Looking to purchase home – advice please! (Centennial/SE Aurora vs. Reunion area) (Denver: appliances, new home)

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by monalua

Property taxes are astronomical in Reunion, but HOA dues are cheap.

I thought you were exaggerating, but I checked one house and holy smokes.
1% instead of the usual 0.7%.

[ChrisFromChicago]

personally, evidence suggests that the "school" will have little impact on your child versus your capabilities and parents, and your summer activities. A study in Chicago showed that it wasn't the kids who got into magnet schools who performed better than non-magnet school students. . the correlation was with parents who ATTEMPTED to put their kids in magnet schools.

Plus your kid is 1.5 years old. Maybe when he is older your can afford a better location?


I for one would aim for stapelton. . .but thats me. Maybe a condo instead of a house?

i dunno. . .you can post you want a $250k house iwth your requirements. . .maybe you need to go east into the plains where you can't see the mountains anymore.

[ChrisFromChicago]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

I thought you were exaggerating, but I checked one house and holy smokes.
1% instead of the usual 0.7%.

people in colorado, so far that i've seen, don't know high taxes


In CT its 10k per year for a 350 house. . .

[monalua]

You could definitely get a really nice existing home in Reunion area for $250K. The others are so right, keep in mind the added costs of a new home - particularly the backyard patio/deck/landscaping. And yes, new houses are advertised 'from the 200s' but that is absolutely bare bones, linoleum instead of tile/granite, cheap carpet, etc. And I think all the builders charge a "lot fee" of $5-11K on top of the base price. But. We could still afford way more up here than in Cherry Creek school district and the market is hot there.

[monalua]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

I thought you were exaggerating, but I checked one house and holy smokes.
1% instead of the usual 0.7%.

It's more like 1.5% where we live in Reunion.

[knail]

Centennial is well within the 30 minute commute requirement and Littleton Public Schools have a great rating, offering elementary, middle and high schools with a 10 rating on www.greatschools.org. Although the budget is really tight you would be able to get into some of the Centennial neighborhoods with a 3 bedroom for your $250,000 budget. The great thing about that is once your child is settled into a great school system you have the flexibility to move within an area and upgrade your home down the road if you desire while still staying in a good school system.

[monalua]

Originally Posted by knail

Centennial is well within the 30 minute commute requirement and Littleton Public Schools have a great rating, offering elementary, middle and high schools with a 10 rating on www.greatschools.org. Although the budget is really tight you would be able to get into some of the Centennial neighborhoods with a 3 bedroom for your $250,000 budget. The great thing about that is once your child is settled into a great school system you have the flexibility to move within an area and upgrade your home down the road if you desire while still staying in a good school system.

Particularly look at zips 80122 an 80121 for Centennial/Littleton. Highly rated schools and great area. This is where we looked before deciding to build in Reunion. Had a hard time finding something under $300K that didn't need a lot of work and wasn't on a busy street (like 2 houses off Arapahoe). Loved neighborhoods like Cherry Knolls, Homestead Farms, etc. Just couldn't find anything in our price range. Homes there hold their values though so maybe if you could find something you could upgrade in a few years. But they are definitely not new homes (50s-80s).

[knail]

Originally Posted by monalua

Particularly look at zips 80122 an 80121 for Centennial/Littleton. Highly rated schools and great area. This is where we looked before deciding to build in Reunion. Had a hard time finding something under $300K that didn't need a lot of work and wasn't on a busy street (like 2 houses off Arapahoe). Loved neighborhoods like Cherry Knolls, Homestead Farms, etc. Just couldn't find anything in our price range. Homes there hold their values though so maybe if you could find something you could upgrade in a few years. But they are definitely not new homes (50s-80s).

You are correct that homes in this area are often dated and can be hard to find but those homes are out there. Cherry Knolls is a great area with homes that have sold in that price range and they probably were out of date but the homes do feed into a great school district, and they have the neighborhood pool with swim team and an elementary school in the neighborhood. The price per sq foot in Centennial is high because there is a high demand to live in the area which is always good for resale. You can always fix up a house but it is difficult to change community amenities or school systems.

[blackmet]

Originally Posted by monalua

You could definitely get a really nice existing home in Reunion area for $250K. The others are so right, keep in mind the added costs of a new home - particularly the backyard patio/deck/landscaping. And yes, new houses are advertised 'from the 200s' but that is absolutely bare bones, linoleum instead of tile/granite, cheap carpet, etc. And I think all the builders charge a "lot fee" of $5-11K on top of the base price. But. We could still afford way more up here than in Cherry Creek school district and the market is hot there.

This is probably the best option. There are existing homes that are only a few years old for sale in Reunion that are very nice. One of my friends lives near there, and this popped up down the street from them:

10108 Salida Street, Commerce City CO - Trulia

My friends also have seen a pretty huge growth in the value of their home from when they bought it in 2010. Worth 190k then, could sell for 220k now, and this is a pretty builder grade home.

The schools are mediocre, but the area is still growing. You may see some improvement with time, and even if not, they're still OK enough. One thing to consider is that most car insurance companies like to think that you're a part of Commerce City proper, and rate you as such, so you may see a higher rate than you expect.

[Claire S.]

Originally Posted by blackmet

This is probably the best option. There are existing homes that are only a few years old for sale in Reunion that are very nice. One of my friends lives near there, and this popped up down the street from them:

10108 Salida Street, Commerce City CO - Trulia

Unfortunately, that house is already under contract.