A decent neighborhood to buy for easy commute to work? (Denver: real estate, foreclosures)

[murof]

Hi, am trying to find the best place to buy a house or town home that wouldbe a easy commute to work, and yet be in a good neighborhood, or at least an up-and-coming neighborhood. I work at I-70 and Havana road on the NW corner. I don't want my commute to be any more than twenty minutes long.I forgot to mention that my bank approval is for 125K, which doesn't buymuch in the Denver area, by and large. Montbello is the closest neighborhood to work, but I refuse to live there.It would be depressing to live there, in my opinion.Commerce City is also close by. I think Commerce City would be a betterlocation than Montbello because it is close to Northfield and Stapleton.But the houses along Quebec street in CC are pitiful looking. There is also the Northern part of Commerce City.For example, 96th ave. and Highway 2. This is all newer construction,but something tells me to stay away. Foreclosures and low housing pricesaren't good signs. Green Valley Ranch would be an easy commute, but it has the same problems as the last comments. I refuse to live in North Aurora. I hate it there. So what's left? What about something close-by to the Stapletonhousing area? I know Stapleton itself is very expensive, but are thereneighborhoods bordering Stapleton that are affordable?On Quebec, for example, south of I-70, there is a small, new shopping center calledthe Quebec Square at Stapleton. The shopping center is on the East side of Quebec. Right across the street on the West side of Quebec are manysmall houses. What is this area called? Basically I am thinking about thegrid from Smith Road to the North, Montview to the South, and bordered on the West and East by Monaco and Quebec, respectively. This seems to be a good location, even if the houses are small and old.What do you know about it? Do you have any other suggestions of where I might look for a house? Thornton seems too far, don't want to deal with afternoon rush hour. Thanks for your valuable input!

[vegaspilgrim]

Try Aurora around Iliff and I-225 (say, between Peoria and Chambers, preferably on the south side of Iliff). This is a pretty nice, established, middle class area. That's where I personally would live if I had to commute to the northeast sector of the metro area. It would be on the low end for sure, but if you really look around you just might find something in this general area for 125k. Don't quote me on this, but I *think* you should be able to make it from this area to your workplace at I-70 & Havana in just about 20 minutes in most conditions other than total blizzards. You could take either 225 to I-70 or surface streets the whole way.

[livecontent]

The Neighborhood directly west of Stapelton is Park Hill. Park Hill has many different types of homes and is delimited as North Park Hill, South Park Hill and Northeast Park Hill per the neighborhood map:

http://www.denvergov.org/denvermaps/downloads/maps/citywide/Neighborhoods.pdf (broken link)

I have posted a recent thread on Park Hill:

https://www.city-data.com/forum/denve...ll-denver.html

I would also consider areas further down on Quebec, which will still be close for a commute, such as Montclair.

Livecontent

[Count David]

Not that I'm a big fan of the place, but there are some smaller condos in Stapleton (Roslyn Court), in your price range. Use a real estate site to find them, zip code 80238.

[denverian]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

Not that I'm a big fan of the place, but there are some smaller condos in Stapleton (Roslyn Court), in your price range. Use a real estate site to find them, zip code 80238.

There are also some new income qualified townhomes at MLK and Havana that I think are in that price range - and within walking distance of work for this person.

[Dorthy]

Originally Posted by murof

Basically I am thinking about thegrid from Smith Road to the North, Montview to the South, and bordered on the West and East by Monaco and Quebec, respectively. This seems to be a good location, even if the houses are small and old.What do you know about it?

I know a few people who live in this area. They all bought due to it's close proximity to both Stapleton and the nicer parts of Park Hill with the hopes that the area will increase in value. Here's an interesting article about the area.
A lesser-known Park Hill - The Denver Post

[XAFLOC]

Originally Posted by murof

I know Stapleton itself is very expensive, but are thereneighborhoods bordering Stapleton that are affordable?

The East Park Hill neighborhoods might be in your price range. Another area to check out is East Montclaire. Basically this is the area between Stapleton and Lowry to the north and south and Quebec and Yosemite to the east and west. I live in this neighborhood and I really like it. I live just south of Montview, which is the southern border of Stapleton. It is a short walk to the Stapleton dog park and many of the other amenities at Stapleton. It is an area that used to be in decline, but is now on the rebound due to it's proximity to a popular area. Prices still haven't been affected too much, so you could probably still get a good deal, especially in the current buyer's market. A lot of the houses are getting bought up by fix-and-flippers, but you should be able to find one that isn't remodeled in your price range.

[murof]

Thanks! Now I just have to pull up Google Maps, and pinpoint these neighborhoods that were suggested and mentioned. This to me is the fun part. Also the links are great, thanks.

[murof]

Along East 104th Ave, between Chambers and Towers, there are lots and lots of housing options. This area might be called Buffalo Run,not sure. If I lived in this area, I could jump on Tower Road and take it down toI-70 West and get off at Havana. It seems like it would be simple commute. I'm leary of buying in in the Northern suburbs because of potential home depreciation due to foreclosures. I feel more comfortable buying in a Denver neighborhood, evenif the house I get for my money isn't as nice, or as new. It just feels like the Denverneighborhoods, even if they (the one's in my price range) aren't aesthetically appealing, have more price stability,don't you think? Have you ever seen the neighborhood at Broadway and 51st, in that general area?It's right in the Northeast pocket where I-70 and I-25 meet. There's a SalvationArmy thrift store up in there. It's kind of hard to get to. I don't know what to make of that neighborhood.It's got industrial businesses mixed in with residential, and I wonder if thereis a hidden charm there. I made a delivery in that area (I'm a truck driver) twotimes last week, and it's really strangely appealing. But to me, it really doescome down to demographics. I don't want to be the only white person living there.I want a healthy mix of all people, you know? I also wonder if crimeis a problem here, naturally. It could be very safe as far as I know. Obviously being soclose to the city, and the highways, would be incredibly beneficial.

[vegaspilgrim]

I wouldn't get so hung up on city boundaries, whether you are "Denver" or "Aurora" or something else. Instead look at the reality on the ground, the physical surroundings of the neighborhood you're interested in.