Lookout Mountain anyone? (Denver, Evergreen, Genesee: homeowners insurance, loan, homes)

[Mary Go Round]

Thinking about buying OR building in the Lookout Mountain area. Any thoughts, advice, warnings? Anything to look out for on building up there? Thanks in advance for help on this!

[SkyDog77]

Don't know much about that area specifically, but if it is in a wooded area be sure you are alright with the threat of wild fires every summer. It is very real and not going away.

[Mezter]

Originally Posted by SkyDog77

Don't know much about that area specifically, but if it is in a wooded area be sure you are alright with the threat of wild fires every summer. It is very real and not going away.

Yeah, on the 4th of july, there was a minor fire up there.

[alliern]

I wouldn't let the threat of wildfires be that much of a concern for you. In order to build, Jefferson Co. will make sure that you've done the proper fire mitigation before signing off on building permits/final inspections. In addition to the county, your insurance company will probably come personally inspect the property before binding your policy or they'll tell you what additional mitigation they'll require before writing coverage.

Before you make a big investment in a land purchase, there are two things to consider. Most important is source of water. If you aren't tapping into a public water supply, you will be drilling a well. You might want to consider drilling a well on the property and making your offer contingent upon a certain # of gpm or there's no deal. Without water, you're not going to be able to have a house...or you can with placing cisterns and purchasing water and having it delivered often.

Another consideration is how rocky the land is. Blasting to get a foundation put in can have big time costs...if your contractor has access to a digger with a great set of sharp teeth, you might not have to blast. If not, and you hit rock, thousands of dollars are gone before you even pour your foundation.

Good luck, it most certainly is very rewarding to custom build a home, but it requires a great amount of due diligence on your part so it isn't a money suck.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by alliern

Most important is source of water.

Or, too much water.
As in, oops, we hit a spring. You now have lots of water.

[jimmyrocks]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Or, too much water.
As in, oops, we hit a spring. You now have lots of water.

The story of Sloan's Lake!
Sloan's Lake - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Mary Go Round]

Not especially worried about fire - we will probably pay a ton for insurance because of it hah. Do different kinds of people live in Genesee compared to Lookout Mountain? Any other info to share? (and thanks so far!)

[alliern]

I wouldn't say there are big differences between the type of people that live in Genesee as opposed to Lookout Mountain. The area is made up of well educated, professional people that commute to Denver or work from home (or travel). They all have the same desire to feel like they are living in the mountains yet have the accessibility and everyday amenities of the metro Denver area.

[cocaseco]

[quote=alliern;30704561]I wouldn't let the threat of wildfires be that much of a concern for you. /quote]


Worst advice ever IMO.

[alliern]

[quote=cocaseco;30743042]

Originally Posted by alliern

I wouldn't let the threat of wildfires be that much of a concern for you. /quote]


Worst advice ever IMO.

Really? Do you live in the foothills like I do? The residents of Evergreen, Conifer, Genesee, Morrison, Pine, etc...enjoy a certain quality of life that most people aren't accustomed to. We do live with the threat of wildfire, but we don't obsess over it on a daily basis.

We have a reverse 911 system in place and we have live police/fire scanners on Pinecam.com - An Electronic Community In The Colorado Rockies. In addition, various neighborhoods have neighborhood alerts. Residents carry the proper homeowners insurance and we have the contents of our homes recorded and documented.

Living in the foothills is no different than living on the coast with the threat of hurricanes. Or living in the path of tornadoes. How about areas prone to mudslides? Earthquakes? Floods? Volcanic activity?

Should we all live in total suburbia where we can hear our neighbors sneeze?