Arvada, Thornton, Westminister (Denver, Westminster, Boulder: for sale, real estate, foreclosures)

[ermo18]

Can anyone tell me a bit about these areas? How are they compared to the southern suberbs (i.e. Englewood, Littleton, etc.)? My fiance and I will be moving mid-January and are coming up this weekend to start our home search. We both will be working downtown and when I did a search on apts. w/in a 10 mile radius, I came accross some that looked nice in the subject areas. We are both in our late 20's, no kids, but have a 80# black lab that we adore. Any feedback would be appreciated!

[tfox]

Overall, the northern and northeastern suburbs are considered less desirable (and much less expensive) than the southern and southwestern suburbs -- this, however, doesn't count areas near Boulder (which are more desirable for their proximity)

Of the three, Arvada probably has the best reputation as far as desirability goes but you will pay more for it. Westminster comes in next as it is partially in Jefferson County and closer to Boulder. Thornton is a pretty nice area (in my opinion) but the conventional wisdom is it is less desirable, and conventional wisdom does matter come resale-time.

One thing you should probably know is that we have a major problem right now with neighborhoods rapidly deteriorating due to foreclosures. Adams county is probably the worst place in the state for this trend. Things will get worse before they get better, and I expect Adams County real estate values to fall and once good neighborhoods will deteriorate. Beware!

I might suggest that, if you are planning on working downtown, that you consider one of Denver's historic neighborhoods like Highlands, Berkeley, Sloan's Lake (on the west/northwest), or Wash Park, Baker, etc on south, or Stapleton/Lowry if you like newer homes. I'm sure you know if this would be your cup of tea or not. You definitely will pay more for your housing in Denver than in the suburbs though, but many would say it's worth it. You're not likely to suffer from the above foreclosure spiral there, either, due to the fact that there is a high demand for buyers who want to live in Denver.

If you're more looking at the 'burbs -- I would caution you to consider your property value against this problem of falling prices and foreclosures. Although there are some nice homes up north and northeast, you might look west instead -- Jefferson County doesn't seem to have fallen in the foreclosures trap as much , except possibly for the northeast corner of it near Adams county.

[2bindenver]

you probably need to rent a yard with a house attached for your dog.

You may be able to find a house for sale and close within two weeks, if you have good credit and a good sense of what you both like, and can make a decision, if need be. Or lease it for 6 months, if it is vacant.

[ermo18]

Thank you both for your quick replies. I had heard from others here (that have lived in CO) that the Southern areas are more desirable as well. We don't plan on purchasing a house any time soon. Especially with us moving to an area we know nothing about. But we like the idea of renting a house to have a yard for the pooch.

[BrianAggie95]

If you are looking at renting.. try craigslist (www. .org) they have a good supply of listings everyday. We will be looking there if we decide not to buy right off the bat.... But I think we are leaning towards getting a furnished apt for month-to-month while we house hunt, and just focusing on minimizing commute. We have an 80# chocolate lab ourselves...