Yards - The hardest thing to find in Denver (Highlands Ranch: appointed, real estate)
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The hardest thing to find in the Denver suburbs is a yard!
We went house hunting yesterday - the Highlands Ranch, Lonetree, Greenwood Village areas are a joke as far as having a nice private yard is concerned.
If you're lucky you'll get a small 10 ft. grassy spot in front, and maybe a little larger grassy spot in the back that is referred to as a yard. No privacy at all!
The backyards are right next to the neighbors and you can see and hear everything that is said. You can actually see right into the neighbors windows!
And all the kids and dogs that run rampant is an added plus...LOL
Paying 350,000 to 400,000 for a house cramped between 2 other houses, with virtually no yard and no privacy is simply stupid. What ever happened to having a nice large lawn with space between you and your neighbor?
Why are people buying these cramped up properties? Have people gone mad?
And finding a nice ranch style layout is nearly impossible. Not everyone likes 2 story homes with stairs galore!
I've never been so disappointed in all my life as I was yesterday after our all day house shopping excursion. Every house on the street looks alike, very tiny front yards with backyards that are right on top of the neighbors backyard, many with decks that look down on the neighbors deck and yard.
And the noise from the dogs and kids and tv's is another story...
Several of the nearly new (2 year old) houses we looked at in Highlands Ranch were so worn and so rundown...one (listed at $365,000) was so filthy it stunk! We had to get out of there quick because it made us gag. I actually elt sorry for the real estate agent.
What has happened to people? Why pay all that money for a beautiful property and let it run down? Have people lost their ability to care about cleanliness? Why are they settling for these cookie cutter, high priced, no privacy properties that all look basically the same.
My DTC apartment is better that the houses I looked at yesterday.
Lone Tree was my favorite area - the new houses off Lincoln Avenue (Bluffmont Ave) are spectacular, but with basically the same problems as Highlands Ranch and other areas in the city. NO YARDS, NO PRIVACY, NO CHARACTER!
Highlands Ranch and vicinity reminds me of the community in Edward Scissorhands! LOL
Okay...thats my rant for the day.
The hardest thing to find in the Denver suburbs is a yard!
We went house hunting yesterday - the Highlands Ranch, Lonetree, Greenwood Village areas are a joke as far as having a nice private yard is concerned.
If you're lucky you'll get a small 10 ft. grassy spot in front, and maybe a little larger grassy spot in the back that is referred to as a yard. No privacy at all!
The backyards are right next to the neighbors and you can see and hear everything that is said. You can actually see right into the neighbors windows!
And all the kids and dogs that run rampant is an added plus...LOL
Paying 350,000 to 400,000 for a house cramped between 2 other houses, with virtually no yard and no privacy is simply stupid. What ever happened to having a nice large lawn with space between you and your neighbor?
Why are people buying these cramped up properties? Have people gone mad?
And finding a nice ranch style layout is nearly impossible. Not everyone likes 2 story homes with stairs galore!
I've never been so disappointed in all my life as I was yesterday after our all day house shopping excursion. Every house on the street looks alike, very tiny front yards with backyards that are right on top of the neighbors backyard, many with decks that look down on the neighbors deck and yard.
And the noise from the dogs and kids and tv's is another story...
Several of the nearly new (2 year old) houses we looked at in Highlands Ranch were so worn and so rundown...one (listed at $365,000) was so filthy it stunk! We had to get out of there quick because it made us gag. I actually elt sorry for the real estate agent.
What has happened to people? Why pay all that money for a beautiful property and let it run down? Have people lost their ability to care about cleanliness? Why are they settling for these cookie cutter, high priced, no privacy properties that all look basically the same.
My DTC apartment is better that the houses I looked at yesterday.
Lone Tree was my favorite area - the new houses off Lincoln Avenue (Bluffmont Ave) are spectacular, but with basically the same problems as Highlands Ranch and other areas in the city. NO YARDS, NO PRIVACY, NO CHARACTER!
Highlands Ranch and vicinity reminds me of the community in Edward Scissorhands! LOL
Okay...thats my rant for the day.
We lived in southeast Denver area,Bible Park.Nice yards,ranch homes.Do not know prices now but was a nice area.Never was impressed with the area's you talk about.
The hardest thing to find in the Denver suburbs is a yard!
Very true. But there are tons of open spaces we get to use here that are wonderful, great walking trails, dog parks, bike lanes. I had a 3/4 acre yard in Texas that I don't miss. Can't tell you how often husband and son have happily worked in the yard up here and been so glad it doesn't take the entire afternoon and all your energy. We can use that energy getting out together in all kinds of places instead.
We went house hunting yesterday - the Highlands Ranch, Lonetree, Greenwood Village areas are a joke as far as having a nice private yard is concerned.
If you're lucky you'll get a small 10 ft. grassy spot in front, and maybe a little larger grassy spot in the back that is referred to as a yard. No privacy at all!
The backyards are right next to the neighbors and you can see and hear everything that is said. You can actually see right into the neighbors windows!
And all the kids and dogs that run rampant is an added plus...LOL
Hmm, we have trees all around and can't see into the back of our neighbors' yards unless we strain or get upstairs to peer down on them. Feels plenty private to us. Have never seen a dog off leash or kids that aren't happily playing on their own street. I hear kids yelling occasionally, but we're lucky not to have any constantly barking dogs. Of course, my parents live in the Springs on Cheyenne Mtn. in a community we could never dream of affording with their own huge yard. They are ready to shoot the dog "next door". That sound carries, whether you're close to each other or not.
Paying 350,000 to 400,000 for a house cramped between 2 other houses, with virtually no yard and no privacy is simply stupid. What ever happened to having a nice large lawn with space between you and your neighbor?
Why are people buying these cramped up properties? Have people gone mad?
Yes, I apparently am crazy and stupid. I bought a house in Highlands Ranch ($250,000) that will increase in property value, that is in an incredibly safe neighborhood, where the people have all been friendly and courteous, where my kids will go to top rated schools that they can easily walk to, that have small yards. Completely insane.
And finding a nice ranch style layout is nearly impossible. Not everyone likes 2 story homes with stairs galore!
I've never been so disappointed in all my life as I was yesterday after our all day house shopping excursion. Every house on the street looks alike, very tiny front yards with backyards that are right on top of the neighbors backyard, many with decks that look down on the neighbors deck and yard.
And the noise from the dogs and kids and tv's is another story...
I do find it interesting that people on the boards have decried the inhabitants of Highlands Ranch as soul-less destroyers of the beauty that is Colorado and yet, when the houses take up as little space as possible so that they aren't spead out to take up even more green space, it's somehow urban sprawl. Am I the only one confused by this logic?
Several of the nearly new (2 year old) houses we looked at in Highlands Ranch were so worn and so rundown...one (listed at $365,000) was so filthy it stunk! We had to get out of there quick because it made us gag. I actually elt sorry for the real estate agent.
What has happened to people? Why pay all that money for a beautiful property and let it run down? Have people lost their ability to care about cleanliness?
Not sure how this is specific to any particular community. There are people in all typed of houses in every community, from slums to mansions, that are pigs.
Why are they settling for these cookie cutter, high priced, no privacy properties that all look basically the same.
Maybe other people have a different definition of "settling." I wanted a safe community with lots of amenities, easy access to work, great schools for my kids, and lots of places for recreation. That's why we "settled" in Highlands Ranch.
My DTC apartment is better that the houses I looked at yesterday.
Lone Tree was my favorite area - the new houses off Lincoln Avenue (Bluffmont Ave) are spectacular, but with basically the same problems as Highlands Ranch and other areas in the city. NO YARDS, NO PRIVACY, NO CHARACTER!
Highlands Ranch and vicinity reminds me of the community in Edward Scissorhands! LOL
Except, all of those were single story ranch styles on large lawns. . .
Yes, lots of the houses are the same model. Every house on our street has differences, though, from paint colors (blues, grays, browns, tans, stucco within sight of my window) to porches to landscaping to brick or stone facades to walkways and xeriscaping. Maybe when the trees are all bare, plants all dormant, and snow covers up the bits of space between the houses you can feel a bit overwhelmed ( I know I did when we went house shopping for the first time in January) but it's not exactly the communist block buildings they seem to be described as on this board.
Cookie-cutter is true, I will admit. You don't have wildly divergent building styles or pink trimmed houses (or people parking their RVs, boats, and trailers all over the streets or lawns that never get mowed...).
But like the sugar cookies I cut out and decorate, each has its own touches of character and style.
MaddieClaire: You are correct. In the older areas of Louisville, there are houses with decent size yards. "Older" meaning most homes built before about 1980. Our house was built in '80, has a reasonable size yard; at one time we had an above ground pool and a tramp in it, plus some room to play croquet (not regulation, mind you). Even so, when the leaves are off the trees, we can see into our neighbor's family room. We used to make a game of trying to tell what they were watching on TV! The newer homes have much smaller yards, too small for much of any play equipment.
Last edited by Katarina Witt; 08-05-2007 at 12:30 PM..
Reason: typo
BTNS_TX: The things MaddieClaire described happen in my neighborhood, too. Maybe you are just lucky.
Having a hiking trail doesn't help much when you have small children who need a place to play while you are making dinner.
We live on a curve in the street so we don't look out the window on to a string of houses. I have noticed in friends' homes on straight streets, that the view is mostly of other homes. And this is in a neighborhood with larger than average lots and 8' side yards rather than the standard 5', which only puts 10' between houses.
I've seen MANY ranch plans as well as many larger size lots. Look at older properties -- there are many such on quarter acre or larger lots, and many of those are ranches. New-construction subdivisions simply don't have what you're looking for.
I second everything BTNS TX wrote. Although I'm not used to and not a huge fan of a 2 story house, it has such a small footprint that my 8000 sf lot affords us a nice sized yard for the kids to play in.
Paying 350,000 to 400,000 for a house cramped between 2 other houses, with virtually no yard and no privacy is simply stupid. What ever happened to having a nice large lawn with space between you and your neighbor?
A "nice large lawn"? Welcome to the West, dude. I don't know what on earth you were thinking. It's dry and barren out here. If South Carolina is such a paradise, with all the lawns and trees you can dream of with houses with character, why don't you stay there? What business do you have moving to Denver when it obviously isn't your style?
If you're lucky you'll get a small 10 ft. grassy spot in front, and maybe a little larger grassy spot in the back that is referred to as a yard. No privacy at all!
The backyards are right next to the neighbors and you can see and hear everything that is said. You can actually see right into the neighbors windows!
And all the kids and dogs that run rampant is an added plus...LOL
Paying 350,000 to 400,000 for a house cramped between 2 other houses, with virtually no yard and no privacy is simply stupid. What ever happened to having a nice large lawn with space between you and your neighbor?
Why are people buying these cramped up properties? Have people gone mad?
And finding a nice ranch style layout is nearly impossible. Not everyone likes 2 story homes with stairs galore!
I've never been so disappointed in all my life as I was yesterday after our all day house shopping excursion. Every house on the street looks alike, very tiny front yards with backyards that are right on top of the neighbors backyard, many with decks that look down on the neighbors deck and yard.
And the noise from the dogs and kids and tv's is another story...
Why are they settling for these cookie cutter, high priced, no privacy properties that all look basically the same.
Lone Tree was my favorite area - the new houses off Lincoln Avenue (Bluffmont Ave) are spectacular, but with basically the same problems as Highlands Ranch and other areas in the city. NO YARDS, NO PRIVACY, NO CHARACTER!
Welcome to the world of new homes EVERYWHERE. The problem isn't limited to Denver. We have tons of land here in Tampa/St Pete, and yet the builders insist on putting as many homes as possible in the smallest space possible, for the most homes per development. And it's not a new trend, either. I saw the same thing happening in new developments in Dallas in the mid-90s. The builders are out for the most $$ they can get, and that means 2-story homes on small lots with high density per development. And people buy these things in droves. So it's no wonder the developers keep building them. We have only ourselves to blame for this.
If you're wanting space and privacy, my bet is Denver is like any other city - look in the older areas - built before the 90's - and you'll find them.
It is common urban planning to build on small lots. City and County planning guidelines set minimum lot sizes. Everyone complains about urban sprawl but everyone wants a huge lot...
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I don't know what on earth you were thinking. It's dry and barren out here. If South Carolina is such a paradise, with all the lawns and trees you can dream of with houses with character, why don't you stay there? What business do you have moving to Denver when it obviously isn't your style?
