Where to buy in older Denver neighborhood? (Lakewood, Arvada: big house, neighborhoods)

[goozer]

Regarding a possible relocation to Denver, I was curious as to what neighborhoods posters can recommend that might suit us. Our max budget is around $400k, and we are looking for a 3-bedroom house in a a closer in suburb that has easy access to downtown (would love to be on or near the rail line) but that still has a "neighborhood" charm or character to it (mom and pop "boutique" shops, some nice non-chain restaurants, etc). I would love a neighborhood with craftsman homes dating from the 1920s to 1940s (although the sticky thread re Englewood and its "mid-century moderns" has pics of some REALLY cool houses). We are married with a two year old toddler, but schools are not a critical concern at this point. I've heard people recommend places like Washington Park, Capital Hill, Congress Park, Cheeseman Park, Baker, and Highlands, but I have NO idea if any of these places would realistically fit within our budget (and we are not looking for a major fixer-uper). Thanks in advance for any helpful responses!!!

[mdp_az]

Seems like you have a pretty good list of neighborhoods there. Why not go to the local Denver MLS site and do a neighborhood search within your price range to see what comes up. That will give you a good sense of the size and quality of the homes you should expect to find.

[MobyLL]

goozer -- If you haven't already seen them, here are some links to photos of some areas you mentioned, the quality is not so great for some.

One area you did not mention that I think you would like is Platt Park. You should be able to find something you like both within your budget and close to a light rail station. I live here (Platt Park) and I think it is a great neighborhood. But one of the nice things about Denver is that there are lots of nice neighborhoods that vary from each other and people can find their own little niche.

Platt Park
https://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...uth-pearl.html

Highlands & Central Platte Valley
https://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...ds-photos.html

Baker
https://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...snow-cold.html

[goozer]

Originally Posted by MobyLL

goozer -- If you haven't already seen them, here are some links to photos of some areas you mentioned, the quality is not so great for some.

One area you did not mention that I think you would like is Platt Park. You should be able to find something you like both within your budget and close to a light rail station. I live here (Platt Park) and I think it is a great neighborhood. But one of the nice things about Denver is that there are lots of nice neighborhoods that vary from each other and people can find their own little niche.

Platt Park
https://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...uth-pearl.html

Highlands & Central Platte Valley
https://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...ds-photos.html

Baker
https://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...snow-cold.html

Excellent pictures (you get my rep for sure). I've seen a previous thread of yours where you posted the Platt Park pictures and it definitely seemed like the sort of neighborhood I would be interested in (as does Highlands and Baker -- cool neo-Victorians). I guess I just did not have a realistic sense of whether $400k was a reasonable price for a home in those neighborhoods, whether it will only get you a fixer upper, or whether you simply can't buy a house that cheap there. And while the previous poster suggested to check the MLS, that's always tough because you can't really gauge how the house "fits" in the neighborhood in relation to price. I might find a house for $300k that is supposedly (or nominally) in a neighborhood that typically runs $450k for the same type house and it is impossible to discern the reason on MLS.

[mdp_az]

Another good source is zillow.com. Once you've found a house on the MLS, you can plug the address into zillow and see if its value is way out of whack compared to other houses around it. The valuations aren't necessarily spot on, but it gives you an idea. However, this won't always work (i.e. - houses that have been recently rehabbed or are being flipped), but I've learned to get creative when home searching from thousands of miles away.

[tfox]

To the OP: I often lament at how once affordable neighborhoods in Denver have become unaffordable to the average person.

However, you should be able to find a well-maintained home in any of the 3 neighborhoods mentioned above: Platt Park, Highlands (including Berkeley), and Baker for around $400k, even now. Those 3 neighborhoods don't have lots of really large homes, I might add, but if you're looking for a 3br/2ba, you'll do fine for that price range.

To those neighborhoods I might add Congress Park, which has some nice foursquares and bungalows in your price range.

As for zillow -- I think they are better for stable suburban neighborhoods where it's easy to find comparable homes. I've found that they can be way, way off on city neighborhoods where it's hard to find another home that's a close match to the one in question. Plus, for city neighborhoods they can be way off in number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and square footage because they may not have any record of that addition that was built in 1960 on the 1920s home, etc.

[dj32]

i find that zillow is not accurate on innercity hoods- you may have a 400K scrape next to a 1.2 M home and that scrape sells and then brings the value of the home beside it down. also, it also doesn' t include basements in square footage. the zillow estimate for my home can vary be a couple hundred thousand in period of 1-2 months

[goozer]

Originally Posted by tfox

To the OP: I often lament at how once affordable neighborhoods in Denver have become unaffordable to the average person.

However, you should be able to find a well-maintained home in any of the 3 neighborhoods mentioned above: Platt Park, Highlands (including Berkeley), and Baker for around $400k, even now. Those 3 neighborhoods don't have lots of really large homes, I might add, but if you're looking for a 3br/2ba, you'll do fine for that price range.

To those neighborhoods I might add Congress Park, which has some nice foursquares and bungalows in your price range.

As for zillow -- I think they are better for stable suburban neighborhoods where it's easy to find comparable homes. I've found that they can be way, way off on city neighborhoods where it's hard to find another home that's a close match to the one in question. Plus, for city neighborhoods they can be way off in number of bedrooms, number of bathrooms, and square footage because they may not have any record of that addition that was built in 1960 on the 1920s home, etc.

Thanks for the response. I share your lament. I love the older houses and older neighborhoods and we definitely do not need excessive square footage. We've always lived in a modest sized house with a modest car. Character and neighborhoods (and a short commute) have always been more important to us than a big house with a "great room" and "kitchen island." And I agree with you on Zillow not being a big help in older neighborhoods. With the whole tear down phenomena, some of these older neighborhoods might have a $700k rebuild (3400 sq ft) right next door to a $350k 1940 orginal (1200 sq ft). It makes it hard to get a sense of what you can get for your money when researching homes from afar. I have plans for a house hunting trip if the relo starts to look more likely.

[Westyguy]

I think that all of those areas that you mentioed are great. Also I think that you might like capitol hill area, this area is very urban, and you can walk to alot of "non chains" also this area is where the art museams are!!!!

[Katarina Witt]

To the OP: the neighborhoods you mentioned are all in the city proper. If you are looking for same in the burbs, try Arvada, Wheat Ridge, some parts of Edgewater and Lakewood, Englewood, Littleton. All the inner ring burbs have older houses, many on larger lots than in the city, if that is important to you. I will warn you, from having looked at a lot of these houses, and having been a visiting nurse in a lot of them, too, that many have not been updated since they were built, and can need major repairs, even if you do disdain a "kitchen island" or a "great room". There is such a thing as home maintenance, and a lot of these houses haven't had very much of it.