high as 1087 per yr, not counting propane (for stove & furnance) electricity became as high as 300 month in the winter time when I was there....The telephone company then charged a distance fee of $35....The propane tank (a 300 gal unit) had to be filled approx every 6 months...Then you add in the cost to have your septic vault pumped (not all properties have a leach field)...then your mortgage payments...etc....In other words, you'd better have a low house payment and not too large a home to heat or keep cool...Further, you had better have a pretty good vehicle, preferably one that is 4-wheel drive, especially in the winter or if you live in an area that is pretty rough to get to the house....roads are dirt and when it rains or snows, the roads can be a bear!

To give you an example on how the Management is run...Pretty much back then, it was "clickish" to say the least. The board mbrs set the rules to suit themselves, especially when they live there and after they go through several sets of tires or vehicles, usually within 4-6 yrs, they vote in policies that stay after they're gone! i.e. When we first moved there in Jan 1991, the mgr's annual salary was only 15K. When we left 6 yrs later the salary was up to 35K and with the way the new rules were written, the mgr would get COLA raise every yr and it's possible that is several yrs down the road, the mgr could be making over 100K....Then on occasion, there are fees charged that you don't know anything about until you get your bill! i.e. They may have to contract out on occasion to hire extra help to plow the roads, there might be extra costs associated with the water system...tests, etc...If your on a well, there can be a time when that well may be declared unsafe or there is always the possibly that the well can go dry...

In essence, what I'm telling you is that if your retired, which you say you are, then you had better have a good to excellent retirement coming in, your have a low monthly house payment, because if you don't allow for these things, you may just find yourself in deep trouble financially!

Also the road leading in and out of the area (Red Feather Lakes road) can be very hard to handle in the winter time or when you have periods of "black ice." The road is very currvy in spots and there is one inclide or decline, depending which way your going....that a regular vehicle has a hard time especially getting up and can be very hazardous to your health going down if not careful! Once you start sliding there isn't much you can do and God forbid you were going in excess of 35 mph going down...I suspect you'll find yourself over the edge....

We have long since moved from the area and currently reside in Las Cruces, NM. As you may know, the wx here is great yr round and for the most part, not very cold, except at night, during the months of NOV, DEC, JAN and FEB....

I'd say, if you don't have a min. of 20K in savings and own your home or at least have a very small house payment. (less than 500 per month) you don't need to think about living here is my suggestion.

Respectfully submitted,
Carl Filuta
Retired Naval Veteran
Las Cruces, NM

[mrgoodwx]

MJ Douglas and joker37...thank you both for your comments. My post was nearly 2 1/2 years ago. We did spend a little time driving around GV in the summer of 2007. But, since that time, our situation has changed. For better or worse, we're not considering GV any longer. Joker...I hope you are enjoying Las Cruces.